But this definitely wasn’t a time for immobility. She needed to make good on this opportunity and she was determined to do everything in her power to make this deal work out well – for both of them.
Sensing Xavier needed a few minutes to process what had just happened too, Soli stayed quiet as they pulled away from the kerb and stared out of the window, watching the busy London streets slip by.
When he still hadn’t said a word to her as they began to drive through Hampstead Village towards the road where he lived – where they lived – she found she couldn’t stand the silence any longer. Turning to look at him, she experienced a wave of concern when she caught sight of his rigid profile.
‘Is everything okay?’ she asked quietly. ‘I’m sorry if I did something wrong back there. I thought Hugo was a friend of yours so it’d be okay to introduce myself. Surely you weren’t hoping to keep me a secret for the next year…’ Pausing, she took a shaky breath. ‘Were you?’ She laughed nervously, concern creeping over her skin as she considered the possibility that she’d hit upon the correct answer.
‘No, no, of course not, it’s fine,’ he said, but his tone wasn’t exactly convincing. ‘I hadn’t really thought about how I’d handle telling people about us, so it caught me off guard, that’s all. But I think he bought the whirlwind marriage thing.’ He turned to look at her now and his set expression softened a little. ‘No point dwelling on it though. It’s done.’
‘No. Okay.’ His answer hadn’t done much to calm her nerves, but she decided to push her concern to the back of her mind. He was right – there was no point worrying about it. She’d figure him out eventually.
They’d need to spend some quality time together this week if they were going to look like a convincing couple at Hugo’s party next weekend though. The last thing she wanted was to put her foot in it again with his friends. She hated the idea of making a fool of herself in front of them. If she and Xavier weren’t careful something like that could potentially cause resentment and tension between them, which would make for a really uncomfortable home life. She really didn’t want that. Not if they were going to have to live with each other for the next year.
After driving along the long, wide road locally referred to as ‘Millionaire’s Row’, she’d expected Xavier’s house to be impressive, but as they swung in through the automatic gates at the end of the driveway, which magically opened for his car, the true magnificence of the place struck her like a blow to the stomach. Built in the arts and crafts style, it loomed above her like an enormous geometric citadel, its two wings standing like sentries either side of the grand entrance.
‘Home, sweet home,’ he said, turning momentarily to raise both eyebrows at her as he pulled the car up to the front of the house, then turned off the engine. ‘I’ll grab your cases, then I’ll show you around.’
Taking a moment to get another swell of nerves under control, she watched him get out of the car and take her bags out of the boot, then dragged in a deep, steadying breath and got out too, following him to the front door, which he was opening with a swipe card.
It was like walking into another world as Soli took her first step into the house, letting out a gasp of wonder.
‘You weren’t expecting me to carry you over the threshold, were you?’ Xavier asked gruffly, possibly mistaking her stunned awe for upset as she stood there, gazing around the cavernous, marble-floored entrance hall with wide eyes.
‘No, of course not,’ she said, giving him a reassuring smile before returning her gaze to the dark wooden banister staircase, which drew the eye upwards towards an ornate mullioned window, its many panes of glass winking in the late-afternoon sunshine. Looking at it, she wouldn’t be surprised to find this one room had the same square footage as her entire cafe.
‘Wow. I can see why you wouldn’t want to lose this place. It’s spectacular!’ she said, turning to flash him an impressed look.
He glanced around him as if checking out what she meant, then gave her a taut smile back.
‘It’s been in my family for nearly a hundred and fifty years, but I’ve only had the privilege of living here for the last four – since my great-aunt was taken into hospital after her first stroke.’
‘That must have been hard. Coming to live here on your own when she was so ill.’
He shrugged but didn’t say anything. There was a glimmer of sadness in his eyes though, she was sure of it.
‘Have you done much to it?’ she asked, sensing his intention to keep the subject on a non-emotional level.
‘Hardly a thing, which was great for me because I could just move straight in.’ He gesticulated around the large, elegant entrance hall with its neat marble-topped table and large vase of fresh flowers sitting invitingly in the middle of the space. The subtly coloured walls were hung with striking pieces of modern art, and there was a huge gilt-framed mirror on the far one which reflected their images back to them.
‘She had really good taste and a love of interior design, so kept up with all the trends. She was always poring over those house and garden magazines,’ he said with a faraway look in his eyes, as if remembering her fondly. ‘I’m sure she would have been an interior designer if she’d had the chance, but my great-uncle didn’t want her to work. He was pretty traditional like that.’
‘Right. Wow.’ She couldn’t imagine a world in which she wouldn’t be allowed to work. She’d be bored to tears.
‘Let me give you the tour,’ he said, already moving towards one of the large mahogany doors that stood open to the right of them.
He guided her around the frankly massive ground floor: through the sitting room with its classy antique furniture, the library with its shelves stuffed with old books, the snug with a huge widescreen TV on the wall and a squashy-looking sofa facing it, and then on to what he called the morning room, which looked as though no one ever used it. She guessed the William Morris wallpaper in there was original, due to its slightly faded look.
She couldn’t help but watch Xavier closely as he walked through the rooms ahead of her, his broad back straight and his long-legged gait a little tense. He intrigued her. Why was such an attractive, successful man living here alone? Maybe it had something to do with the not-believing-in-love thing.
Best not to think about that, though. She didn’t want to get herself in any kind of emotional tangle. She had enough to deal with right now.
He then led her towards the back of the house, where there was a fully equipped gym, and on through another frosted glass door leading to an indoor swimming pool, which was surrounded by green-leafed plants in pots standing against the beautiful mosaic-tiled walls.
‘You can use this any time you like,’ he said, waving his hand at it as if everyone had one and it wasn’t anything special.
A little bubble of nervous excitement, that had begun to form in the pit of her stomach as soon as she’d entered the house, rose up to her throat and tickled her tongue.
This incredible place was going to be her home for the next year.
