“Is it completely empty? Not even a bed?”
“Do we really need a bed?” she asks, her voice low and sultry.
“Probably not. I’m finished up here. Shall I head that way?”
“Yes. I miss you.”
When I arrive, Vanessa greets me at the door, wrapped in a sheer robe and nothing else.
“I’ve missed you.” My lips crash into hers as I pick her up and carry her into the bedroom. All that’s there is a mattress on the floor.
It’s all we need.
“Damn,” she says, stroking my arm with the back of her hand. “I’m going to have to make you miss me more often.”
“No way. We’re too good together not to do this every single day.”
“Unless you move back home,” she says with a pout. And God, can those lips form the most perfect pout.
“I have good news on that front. The girls decided to move here. I need to finalize it with the school, but they will be here full-time soon.”
Her face breaks into a wide smile. “Speaking of that,” she says. “I know it’s maybe a little soon for this, but what would you think about you and the girls moving in with me?”
“Really?” I ask, curling my hand around the back of her neck and tasting those lips once again.
“Is that a good really or an I can’t believe she asked me that really?”
“Well, your house is closer to the girls’ school than mine is. It’d save us commute time.”
She gives me a playful smack. “Not funny.”
“Vanessa, I’d love to move in with you. And I think the girls would love it.”
“You don’t think it’s too soon?”
“Do you love me?” I ask her.
“I do.”
“Do you plan on loving me for a long time?”
She smiles. “I do.”
“Then the answer is yes.”
“Do you think the girls will be okay with it?”
“I think the girls will be nuts about it. Are you kidding? Harlow can see her adopted pony every day. And Ava would be closer to her friends. Don’t Dallas and RiAnne live nearby?”
“Only a few blocks away.”
I look at the ceiling. “How long before the house is ready?”
“It will be done by the time we get back from the wedding. It would be fun to have you move in with me.”
I nod. I know it sounds crazy but it feels right. “Can we redo a couple rooms just for the girls?”
“I’m already ahead of you.”
I give her a long kiss then a little smack on the butt. “Let’s get dressed, go out, and celebrate tonight.”
“That sounds fun.” She grabs my hand. “Come in my closet and help me pick out something to wear.”
I follow her gorgeous, naked body through her bathroom and into an expansive closet. Closet is probably the wrong word for it. This is like a garage for clothes.
“This is huge,” I stutter, peeking in.
“It’s the one area of the house that I didn’t want to change.”
“Why’s that?”
“Because this dressing room was designed just to my taste. The pale pink on the wall is soft and relaxing and makes my skin look glowing. The soft grey cabinets remind me of my favorite cashmere sweater.”
“And the chandeliers?”
She grins. “Diamonds, of course. Come inside.”
“I feel like I’m walking into a vault.”
“That’s because you just did. This room is temperature and humidity controlled and can lock from the inside or out. That pretty wooden door we walked through is pure steel underneath.”
“Please tell me you have never uttered the words I don’t have anything to wear,” I say, taking in the rows and rows of clothing.
She laughs. “Believe it or not, I have. When I went to Bam’s polo matches, I was expected to wear haute couture at all times and could never be seen in the same thing twice.”
“What’s this?” I ask, pointing to another door.
“If someone managed to get in here, they’d still have to crack this safe to get to my jewels.”
“Your jewels?”
“Yes,” she says, keying in a code and then opening the door to a room that looks like it belongs in a royal palace. Behind glass cases are displays of jewels like I have never seen before.
“These look like they should be on exhibit somewhere.”
“I’m thinking of auctioning them off, honestly.”
“Do you like them?” I stupidly ask. Any woman’s answer would be a resounding yes.
“Some of them are very pretty.”
“How does someone afford this?”
“I told you, Bam’s family is quite wealthy. They own diamond, gemstone, and granite mines. Among other things.”
“Wow,” I say, looking at a large green stone.
“That one is uncut,” she says. “A gift from his father on our wedding day, to be turned into something spectacular on our tenth anniversary, which obviously we never made it to. Would it offend you if I wore any of these when I was with you?”
“The fur didn’t bother me,” I say, starting to recover from the dazzling sparkle. “Although, obviously I wouldn’t want you to wear your wedding ring.”