Page 56 of The Void

She nodded. “Are we doing fancy?”

“My parents are always fancy,” he admitted with a slight groan. “Funny, up until now, I never really cared.” He turned towards her and suddenly asked, “How do you feel about relocating?”

Her eyebrows shot up. “To?” she asked, holding her breath.

“Well, temporarily, Hidden Creek. After?” He shrugged. “Wherever. I was up early this morning looking at houses. I found a farmhouse just down the street from my sister’s place.”

She smiled and relaxed. “I think it’s a perfect idea.”

She didn’t want to let on how her heart soared in her chest at that moment. Being near people with abilities was like breathing air after being trapped in an underwater cave.

Besides, Mia and Selene had gotten along great. She knew that Lucas’s sister had grown up keeping everyone at bay. From her own admission, Scott was the only person she’d allowed to get close to her. Until they’d come along.

She was looking forward to seeing Selene and Scott more than Lucas’s family.

She had expected fancy, but when she saw his apartment—scratch that, penthouse—she realized just how rich he and his family were. Not that her own family wasn’t wealthy. Having a genie in the family did have its perks. Plus, there were the archives and all the cool old stuff that her family had accumulated over the years. All of it was easily fenced to bankroll their needs.

Lucas’s penthouse filled the top four stories of one of the tallest buildings along Central Park. These rooms were just as nice as the ones in Atlantis.

They had ridden the elevator up to the top floor and, when the doors slid open, they stepped directly into his front entry area. It reminded her of an entrance to a fancy office, but just past it was a two-story living room with floor-to-ceiling windows that overlooked the park far below.

She stopped and frowned at him. “Just how rich are you?”

He chuckled and shook his head as he tossed down his duffle bag.

“No, seriously?” she asked, trailing behind him. “Gosh.” She stopped and looked at a large painting of a single golden dot on a black canvas. “This is so you.” She pointed to it.

Lucas glanced over at it and frowned. “Why do you say that?”

She tilted her head and then smiled. “It’s the same color as your eyes.” She stepped into the large space.

“Feel free to look around. I have to respond to a few emails.” He pulled out his laptop and sat down at the kitchen bar.

The impressive kitchen was off to the left and was bigger than her entire apartment. There were French doors leading out to a narrow terrace that held a long table and almost twenty chairs. There were many colorful potted plants lining the railing.

The inside dining room was rather small but still impressive with a table that sat eight. It already had place mats and settings at each spot, and she wondered vaguely how often he used the space.

All of Lucas’s furniture was modern and chic. Actually, everything in the space was modern, down to the kitchen lights and door handles.

There was a circular four-story staircase off to the side of the room with honey-colored wood flooring and glass railings. She stopped at the base of it and looked up all four floors to a massive glass and iron chandelier that hung down all four floors.

“Do you own this or rent?” she called out to him.

“My father owns the building.”

“So your rent is cheap?” she said, and he chuckled.

On the opposite side of the living room was a moderate-sized office. Moderate in relation to the rest of the place, at any rate. There was a full-size bathroom between the office and the living room.

Taking the stairs, she stopped at each floor and was more impressed the higher she went.

The first floor up contained a private gym and a small home theater. On the next floor up there were two smaller bedrooms, each with their own ensuite bathroom.

The top floor was reserved for Lucas’s room. His bathroom was floor-to-ceiling Italian marble. The showers—yes, there were two of them—were bigger than most bathrooms and had more shower heads than she would know what to do with.

Then there was his bedroom. She vaguely wondered how many women he’d had in that bed. Not that she had anything to worry about. She could feel how strong their bond was and could see it in the way he looked at her. Seeing a photo on his dresser, she walked over and smiled down at the picture of Lucas with his parents.

She didn’t know anything about Leif and Leslie Romano. Seeing their faces before meeting them somehow relaxed her.