I dropped my bag and kicked off my shoes as soon as I stepped into the cool interior of the house. My feet were throbbing. I glanced down and noted that my heels did, in fact, have blisters. Well, hell. I knew the best thing I could do was to soak them, but I just didn’t have the energy to fill up the tub right now. I glanced out the back window. The pool was lit up with a blue glow in the early twilight. The attached hot tub also glowed but with purple. I knew that hot water would feel so good on my aching feet.

I stared up at the big house. The drapes were drawn. I couldn’t see light coming from any of the massive windows. Hmm.

The list of rules sat on the counter where I’d left it. I reread the part about the pool. It did not mention the hot tub. I poured a glass of wine into a plastic cup, not because I’m classy like that, but because deep down my decision had already been made. I was going to sneak into the hot tub.

It’s not that I’m a rule breaker by nature. I just look at rules, like this list, more as guidelines. And technically Daire had not mentioned the hot tub specifically as being for the homeowner’s exclusive use, so I figured it was fair game.

I twisted my hair into a knot on the top of my head, slipped on my bathing suit and bathrobe, and grabbed a towel from the bathroom. I opened the door to the backyard and felt the cool night air wash over my skin. I clutched my glass of wine and walked the perimeter of the yard to the far end, where the hot tub sat. Its jets were already whirring, water was bubbling, and steam was rising up into the night. It would be a tragedy to let it go unused.

I slipped off my robe and dropped it and my towel onto a nearby lounger. Then I tiptoed over to the edge of the hot tub, placing my wine on the surrounding ledge. I slipped into the water like a crocodile disappearing into a marsh. It took everything I had to stifle the moan that rose up in my throat as the hot water embraced every aching sore muscle in my legs and feet. Even the sting of the hot water on my blisters quickly faded into bliss.