They arrived at her suite, and Kenzi entered the code into the keypad before pushing the door wide open and revealing the living room area. She tried to see the room through Nash’s eyes. Surely a man had different requirements for his home than a woman. Her father had given her carte blanche in decorating, so she’d run with her gut and created a place where she felt comfortable.
The walls were a light cream color, which allowed the dark stained exposed beams two stories above them to stand out in sharp contrast. The floors were hickory wood with a natural stain. To their immediate left was a circular breakfast nook, then the doors to the outside patio where she took her meals on warm days, and beyond that the pool and hot tub slumbered under a heavy blanket of stars.
In front of them was the living space, with a leather couch banked by two fabric-covered love seats. In the center of the arrangement was a distressed coffee table, and on one wall was a stone fireplace, and above that a flat-screen TV. Her mantel was bare. She wasn’t one for knickknacks, though she had a set of three iron candlesticks on the coffee table and a selection of throw pillows her niece used to make pillow forts. The end table was piled high with her to-read selections, and the leopard-print blanket she used to curl up in was draped over the back of the love seat.
Stone covered the left wall, outlining the breakfast nook and doorways to the patio and kitchen. Other than that, her walls were bare. She’d lived here for over a year, and yet it didn’t look like a home. “What do you think?”
Nash tipped his head back to look at the ceiling. “It reminds me of a ski lodge I interviewed at a few days ago.”
“Oh?” She didn’t know he’d been looking for a job. In fact, she didn’t know much about him at all, and here she was, inviting him into her home.Aunt Pamela, I hope you know what you’re doing.
“I worked there as a teenager too. It was good money and the perks were fantastic—free skiing all season long.” He lifted one side of his mouth in a quirky grin.
Her heart flipped in her chest like a dolphin putting on a show. “I skied once.”
“Yeah? What did you think?”
She felt his undivided attention like a tidal wave washing over her and threatening to suck her back out to sea. “It was fun—and little scary.” Kind of like this moment right now. Her heartbeat thrummed in the small veins in her neck, and she hoped he couldn’t see it throbbing away like a red warning light.
“Were you any good?”
She lifted a shoulder. “I fell down a lot.”
He chuckled. “That happens to most first-timers.”
“Well, my dad didn’t like falling so much. So we never went back.”
“That’s too bad.”
Kenzi didn’t want to think about all the things she’d never do with her dad again. The normalcy of their conversation created a delayed effect in her head. “This is my room.” She pointed to the closed door before moving on to the next door. “This is the bathroom. There’s one by the back patio as well, behind the breakfast nook. But this is the one you and I will have to share. I hope that’s okay.”
They walked inside and Nash poked head inside the snail shower. “This looks great. Is that a waterfall?”
”Yes. There’s also a rain feature if you prefer.” She pointed to the showerhead above them. “And these are massage jets.”
Nash glanced at the five smaller heads poking out of the side of the wall. “I hope you aren’t planning to be in here anytime soon.”
”Why is that?”
”Because this is where I plan to camp out. Once I go in, you may never find me again.”
She smiled. “After the night I’ve had, you’ll have to fight me for it.”
“Done.” He winked as he moved to the private water closet. She wouldn’t have considered sharing a bathroom with her professional husband if the bathroom wasn’t set up to give each individual as much privacy as possible. Not only was the entrance to the shower like a seashell, all curled in on itself, but there was a shaded glass door. She could be in the shower and be completely alone even if Nash was shaving at his sink. And there were two separate sinks. His was next to the door that led to his bedroom and hers was on the opposite wall, adjacent to her bedroom.
Speaking of bedrooms … “This is your space.” She waved him into his room. “I hope you like it. It hasn’t been used at all, but the sheets are fresh.” She’d asked the maids to prep the room for an overnight guest, not bothering to tell them that he’d be staying for three hundred and sixty-five nights in a row. They were sure to talk amongst themselves about this strange new married couple who slept in different rooms, but she’d deal with that when or if it came up.
Nash came through the doorway and let out a low whistle. He walked to the foot of the bed, trailing his hand along the bedspread as he went. She’d chosen dark woods for this space, because the panoramic windows along the length of the south wall let in loads of natural light. Right now, the accent lighting lit up the pool area below and, beyond that, the gardens. The perimeter of the property was lined with trees, sometimes three or four trees deep. On the other side of the trees, the houses were thick and the neighbors aplenty, though they rarely interacted with them.
Nash stared out the windows, his face in shadow but his profile illuminated. He looked like he belonged in this room. It was rugged and wild—like him. “How did you find this much land in LA?”
Kenzi joined Nash at the window. “This was where my grandfather’s dairy farm was—back in the day. He farmed here for years before moving the dairy an hour outside of the city. He had to sell half the property to make the move, but he kept this half because my grandma couldn’t bear to leave the city she loved. Dad added on to the original house. I’ll show you sometime.”
“I’d like that.” His voice was low and inviting.
Once again, the idea of leaning into him for support tickled the edges of her rational thoughts.
He continued to stare through the glass. “I think your sister’s on to us.”
