Chapter 116: Relaxing

Lisa was woken up by the fragrance of lavender and something else—perhaps eucalyptus—that wafted through the bedroom.

“Good morning, beautiful.”

She craned her neck as well to see Leo come in the room with a tray.

"What's all this?" she whispered.

Leo placed the tray gently on her lap, then bent down to kiss her forehead. “Breakfast in bed. And the start of a very special day.”

“Special what?”

His smile was enigmatic, teasing. “Wait ‘til you see. But first, eat. We have nowhere to be and nothing to do save to relax."

Lisa took a sip of the tea—chamomile with honey.

“Leo, just what are you planning now?”

“A spa day,” he said, dropping down onto the bed. “For two. Actually, I’ve converted the whole downstairs into our private retreat.”

Lisa’s eyes got wide. “You did what?”

“I might have been up since six," he said, looking proud of himself. “But it was worth it. Trust me.”

After eating breakfast, Leo took her down the stairs, his hand warm in hers. As they stepped into the living room, Lisa let out a gasp. The furniture had been moved around, pushed back against the walls to allow for more space. There were candles everywhere she went, dozens of them, their tapers casting a gentle warm light bundled up with sunlight.

A massage table had been arranged close to the hearth, wrapped in thick white towels. A cart nearby contained a variety of oils, lotions and something that appeared to be hot stones.

"Wow!" She exclaimed.

“I wanted to give you a day to just be. No stress. No worries. No obligations. Just us and gettin’ completely hydro-relaxed.”

Lisa faced him, emotions bubbling in her heart and mind. “How did I get so lucky?”

“That’s what I wonder about every day. ” He cupped her face lightly, his thumb sweeping over the flesh of her cheekbone. “Now, I suppose first we should proceed with the foot bath. Doctor's orders."

She chuckled, allowing him to lead her to the plush chair he'd brought over to the corner. As she sat down, Leo knelt before her, rolling up the legs of her pajama pants and then he slowly sat her feet in the warm water.

The feeling was instant and fabulous. The temperature of the water was right and the salts made her skin tingle in a nice way. The flower petals — rose and jasmine — scented the air as her feet pressed down on them.

"Oh my god," she breathed, tilting her head back against the seat. "This is heaven."

Leo smiled up at her, his hands were tender as he started working on her left foot under the water. His hands did a shocking good job, they dug into the arch, kneaded out tension she hadn't realized she'd been holding.

"Where did you learn to do this?" she murmured, already sleepy with satisfaction.

"YouTube, mostly," he said with a grin. "I watched maybe fifteen videos last night after you were asleep. I'm now a qualified expert in reflexology. Self-certified, but still."

Lisa laughed, the noise was soft and joyful. "My overachieving man.

"Ready for the next part?" he said.

She said nothing but nodded, relaxed to the point of almost feeling drugged. Leo escorted her to the massage table, which to her surprise was heated, warmth radiating through the towels and into her skin. On her stomach, face in the padded cradle, arms dangling at her sides.

"I'm going to start with the hot stones," Leo said softly. "Just tell me if it gets too hot."

Lisa heard the soft clatter of stones, then felt the first one on her back, between her shoulder blades. The warmth was fierce but not unbearable and it penetrated her muscles.

Several more stones were placed along her spine, each warmth focused point seeming to unwind the tension in her body.

After a few minutes, Leo went into the massage itself. It was darkolor among the most famous of all scents, with notes of sandalwood and vanilla, macadamia nut oil was warm in the palm of his hand and her hand clasped his.

He wasn’t a trained masseur, but he did have the benefit of keen observation. He noted how she responded, where she tensed, where she exhaled.

“There you hold so much tension,” he mused, “When did this get so tight?”

“Work, probably,” she mumbled unintelligible.

“The Parker account has been a nightmare.”

“Stop thinking about work. Today, all you have to do is breathe and relax,”

He traced a path down her back, rhythmic and hypnotizing in its pace. He sometimes made use of long, sweeping stroking motions all over her back. But on occasion, he would hone in on areas, pressing lightly but firmly until the muscles yielded under his fingers. The warm stones brought their own enchantment, sending heat into her very core of being.

Lisa lost track of time. The music maintained its easy flow, the candles flickered their warm glow and Leo’s hands worked with patient devotion against her skin. She may have even fallen asleep at some point, because he was softly flipping her over the next thing she knew.

"Now to the front," he added in a mild tone.

She opened her eyes and saw him gazing at her with such tenderness that a lump caught in her throat He’d run his fingers into his hair and there was a slight gleam of sweat on his brow—massaging was more work than it looked—but his face was pure contentment.

He worked her arms, her hands, her digits, all of which received one-on-one treatments. When burning rubber she started speeding toward heavier breathing and those those subtle impacts against her skin had become those heavy breaths as he reverently massed tensions from your calves and thighs.

When he was through, Lisa felt as if she had been melted into liquid, limp and totally unwound.

"Your turn," she whispered when he finished.

Leo shook his head.

"This day is for you," he said.

"No," she said, pressing up on her elbows against the protests of her body. "It's about us. Both of us getting to relax and feel cared for. All right, on the table, Frost.”

"Yes, ma'am."

They exchanged places, and Lisa slowly considered the oils while checking the warmth of the stones. She had never given a massage before, but she allowed herself to be guided by instinct, noticing how Leo's body reacted to her hands.

His back was a terrain of muscle, tight in areas she never would have guessed. She worked systematically but lighter than he had—he hands were smaller, less strong—but with a similar sense of intent on consistency and awareness.

She ran her hand along the line of his shoulders, and as she did so, the knots slowly softened under her palms. She worked her way down his spine, spine by spine with her thumbs, applying slight pressure.

“God, Lisa,” Leo groaned into the face cradle. “Where did you learn this?”

"I'm a fast learner," she said jokingly, applying a hot stone at the nape of his neck. She loved this—the capacity to take care of him, to return at least some of the tenderness he gave to her so effortlessly. Her hands lay upon his warm skin, and he breathed deeply and regularly. She could sense his body unwinding, yielding her touch much as hers had to his — and then, slowly, his breath shifted.

Neither of them had any desire to get up when she was done. They reclined side-by-side on thick floor cushions Leo had set close at hand, enveloped in plush robes, their bodies alight from shoulder to ankle.

"Bath next?" Leo asked lazily.

Lisa answered, "Mmm, give me ten minutes." "I’ve still got to get my legs under me," he said.

In the warm candlelight, they dozed jovially, the music spinning a cocoon around them. Finally, Leo roused himself, he pressed a kiss to her temple.

“Come on,” he murmured. “I drew us a bath.”

The bathroom had been converted too. The giant soaking tub sat under warm, steaming tap water, bubbles forming mountains of foam that reflected light from candles that were around the room. Flower petals were scattered across—the roses once again, and what seemed like orchids.

"I found you a home," whispered Lisa. "You thought of everything."

Hand in hand they slipped into the water, Lisa positioning herself between Leo’s legs, her back pressed to his chest. The temperature was just right, a little too hot, but not really, with bubbles brushing up against their skin. Leo pulled her tighter with one arm around her waist and the other around her thighs, his cold chin rested on top of her head.

"This is perfect," she sighed.

"You're perfect," he countered.

They sat soaking in comfortable silence, steam swirling around them, shadow-dancing from the candles on walls. At times, Leo would lazily scrawl patterns on her arm, or Lisa would lean her head to kiss his jaw. They feed one another strawberries, laughing when chocolate falls into the water.

"Thank you for this," Lisa said at length, weaving her fingers through his under the water. “For knowing what I needed before I even knew it myself.”

"You do so much for everyone else," said Leo, his voice rolling from his chest into the small of her back. "And you deserve to be taken care of, too."

"So do you," she added, with a squeeze of his hand. "You’re always working so hard, always thinking about what everyone else needs."

"Then we’ll need to make this a regular thing," he said. “Once a month, minimum. Just a day for us to concentrate on each other and on recharging.”

"Deal."

The contentment of the day seemed to melt effortlessly away into the afternoon. They pampered one another with facials, the clay masks causing them to cackle at how they looked.

They did slow, gentle stretches together, Lisa leading Leo through simple yoga poses as he wowed her with his flexibility. They each did their nails—or rather, Lisa did hers as Leo watched, spellbound, then demanded to try painting hers too, with more polish on her skin than her nails and they both cracked up laughing.

Along with that, as evening drew near, they were back on the cushions, Lisa’s head in Leo’s lap as he ran his hands through her hair, repeatedly coaxing her to relaxation in those familiar rhythms.

“Don’t want this day to end,” she whispered.

"It doesn't have to," Leo said. "We can take this feeling with us. We have to remember we are entitled to those moments of peace, when all we want is to be with each other and the world is not asking us for anything.”

Lisa turned her head to look up at him. In the glow of the candle, soft eyes watched down on her with warmth from beneath his lowered lids. She lifted her hand to caress his face, her fingers running along the line of his jaw.

“I love you,” she said simply. “It’s not only for the big acts of kindness and the clever surprises, but for this.

For knowing that occasionally, the gift that keeps on giving is just slowing down, together.”

Leo bent down and his lips brushed hers in a kiss that was slow and sweet, full of promise and satisfaction. When they broke apart, he smiled pressed to her mouth.

"I love you as well. Better than all the spa days in the world could say.

When darkness claimed the sky, they were still in their haven, enfolded in one another and in the deep stillness that had become their own.

The candles flickered down, the music still played, and two hearts throbbed softly in unison, treasured and happy.