“So help me God Evan if you don’t want to feel the wrath of a raging Latina while we’re in the middle of nowhere, I highly suggest that you produce some hard liquor. Top shelf preferably,” I threaten.
Evan blinks a few times, probably gauging how much danger he is actually in. “How about this? One shot of chilled tequila, followed by a glass of Sauvignon Blanc?” He grimaces while he waits for my response.
I nod and he lets out an exaggerated sigh.
He pours me a shot of Clase Azul Reposado and I down it before he even has a chance to slice the lime in his other hand. Damn that was smooth, what kind of garbage tequila have I been drinking this whole time?
“Okay … You mind telling me what’s got you bent all out of sorts?” Evan asks as he reaches for two wine glasses.
I snort. “You’ve got to be kidding me, right?” I point back and forth between us. “You. Me. In this house. ALONE. This is going to be a disaster!” I take my glass of white wine as soon as he’s done pouring it and gulp down half of the contents in one swig. “Wait. Is this your doing? Were you trying to get me up here all alone? What are your motives here Evan?” I ask as I point a finger at him.
Evan takes a respectable sip of his wine and sets the glass down on the counter. “Ok, let’s sift through all your crazy now and get it out of the way.” He starts. “I let Abby and Vanessa know that I would happily offer up my vacation home to everyone since all of your parents were going away for the weekend. How that information got dispersed is none of my doing. At least that much you figured out on your own. Remind me to send Nikki a gift basket or something. That reaction of yours was priceless.”
“Rude.” I take another sip of wine.
“Anyways, as I was saying, I suggested the typical Thanksgiving schedule of Thursday to Sunday. But someone …” He looks at me, and I innocently point at myself. “Decided that they wanted to be here a day early. So I moved a few meetings around and took the jet so I could land here in time to welcome you into my home.” He takes another sip of wine, this one much larger. “You know, some people would say something like ‘thank you’ but I’ll settle on you not murdering me in my sleep.” He smiles.
“No promises here,” I say into my glass, then tip the rest of my wine into my mouth.
21
Amelia
“Ok,so now for the grand tour,” Evan says as he guides me out of the stool and gestures towards the open concept living space. I was so caught off guard by Evan being here that I completely neglected to take in this beautiful home in all its glory.
The kitchen is the perfect mix of sleek, modern appliances and traditional wooden accents with a splash of emerald green here and there.
The living room space is a real jaw dropper. Multiple deep sitting cozy couches arranged in a U-formation facing the massive TV screen that hangs above a large fireplace. The back wall of the home is one massive piece of floor to ceiling glass, with an incredible view of the back patio and what seems like acres of uninterrupted land. I’m staring at the backyard when Evan leans down towards me. “There’s a pond in the backyard that’s currently not visible due to the snow, but during the summer months I’m told it’s a perfect place to cool off while staring out at rolling hills and trees.”
“Wait, what do you mean you’ve been told? Don’t you own this place?” I ask.
“Yes Amelia, I own this home.” He chuckles. “I bought it a few months ago, but just came to see it in person last week.”
“Hold on a minute. So you just bought a vacation home without even stepping foot inside and seeing it for yourself?” I gasp.
“It’s a very competitive market. I’ve been wanting a vacation home away from the city and my realtor told me about this one before it officially went up for sale. I had my assistant walk the premises for me and take videos. He also FaceTimed me while he was here. He knows me well enough to know what I like. And as you can imagine, this place photographs well. So I jumped on the opportunity.” He shrugs.
“Wow, just like that. Must be nice.” I nudged his shoulder.
“Yeah well, I’m no longer in the business of letting a good opportunity slip through my fingers,” he says barely above a whisper while looking out into the distance.
Okay. Did it somehow just get exponentially warmer in here? Must be the fireplace’s doing.
Nope, it’s off.
Oh well, moving on.
“Okay, so we cook over there, hang out here, and have meals in the dining room over there. Got it,” I say as I move away from Evan and back towards my untouched, newly refreshed glass of wine.
“I’ll show you the sleeping arrangements. This way.” He gestures towards the hallway on the left side of the house and we walk side by side.
“How many bedrooms does this place have?” I ask as I mentally start tallying the doors we pass.
“Eight bedrooms and ten bathrooms,” he says casually.
I stop in my tracks and smack my free hand across his chest. Jeez his chest is way harder than I expected.
“Ten bathrooms?! Are you insane? Do you know how much toilet paper you will need to keep this place fully stocked?” I screech.
