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I nodded. “I’m good on our own.”
It would be great to have our own space…we could stay up all night if we wanted, talking and hanging out and not really having to worry about imposing on anyone else.
The farther I stepped into the house, the more Christmas decorations I noticed. It looked like they’d tried to make the space feel somewhat festive. Rich green garland with bright red velvet bows wrapped around the railing headed upstairs. Matching bright red velvet bows were on the back of the chairs tucked in at the kitchen island. I swore I even glimpsed mistletoe near the little bar area. I stuck my hands in my back pockets, unable to keep the smile from crossing my face as I turned and saw Lucas closing the door after bringing the last bag in.
“What first?” I asked.
He turned the alarm on. “Settle in. Relax. Pick a room. There’s several bedrooms.”
“Several?”
“Several,” he affirmed.
We left the luggage in the foyer and decided to explore. I followed him up the staircase. The first room to the left was a bathroom done in cream and black, an oversized glass-enclosed shower in one corner and a jacuzzi tub in the other with a large window looking out over the yard.
We moved farther down the hall, passing a laundry room with a double set of washers and dryers, and another bedroom done in light purple and grays, with pale gauzy curtains over the balcony doors and a small sitting area off to the side with a small sofa and a mini fridge.
That sealed it.
I claimed that one as my own.
Which just left finding a room for Lucas. We moved down to the end of the hall, finding a room done in navy blue and white, including a striped duvet on the king-sized bed. There was an actual full-sized sitting area off to the side and a double set of patio doors beyond another set of gauzy curtains.
Definitely the master bedroom.
“Mind if I take this one?” Lucas asked, stopping in the doorway of the bedroom of the master suite.
“Go for it.”
There was an enormous balcony outside of his room that ran almost half the length of the house with a couple large loungers and a small glass table between them. I figured out how to unlock the door and pushed it to the side, stepping out barefoot onto the sun-warmed ground. The glistening oval pool was below, just off to the side.
Just beyond that was a well-worn path that led to a little white picket gate and beyond that a stretch of beautiful sand before…the ocean. As far as the eye could see.
The smile spread across my face as the warm breeze rushed towards us.
Lucas stopped beside me, his hands wrapping around the rail. “Welcome to amazing.”
“Paradise,” I corrected, my gaze locked on the beautiful expanse of water in the distance. I leaned against him. “Definitely Paradise.”
He wrapped his arm around me, hugging me to his side.
I leaned my head against his shoulder, a contentedness flooding through me.
A contented sigh fell from my lips and I heard him chuckle.
I was so glad we had the time to get away together.
And he is single, came that little voice in the back of my mind.
I didn’t know why Marnie had to remind me of that. That thingscouldhappen when we were off on our own.
We’d been in the friend zone for years already, and I wasn’t even sure it was possible to move out of it.
And I wasn’t sure it was worth the risk to step out of it.
No matter how long I’d hate that little crush on him, how attractive he was, how good we got along, how close we were…it seemed like there’d always been a block there.
“What?” he asked, glancing at me.
