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We drove the rest of the way, talking about everything under the sun except our bad relationships – high school, college, my business, the deal, my parent's deaths and how we ended up orphans. How neither of us could wait to get away from both our adoptive parents.
"I wish I could have stayed on the coast so I could be close to my parents," she said.
"You can still visit."
"No, I can't."
"The ex?"
She nodded. "Let's leave it at that."
So, it was more than just a bad breakup. "It must be some seriously bad stuff, if that's the case."
"It is," she replied and sighed heavily. "Like I said, you do not want to know and I don't want to talk about it. I'm not trying to be rude and I'm not trying to be mysterious or anything. There's a good reason I can't go back and there's a good reason I don't want to talk about it."
"Don't worry," I said, and smiled softly at her, wanting to ease the discomfort between us. "I'm just your fake boyfriend of convenience. You don't owe me anything except a pretend good time."
She smiled at that and I thought again how pretty she was, her lashes long over blue eyes. "Maybe a genuine good time? I could use one…"
'"I'll do my level best to make it a genuine good time, okay?"
She nodded. "Okay. Sounds good."
She flashed me a quick smile and then turned to watch as we drove up the private road to the beach house.
Her eyes practically bugged out when she saw it. Even I had to admit it was pretty impressive for a beach house.
Let's face it – anyone would be happy to live there.
A huge colonial, it had nine bedrooms, twelve bathrooms, a pool and tennis court, and a strip of green that my father used as a putting course for golf. Plus a boardwalk along the private beach front where Dana and I held our beach parties while we were growing up.
"This is your beach house?"
Her mouth was open as we drove up the circular driveway in front of the entrance. Double doors led to the interior and a huge porch wrapped around the entire twelve-thousand square foot building with three wings. One wing was for entertaining, one wing was for family, and the final wing was for guests.
Yeah, it was worth in the neighborhood of thirty million.
There was a six-car garage and a small cabana on the beach where we often hired bartenders to serve our guests. Plus a huge stone wood-fired barbecue that could double as a pizza oven.
"I was expecting something more… modest. You know, like a cottage."
"We're wealthy," I said, trying to be as honest and up front as I could be. "This property is pretty old. My adoptive father renovated it about a decade ago, upgrading everything, but I basically grew up here in the summers."
"Wow."
I parked in the driveway in one of the slots for visitors, and noted there were three other cars parked, indicating we had guests. I opened her door quickly, wanting to be a perfect gentleman. I then grabbed our bags and took her hand, walking her up the stairs to the porch and then opening the door for her.
She stopped and stared in the front entryway.
Yes, it was ostentatious. A huge crystal chandelier hung from the second story ceiling over the entry. Across from the entrance was a wide stairway that curved up to the second floor, splitting off into two wings.
"You'll be staying with me in the family wing," I said. "There are enough rooms that you could have one for yourself and one for your bag, but I want there to be no doubt that we're a couple, so you'll have to sleep in my bedroom."
"No funny business, remember?" she said, frowning slightly.
"No funny business," I replied. "Unless you want some. If you do, hey, I'm a generous guy. I'll donate to the cause. Considering you’ve been out of commission for over a year…" I raised my eyebrows playfully, but she didn’t seem to appreciate my sense of humor.
"Just kidding," I said, not wanting to hurt her. "I just want you to know that if you felt a need, I'll be here. Ready and willing. I won't push, I won't even try to seduce you, but I can't promise you won’t eventually find me incredibly desirable and irresistible." I grinned and finally saw her smile as well, although she was trying hard not to.
