The house was cool and quiet, and he felt a stab of disappointment. He’d told Olivia he’d be home late, but part of him had hoped to find her waiting for him. He’d missed her this week, and as his schedule had been so unpredictable, they hadn’t managed to connect by phone more than a couple of times. She’d sent him her check-in texts, as usual, but it hadn’t been enough. He wanted to hear her voice.

He shook off the disappointment and headed for the stairs. He needed a shower, then he’d find out where his girl was. She’d likely made plans her with girlfriends for the afternoon, and while he wouldn’t interfere with her time with her friends, he wanted her to know he was home.

Or maybe not, he mused, heading into the bedroom. He had some ideas for a new home-invasion scene he’d been wanting to put into play, and since she wasn’t expecting him, the timing was perfect.

Buoyed by the thought, he dropped his duffel by the closet and headed into the bathroom, then drew up short.

Olivia was in the tub with bubbles up to her chin, her hair piled on top of her head and her eyes closed. The cat, curled on the bathmat, looked up with a meow.

“Well, hello,” he drawled, expecting her to pop open those gold-flecked eyes and smile at him. When she didn’t, he frowned.

“Liv?” he called, raising his voice slightly, but she still didn’t react, though the cat came forward to wind around his feet. “Hey, Phoebe. You watching over our girl?”

Phoebe meowed, shedding all over him, then pranced out of the room, no doubt to see if he’d left any offerings in her food bowl. “Joke’s on you,” he called after her, then turned back to Olivia in time to see her eyes pop wide.

She screamed and sat up so fast water sloshed over the side of the tub. “Jesus, Cade! You scared me to death!”

“Sorry,” he said, realization dawning as she pulled a pair of wireless earbuds from her ears. He could hear the music from across the room. “Guess you didn’t hear me.”

“Guess not,” she said, setting the buds next to her phone on the floor and tapping the screen to stop the music. “When did you get in?”

“Just now,” he said, and leaned over to give her a kiss. “I caught an earlier flight.”

“Oh.”

He sat on the edge of the tub. “You sound disappointed.”

“I’m not,” she assured him, then grimaced. “Okay, kind of. I had a whole thing planned.”

“Yeah?” He stroked a finger over her shoulder, tracing her tattoo through the bubbles that clung to her skin. “What kind of thing?”

“A thing,” she said, then huffed out a breath when he just stared at her. “I hadn’t worked out the details yet.”