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While Alex chats with Carl, I walk through the property, discovering all the rooms. I’ve never seen anything like it. The front of the living room has no wall! It’s literally open to the elements, which I find puzzling until I realize it has automatic shutters that can roll down at night. But at the moment they’re open, revealing an unimpeded view of the bay, as well as of a huge hot tubanda pool. It feels as if the house is floating on the open sea.
There’s a spotless kitchen, a bathroom with a shower and a large bath that has sliding doors with views over the bay, and two bedrooms. Both of them also have sliding doors leading to the deck. Clearly, the place wasn’t built that long ago, and all the furnishings look pristine.
I come back into the living room to hear Carl telling Alex that there’s champagne in the fridge, a selection of wine in the rack, and spirits in the liquor cabinet. He opens the fridge and shows us several plates stacked neatly with covers. “As you ordered,” Carl says to Alex, “just put it in the oven for thirty to forty minutes.”
“Thanks, Carl.”
“You’re welcome. Have a lovely stay. And Happy New Year!”
“Happy New Year to you, too!” I’d forgotten it was New Year’s Eve.
He waves and goes out, and soon we hear the Range Rover heading up the hill. In a few minutes, the sound of the engine vanishes, and all I can hear is the sound of the waves and the cry of seagulls.
“What’s on the plates in the fridge?” I ask.
“I hope you don’t mind—I took the liberty of ordering dinner for tonight. They specialize in degustation.”
“What’s that?”
“A tasting menu, basically, concentrating on appreciating food.” He looks at a piece of paper that Carl had left on the counter. “There are Sweetbread Crisps, Te Matuku Oysters, Trevally Celeriac, and Salted Venison to start, Ruakaka Kingfish and Caviar, Scampi, Roast Duck with Wasabi, and 55-Day Aged Beef for mains, and Quince and Caramel Doughnut, Coconut, Blueberry, and Sorrel, and Petit Fours to finish. Sounds good.”
“My God, Alex, you are such the King of Understatement. It sounds amazing.”
He grins and opens the fridge. “Want a glass of champagne?”
“Oh Jesus, yes. I could get used to this lifestyle.”
“It doesn’t suck,” he says, opening the bottle. I find two glasses in the cupboard, and he pours a generous amount in each.
“What do you want to drink to?” he asks.
“To us.” I touch my glass to his.
“To us.”
We both have a mouthful of champagne. The bubbles go up my nose, and I laugh, spinning away from him and going over to the view. I stop then, eyes wide. “Oh! I just saw a dolphin!”
“Yeah, and we’ll probably see seals too.” He comes up behind me and slips an arm around my waist. “Do you like it?”
I turn in his arms. “It’s amazing. It must cost a fortune to stay here.”
“Five thousand a night, I believe.”
My jaw drops. “Five thousand?”
He laughs. “Luckily I know the owner.”
And it sounds silly, but even after my visit to Brooklyn Heights, and everything else I’ve experienced with him, this is the first time it’s really sunk in just how rich he is.
“What are you doing with me?” I ask softly. “I’m a nobody. I’m just a primary school teacher with a penchant for Jaffa Cakes. I’m not rich, or famous, or particularly clever.”
He tips his head to the side, studying me. “You are smart.”
“Not like you.”
“There are different kinds of smart. I know nothing about art. I want you to teach me. I want to find out all about your passions.” He kisses me, quick and fierce. “You fascinate me, Missie. You have a heart as big as the ocean. You care about so many things and so many people. You’re incredibly unselfish. It’s as if you’re made of sunshine and diamonds, you just shine so brightly. You dazzle me, and I’m completely crazy about you.”
I blink, taken aback by so many compliments crammed into one sentence. “Thank you,” I whisper.
