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“Thank you for doing this,” she said.
“Of course,” I replied. “Besides, Eagleville’s closer than the coast.
She slapped my arm and laughed. “Really? That’s why you agreed to this?”
I laughed. “Nah, you’re right,” I said. “The last time we were here, the rest of the day didn’t go as well as I’d hoped. It’s a great idea.”
“Change the memory,” she nodded.
“Exactly.”
I opened the door and let her into the Manor. I had called ahead and made sure Jack had aired the place, and he had refreshed the flowers in the large vases, adding a little touch of his own that I thought was genius. The smell was incredible, and from the smile on her face, I could tell Andrea felt the same way.
“What did you do?” she asked, frowning as she took in the livelier feeling of the place.
“I might have asked Jack for a favor.”
She looked at me, her smile melting me. “This is gorgeous.”
“Well, it helps that we’re in a manor,” I joked.
“Idiot,” she mouthed, shaking her head in amazement. “What else did you ask Jack to do?”
“I have no idea, honestly,” I shrugged. “I have a feeling there will be a few surprises here and there.”
Andrea winked at me and made her way across the foyer, this time opting to explore the ground floor before going to the terrace upstairs, where we knew we’d end up.
I had never really seen the rest of the place, and I was equally in awe at the majestic rooms and furniture that decorated Eagleville Manor. I couldn’t understand how a pace like this could ever lose its charm. The least anyone could have done was open a restaurant in one of the wings and make use of the view. With UCONN only a few miles away, this place could have really become more than a house standing alone on an island in the middle of a lake.
Or maybe its charm was in the fact that not many people even knew they could visit it.
“Must have been lonely,” Andrea said as we made our way back.
“What do you mean?”
“All this space, and not having anyone to share it with,” she said. “It’s no wonder the first owner didn’t live long after his wife died.”
“Great way to make a beautiful situation morbid, Andrea.”
She looked at me and smiled. “I have darkness inside me, Andy. You’ve been warned.”
I followed her upstairs and to the master bedroom. The bed had a fresh mattress on it and was made to perfection, another of Jack’s little touches. There was a note on the pillows.
“Looks like Jack had some strange concept of why we were coming here,” Andrea said, shooting me a look of amusement.
“Let the old man have his fantasies,” I said, picking up the note.
“Are they only his fantasies?”
I smiled and said nothing, reading Jack’s scribbled cursive: THE BATHROOM’S GOT HOT WATER.
“You really thought of everything, old man,” I mumbled.
“What?” Andrea called from out on the terrace where she was already soaking in the sun and the view.
“Nothing,” I called back, pocketing the note and following her out.
I came up behind her, wrapping my arms around her waist and kissing her neck.
