“Ta-da.”
I blink my eyes open, adjusting to the sunlight after being blindfolded for so long, and immediately suck in a breath. No wonder I thought the noises and scents were familiar when I walked in.
I turn to face him. “No.”
“Yup,” he says, popping the p.
“Can we afford it?” I wince.
He leans forward, rubbing his nose against mine. “Absolutely. It’s not your old penthouse. That, we wouldn’t have been able to afford in a million years. But I wanted you to live in your childhood building. Somewhere close to Aaron. Where you can see him from your window anytime you please. I asked the building manager to call me as soon as there was a vacancy. And well . . . three weeks ago, there was.”
I stride along the empty space, the sound of my heels ricocheting against the walls. Everything is bare and clean and smells of opportunity and potential. Of memories we can create here. An apartment in my Park Avenue building. Somewhere we can call our own. I’m so overwhelmed with emotions, with happiness, that it takes me a few moments to notice it. A plastic bag on the kitchen counter. The only thing inside this place.
“Hey.” I walk over to it. “What is that?”
“Those are our bathing suits,” Christian says behind my back, and I hear him coming toward me. “Race you to the pool for a few laps?”
His chin touches the top of my head, and all is well in the world.
“I’m going to win,” I warn him, plucking out my swimsuit from the bag.
He engulfs me with his hands. “I’d like to see you try.”