I never envisioned myself living in a place like that. He’s a numbers guy, a money guy, so he convinced me to give up my apartment, told me it wasn’t a good investment, and then he took the proceeds when I sold it and invested it for me. He moved me into his house when we got engaged. He told me to sell all my furniture, because he was set for all that, but I kept my things in storage, figuring later we’d see about a cottage somewhere quiet, with trees, where I could bring out all the things I loved at our retreat.
This house is insanely beautiful. The sort of place that would be beautiful all year long. Colorful but in a way that’s serene, not too busy. And surrounded by what I know would be lush greenery if nature wasn’t just waking up from a winter sleep. Even the comforter on Mason’s bed brings the outdoors inside. A midnight blue bedspread with a pattern that mimics a star-studded sky.
Rick’s all-white brownstone-like rowhouse looks the same day after day, all year-round. There’s almost no yard, zero grass and just a couple of shrubs. He got it in his head that pavers and Astroturf save time and effort on landscaping. His street is high density and way too many people, too much traffic. No nature, barely even any birds or squirrels. But it’s prestigious and rising in value; he brags that bidding wars start whenever someone in that community lists their house for sale.
This place with all the warmth, the rich wood, the character – with four seasons – much more my style. And I’ve been quietly screaming “serenity now!” in my head the past few months and despite my current predicament, this is the first time in weeks I don’t feel like I’m running on empty with energy drink jitters. It probably helps that this place is secluded and surrounded by nature without that endless city white noise. Not to mention all the orgasms I just had.
Most brides-to-be look forward to destressing on their honeymoon, but I already know I’m not getting that. Rick is “surprising” me with a cruise for our honeymoon. His mother told me about it, acting like it’d be a great retreat and super-relaxing after how busy I’ve been getting the wedding planned in record time. She told me about it to do me a “favor”, recommending a tanning salon so I won’t look like a ghost for my honeymoon. I failed to hide my disappointment, which made her silently judge me yet again. She looked at me like I’m an ungrateful brat.
But a cruise won’t make me relax. I went on a cruise a few years ago with my friends Caroline and Sally and it wasn’t my jam. So much so that I woke up in the middle of the first night on it panicked at the idea of being in the ocean with no land in sight. It was a long night of panic and the next morning when we finally stopped at an island, I abandoned the cruise and flew home. I told Rick as much and he said I should give it another try, that cruises were great. I disagreed vehemently, telling him the last one I went on made me the most claustrophobic I’ve been in my life and that I had no desire to live through that again.
To try to do damage control after his mom let the cruise cat out of the bag, I dropped a hint that I’d love our honeymoon to be low-key, maybe rent a remote cabin and go unplugged for a week, but Rick’s face dropped and then he told me he had booked a different honeymoon as a surprise and that it was non-refundable, but he was sure I’d love it.
A girl only gets one honeymoon, if she’s lucky enough to mate for life, and that honeymoon is not a time to give a second chance to a previous experience that she loathed.
Mate for life. Hah. That was never in my vocabulary before. I avoid the urge to look over the sleeping Mason Quinn who thinks that’s what we just did.
Opposite to the bridge, past the staircase, there’s the opposite side of the top level, another open space with a home office and some gym equipment. I like the design of this top level a lot, though I’d have a master bedroom door if I lived here. Not that I should pay this much attention to the kidnapping shapeshifter sex god’s lair, but I can’t help but be impressed as I try to imagine where the ring landed.
I barely took in the second floor on the way up here, but did note it had more rooms and a loft with a c-shaped sofa. The décor, the windows, the layout – all of it is absolutely beautiful.