Page 92 of Give My Everything
“I don’t know why, but I always pictured you living in some crazy mansion. Like Batman with an underground cave.”
Ben laughs. “You know, that actually sounds horrible. I don’t like caves.”
I giggle and follow him back to the main area, where he shows me the kitchen and living room, which I saw last time I was here.
What Ihadn’tnoticed were the floor-to-ceiling windows that look out into a beautiful backyard. It looks completely different in the light of day.
“Wow,” I say, taking a look at the manicured space.
“Wanna see something cool?” he asks.
“Duh.”
He laughs, then presses a button.
What I thought was a wall of windows begins to recede into the walls, leaving the living room open to the yard.
“The windows double as collapsible doors.”
I cross my arms. “Well that’s just super cool.”
He laughs again. “Alright, so I don’t live in a mansion, or a big compound like some of our families do. I wanted a normal house for…” He pauses, clears his throat. “I just wanted a normalhome, so there isn’t a driver or a pool or a wine room…although Idohave a maid service and keep a wine cooler in the kitchen.”
I shift on my feet. Ben assumes I’m used to all of those things.
I mean, technically I am, but I was living a very different life in Santa Barbara than what most people envision.
I had a job at an art store. I never used the credit card my parents had in my name. I drove a beat-up Honda Civic until it crapped out on me and then I rode the bus.
Maybe I had the comfort of knowing I could be taken care of if something crazy happened, and that’s an assurance a lot of people don’t have, but I didn’t spend my college years being pampered.
For some reason, I want Ben to know that. Maybe not today, since it will invite more questions than I feel prepared to answer right now. But definitely at some point.
“You know what we should do tonight?”
Ben turns from where he’s looking out at his yard.
“We should have a sleepover.”
He grins, and I can feel it tickle the base of my spine. He might be a nerdy kind of guy, but damn if he doesn’t know how to look at me in a way that hits me where it counts.
“I think I can get behind that.”
We spend the next thirty minutes wandering through the upstairs bedrooms, discussing which one would be good for the baby.
Which feels crazy.
Talking about baby rooms.
The good thing about the house being incredibly bare is that everything is a blank canvas. There’s room to make adjustments and changes and add decorations.
Because I’ll be the woman of the house.
Something else that feels completely crazy.
And then Ben shows me his bedroom.
A large king bed. A dresser. A walk-in closet next to the master bath.
