Page 7 of After the Red Carpet
“Glad you like it.”
“After we eat, what do you say to spending the day lounging in the sunshine, swimming, and making love over and over again?”
She smiled. “I’m all in.”
“OUR SECOND MORNING WAKING UPtogether in our home, with you in my arms. There are no words to describe how good this feels, how right it feels,” Finn said.
“I wish we could stay like this all day. Or better yet, forever.”
“Me too. But it’s an exciting day—lots to do. First, you’ll meet the house staff. Later, my assistant is coming by to go over some things. Then this afternoon, you’ll meet with the decorator to get started on your office.”
She glanced down and seemed to withdraw. He touched her chin, pulling her eyes back up to him.
“What is it, love? Are you still uncomfortable about my staff?”
“Well, you know I always love meeting new people. It’s just . . . I’ve never had people milling around the place I live, except for this one commune where I stayed for a couple of months. But that was eons ago.”
He laughed.
“It’s just different having a household staff, that’s all.”
“They’re just here to make things easier so we can focus on our work, traveling, whatever is important to us, and maybe someday, a family. They won’t be in your way, and if there’s anything they do that you want changed, that’s no problem.”
“How many of them are there?” she asked.
Finn chuckled. “You make them sound like an invading army.”
“Well . . .”
“There’s Joyce, our chef. She’s also the head of the household staff. She’s as nice as can be, and I just know you two will hit it off right away. There’s nothing intimidating about her, so you can get that worried look off your face.”
She giggled.
“Joyce brings in a sous-chef sometimes, especially if we want to throw a party or something. Then there aretwo cleaners and two groundskeepers; they take care of the garden, the pool, and whatever small stuff needs fixing around here. Finally, there’s my personal assistant, Jason. He runs errands, makes reservations—that sort of thing. He’ll be at your beck and call for anything you need, or he can make himself scarce if what you need is privacy.”
“There’s nothing I need that I can’t do for myself.”
“I have no doubt about that,” he replied with a smile. “But he’s here to be helpful.”
“That’s everyone, right?” she asked.
He laughed. “Yeah, baby, that’s it. You’ll feel better when you meet them. Speaking of which, what shall they call you?”
“What do you mean?”
“They call me Mr. Forrester. They could call you Ms. Sinclair. If you’re planning to change your name when we get married, they could call you Mrs. Forrester.”
“Finn . . .” she mumbled, squirming a bit and looking down.
“There’s no pressure. I don’t expect you to change your name. It’s totally up to you.”
“It’s not that. It’s just that I’m not very formal. I can’t imagine people I see every day calling me by my last name. That’s no way to be friendly or make things homey.”
He smiled. “Would you prefer to be called Ella?”
She nodded.
“Okay, sweetheart. From now on, we’re Finn and Ella to everyone. Should we make ourselves look a bit more presentable?”
