Once we got there I asked her to fly up to the large estate and park.
“Who lives here?” she asked curiously and leaned forward to see better.
“A handsome, wise, and very sexy man,” I answered with a wink.
To my surprise she didn’t catch on that I was talking about me. Humor definitely wasn’t her strongest suit.
“Come on,” I waved her with me up the stairs to the impressive double doors.
“Is he a friend of yours?” she asked a bit nervous and looked up to the rooftop – three floors above us.
“Oh, he’s a very good friend of mine,” I said and laughed.
“This house looks pre-war; how is that possible?” she asked.
“Because it was built in nineteen twenty-four.”
“It was?” she whispered and licked her lips. “Are you sure?”
“Yup, this house is one of the few that wasn’t bombed or torn down. I suppose its location outside the city made the difference.
Christina scanned the grounds and I could tell her eyes were lingering on the pretty pond with the ducks floating peacefully. “It’s very pretty here with the forest and the water.”
“You think?”
“Yes, very idyllic – like something from an old movie.”
Butterflies made my belly tingle with a speck of hope that maybe, just maybe…
“Stop – what are you doing, Boulder?” She interrupted my thoughts with her protest when I opened the door and walked in.
“Don’t you want to see what the house looks like on the inside?” I tempted. “As I said, it was built in nineteen twenty-four; that makes it…”
“Five hundred and thirteen years old,” she breathed, her eyes wide as she took in the extravagant staircase.
“Exactly.” I laughed. “So you’re good at math, are you?”
Christina wasn’t listening, she was walking toward the staircase with her hands outstretched.
“Beautiful, right?” I said.
“It’s gorgeous,” she whispered and touched the banister as if it was fragile.
“Yeah, they were good at making pretty houses back then. Not like the cubes you live in, huh?”
She nodded but seemed speechless.
“Feel free to walk around. The interior is modern of course, but the house itself is original… or almost original. It’s been upgraded a bit to make it more energy-efficient.”
“I can’t believe it,” she muttered and greedily scanned the room, taking in every little detail.
“Go ahead.” I swung my arm out wide, signaling for her to investigate.
She walked as if in a daze from one room to the other and when she entered my study she gasped. “Books… so many books.”
“I know,” I said with a satisfied smile on my lips. “Some of them are really good and steamy.”
Her hands were practically shaking when she gently touched the back of a few books, reading their titles.
