“Let’s go see the bedroom.” I looked over my shoulder at him. He made eye contact with me. The look in his eyes caused goosebumps to spread on my arms and my stomach to flip.
Snatching my eyes from his, we stepped forward and a wooden divider greeted us. Pulling it open, I halted my steps at the room. The pictures online didn’t do it justice. The king size bed sat low on the ground in front of a circular glass table with two glasses and a bottle resting in ice on top, along with some kind of snack platter. Just like the living room, it had the windows that brought in natural lighting and lights hangingfrom the ceiling. Over the bed was an abstract, watercolor painting. Large glass mirrors hung on the walls on each side of the painting. Behind everything, painted on the wall, was a large cherry blossom tree. On the bed were two black robes known as tanzens. Across from the bed, embedded in the wall, was a long fireplace with tan finishing and a TV mounted above it. The floors were wooden outside of the large white carpet under the bed and table. You could see the bathroom through the open door on one side of the room and through the other, the deck and pool.
A knock on the door gained our attention. “That’s probably our stuff,” Yosiah said, turning back to the living room.
While he went to get our bags, I went to the sliding doors that led outside and stepped onto the deck. In the horizon was the mountains, but surrounding our deck and pool were trees and bamboo. There was a sitting area when I first stepped outside and small lights embedded on the floor, along with a small fire pit. It was closed off on the sides with a thin material that added shade, covered with wooden roofing, and open in the front, giving a perfect view of the pool. On the sides were cushioned lounge chairs with a stone table between them. The pool was clear blue, with the reflection of the sun beaming on it. It was slightly raised and water ran off the edge.
I was lost in thought when Yosiah found me. He touched my arm, causing me to jump.
“Sorry. They said to fill out these meal cards for dinner and breakfast and set them outside the door.”
Tonight I thought it would be good to go to one of the restaurants, but tomorrow I had it so the chef assigned to our villa would cook and we’d have dinner brought to our rooms. Yosiah stared at me with a blank face. His eyes were intense and his lips pressed together tightly.
“How much is all this, Xylina? How are you paying for this?”
For a second I shifted my eyes from his before plastering another smile on my face. “Don’t worry about how much it was and I had money I never touched from brands I worked with and the money I made from Simone was paid to me right away.”
He still looked unsettled. “I appreciate you bringing me here, but there’s no reason to go broke for my birthday.”
Pouting, I pushed a heavy breath out and shook my head, walking so I was toe to toe with him. I lifted my arms and wrapped them around his neck.
“Don’t worry, hubby. Plus I’m a working woman now, remember?” Grinning, I pushed up and pecked his lips.
While this stay might’ve put a small dent in my bank account, I tried not to think about it. Now that I was working with Simone, I’d be paid well and it’d replenish what I’d spent. It might not be what I was used to, but I was trying not to let that get to me either.
“We’re bringing your birthday in, in style; so just enjoy it.” My lips brushed against his as I spoke. He peered down at me silently a little longer before slowly wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me closer.
“A’right, since you went out your way to plan this, I’ll let it go for now.”
“Good because we haven’t gotten started yet!” Giving him one last peck on the lips, I pulled away.
“Now, I’ve never been in an open air hot spring bath before. How about we freshen up and test it out, then head down to the spa? They have a seaweed wrap that’s supposed to be highly hydrating, detoxing, anti-aging, and soothing to the skin. We can book the couples’ session.”
“Seaweed?” His face bunched, causing me to giggle.
“Trust me, hubby, you’ve been working so much, your skin will thank you.”
Thankfully, this time Yosiah didn’t complain. On top of the things here, the small town we passed through had things to do, not to mention the lake should be open and we could also do things closer to it and the mountain. Lake Cashmere was well known for tourists and the activities it had to offer. I wish we had more time to do everything. While this stay was for his birthday, I also planned on regrouping from all the negative things that had been happening and starting brand new.
“Ihaven’t been to a place that does Teppanyaki in forever,” I expressed, looking at the different grills where the cooks were performing and cooking. I pulled my phone out to do a video of everything. I had been making sure to document our day for my socials.
“Yeah, me neither,” Yosiah said, eyes locked on the menu.
After we did the spa, we went into town and checked out the small shops and attractions they had to offer. It was filled with a lot of mom and pop stores and restaurants. The museum of the area caught Yosiah’s eye and we ended up spending time there. It wasn’t my cup of tea, but he seemed into it. By the time we finished and got back to the resort, it was a little after six and we were both hungry. Allowing him to have his pick, Yosiah decided on the hibachi and sushi restaurant. It seemed to be the most popular of the three restaurants.
“So day one, birthday celebration…what did you think?” I questioned while we waited for the cook to come out to start our food.
Yosiah turned to stare at me, causing me to temporarily get lost in his light brown, hooded eyes. They were warm and shonewith an emotion I’d never seen from him before. Heat prickled my skin and my stomach fluttered.
“I’m enjoying myself so far. This place is nice.”
My mouth tilted upwards. “Isn’t it? Perfect place to come with your partner.” I batted my lashes. Part of me was nervous that Yosiah wouldn’t like this trip or would fight me. Even if things had been running smoothly, a slight part of me was still on edge that things would fall apart. He hadn’t mentioned the divorce lately, but that didn’t mean he still didn’t plan on it. If I was going to make him fall for me, this trip was phase one.
His mouth ticked. Reaching his hand out, he pushed a couple pieces of hair that had fallen over my eyes out the way.
“I appreciate you doing this for me. Besides dinner with my parents, it’s been a long time since someone did something for my birthday.”
“Well birthdays are one of my favorite events! This year I wanted to do something different and that’d keep you on your toes.”