“Jason, I know an omission when I hear one,” Aviva warned. “Don’t tell me then, because I doubt I want to know, but if Josh messes up my house, I’m not going to be happy. But I know if he didn’t need to, he wouldn’t have asked, so of course he can use our house.”
Jason gave a nod and turned away in the hope Aviva missed his look of guilt. He should have known better.
“They’re already gone, aren’t they?”
“Umm, yes they are.”
Chapter 20
“Let me show you around,” Josh suggested once he and Lux entered the house.
Ignoring her suspicious look, he started walking, doing his best to hide his excitement that they were finally alone.
That she’d snorted when he suggested, they spend some time by themselves still rankled. If he were a lesser man, her blunt refusal would have put a serious dent in his ego. Luckily, he was made of sterner stuff.
When his first reason didn’t work, it had taken him a full thirty minutes to persuade her to pack a bag. She only did as he asked after he mentioned that he also didn’t want there to be any possibility of Sam disrupting his family in their home.
Josh supposed he couldn’t really blame her for her reluctance given the way he’d behaved the night before. Thinking about it, he was sorry he’d allowed his anger towards her to manifest in the way it had. While she wasn’t pleased about spending time with him, he was relishing just that. But he kept his thoughts to himself.
Reaching a door, Josh pushed it open and stood back for Lux to precede him. The sound of her gasp immediately caught his attention. The stunned look on her face, as she looked around the room spoke for itself.
“What a beautiful space!”
Having seen it all before, Josh looked around again with new eyes. She was right, it was a lovely space. Aviva had created a room that was both stunning and comfortable at the same time. Although picture perfect, Josh saw the house for what it was, a home.
The area was large and circular with an enormous bank of windows that overlooked the land behind the house. In the middle of the room was a sunken seating area; again circular with huge over-stuffed fabric sofas. There were two openings on either side of the area where steps were located. Whenever the women weren’t around, he and his brothers never used them, they just hopped over the side and landed on the cushions. It was sort of childish but they did it anyway.
The walls and most of the furniture were in soft shades of cream and light brown. Thrown in were bold splashes of burgundy, so that Jason wouldn’t feel as though he was living in a girl’s house, Aviva said.
Apart from the sofas there were a few other seats scattered around, but this was a family room and its design encouraged togetherness. There was a large fireplace on one wall with a deep soft patterned rug before it. Looking at it, this time with new eyes, it opened a whole new realm of possibilities for Josh.
Having taken everything in, Lux headed for the door. “Show me more, I want to see the rest of the house!”
With a smile of indulgence, he obliged. Twenty minutes later they were back where they’d started.
“Is this your house, Josh?”
“No.”
“Well, I think you should buy it. It’s off the chain!”
“I’m pretty sure Jason and Aviva wouldn’t be up for selling it.”
“This is their house,” at his nod, she glanced around again seemingly with new eyes that carried a look of sadness. “I think this is where they want to raise their family.”
“Just say the word, Luxie, and I’ll buy you a home where we can raise our family.” Josh didn’t know where the words came from, but once spoken, he knew he didn’t want them recalled.
“Please don’t do that. We had our chance and it didn’t work out.”
Josh was sure she was unaware of the sadness that accompanied her words. He didn’t agree with her, and by the time he was through, she would never think of leaving him again.
“Come on, I’ll show you to our room.”
Halfway up the stairs, Lux came to an abrupt stop as though just processing what he’d said. “Our room?”
“Of course our room, how else are we going to get our marriage back on track?”
“Joshua, didn’t you hear what I just said? Our marriage is over,” Lux repeated with obvious frustration.
“I heard you, but I choose to ignore your comment as your conclusion is flawed.”
“Josh..., oh, it doesn’t even matter,” Lux said as she began walking again. When she reached the top of the stairs, she turned and looked at him. “Which one is your room?”
Stopping before a door, Josh turned the handle and stepped inside a little surprised she’d so readily agreed to his suggestion. “This is the room I use whenever I stay here.”