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We keep hauling my stuff, and then start the drive. By the time we reach the penthouse, George and I are laughing about his adventures raising a teenage daughter and I have a pretty good vision of the cake I’m going to make her.
“Well, what are you two so happy about? Are you trying to steal my girl, George?” Peter teases as we step off the elevator, chuckling over misinterpreted emojis in text messages.
“Whitney has offered to make Sarah a birthday cake,” George informs Peter, beaming. I insisted he start calling me by my first name. No one refers to me as Miss Porter, and besides, we’re friends now.
“That’s great George. I can’t believe I didn’t think to ask her. I know Sarah will be thrilled with whatever Whitney makes.”
The chauffeur beams and we arrange for George to pick the cake up on Tuesday evening before he heads home for the day. My belongings for the week are piled in the foyer and Peter sweeps me into his arms like he hasn’t seen me in weeks.
“Hey, handsome, I’m glad to see you too, but it’s only been four hours,” I giggle.
“That is just for being you. Kindness comes so naturally to you. Sarah is a very sweet girl and George does his best to be both mom and dad to her. Being a single parent is never easy.”
Peter is such an empathetic person. It would be so easy for him to be out of touch with the struggles of everyday people because of his wealth, but he’s not like that.
“You’re the one who’s kind,” I whisper against his mouth. He merely kisses me again.
“I have a surprise for you. Come and see, baby,” the handsome man says before taking my hand to lead me up the stairs. But then a curious meow reminds us of our furry friends.
“We almost forgot we need to get these two acclimated to each other,” I say as Demeter sniffs curiously around Apollo’s carrier.
“I haven’t heard any hissing yet, so that’s a good sign,” Peter states optimistically.
We both watch as Demeter stops in front of the gate to the carrier where she and Apollo can see each other. Apollo puts his little black paw through the bars and Demeter rubs her face against it. We both breathe a sigh of relief.
“Wow, I thought this was going to go so much worse. Should I let him out?”
“Let’s go for it.”
I tentatively unlatch the door to the cat carrier. Demeter lowers her head and peeks at Apollo. He takes a hesitant step out into the unfamiliar surroundings and the two cats meet nose to nose. Amazingly, they both start purring and rubbing up against each other like they’ve known each other all their lives.
“I can’t believe how well that went,” I tell Peter in a minor state of shock. “Our two cats have become instant best friends and are now staring out the giant French doors at the Hudson River.”
“It must be fate. I think they are going to be just fine. Now come upstairs and see my surprise, sweetheart.”
Peter grabs my suitcase and leads me upstairs to the room I chose earlier. He opens the door and the stark white decor has been replaced with vibrant colors like I have in my own apartment. The fluffy bed is covered in a royal purple duvet with gold trim. There are a dozen throw pillows heaped on top in rich jewel tones: ruby, emerald, sapphire, and amethyst. An intricately woven mandala tapestry, probably from India, is hung on the wall behind the bed, combining a multitude of colors into a gorgeous pattern.
I gasp. “This is gorgeous, Peter. How did you do it all in the time I was gone?” I ask, my voice breaking with emotion.
He smirks.
“I called my decorator. Delia did the entire penthouse for me when I moved in. She kept bugging me to add color, but I resisted. I called her as soon as you were in the elevator and asked her how quick she could pull this off and she was here within an hour and she was over the moon about it.”
I gasp again while wandering around. There’s a rich mahogany desk paired with a cobalt blue desk chair against one wall. The chest of drawers is the same deep mahogany and is accented with gleaming red knobs that look like rubies. I hope they aren’t actually rubies.
I gasp again, my eyes wide.
“But how did she get all these things with stores being closed?”
Peter smirks again.
“She has her own shop and warehouse. Her clientele is pretty high end and many of them like unique pieces, so she travels and picks up one of a kind items to keep on hand for jobs as needed.”
I smile with tears forming in my eyes.
“This is the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me. Just when I think you can’t top the last gesture, you find a way to do so. The money for the business, the book for my dad, and now this. I just don’t know how to thank you enough.”
