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“Your parents’ private quarters?” I ask softly.
He nods. I want to ask a million questions about them, but I feel like I’m already treading on thin ice. As if one more question might push him over the edge.
“You want to see it?” he asks, and my jaw falls open in shock.
“Uh, heck yeah!” I reply.
He chuckles and pulls out a remote from his pocket, hitting pause on the film. Down here with no windows in sight, I’ve lost track of time. It can’t be too late since we’re only three hours into a movie marathon. Maybe lunchtime?
I follow Adam back through the maze and up the grand staircase and then we turn left. At first, this wing seems like the other, just more corridors. When we reach the end of the main corridor, there are two large wooden doors. Not as large or fancy as the library, but not small by any means.
Adam takes a breath and opens the door. My eyes widen as I take in the room. I don’t know what I expected to see, but certainly not this.
CHAPTERNINE
Adam
I watch her face morph into surprise. My mother had a thing for roses and she had so many in the garden that my father had an atrium made as part of their bedroom. When you enter what was just a standard sitting area before you get to the bedroom, you are now entering a greenhouse designed for roses. There are easily a dozen varieties of them here. The smell is usually what hits you first.
And fuck did that smell mess with me for years. At first, I had made Mrs. Potter tend to them because I couldn’t bear it. But now, it’s the opposite. It makes me feel close to my mother.
“How? I…there’s so many,” Isa stammers as she takes a step and stops, clearly waiting for my approval. I nod and motion for her to enter the room.
She takes more steps, tentative steps. I follow her, pressing a hand to her lower back, urging her forward. Once inside, she breathes in deeply.
“The smell…” She trails off as a smile spreads across her face.
“My mother loved roses. After…well, I couldn’t bear to have them die. Mrs. Potter used to care for them, but now, I do. I’ve automated most of it, but once a week, I come in here and trim and cut some bouquets. It makes me feel…well, it reminds me of her, and where that once was very hard for me, it now is a comfort,” I admit out loud for maybe the first time. How is this woman in just a matter of days unraveling everything I’ve kept bundled up for so long?
I watch Isa lean down and gently take a rose in her hand as she smells it. Her eyelids fall closed as she savors the scent. Fuck, she has no idea how beautiful she looks right now. When she finally finishes, she leans up and presses a kiss to my lips.
I don’t move at the shock of her boldness.
“Thank you for sharing this with me, Adam,” she says softly as she pulls away, but I quickly wrap my arms around her, pressing her against me.
“I don’t believe in magic, but I swear you’ve put some spell on me since you arrived,” I murmur as I stare into her dark eyes.
“What’s happening between us?” she breathes, her eyes wide. “I…this isn’t like me…hell, I haven’t even dated in…” She trails off as she blushes.
I place a finger under her chin, prompting her to look up at me.
“I don’t know what’s happening and I can’t promise to be the right man for you. I’m…damaged, Isa. And I don’t think there’s fixing what’s been done. All I know is for the first time in a very long time, I feel things and that’s all because of you,” I admit, showing my weakness. I never show weakness, but this woman has me doing all kinds of things I don’t normally do.
She swallows. “You are not damaged. Maybe a little rough around the edges, but there’s hope for you,” she says, shyly smiling.
“Come on, there’s one more space I want to show you,” I say as I step back and take her hand in mine. She follows me back out of my parents’ room and down the hall into a smaller corridor.
“Why didn’t you want me over here?” she asks.
I turn when we get to my bedroom door. “Because showing you that means…” I trail off because I hate showing kinks in my armor.
“Means, I’d know your heart isn’t made of steel?” she asks with a raised eyebrow.
I shrug sheepishly. “Basically. Only a few people know the true me, Isa. I…it was hard enough showing that before, but now…so much rides on me being…in control,” I try to explain.
She nods her understanding. “For the record, I’m glad you shared that with me.”
I lean down and kiss the tip of her nose. “For the record, I’m glad I shared it with you.”
