“I guess you’re right.”
After checking the oven, I took her hand and started showing her around. She oohed and aahed over the pool, gave me shit about one of the spare bedrooms being painted purple with a unicorn night light on the bedside table and glow-in-the-dark comforter, and threw herself recklessly onto the couch, letting out a moan that had my pants feeling a little tighter.
As we made our way back to the kitchen, I worked up the courage to ask, “Well, what do you think?”
“What do I think about what?” she replied, looking up at me from under long lashes.
“The house. Does it meet your expectations?”
“It’s a beautiful house, Luca, it really is.”
“Why do I feel like there’s a but coming?”
“Because there is…” Elise shrugged and took her place back on the stool and drained her glass.
Snagging the pot holders, I pulled the casserole out of the oven and set it on the bench copping a face full of steam for my efforts. It looked perfect. Golden brown cheese on the top had my stomach clenching with hunger.
“Luca, how long have you lived here?”
“Couple of years. Why?”
“Don’t you think it’s weird that most of your rooms, except for your bedroom and gym, aren’t finished?” Looking around, I saw a picture leaning against the wall waiting to be hung. “You still have stuff in boxes.”
“Yeah…”
While I replayed Elise’s questions over and over, I filled two plates before slicing the bread. Staying silent, I grabbed everything I’d prepared earlier and set it out on the counter. My original plan had been to eat in the dining room, but now we were eating at the bench. The dining room was as bare as all the others, and right now I couldn’t face going in there and seeing how depressing it was. Seeing things through Elise’s eyes definitely offered a different perspective.
“Are you not planning to stay?”
That felt like an odd question. “Nah, I’m staying, I guess I just haven’t gotten around to making it a home yet.” Pushing Elise’s plate in front of her, I refilled her wine and set a bottle of water out for me before sitting down to enjoy our dinner.
Half an hour later, we were sitting out by the pool, relaxing on the loungers. The lights lighting up the water made it look magical while we argued over why I wouldn’t let Elise clean up. She wasn’t really accepting that she was my guest, and I wasn’t about to let her scrub pots and pans.
“Do you spend much time out here?” she asked, her eyes not leaving the mirrored surface of the pool.
“Not really.”
After a minute, Elise turned to face me. “Don’t take this the wrong way, Luca…”
“Sounds ominous,” I teased, trying to make light of the situation. Internally, I was freaking out, steeling myself for whatever was about to come.
“Why do you have this big, beautiful house if you don’t use it and you don’t enjoy it? I mean, you could easily fit your bedroom and the gym in a two-bedroom apartment like mine and not have to worry.”
Her reasoning was sound. It was a conversation I’d had with myself, with my mother and my sisters over and over again. One I still didn’t have an answer for. Not a good one anyway.
“I really don’t know,” I offered honestly. “I wanted space for…for my family, and I guess it had everything I thought I wanted.”
Elise’s silence had me worried. I’d said too much. Trying not to stare, I watched her out of the corner of my eye. When she shivered, I knew it was time to call it a night.
“I should probably get you home?” I offered, wanting to do the exact opposite.
“Oh. Okay. No worries. Mind if I use the bathroom before we go?”
She was on her feet and pushing open the heavy sliding door before I could say anything more. “Shit!” I was so bad at this.
Collecting the rest of our stuff, I followed her inside, turning the lights off and locking up. Inside, alone, it was too quiet. Like the walls were closing in on me. Flicking on the TV, I didn’t even care what was on as long as it broke the deflating silence.
Chapter Ten – Elise
