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Willow starts to whine a little, but he bounces her in his arms and carries her toward the edge of the lake. Panic rushes through me and I scramble out of the car to join them.
“Dem!” I tell myself I’m breathless with worry and not because that short sprint winded me.Shit, I’m well on my way through the first trimester. Gotta slow down. Gotta…whoo!… pace myself.
When I finally catch up with them, he’s murmuring into her ear. “… see? It’s just us. All alone. Mako and the guys are helping keep this place secret and safe, just for us.”
“Secret?” I glance around. We are surrounded by thick pine trees and dense forest. If I followed the drive accurately, we’re up somewhere high in the Sierra Nevada. “Really?”
Demyen shrugs. “If you doubt me, let’s go check out the cabin. See if any monsters are lurking in there.”
I don’t miss the way Willow suddenly clings to him and whimpers. I’m about to protest, when Mako appears out of nowhere and gives her a serious little salute.
Then he ducks inside, signaling for three other guards to follow him.
“All clear!” he shouts after a few tense moments.
Well, tense for me. Demyen simply glances at me and winks. “Hear that? All clear. Probably because I own this cabin and have the world’s strongest security system built in.” He rolls his eyes again and looks at Willow. “Oh, ye of little faith.”
I blink. I know I imagined it. There’s no way Willow quirked a tiny smile.
Demyen leads us into the cabin and I’m suddenly struck by how utterly inaccurate that word is to describe this place.Cabin—yeah fucking right. It’s more like a manor, with vaulted ceilingsand an open floorplan with a second story that wraps around like a balcony overlooking the main living area.
“Everything the light touches is ours,” he explains as he carries Willow through the first floor. “Bathroom’s right by the kitchen. Upstairs, there’s one between the two guestrooms and another in the master suite.”
“Dem…” I’m breathless. I don’t know what to say. The fireplace has a freakingwaterfall, for Pete’s sake! “This is your… cabin?”
When I look up, I see his face and Willow’s peek over the wood railing of the balcony. “Came with the lake.”
“The lake.” I try to process what I think I just heard. “You own… the lake.”
He rolls his eyes yet again and scoffs. “What good is a cabin without a lake?” He lofts a dramatic brow at Willow. “Are you hearing this? Some people…”
And then he shakes his head with a sigh and carries her out of sight.
But not before I see her quirk that tiny little smile again.
I’m left standing here, in the ginormous living room… or space… or whatever insanely wealthy people who have waterfalls over fireplaces call it. Completely dumbfounded. In awe.
More than a little intimidated.
Mako grabs a bottle of water from the fridge and gestures to me to ask if I want one. “It’s sparkling mineral water,” he adds.
Because of course it is.
“So… you guys come out here often?” I try to sound as casual as possible. Cool and calm. Not at all like I’m feeling overwhelmed or nervous as fuck about being high up in the mountains far away from civilization.
Mako rolls a shoulder. “Yes and no. It’s a beautiful getaway, obviously, but with everything that’s been going on down in the city…”
“Ah.” I try to ignore the pang of guilt that hits my stomach. I don’t want to be the reason Demyen doesn’t get to enjoy this slice of paradise as often as he should.
“It’s not like he’s dying to come up here all the time, anyways. Childhood memories and all that.”
Ah, okay. Now, the pieces are falling into place. It’s definitely been updated, but the more I look around, I can see signs in the architecture of an older presence. Like it’s been here for much longer than I originally assumed.
Demyen comes back down the carpeted stairs, Willow now walking on her own while holding his hand. He grins at me. “Well, what do we think?”
Mako swiftly takes his leave. I try to pretend not to notice the surprised little smile that suddenly appears on his face.
“It’s… breathtaking. Beautiful.” I don’t know what else to say.
