Page 115 of The Hermit

She takes a seat, and just as I join her, I hear Santiago call out, “Ahhh, two of my favorite people.”

“Here we go,” I mumble.

I get up again and shake his hand while asking, “Did you manage to get a meeting for the property we talked about?”

“I did even better,” he replies with a grin. “I bought the place.”

“Now, why the fuck did you do that?” I ask, giving him an incredulous look.

When I mentioned to Santiago that Grace and I were moving to Chile, the man took it upon himself to find the perfect house for us.

Not a day has gone by where he didn’t spam me with photos of properties.

“It’s a welcome to South America gift from me to you and your lovely wife.” He levels me with a serious look I rarely get to see. “Forming a solid relationship with you is very important to me, Dominik.” A grin spreads over his face again. “Plus, I knowhow much you hate dealing with people, so I thought I’d do you a favor and take care of it all.”

Santiago and I stare at each other for a moment, then I hold my hand out to him. When he shakes it, I say, “Thank you. One day, I’ll get to return the favor.”

“You already did.” When I frown he gets up from his chair, and as he walks away, he explains, “You created this beautiful oasis for us all. The least I can do is buy you a fucking house. The title deed is in your private suit.”

“Thank you, Santiago,” Grace calls out.

“You’re welcome, beautiful.”

When I turn my gaze to Grace, she grins at me. “Admit it.”

“Fine. I like the fucker.”

“He’s something special,” she says as she kicks her ballet flats off.

The manager returns with Grace’s lemon water, two glasses of orange juice, and a platter of sliced fruit.

He quickly places everything on the table, then says, “Just call if there’s anything else I can do.”

Before I’m able to get annoyed, the man scurries off, which gains a lot of favor with me.

Evinka must’ve told the staff to stay away from me unless I call for them.

“Thank God,” Grace murmurs as she picks up the glass, and I watch as she downs half of the lemon water.

“Better?” I ask.

She nods, and glancing around at all the greenery and Asian décor, she says, “It feels so peaceful here. I’m going to love this little restaurant.”

“I figured once our son is born, there won’t be much time for cooking. This way, we can order in and never leave our suite.”

She lets out a burst of laughter. “And so the truth comes out. While you stay in the suite, I’ll be down here.”

“Fine, we can leave the suite once a day,” I concede, giving her a playful smile.

I wait while Grace enjoys some of the fruit, and once her lemon water is finished, I ask, “Ready to see our place?”

“Oh, definitely.”

I take hold of her hand and help her to her feet before wrapping my arm around her shoulders.

When I lead Grace through a doorway we walk through a hallway that has retractable windows. It’s basically a bridge over a stream that’s surrounded by green shrubs.

“I love the sounds of the birds in the trees,” Grace mentions.

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