“As much as I want to go through the garden again, I'm freezing.Can you bring me back here?”
“Yes.I’ll book with Daisy again.”
Ares’s pulse raced.He had one more stop, one more thing that he wanted to show her and he hoped she found it just as magical.
Back in the car, Josie put her hand on his.“Thanks for coming to our Christmas Eve dinner.You looked so relaxed.”
“I loved every minute of it,” Ares turned on a playlist and soft jazz notes filled the car as they drove onto the bridge, and kept driving, passing the busy subdivisions.
“Ares, I think you missed the turn to your house.”
“There you go, complaining about my driving again.”
“I am not!”
“We have one more stop.”
“So many surprises.I love it.”
“Good,” Ares squeezed the top of her thigh and kept driving, glancing at the navigation map.He had never driven here at night.
A few minutes later, he drove into a long driveway.
“Where are we?”
He didn’t answer her, his heart in his throat.But he raced around, opened her door and took her hand.
“Are we on a cliff?”
“We’re forty metres above the shoreline, yes.I have one more thing to show you.”
Lights lit up the walkway to the front door that was in between two large slabs of walls.
“What is this?”
Ares stepped up to the lockbox and pressed his thumb against it.It beeped, and he opened the door.
“Welcome home, Josie.”
28 JOSIE
“Ares?This…”It’slikeshe had stepped into anArchitectural Digestmagazine or was in that TV show her mom sometimes watched about celebrity homes.
“The grandeur is intimidating but I’m hoping you love it.”
Soft lighting came on, warm glows that filled the voluminous space with light.Glancing above she saw a skylight.
“There is so much to show you,” Ares took her hand.
The voluminous space reminded her of being in an art gallery.
“Is that a pond?”Josie glanced up, noticing the skylight in the tall ceiling.The sunlight would reflect right into the pool beneath.
The warm flooring underneath was a soft sandy tone.The slab walls looked like they weren’t real.
To her left a space with low couches that didn't intervene with the sight lines of the expansive windows.Windows from floor to ceiling took up the entire perimeter.
To the right, a luxury kitchen right out of her dreams.
