Page 116 of Play On

“Um,no, it’s not.”

“Well, to be fair, I’m working on getting to London, and I won’t be living with them then.”

“How is the art plan coming along?” Noah asks. “You had a lot of it done when we talked about it over dinner.”

“I’ll tell you about it after I am given my tour.”

He grins. “Hint taken, Butterfly.”

Noah reaches for my hand, and as soon as our fingers are entwined, he begins leading me through his home. It’s bright and spacious, with beautiful hardwood floors and cream-coloured walls. The entry foyer itself is huge. Directly in front of me is a staircase, and all the way at the end of the long hall I can see a breakfast room, with large windows overlooking the garden.

“I’m going to use the terms that my estate agent used when showing me this house, to make me sound more like a tour guide because I know you expect that,” Noah teases.

I smile. I love that I can bring out his sense of humour.

“Here on the right is the so-called drawing room,” he says, leading me inside. It’s large, with a white fireplace with a marble inlay and windows that overlook the circular drive out front.

And the room is completely empty.

“I see you’re going with a minimalist approach for decor in this room,” I quip.

Noah chuckles. “I’ll be honest with you, I didn’t see the need to decorate every room in the house straightaway. It’s just me, and if I have the guys over, we’re in the media room playing video games. It hasn’t been a priority to me to fill every room with furniture.”

I relinquish his hand and walk across the room, thinking of all the possibilities for it. “But Noah, this is like a blank canvas screaming for paint,” I say, moving around and picturing different ways to furnish it. “It’s too beautiful not to be decorated.”

“Maybe you can give me your ideas for it.”

I turn to face him. “I would love that.”

“Then you have an open invitation to serve as my interior decorator.”

I move back to him and thread my fingers through his once again. Noah leads me across the hall. “You’ll like this room. It’s furnished.”

I smile at that.

“This is my study,” Noah says, popping open the french doors. “Confession. I did hire a decorator to do the rooms I thought I would use in the house.”

I step through the doorway and take in the room. The focal point is a contemporary black marble desk. A light grey leather chair sits behind it. The walls are painted in a dark slate grey, but windows that overlook the drive provide lots of natural light. I cast my gaze to the bookshelves behind the desk, with books and art pieces displayed in an aesthetic way.

“Are these books for display or books you actually read?” I ask as I slip behind the desk to examine the titles more closely.

“You tell me,” Noah says, coming around to the desk and leaning against it.

I begin to look at the titles, and I can’t contain the grin that spreads across my face when the first book spine I read is about Norse mythology.

“You picked these,” I say, turning around to look at him.

“I did. You’ll find mythology. Books about football. Biographies of famous athletes. All books I have read or intend to read. I have more on my Kindle, though. Including a lot of these because it’s just easier to use the Kindle.”

I stare at him. Noah has aKindle.

I think I just fell a little bit more for him knowing just how much he loves to read. I mean, I knew he read, but the fact that he has the same books in his study and on his Kindle?

Next level.

Noah resumes his tour of the house, showing me an empty dining room, then a gorgeous combined space containing the breakfast room and the kitchen. More windows flood the area with light, and I can see the manicured lawn and swimming pool through them.

I look around the kitchen, which has hardwood floors and cream cabinets. The island is long and runs the full length of the kitchen, with ample room for working and dining. There’s a farmhouse sink and a copper vent hood over the hob. The breakfast room has a long wood table, surrounded by six wood chairs for a rustic yet modern style. The space also includes the living area, which has a cream-coloured sofa with lots of cushions and two grey armless chairs for seating.

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