Page 33 of Cougar

When the house comes into view, I suck in a sharp breath. It’s almost exactly like the photo he’d pulled from her Pinterest board.

“Every princess should live in a castle,” Bass singsongs.

“What do you think?” Marcus asked before he turned his iPad around to show me a picture of a massive estate home.

I frowned. “What’s that?”

“I got it from Jaybird’s Pinterest board.”

I raised my brows. Jayla wasn’t allowed on any social media platforms without our permission. “I didn’t know she had a Pinterest account.”

Brows furrowed, lips pursed, he pushed out a “Hmm” and said, “It’s fine. She made me an account, too, so I can see everything she pins. Including this”—he gestured to the screen—“‘Hot Guys’ board, which she will be deleting immediately.”

I couldn’t help but laugh out loud. Marcus chuckled before directing my attention back to the picture of the estate-style mansion.

I nodded. “I think she has good taste.”

I step through the front door and into the grand foyer. The house is beautiful and spacious with dark espresso wood floors, white walls and hints of color splashed throughout.

To the right of the foyer is a sweeping staircase leading to the second floor and just beyond the stairs is the dining room. To the left is a formal living room.

Just past the foyer is the kitchen. This overlooks the great room, which is decorated with long sofas and a large flat-screen on the wall over a uniquely carved wooden entertainment unit. A wall of windows stretches along the entire back wall, and an expansive pool deck runs the length of the house and wraps around the pool.

“There’s a lake, a dock, and a boathouse just over there.” Max points toward a paved walkway flanked by lights and leading down toward what I assume is the lake.

I look over at him with wide eyes. “Are there gators in there?”

Max chuckles and shakes his head. “No. It’s man-made.” I don’t believe him. This is Florida. If there’s water, then there are gators. “There might be some fish in there, but you should see it in the daytime. It’s actually quite beautiful. The water is light blue, almost clear.”

On the other side of the kitchen is another staircase, a laundry/mudroom, small guest bathroom, a gym, and a door that leads to the garage.

There are two master suites. Mine is on the bottom floor, just beyond the formal living room, and Jay’s suite is on the second floor, along with five guest rooms, plus an extra entrance to Bass’s apartment. And on the third floor is a media/game room and an additional suite for Grace.

After a quick tour of the house, Max and the boys take off. Jay heads back to her room to shower, and Grace bids us a good night before heading upstairs.

Frowning, I turn to Bass. “I don’t like that she has to climb two flights of stairs to get to her room.”

Bass jerks a thumb over his shoulder. “There’s an elevator on the other side of the kitchen.”

I roll my eyes. “This is all a bit much.” I wave my hands around. “Don’t you think?”

Our home in Malibu was a simple two-story, Italian-inspired beach house. It was the first thing Marcus bought when he signed with his first record label. I love that house.

Bass shrugs, and then I remember something. “Crap, B.” Rushing back to the foyer, I grab my bag off the floor and slip my hand inside the side pocket. Pulling the sealed envelope from my bag, I drop it back to the floor and rush up the stairs to Jay’s room.

Her bathroom door is closed, the shower running, when I step inside her bedroom and carefully place the envelope on her nightstand.

“Em,” Marcus called out from the office. I stopped inside the doorway with raised brows and watched as he dug through his desk drawers.

“What are you looking for?”

“Remember those little stationery sets we bought a while back? Do you know where we put them?”

I moved over to the credenza behind the desk and opened a drawer, plucking out the package of white card stock with matching envelopes and holding it out. “These?”

“Yes.” He took the package from my hands and opened it.

“What are you doing?”

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