Page 72 of Rock Bottom

I grinned at her enthusiasm.

If only it were contagious.

“It’ll be fine. You’ll see.” She squeezed my hand and then went back to playing with Jeremy, who was strapped into a car seat the service had provided.

Zeke had told me to leave the big stuff at home. He’d bought duplicates of everything I would need for the baby in the last week or so. Well, he’d bought new and better versions of all the things I had for him in Minneapolis. He’d found the best quality and safest items on the market and then sent me links so I could approve them.

The amount of money he’d spent was mind-boggling to me, but it probably was nothing more than a drop in the bucket for him. I had to admit, he made everything feel easy. He’d done everything imaginable to make this move happen with as little effort as possible on my part. The hardest things I’d had to do were pack and clean out the fridge. Beyond that, he’d had people coming to oversee the new roof installation, to clean, and he’d opened a new bank account for me with more money than I’d ever seen in my life.

In fact, it was so much I was going to have to mention it to him once we were alone. I didn’t need that kind of money, especially not when he was paying for everything Jeremy needed. He’d said he wanted me to feel secure, but that kind of money just made me feel weird. Like I was some kind of high-class prostitute or something. It wasn’t accurate, and Zeke hadn’t said anything of the sort, but I was nothing if not insecure.

“Holy shit,” Aunt Meg breathed as we pulled through a tall, wrought iron gate. “Is this his house?”

Zeke had refused to send me pictures ahead of time, assuring me it would make me uncomfortable. And boy, was he right.

This wasn’t a house.

This was a massive estate.

From where I was sitting, I could see the house, which was huge, but also a bunch of outbuildings. One of them looked like a garage, but I couldn’t figure out what the others were. Guest houses? Fancy sheds? It was interesting. Then there was the big fountain, the Maserati, and the gorgeous, lush lawn. I’d never seen anything like it.

But the best thing I’d seen in two weeks had just strode outside.

Zeke had on shorts and a T-shirt, with his long hair pulled back in a ponytail. He looked relaxed, comfortable and at-home here, which made sense, but he was also watching the approaching car with interest. The moment it stopped he opened one of the doors.

“Hey, Meg.” He smiled at her but leaned over and kissed me without hesitation. And it was a real kiss too. Firm and lingering, with a promise for more, as he smiled and helped me out.

“Hi,” I whispered, feeling somewhat breathless.

“I’m so glad you’re here.” He hugged me to his chest.

“Me too.” And I meant it. I was nervous, but once I’d made the decision to come to California, I couldn’t keep an emotional distance between us. That served no purpose. If he broke my heart, well, there was no help for that now. We’d decided to be together, so that was what I was going to do.

“Let me take care of Jeremy,” he whispered. “And introduce you to everyone. Then we’ll talk.”

“Okay.” I went to give Aunt Meg a hand, though she seemed comfortable with her cane.

“There’s Daddy’s boy. What happened to your clothes, huh? You puke on whatever cute outfit Mommy had you in?”

I chuckled, amused that he’d guessed exactly what had happened.

“We didn’t want to wear much of anything today,” I told him. “Much less the cute outfit or shoes.”

“Well, that’s okay. We don’t wear a lot of clothes here in L.A. either.” He winked.

“I think I’m going to like it here,” Aunt Meg said, grinning.

I rolled my eyes at her, taking her arm as we approached the front door.

Just as we got onto the front porch a middle-aged woman practically came skidding through the door, her eyes wide.

“William Zerkesian! You didn’t tell me they were here,” she yelled.

I stifled a laugh as Zeke tossed Jeremy in the air, making the woman who was undoubtedly his mother gasp.

“Zeke! Stop that.”

“Ma, would you relax?” He shook his head as he approached her. “I’d like you to meet Margaret Forrester and Presley Figueroa.”

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