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It was. When you ignored the giant hill to one side, something I would have never noticed but that now seemed glaringly out of place, the rest was breathtaking. Lush landscaping. A valley and mountains in the background. A carved wooden ten-foot-high gate that hid us from the rest of the neighborhood. Ivy-covered walls that took over where it left off. We could have a dog here. Two dogs. Big ones with sharp teeth, if safety was such a concern for him.
We. My mind’s slip didn’t go unnoticed. We could have a dog. We could put goldfish in that water feature. We could decorate the house in cobwebs for Halloween and Christmas lights in December. We could make this a home.
The front door swung open, and a tall blonde stepped out, her smile widening at the sight of us. The agent. The last one was an uber thin gay male who used the word fabulous a dozen times in our tour. I hoped this one was a little less exuberant.
“Come on in.” She waved us forward, and I looked past her, the interior of the home glowing with lights, the cool air conditioning floating out of the open door. “You’re going to love the backyard.”
I stepped into the house and felt Dario’s fingers slide along the open back of my sundress, his touch possessively curling against my skin.
I stopped. “Wow.”
The view was incredible. A pool that dropped off into nothing. Purple and green rolling hills, the city between us and the mountains. At night, we’d have a sea of city lights to look out on.
At night. We. Oh my god, I was a grown up. In a real relationship. I glanced at him and imagined waking up next to him every day. Sitting in this room and curling up next to him on the sofa. I squeezed his arm and grinned up at him.
“Wait until you see the upstairs loft. It’s a bit of a cramped journey to get there, but it has a library that will blow your mind.”
Dario’s phone rang, and he glanced at the display, then grimaced. “Well, that’s an issue. Shitty cell service in here.”
I pulled out my own phone and discovered the same issue, a single bar of signal showing. As I watched, No Service flickered across the display, then the single bar returned. “Yeah, mine too.”
“Once you purchase the home, you could buy a booster.”
The Realtor’s helpful suggestion was met with a sigh from Dario. He lifted the phone in the air and walked to the windows. “I’m going to step outside and take this.”
“Let me unlock the back door for you.” The realtor hurried to one of the super-tall doors, and I watched as she struggled with the lock, the cartoonish height of the door making even Dario’s six-foot two-inch frame look short.
I pushed my phone back in my bag and was admiring the fireplace when the woman returned.
“Would you like to see the master suite?” She gestured toward a white stone corridor, the ceiling arched, dramatic light playing up the sides of the walls. I nodded and followed her, running my hand along the wall and admiring the old bricks.
I thought of the last place we’d seen, and all of the questions Dario had asked. “There’s a security system here?”
“Oh, yes.” She nodded, opening the second set of arched doors at the end of the hall. “Every window and door is alarmed, and there’s a camera system that covers every inch of the three acre property.”
I liked the sound of that. In my current house, my bedroom window was secured with a half-rusted nail, the screen stolen off it the summer I moved in.
“Of course, those only matter if the system is turned on.” She glanced back at me with a smile but the response hit me wrong, something inside of me perking its ears up in alarm. She propped open the heavy wood door with her foot and waited for me to pass.
I stepped into the master suite and any alarm bells muted. I looked around the room and fell in love.
Dark blue walls. White stone fireplace, birch logs stacked in its hearth. White fluffy bed. Dark wooden floors. A large leather chair and ottoman, looking out on the view. I walked to the window and rested my fingertips on the glass, looking out. From this angle, I could see the pool, surrounded by manicured grounds. Just beside it, Dario, his phone to his ear, sunglasses on, looking every bit the successful man that he was. He met my eyes and I waved, a simple gesture that brought a smile to his face. He gestured to the pool area and I gave him a thumbs-up sign.
He refocused on his call, and I turned away from the window. The real estate agent had moved into the master bathroom and I followed her in, my eyes drawn to the white marble countertops, then the large shower. I eyed the bench in it and couldn’t stop the image of a naked Dario, the water slick against his skin, his soapy hands on me, cleaning every inch of me.
