Donovan didn’t turn on his phone until noon the next day. And, that was because his grandmother sent messages on Becca’s phone to have him call her. He rolled his eyes at the series of dings from messages waiting for a response. While he read aloud the congratulatory messages, Becca ran the water for a bath. Somewhere in the middle, he found the message from his grandmother asking if they had arrived safely.

The tub, large enough for her to lay in it without having to bend her knees, enticed Becca to step in and unwind. She couldn’t wait to see what it felt like to lay completely flat in the warm water.

From the room, Becca heard, “Kent wants to know why we haven’t posted any pictures of the beach.” The message was followed by the sound of the cell phone camera click. After capturing the image of the beach on his cell phone, Donovan closed the deck door behind him.

Becca relished in the florally scented bubbles. The situation lobbied in favor of the feeling of contentment. For the time being she embraced it in hopes that the mistrust of her happiness would finally go away. Several times she woke in the middle of the night in Donovan’s arms reliving his proposal. He told her several times the trust fund had provoked him to follow through with his intention, but she still struggled with believing something this good would happen to her.

The bubbles eased her to a place where the conflicting emotions resided side by side and began a constructive conversation. Becca had endured breakups in the past, and if it were a part of her future, she’d survive. It would hurt like hell, but it wouldn’t kill her. When the voice in her head reminded her that none of the previous breakups were with her best friend, Becca ducked her head under the bubbles to silence them.

When she came to the surface, she met Donovan standing at the edge of the tub. His eyes relished the scene. “You have one of the most beautiful bodies I have ever seen.”

“Its under the bubbles,” Becca corrected his assessment.

He came back saying, “Not when you move. They swirl to the sides, and I get a peep show.”

It was enough for Becca to swish the water with her hand and see what he was talking about. When she saw that he was right, she giggled.

“Do you mind if we meet Lloyd and his girlfriend Monica for lunch? I got something like five texts from him.” He scrolled through his screen. “Make that six. Who knows? It might be fun.”

Before Becca knew what was happening, Donovan set the phone on the bathroom counter and took off his shorts. Her eyes blinked in response to the change in him since they were married. Donovan, her on and off best friend since childhood, kept a safe distance. Donovan, her husband, wouldn’t leave her alone for more than a couple minutes.

He motioned with his head for her to move over. “I know this tub is large enough for the both of us. How many chances are we going to get to do something like this?”

Becca slid to the side, and he stepped into the warm water. The added weight made the water level rise to the top of her chest. She sat up straight, and Donovan sat with his back on the other side of the tub. “Wow, you like the water warm.”

"I have to start it hot. Otherwise, the water gets cold too fast," she responded.

"We should go to the hot springs in Fairmont," he suggested. "The water stays at a constant temperature."

Donovan caressed Becca's leg, and she silently released a sigh of relief. She remembered to shave her legs before she got in the tub. He continued to rub her leg. "I like this," he said. "This being friend and married thing. I feel like we can do anything together and it wouldn't matter. If I were to give anyone advice, I'd tell them to marry their best friend."

"I'd have to agree," Becca replied.

"With that being said," Donovan added. "Don't put the jelly knife in the peanut butter. That's just gross." He wrinkled his face for emphasis.

He stopped caressing her leg, and Becca pulled it toward her. She didn't know if the coolness was from the temperature change in the water, or from the absence of his touch. Regardless, it was enough to make her want to get out of the tub. Becca reached for the towel and stood to dry herself. In response to his statement, she said, "How about you make the sandwiches, and I'll wash the dishes. Then it won't ever be a problem."

"Look at us making married people decisions." He accepted the towel she handed him. "In a tub in Hawaii. If I'd have known marrying you was going to be this good, I'd have done it a lot sooner."

Becca chuckled at his assessment. "If only life were that simple."

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DONOVAN AND BECCA WAITED for Lloyd and Monica at the table of a small restaurant just outside the hotel. They had waited fifteen minutes, and there was no sight nor sound coming from Lloyd. Donovan checked the time on his cell phone screen. “Now that his girlfriend is here, I don’t think Lloyd will be too much of a distraction.”

Becca flexed her jaw. “For the record, doing what we did in the bathtub was not relaxing.”

At the time faking a cramp to trick her back into going back into the tub seemed like a good idea. Ergo the water in her ears.  “That’s not how I remember your reaction,” Donovan punctuated his reply with a sly grin. He rubbed her cheek with the back of his fingers and kissed her.

“If you two need a moment we can go to the bar.” Once again Lloyd had startled them out of their world made up of only the two of them. A woman that looked like she was a yoga teacher stood beside him. Her long, lean stature contrasted Lloyd’s muscular build.

“No, we’re good,” Donovan gave Becca’s knee a gentle squeeze.

Lloyd and Monica took a seat across the table from them. Monica arched a brow to give her face a curious look. “I feel like I know you.”

“I am a community liaison. Perhaps we worked on a project together.” Donovan dismissed the comment and reached for the beverage menu.

“I live in Billings. That’s not it.” She shrugged to dismiss the conversation. “It’ll come out sooner or later.”

All eyes were reading through menus when the server dressed in a Hawaiian shirt and shorts came to the table. “How’s everything going today?”

“Couldn’t be better,” Donovan answered for the group.

“I figured it out,” Monica exclaimed.

“Good, we’ll start with you.”

“No,” Monica said, “I figured out where I knew you.”

“Me?” The server pointed to herself with her notepad.

“No, him.” Monica pointed at Donovan. “I have your profile saved to my Meet My Match wall.”

Becca looked over her menu at Donovan. Lloyd sat a little straighter. “I’m sure you’re mistaken. He’s here on his honeymoon.”

“No, I’m serious,” Monica persisted.

“Did we want to start with appetizers?” The server added an enthusiastic thumb up to her question.

“You think I’m crazy. Don’t you?” Monica started digging through her purse.

“We’ll start with a fried zucchini platter,” Donovan kept his eyes on the menu. “And, do you make homemade chips?” 

“No, but we have some killer fries and sauce.”

“We’ll take it,” Donovan replied. “Add a beer and an umbrella drink to it.”

“Really,” Monica flipped through screens on her phone. Having found what she sought after, she held up the screen to reveal a picture of Donovan in hiking clothes with a mountain landscape behind him.

If lasers could have come out of Donovan’s eyes, Lloyd and Monica would have been incinerated on the spot.

“Did I mention he’s here on his honeymoon,” Lloyd side whispered.

Donovan squirmed in his seat and positioned himself closer to Becca. He cleared his throat before explaining the situation. “Before we got engaged I met women on Meet My Match." He placed his hand over hers and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "It’s been a while since I visited the site.”

––––––––

LIKE A DOG WITH A BONE, Monica stuck with her point. “It says here you visited the end of May.”

Becca started doing the math in her head. They had a four week engagement. He was on the site the week before he proposed to her? It shouldn’t have mattered. But it did.

“Okay, we get the point. You know me from the Meet My Match site.” Donovan’s voice chilled the atmosphere around the table.

Out of the corner of her eye, Becca saw the people at the table beside them turn away quickly. Before things got out of hand, she thought it best to leave the situation. The table and the food would be there when things settled.  She reached for her purse and stood to leave the table. “I think I need to go to the restroom.” Her intention was to go to the bathroom and pull her act together. Regardless of what Monica had divulged, Becca and Donovan were married, and that was all that mattered. One minute of talking to herself in the mirror would fix everything.

She heard Donovan from behind her. “Great idea Lloyd.”

Telling herself to pretend that she hadn’t heard, Becca hurried into the bathroom to avoid the conversation she didn’t want to have. Once she was in there the major flaw in her plan came to light. Monica’s truth sharing bothered Becca, and it was written all over her face. The questions came faster than her mind could answer them.

Making use of the little time she had, Becca paced in the bathroom. She had no right being upset. It was before they were married. She had no right being upset. It wasn’t like he said he was in love with her when he proposed. She had no right being upset. He married her. She had no right being upset. The phrase, “six months” came back to haunt her. She whispered, “Stupid, stupid, stupid.” This is how it always happened. She’d let a guy get close to her and then it all fell to pieces. Donovan was there with her for every one of them. If she could trust anyone she’d have picked him. She did pick him.

A conversation outside the door had her scrambling to the sink. Just as she began applying her lipstick, Monica walked into the bathroom. Playing the part of the ignorant wife, Becca faked a smile and gave the best lie she had. "The tropical food is wreaking havoc on my digestive system."

Monica’s expression changed from wearing tight lined lips to exhaling in relief. “I was afraid you were in here because of what I said. Sometimes I don’t know when to keep quiet. It isn’t like you husband knew I tagged him on the site.”

Becca agreed with Monica’s self-assessment. Then again, Monica probably saved her a lot of heart ache. What if she found out about Donovan’s online dating profile after she grew attached to the idea of being married to him? She turned off the water and said, “I appreciate your honesty. It’s better knowing I married a philander than to go through life obliviously unaware.”

She used her forearm to move the handle of the paper towel holder. Monica waited for Becca to throw the paper in the trash and opened the door to reveal Donovan who had been waiting on the other side the entire time. Monica spoke to him as though Becca weren't right behind her. “It’s alright. She wasn't mad.”

It took everything in Becca not to respond. Instead, she faked a smile and returned to her seat. The server brought the appetizers to the table. “Are you ready to order?” She heard them ask for food, but was too distracted to hear what it was they requested. When it came to her, Becca was at a loss. She had no appetite. “I’ll just have a salad.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Monica spoke up. “With your stomach being upset with the new food. You should try eating something with substance.”

“It could be morning sickness,” Lloyd suggested. “They have been honeymooning.”

“Impossible,” Donovan answered. “I made sure of it.”

“There have been exceptions to birth control.” Lloyd elbowed Monica and winked. "Who knows? We might be the ones to say we were there with the first changes in their marriage."

For their sake, Becca hoped it wasn’t true.