“Nope,” he grunts.
“Decorations? I have mine, but it’s not much.” Living in this apartment, I didn’t have a lot of room to be able to decorate.
“I don’t have decorations. You want them, feel free, but it ain’t my thing.”
“What?” My eyes widen, completely in surprise. “How is Christmas not your thing? Christmas is one of the best times of the year.”
“It’s just another month to me.” Shrugging, he glances around my apartment. “We can have movers move the furniture into a storage unit. We don’t need it, but we’ll keep it if you want.”
I huff seeing that he changed the subject, ending the one about the most wonderful time of the year. “Fine. They can even pack the rest of this up as well, then.”
We already packed up my valuables and clothes.
“Good.” Calder grunts and looks at the watch he’s wearing on his left wrist. “I’ve got some things to do, so let’s get you home.”
“Fine.”
While we’d been in Lanche, he hadn’t seemed distant as he was now, but I guess this is what I should become used to. It’s not like our marriage is real. Like everything else in my life, it’s nothing more than a transaction.
Calder’s house was actually beautiful. Made of stone and mortar. It honestly looked like it was historical, almost like in a fairy tale. That might be me exaggerating, but it was that gorgeous in my opinion. I loved it.
The wrap-around driveway circled in front, with a section off to the side to park. It had a beautiful yard that I could just imagine being lit up by Christmas decorations. Maybe a sleigh with Santa and his reindeer. Some light up trees in the center section. To make it even better, white icicle lights to go around the roof of the house. It would be perfect.
But Calder doesn’t do Christmas. Those were his words. It’s just another day to him.
He’s nuts to think such a thing about the best time of year, in my opinion. I love being able to bring joy to those around me. I’m not a Scrooge-type person.
“Come on, I’ll show you in, then I need to head out,” Calder remarks, coming to take my hand.
“I could just find my way around. I also need to go run some errands myself.” I don’t know if he has anything in the kitchen worth cooking let alone anything I might eat. I’m a pretty picky eater when it comes to certain things. I like my comforts around me.
“You can use one of the cars in the garage,” he states. “I’ll show you where I keep the keys for them.”
“I have my own car,” I proclaim, making Calder halt his steps to look at me.
“The car your father had given you wasn’t yours. He used it to track your movements. It was given back to him. The last thing I want is for him to know exactly where my house is.”
“But I’m his daughter, don’t you think I’d want to be able to have him visit me?” Okay, that was a bald-faced lie. I wouldn’t want that.
Calder cocks a brow and shakes his head. “You want him to visit you, we’ll set something up at Grant’s place. No way is he coming here.” The stern way he said this spoke volumes, which I’m not sure I understand.
“Is anyone allowed here?” I blurt out without thinking first.
“Yes, but before they come, I’d prefer they be vetted first.”
“Vetted?” Was he serious? Why would he need them to be vetted before coming over?
“Vetted,” he confirms. “I don’t take chances. Not with my line of work.” He checks his watch again and curses. “I need to get going soon.”
Opening the front door, Calder steps first, bringing me in right behind him. He gives me a quick, brief tour of the house, showing me to my room. Which happened to be the only bedroom furnished, so I knew it was his room as well.
Great.
I shouldn’t have been surprised. He slept next to me while we were at the hotel as well.
Those nights I’d gone to sleep on the edge of the bed only to wake up with my body curled around his. It felt nice. I enjoyed sleeping next to him. Sharing a bed with him wouldn’t be such a bad thing.
Once he finished showing me the room, he took me back through the house to another door and pointed out the sets of keys. “You can take your pick of any of the cars. Just don’t be reckless.”
