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James stands up. “I’ll get winner.” Thunder underscores his comment.
Henry laughs. “We better hurry before we lose power. If it does go out, candles are in the pantry.”
“Got it, boss,” Aiden says.
Daniel, Henry, and James all head off to the pool room. I’m alone in the living room with Aiden, Carter, and Ryan as they keep arguing about what we should do.
“I say we go outside, get some sandbags out around the pool, and wait this out,” Ryan says.
“Sandbags?” Carter asks. “Are you serious?”
“No, I’m not serious,” Ryan answers, laughing. “What’s this conversation even about?”
“The stupid storm,” Aiden says.
“It’s gonna be nothing,” Ryan says. “Some lightning, some thunder.”
“But this close to the ocean…” Carter trails off.
“You guys are such big babies,” I blurt out.
All three guys stare at me. Aiden bursts out laughing.
“She’s got a point,” Carter says.
“I mean, it’s just a storm. And look at this place.” I gesture at the house. “It’s a prime storm house.”
“How’s that?” Ryan asks.
Aiden answers for me. “Glass,” he says.
“Right. Lots of glass.” Suddenly, I have an idea. “And where’s there the most glass?”
Aiden grins immediately. “I think you’re onto something here, Emily.”
“What?” Ryan asks.
Carter laughs. “Come on, let’s go.”
I stand and follow Aiden and Carter. Ryan gets up and follows. “Seriously, where are we going?”
We head upstairs, and then upstairs again. There are three floors in this mansion, which I found out about recently. There’s not much up on the third floor, and it’s smaller than the other floors because it’s only the very top of one part of the structure. At the top of the steps, there’s a couple extra rooms that Henry’s using for storage, and one last door up ahead.
Carter goes in first. He doesn’t bother with the light. We all pile in and look around.
“What is this supposed to be?” Ryan asks.
Aiden shrugs a little. “Sunroom? Greenroom? Hard to say.”
It’s a relatively small space tucked into the upper corner of the house. One whole wall and the roof are entirely glass, and it faces the ocean. It must have been built for the view, but Henry clearly never uses it. The room is empty, just bare hardwood floors.
“I’ll be right back,” Carter says, quickly leaving and heading back downstairs.
Aiden walks to the glass. “Look at that,” he says. The ocean is churning, waves breaking hard against the surf. “Gorgeous, right?”
Flash of lightning, more thunder. “Storm’s closer,” I say.
“Yeah, it is.” He grins at me. “It’s gonna be really cool in here.”
