Beth was already awake, smiling at me as I opened my eyes. "Are you OK?" I queried softly.
"I can still feel something, if that's what you mean," she grinned. "But yes, I'm fine."
She reached to touch my cheek. "I love how careful, how thoughtful you always are."
She got to her feet, opening the window. "What a gorgeous day. I don't suppose we'll get too many more now... But we do have to get all that measuring done."
"We can take our time over breakfast, anyway," I promised. "The kitchen gets the sun in the morning."
Beth nodded. "And it's your turn to cook," she reminded with a grin.
We made our way downstairs, and Beth sat watching as I fried bacon, eggs, stirred a pan of beans. "Not exactly cordon bleu," she teased. "But I can't resist a good fry-up."
When we'd finished, Beth took her turn at the washing-up, and I wrapped my arms around her from behind as she stood at the sink. "Maybe we can go for a walk, get some fresh air before we start..."
Most of the day was taken up with more measuring, just a short break for sandwiches, and at around five Beth closed her notebook with a satisfying snap. "I think that's it. We've got all the carpet sizes, same for the curtains, and we know where the shelves and stuff will fit."
She threw me a glance. "Try and bribe the pizza guy to come? Or we could go out, pick up a takeaway."
"Mm, I could murder a curry," I confessed. "And a couple of bottles of beer?"
"Sure."
I reached for the car keys. "Come on, then - you can decide on the way whether you prefer the sound of the Sarga, or the Bombay Palace..."
***
Beth surveyed the empty cartons with a satisfied expression on her face, and took another sip of her beer. "Tim," she mused, "do you think pain ever has a place in sex?"