“This is too much. How could we possibly need the whole house? Look at all those useless rooms. A sitting room. For who? The queen? And a ballroom. Is that for the ball we’re gonna throw? Besides, it would take me days just to vacuum the place. Are you sure you can’t back out of the sale?”
Rhett pulled me close and kissed my head, stopping my rant.
“I think if I can afford a house like this, I can afford the staff that’s necessary to keep it clean. And no, we can’t reverse the sale since it’s all done. The house is ours.”
This was a world I didn’t know, a world that wasn’t my own. I had always cleaned my own houses, mowed my own lawn and definitely did my own laundry. I certainly never thought a house like this was in my future. “You mean yours.”
“No, I mean ours.”
“You know, I don’t have even a fraction of the money to afford this place.”
“And I never asked you to pay a dime. So we’re good.”
He backed me up against the wall of glass overlooking the giant backyard. His body pressed close to mine, and my hands found his tight stomach, resting there. “What is this really about? Because I never thought you’d be bothered by my money. Are you getting cold feet?”
“Nobody is getting cold feet.” Well, except for me, maybe.
“I call bullshit. And I won’t let you back out. You are mine and I’m yours. Let me take care of you. This is what couples do. Take care of each other.”
“But it’s just you taking care of me. I’m not even in the same league as the bathrooms in this house. Did you see them? They’re a marble and gold explosion. And they’re as big as Oma’s house.”
A few short months ago, I was limiting everyone’s shower time to five minutes and turned all the lights off at nine every night. I hadn’t bought myself anything in a long time, because food seemed to be more important. And now I found myself standing in a house that I wouldn’t have to pay for, a guy that seemed to love me just the way I was and most importantly accepted my family, and I didn’t know how to adequately express what I was feeling.
Because I loved him, and I always would. But I was also independent. And how could I explain this to him without sounding like an ungrateful brat? Words escaped me, so I did the next best thing and jumped him. Literally. My arms went around his shoulder, and I hopped up, winding my legs around his hips. Rhett being Rhett caught me, and if judging by the gleam in his eyes, had no problem with my actions.
I leaned in and he pulled me closer at the same time, our mouths meeting in a deep kiss. A kiss that seemed to get better every time. He pushed me against the wall that he had walked to, and I used the unmoving surface as leverage to grind against him.
He moaned into my mouth and I did it again, loving the way he felt and reacted to every movement, every shift. When my hands started roaming under his shirt, he leaned back.
“I take it you like the place?”
I grinned at him and continued my exploration. “I guess I could live here.”
Rhett kissed my cheek but didn’t let it get any further, despite my best attempts. “I really want to take this further, preferably up against the wall, but the interior designer will be here any minute.”
That halted my wandering hands. “Interior designer?”
“I thought you might like to make this place your own. You just tell her what you want it to look like and she’ll make it happen. I used her for my apartment and office.”
Guess the house would be kept in black and white then unless I changed it. “She’s gonna do whatever I want?”
Rhett set me down and nodded. “Whatever you want. That’s what I pay her for.”
“So who briefed her in on what they wanted for the office and your apartment?”
“No briefing. I just told her to make it look professional. She did the rest.”
“I see.”
“You think it looks boring.”
“It definitely looks professional. But why would you want your apartment to look professional? It’s your home. It should be comfortable and homey.”
Rhett took my hand and walked towards the kitchen. “It never felt like a home. The only time I felt like I belonged somewhere, a place that I could call home, was with you, at your Oma’s. I know I don’t live there. But it’s where I feel at peace.”
Be still my fluttering heart, he might not have meant it the way we think he meant it. But he did call me his home. Surely there is no other way to interpret that. I beamed a big smile at him and squeezed his hand, ready to jump him again. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to do anything of the sort because a voice drifted through the house, echoing off the empty walls.
“Yoohooo, anyone home?” The high pitched call was soon followed by a familiar pair of giant boobs. Oh no he didn’t. She strutted into the kitchen like she owned the place, her long wavy hair bouncing, her skin-tight dress barely containing her considerable assets.
