“Sure.” I cleared my throat. Whatever was happening, I didn’t like it. “So, the dungeon?”
“Right this way.”
I followed him, checking off all the reasons I hated this guy. It didn’t matter how he looked. Distraction. I needed a distraction. “How many rooms does this place have?”
“Eight.”
“Why?” He disappeared down a deep stairwell and I caught up to him. It was easy because he took his time, and at each step his grimace thickened. “Why buy a house this big?”
“I wanted the space. Here. This is the game room.” He flicked on the lights and words left me.
It was the coolest room I had ever seen. Sleek black tile covered the entire floor, except for a plush green rug that actually looked comfy. Arcade games lined the wall on one side, a ping-pong table next to them and a pool table to the left. I had to use my hand to close my mouth. It wasthatnice. “Jesus.”
“Wait until you see the other room.” He grinned, two small dimples coming out on each side of his face. “It’s over here.”
“Another room? Good lord.” I dropped the bag of stuff and took in everything else I’d missed. The stereo speakers all in the ceiling, a fridge, bar and table off to the back. But when I entered the back room, I almost moaned. It wasn’t carpet that covered the large room. It was soft, almost like fake plastic, and rustled when I pressed down on it, which was when it hit me.Oh my god.“Is this… Is this a bean bag floor?”
“Yup.”
“My god.” I didn’t ask. I didn’t wait for permission before throwing myself onto it. It defined amazing. I stretched out as far as I could and rolled around like a damn dog. The TVs sat off to the side and I never wanted to leave. I might’ve even groaned a little. “Can I live here?”
“Ah, no.” He smiled again. That made three times in one afternoon. “But I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself.”
“All my problems are melting away in here.” I closed my eyes and relaxed further into the bean bag. “I don’t care why a grown man like yourself has this. I really don’t. Because I love it and will use all my life savings to buy one. You went up one notch on my scale.”
“Where does that put me?”
The plush floor shifted next to me and I cracked open one eye. He’d joined me on the floor, his arm supporting his hand while he stared at me. I stumbled for one second on my words. “Um. It puts you right above Hitler.”
“Thank god for that.”
Oh my god.“Are we joking now?”
“Looks like it, Barbie.” He faced the other way and flipped on two of the TVs. A zing of pleasure went through me. I liked friendly Gideon. Well, more like not-asshole Gideon. The two closest TVs powered on. One was a hockey game, the other some action movie. The surround sound blasted throughout the basement and the bass shook in my core. “This is how I recovered from my surgery.”
“I want to recover from my daily struggles in here.” I kept it simple. I wanted to ask about the injury but I didn’t. I was proud of myself. “The boys will be just fine tonight. Keep them in here.”
“It’s the plan.”
And we lay there without talking until the doorbell went off a short time later. I joined him, greeting the parents and kids, but as soon as the rascals found the basement, it was game over. I ordered the pizza, hoping the kids had remembered the money because I couldn’t afford two hundred dollars of pizza.Nope. No way.
But when I asked the kids, half of them had forgotten. And I started sweating. I could use two credit cards to cover it, rather than ask Gideon for help. He’d mentioned he would buy it, but I’d brought it up twice and he hadn’t said a word.Shit.
It would be there in forty minutes. That was all the time I had to figure out how to pay the difference. I paced the kitchen, no solution coming to me. I could ask Gideon, but I hated showing weakness. I bit the tip of my knuckle, hoping it would give me an answer. It didn’t.
Twenty minutes left. I gulped. I hated having money issues. “Fiona?”
“Yes, Gideon?” I snapped at him. He frowned and glanced out of the front window.
“Is the pizza here yet?”
“Twenty minutes.” I bit harder on the skin.
“Here.” He handed me a wad of cash—a wad I assumed drug dealers used. “Pay with this.”
I couldn’t hide my sigh of relief. “Thankyou. Yes. I will.”
His eyes narrowed and he brought his fingers to his jaw. “Can you afford the pizza?”
