"True," Lukas acknowledges. "But surely you noticed what time he got up this morning."
Why do I get the feeling he's testing me?
"I slept so soundly I didn't notice him getting up."
Lukas grins. "Good girl." He doesn't elaborate but now I know he was looking to see what I'd say, his reaction tells me he knows my husband won't be sharing my bed.
As I finish my coffee, I find myself at a loss for what to do next. I'm on the verge of returning to my bedroom when Lukas sets down his coffee cup and gets to his feet.
"Would you like a tour of the house?"
"Won't Gabriele show me around?"
"He asked me to do it."
That's unexpectedly disappointing. I know Gabriele is a busy man but I'd like to think he could take some time out to make me feel at home. I guess I should have taken the hint when he abandoned me in the hallway yesterday that he's not going to go out of his way to be welcoming.
My irritation at that will keep for another time.
"Well, in that case." I push back my chair and stand. "Lead the way."
Lukas smiles.
"As you can probably tell, this is the formal dining room."
"There's another?"
"Yes. One is more of a kitchen annex with some seating and the other is for smaller groups."
"So if we were having a large party, it would have to be in here?"
I glance back at the room. At a push the table could accommodate four more people perhaps, but it's still tiny compared with the grand dining hall at my father's house.
"If you were having a large party, you'd book a venue. It's too much of a security risk to have a load of strangers in the house."
"I suppose it is."
That's not something my father was overly concerned about when he invited hundreds of people into our home.
Fueled by an overinflated sense of his own importance, he's never imagined anyone would dare try to take him out.
Gabriele has firsthand experience of how a powerful man can still fall victim to an attack.
It's only natural he'd want to keep people out of his private space. It occurs to me that I'm more privileged than I realize in being allowed to live here with him.
"You okay there?" Lukas asks.
"Huh?"
"You went quiet for a minute."
"Oh, yes." I don't want to tell him what I was really thinking so I choose to ask him something that's been on my mind. "Do you think Gabriele would be open to me remodeling the house?"
Lukas grimaces and I have my answer before he opens his mouth.
"Unless you can do the work yourself, I don't think it will happen."
"Not even a little decorating? The walls, the carpets, maybe?"
