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Harriet snorted with laughter. “I don’t think that’s what she meant, babe.”
“It’s business-related,” Kat explained. “He’s trying to sweeten me up so I’ll do a deal with him.”
Harriet became thoughtful. “Is this the guy who wants to buy Sanctuary?”
“The very one.”
“No!” Anica clapped her hand to her chest. “You’re not selling, are you?” Her eyes widened, then narrowed on her wife, who was immediately preoccupied with booting up the computer. “Why didn’t I hear about this, Harry?”
Harriet squirmed. “I knew it would only upset you, babe. You know how I hate that.”
Anica pointed a finger at her. “We’ll talk later.”
Kat decided to intervene. “I’m not selling. That’s crazy talk. I’ve told him as much but he thinks he can butter me up and I said I’d let him try.”
“Suddenly I feel like I’m doing the devil’s work,” Anica muttered as she selected a bottle of massage oil from the cupboard and tucked a packet of green gunk under one arm.
“That doesn’t mean she’ll put on a half-assed performance,” Harriet said. “My girl won’t ever do less than her best.”
“Come and pick a polish.” Anica led Kat to a shelf upon which dozens of nail polishes were arranged, from dark purple at one end to bright yellow at the other, with all of the colors of the rainbow between, and a number of glitter and confetti options.
Kat eyed the choices, picking up a highlighter orange bottle. “People actually go for this?”
“I take it that’s not your color?”
“Not quite.” She picked up a few more bottles, studied the contents, and returned them to the shelf, settling on a pale peach color because it would be less obvious if she chipped it, as she was bound to do.
“Strip off and lie face down,” Anica instructed, once she’d led her into the adjoining room. “Cover yourself with a towel. I’ll be back shortly.”
Kat waited for the door to click into the jamb, then undressed and piled her clothes on a stool in the corner. She shuffled awkwardly onto the massage table, beneath the towel, and rolled onto her stomach. A crease pressed into her cheek, and she tried to adjust herself but only succeeded in shifting it to her forehead. Anica knocked softly, then let herself in. Kat could hear her moving around the room. After a moment, she laid a hand on Kat’s back.
“Are we going to work over everything today? Do you have any injuries I should know about?”
“Everything sounds good.” Kat’s voice was muffled by tissue paper. “No injuries.” She recalled the latticework of scars up her torso, including a vicious one on her thigh. “Except old scars. They don’t hurt, so don’t worry about them.”
It wasn’t a complete lie. The scars didn’t usually hurt. Sometimes, though, they pulled tight and made moving uncomfortable. She’d become accustomed to the pain. It was her penance for losing Teddy.
Something warm splashed onto her skin and Anica rubbed it in. Before long, Kat lost herself in the pleasure of being touched, having the aches massaged out of her muscles, and the knots of scar tissue loosened. Okay, so maybe she’d needed this. She could admit it. She’d even thank Sterling later.
By the time the massage finished, she was half asleep, eyelids heavy, and her mind very much outside her body. She was vaguely aware of noise in the background, and then Anica began to apply something to her back that wasn’t oil. Something that felt like thick, gunky moisturizing lotion.
“Whassat?” Kat mumbled sleepily.
“This is the exfoliating cream,” Anica explained. “In a few minutes, we’ll move you to the shower to rinse it off.”
“Mmkay.”
As she waited for the shower, without the distraction of a massage, reality started to creep in. What was she doing? She should be at home, plowing through paperwork as she typically did in the morning, while her mind was fresh. Or she could be walking Tione’s dogs along the beach so they didn’t run rampant through the grounds. Or greeting new guests and helping them settle in. Or laying the last of the floorboards in the room she was currently working on so the group of DIY-ers who came on the weekend could paint the walls and lay the carpet. The list went on.
The lotion on her back itched. She fidgeted, trying to ease the tickling sensation, but only made it worse. The itch traveled up her back and across her shoulder, like the scratchy little feet of a mouse. She jerked back and heard a splat as some of the exfoliant fell to the floor. Whoops. Resigned to suffer the itch, she lay still.
“Okay.” The voice came from far closer than she’d expected, and she flinched. “Sorry, love. Didn’t mean to frighten you. I’ve turned the shower on. It’s through the door to your right. I’m going to wait in reception. You wash off, dry yourself and get me when you’re ready.”
“Yep, sure.”
Kat washed quickly, toweled off and met Anica in the waiting room, eager to get their session over with. They returned to the room for her facial, which seemed far more thorough than warranted. By the time Anica began painting her fingernails, she could barely sit still.
Anica’s brow furrowed in concentration and she hovered inches above Kat’s hand, painstakingly varnishing her nails. Kat swallowed a sigh. The whole exercise was pointless. She’d only chip them later, when she was doing the dishes or hammering timber. They probably wouldn’t survive the hour undamaged. But she kept her frustrations to herself. There was no reason to air them to Anica, who was only doing her job. The problem was Kat. She wasn’t used to idleness, and felt ready to burst out of her skin.
