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“Did you two go somewhere?” I ask, reaching to pull her out of the seat.
Arsen closes the door before I can. “No, but we’re about to. Come with us.”
“That’s okay.” I back away from him like the walking, talking temptation he is. How can he smell this good when we’re outdoors? It’s like his pores are pumping out pheromones at triple the rate of normal humans. “I’ll just go upstairs, and?—”
Arsen steps towards me. “I’d really like you to come with us, Laila. There’s something I want to show you.”
I glance over my shoulder, but Gedeon has disappeared into thin air. My heart is thundering like he’s asking me to go cliff diving with him instead of on a simple drive. Cliff diving might be the safer option. “What do you want to show me?”
“It’s a surprise.”
“For me?”
“For you and Nina.” He sinks his teeth into his lower lip, rocking on his heels like he’s on the edge of his seat waiting to hear what I’ll say. “Come on,roza. Come with me.”
Nina squeals from the backseat as if she already knows where we’re going, and I relent. “Oh, alright.”
Arsen doesn’t touch me as he holds the passenger door open. He doesn’t even try to make conversation on the drive. That doesn’tstop the tension from building between us until I’m sure the axles on the car will snap under the extra weight.
There’s no way Arsen can’t feel it, but he just drums his fingers on the wheel and keeps his eyes on the road.
“Almost there,” he says eventually.
I jump, realizing I’ve been staring at the side of his face for God-only-knows how long. I whip my attention to the window, face flushing, and see we’re in a fancy neighborhood.
The cobblestone roads are narrow with thick shade trees lining the sidewalks. The houses sit far back from the road, nestled into the woods like fairytale cottages—if fairytales were set in multi-million-dollar mansions.
Arsen turns at the end of the street and weaves up a secluded drive that stops in front of a wrought-iron gate. On the stone pillar on the side, there’s a new bronze sign that reads,Barnes House.
“Arsen,” I whisper, unable to take my eyes off of my name embossed on the sign, “what is this?”
He doesn’t answer. Instead, he pulls out a key fob and presses the round button in the center. The gates spring open, and we drive through them and towards the two-story stone house in the center of the property.
Ivy crawls up the facade and wraps around tall, arched windows along the front. I’m still staring at the deep front porch and the cobblestone sidewalk when my door opens. Arsen is standing there, already having gotten Nina from her seat.
“You… bought… a house?” I ask, sliding out of the car on shaky legs. Somewhere in the distance, I hear running water.
“Actually—” He pulls out a large key on a gold keychain and hands it to me. “—I boughtyoua house.”
My jaw drops. “Excuse me?”
His smile is lopsided, a little uncertain for the first time in his life, as he puts an arm around my shoulders and leads me towards the front door. “You can do the honors.”
“This can’t be real,” I whisper in awe, even as I slide the key into the lock and push open the wooden double doors.
Our footsteps echo across the hardwood floors and the high ceiling. Nina lets out a little wail and then giggles when her voice comes back to her.
“I wanted you to be able to decorate it the way you envisioned,” Arsen explains. “I’m sure you’ll have ideas of what you want to do.”
“I don’t have any ideas right now,” I croak.
But that’s not true.
In each room we walk through, I can see everything perfectly. The plush sofa I’ll put in the living room with a matching ottoman for movie nights. The barstools we’ll install at the island in the kitchen, so Nina can sit and watch me make dinner.
Arsen pushes through the French doors out to the backyard, and I can see myself unrolling my mat on the brick patio and doing yoga out here at sunrise.
Finally, I turn to him. “What’s the catch?”
