"I see," he nodded stepping back.
"I'm not saying no," I reassured him. "I'm just saying not here. I don't want it to be like this."
"I understand," he said. "You're right. It needs to be special."
"Don't get me wrong," I said with a half grin, "You're pretty irresistible, and I'm not sure that I could actually say no to you if you really set your mind to it."
"This is good to know!" he laughed as he stepped around to his desk and picked up the phone. He turned his back and spoke quietly for a moment, then hung up and smiled at me. "Will you come with me? There's something I want to show you."
"Of course," I said, wondering what was going on.
"This is something I've wanted to show you for a while, but I wasn't sure if I ever would," Jack said as he reached out and took my hand.
I took a deep breath and followed him.
Chapter Forty-Five
Jack
I knew that what I was about to do was risky, but I also knew that if things went the way I hoped they would the payoff would be worth the risk. As Jimmy drove us through Brooklyn, Leah and I discussed the future plans for Baby Steps and what we hoped to accomplish with the expansion. There was a nervous energy underlying our conversation, but neither one of us was willing to be the first to acknowledge it.
I knew Leah had to be curious about where we were going, but to her credit, she kept her questions to herself, occasionally looking out the window to gauge where we were and where we were headed. I wanted to keep the destination a surprise, so I just kept talking.
We finally pulled into the circle drive in front of a red-brick house with a wraparound porch and white trim. I got out and went around opening Leah's door, only to find that she was halfway up the walk already.
"Wow, this is pretty spectacular, Jack," she said as she noticed the brightly colored flowers that lined the walk and breathed in the scent of freshly cut grass. "Ahh, that's summer to me! Hey, we're not far from your mother's, are we?"
"She's less than a mile away," I nodded as I followed her lead and inhaled deeply. "If you think the outside is amazing, just wait until you see the inside."
We walked up onto the porch, and I quickly slipped the key into the lock and pushed open the front door. I motioned for Leah to go in first, and I was rewarded by her reaction to the interior.
The whole house had been gutted and most of the walls on the lower level had been removed. There was a large winding staircase that led to the second floor, but aside from that the entire first floor was an open space that flowed from one room to the next. The wood floors had been polished to a high shine, and the walls were an earthy taupe accented by white crown molding. As she moved from the living room and its floor-to-ceiling front windows to the kitchen where stainless steel appliances and white cabinets gave the area a professional but welcoming feel, Leah just shook her head.
"Is this your new home?" she asked turning around to look at me.
"Something like that," I nodded as she ran her hands across the marble countertops and admired the modern silver hardware on the drawers.
"I can only imagine what it will look like once you've got furniture in here," she said, moving on to the dining room and then standing at the top of a small set of stairs that led down into a den area with a fireplace on one wall and a set of French doors that led out to the back patio across from it.
"Want to see the upstairs?" I asked, knowing it was unlikely that she'd say no.
"Of course I do! Lead the way, boss!" she grinned as she followed me toward the staircase. Our footsteps echoed on the wood as we climbed to the second floor, and I let Leah take the lead as she made her way through the upstairs, opening doors and looking into various rooms.
"This is really quite lovely, Jack," she said as she peered into a room that had been custom built as an office full of cubbyholes and shelving. "You've picked very soothing colors and clean lines."
"Check this out," I said, opening the door to the master bedroom. It was an enormous space that took up the entire back half of the upstairs and looked quite similar to the downstairs den, complete with a fireplace on one side and a set of French doors that led out to the balcony which overlooked the pool and the yard stretching out behind it. Leah stood staring out at the scenery for a long time before turning around and leaning against the rails of the balcony.
"You've built an incredible house, Jack," she said looking up at me. "I'm sure you'll be very happy here."
"Thank you. It is quite a house, indeed," I said as I walked toward her. "But it's not a home yet. It's still missing something important."
"Yes, well, furniture will definitely help that!" she laughed as she looked away.
"That's not what's missing," I said as I reached out and took her hand. She looked up with a confused expression as I continued, "Leah, I know you don't want us to date while we're working together, and I respect your reasons. But since the moment I met you I knew you were different, and while the past few months have been a challenge, they've also made everything much clearer to me."
"How so?" she asked, holding my gaze.
"I knew I wanted you, but I didn't know what I was willing to do to earn you," I admitted with a wry grin. "I've been used to getting almost anything I wanted, and you showed me that there's an advantage to working for some things."