“I’ll start dinner. Is there anything you would like me to prepare special for you, Ms. Patrena? I’ll make you whatever you want.”
A smile spread slowly across my face. “No, ma’am. Whatever you had in mind will be fine with me.”
She did a little shimmy with her shoulders and grinned before taking off to what I assumed was the kitchen.
Tywin’s hand was at my back again as we stepped fully into the space of the living room. It took everything in me to keep myself from oohing and aahing out loud. I was bathed in the scents of lavender and lemongrass, so delicate and light that the combination eased me into a relaxed state of mind.
The living room may as well have been a cathedral. The wide open space boasted ridiculously high ceilings and on one full wall was a painted mural of a golden cave with a flowing waterfall that appeared so lifelike it drew me in.
The other walls bore recessed paintings, some etched and crafted into the wall. Every piece of furniture was over-sized, from the white and gold pebbled leather sofas and chairs with the polished nickel finishes, to the walled-in floor-to-ceiling bookshelves on each side of the fireplace. The room took me in instead of me taking it in. Every piece, from the coffee table, to the accent tables, containing the over-sized porcelain vases appeared to be meticulously hand-crafted.
The large accent rug gave the room the pops of color it needed to come alive. Although the room reminded me of a museum showroom, the delicate touches like the live plants, specifically-placed framed pictures of the family, and even the throw pillows gave the space a homey vibe and a welcoming quality like an embrace. This place oozed elegance, but with an alluring calmness about it that I appreciated.
“Is everyone always so happy?” I had to ask Tywin after catching a glimpse of another overly-happy woman cleaning the spotless patio area through the glass back wall of the room. Caffeine didn’t produce the kind of high they were on.
“Yes. Most of the staff has been with my family since before I was born. Some who worked for my grandparents are still here,” he updated as we walked, and I continued to soak in the ambiance of his home.
We stepped into a wide expansive hall before the rest of the house revealed itself. Tywin knocked on the first tall thick wooden set of double doors that didn’t belong on the inside of a house but at the front of a building.
“Come in,” a male voice called.
Tywin pushed the doors open. The first and only person I spotted sitting behind a thick wooden table with books scattered across it was a strikingly handsome man. His face shined with a youthful afterglow like he ate right, exercised, and used high-value, all-natural skin-care products.
He glanced up and his resemblance to Tywin was so strikingly undeniable that there was no mistaking that they were father and son. What surprised me most was how young he looked, not a day over forty. I supposed having money kept you with that youthful glow he was putting off. Glancing back and forth between the two men, I found that I had missed that same youthfulness in Tywin’s face.
The man stood and took us in before stepping from behind the table. He met his son halfway and they fell into a loving embrace that caused me to smile. The strong and unabashed hug was a reflection of their close relationship.
Tywin turned with his arm still slung over his father’s shoulders. They were the same towering height. Aside from the few strains of silver hair at his temples, father and son were replicas of each other, down to the uniquely different hues of their hazel eyes.
“Dad, this is my lady, Patrena Davis. Patrena, this is my father, Leelyn Vallin,” he introduced. I took a step closer and reached out my hand, but his father glanced at my hand like it offended him.
“We hug in this family, Patrena,” he stated before taking a step closer and hauling me in for a tight hug like he had known me all my life. I didn’t know how to react, so I returned his hug with a rigid posture and subtle pats on his back with my hands.
Mr. Vallin released me from the hug before taking me by the wrists, cupping them delicately in his strong hands and letting his smile rain down on me. I wanted whatever the people in this house were taking.
“You have no idea how happy I am to meet you,” he expressed, eyeing me with a genuine sparkle in his orbs and something else gleaming in their depths that I just couldn’t put a label on.
I swallowed. “You too, sir.”
“Please call me Leelyn, not sir. Sir makes me sound like an old dried-up crow.”
I giggled and let go of the unnecessary tension I was holding on to.
Leelyn turned to Tywin and all the happy excitement he’d bestowed on me began to drain away. There was something heavy the father wanted to tell his son, but he was putting effort into keeping his face from turning serious and visible tension had tightened his shoulders.
“Son, we had a surprise package arrive today. Your—”
“Daddy!”
A little boy about six or seven yelled after he burst through the door and ran across the room. The Vallin men turned to the child with huge pride-filled smiles plastered on their faces. They appeared momentarily transfixed by the little boy’s call. When the little boy ran to Tywin instead of Leelyn, I didn’t know what to think. I didn’t know he had a little brother.
Tywin scooped the little boy up into his arms and closed him into a bear hug that caused him to squeal in laughter and show off that one of his front teeth was snaggled and half grown in. Leelyn cast an observing eye on me, likely sensing that I was dying to know the answer to the question in my head.
Is the little boy his or Tywin’s son?
* * *
Tywin turnedto face me with the laughing boy clinging to his neck and squeezing. He patted the boy on his back to get his attention.