Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 97525 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 488(@200wpm)___ 390(@250wpm)___ 325(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 97525 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 488(@200wpm)___ 390(@250wpm)___ 325(@300wpm)
“We're going house-hunting." He hugged me to his chest, his arm looped under my knees, and deftly moved through the crowd toward his car.
My head craned for our basket. "What about the fruit?"
"I'll buy you a house with an orchard," he promised, setting me gently down on the pavement. He opened the passenger door and held it for me.
"Now?" I asked dumbly, stepping into the Aston Martin, watching his face as he shut the door and moved around to the driver's side. It was happy and confident, and it broke my heart a little that he had wanted this so badly and I had answered with a “maybe.”
“Now." He got into the driver’s seat and closed the door, then pushed the button to start the engine.
“Can't I just move into your house?” House was really the wrong word for it. It was a mansion, with fifty thousand square feet of space he barely used and a basement lab he had spent a fortune outfitting. He couldn't move, it wasn’t possible.
“That is my house. I want our house. A place to build our future. A place you pick out." He shifted into gear and tossed his phone into my lap. "Call Jill and find out which realtor I should use, then get them on the phone."
Our house. I dialed Jillian and wondered how well this would go over with Lee.
I bought my first house a week after my twenty-fifth birthday. I’d had a budget of three million dollars and went crazy and spent four. I’d looked at twelve different homes, then agonized over the decision. With Brant, I expected even more of a production, but it turned out to be ridiculously simple.
In my prior price range, I'd had to make decisions. Did I want the outdoor kitchen or the sun porch? The indoor theatre or a library? An oceanfront bedroom or a guest suite over the garage?
In Brant's price range, every house had everything. And there were only three to choose from. The realtor offered a limo, but we drove Brant's car, winding toward the coast, the homes fifteen miles apart. Everything we could ever want for thirty million dollars.
It was an easy decision. The first one was a palace of ostentatious details, hand-painted ceilings, and heavy velvet drapes. It screamed old wrinkly money and came complete with maids' quarters and an entire floor dedicated to formal rooms we would never use. It did have a ballroom, a huge expanse I envisioned using in a variety of ways, the foremost being a skating rink for our future children. But the consensus, a look shot between Brant and me upon our exit, was that it was a no.
Windere was the second property, an estate high on the cliff, owned at one point in time by the Kennedys. It had four gated acres, nine bedrooms, two pools and an elevator that went the 42 stories down to the beach. At the base of the elevator was a two-bedroom beach house, a twelve hundred square foot gem with a spa and pool. The estate had privacy, needed a staff of at least five, and was a good half hour from Palo Alto, but it was comfortable and modern. It also had a six-thousand-square-foot basement, cut into the rock and already outfitted with enough electronic infrastructure to power a small city. We were sold.
"This is it." Brant clapped the realtor, a small woman with an overbite, on the back. "Good work."
"I have one more property to show you in Santa Cruz. It's a beautiful house..." Her voice faltered, and she looked to me for help.
"This one's perfect," I echoed Brant's opinion and beamed at him.
"Draw up the contract." He slid an arm around my shoulder, then leaned down and kissed my mouth. "I love you," he murmured, and the woman stepped away to give us privacy.
"I love you too."
"First steps, right?"
I grinned. "First steps. Baby steps."
He growled against my mouth. "Don't say baby. I'm already wanting to see you big and pregnant, with kids running through this house."
The light in my heart faded slightly, and I pushed myself onto my toes, stealing a kiss before the emotion hit my eyes. "Let's get one last look at our future home."
Chapter 54
I was in my office at BSX, writing an email to accounting regarding a philanthropy donation, when my door swung open. I glanced up from my computer, freezing at the sight of bare abs stepping into the room, quickly followed by a red-faced Jillian.
“Hey.” Lee grinned at me, and I stared stupidly at his chest, wondering where, when and how he had lost his shirt.
“What are you doing here?” I breathed, glancing at Jillian.
“I can’t believe I found you. This place,” he whistled. “It’s sweet, save for the assholes in suits.”
Two of our security officers eased into the office and it was a good thing I had one of the larger spaces.