I walked hand-in-hand with him through the hall. The first thing I noticed was how long the hallway actually was before we met up to an open area. Thick, white pillars were built into the floors, holding up the beams, and the floor was made of ivory marble. The floors in the foyer were all marble too, and unlike the other house in Atlanta, this house had two staircases. One to the right, one to the left.
When I’d pulled up to this house, I noticed it was slightly bigger than the Atlanta home. Although his home in Atlanta had a nice exterior and was a decent size, this one was much more appealing. The bricks outside the home were tan and dark brown, and there were even bigger pillars out on the patio.
The foyer was absolutely breathtaking. Black and white decor accented the walls, some on the tables. There were a few wooden accent pieces as well, to give it a rustic, masculine look.
The ceiling was high and arched, a large chandelier hanging up top, the crystals looking like diamonds as the lights shimmered on them. “Wow, Cane,” I breathed. “This place is beautiful.”
He smiled a little. “It’s fancier than the one in Atlanta was.” He looked around. “I don’t know what possessed me to get a house that has more rooms.”
“Because you’re not alone anymore,” I noted. Our eyes latched again, but I pulled away, looking at the left staircase, the one we were nearest to. “Can I go up?”
“Yeah.” He nodded. “Go ahead.”
I took the stairs up carefully, noticing my reflection in the marble when I looked down. When I reached the top, I went left. There were three doors this way, each of them black. I went into the nearest one. It was a big room, a large glass desk inside it and a rolling chair behind it. Some boxes were stacked in the corner, the curtains open to reveal the front lawn, which had a fountain in the middle of it.
“My office,” Cane stated.
“Great view.”
I went to the next room. This one only contained a queen-sized bed, a dresser, and a TV. There were suitcases inside it and a neon orange duffel bag. I assumed this room was Lora’s because the duffel bag had sticker of a stick figure holding up its middle finger. The last room on the left was completely empty.
“Gotta figure out what I’ll do with that one,” he chuckled nervously behind me.
“Where is your mom sleeping?”
“Oh, her room is downstairs. Leads right out to the pool. She loves it.” I smiled at him as he looked me over. “Come. Let me show you my room.” He reached for my hand again, and I accepted it, letting him lead the way. We walked past the staircase that was on the right, and on this side of the house, there were two doors. He opened the very first one. It was his room for sure. I remembered the large bed frame and dresser from before, both a dark brown. The biggest difference was the windows—many more than at his house in Atlanta, revealing a line of trees in the distance. The view was amazing. I walked in, running my fingers over the cotton sheets then trotting into the walk-in closet.
“Holy shit! This closet may as well be another room!” I laughed.
“I intended on sharing it with a special someone…”
I pressed my lips together, fighting a smile.
“But if you are only here to visit…” His sentence trailed off.
I walked into the bathroom, postponing that topic for now. This bathroom was much bigger than his last one. It was mostly white marble. Clean. Shiny. Three windows, all tall rectangles. A tub was near the north wall, the shower only a few steps away from it. Two sinks. Two separate mirrors, not a whole one like the last place.
“I don’t know if you remember, but I had mentioned to your mother during the last dinner at their house that I’d opened an office in Charlotte for Tempt,” Cane said. “At that point, I was just going to commute back and forth from the Atlanta building to get here. I had no plans of leaving Atlanta behind, but when you got hurt,” he grumbled, through clenched teeth, “I figured I would get a house here, too. I had Lora find some last-minute options for me. When I was clear to go, I came down here and saw this one. Fell in love with it, honestly.” He looked around, sighing. “But I didn’t buy this house for myself. I got a bigger place because I wanted more people in it…and I wanted you to be one of those people. I want to share all of this with you…” He held his hands out, like he was displaying this room for the very first time. “But if you’re only visiting…”