Page 58 of One Touch

I used the card to gain access to the top floor—my penthouse. The buttons I pushed didn’t go unnoticed, but Kate didn’t comment on the fact that my place was a penthouse on the North Shore.

As the elevator door opened, I swept my arm out, signaling for her to walk before me. The private elevator opened to a formal foyer. Kate stood in the middle of the room and turned in a slow circle. Her eyes ran over the living room, where my housekeeper had started a fire in the wood-burning fireplace. She took in the dining room and the sunroom to the right. She didn’t know it yet, but tucked away in the corner was even a library.

“Are you kidding me right now?”

I smiled, and a smug part of me liked that she appreciated my home. “What?”

She shot me a flat look. “What, please. You know what. This place. It’s ... wow.”

Pride swelled in my chest. “Thank you. It was a gem I had found. There were plans to tear down the whole building, but obviously I couldn’t let that happen. The original plan was to renovate and sell, but once I was done with it ...” I shrugged. “I don’t know—”

“It felt like it was yours all along?” Her soft smile and the bright sparkle in her eyes were arresting.

I swallowed hard, taken aback by the fact she understood so easily. “Something like that.”

“Can I look around?” Giddiness slipped into her voice.

“Of course. Explore all you want. I’ll put the bags in our room.”

Her smile widened.Our room.She didn’t miss the slipup either.

I made quick work of depositing her overnight bag and my duffel in the primary bedroom. As I had requested, my housekeeper had also lit the wood-burning fireplace in the corner, and in the bathroom she had set out a beautiful arrangement of bubbles, soaps, and candles.

I smiled to myself, knowing I could easily pamper Kate in my home.

“What’s upstairs?”

I followed the muffled sound of Kate’s voice until I found her in the all-white chef’s kitchen. She looked soft and dainty against the marble countertops and custom cabinetry.

“Couple of bedrooms, a media room, and a living room that leads to the outdoor terrace.”

“Holy shit.” Her eyes were wide.

“What?”

“I mean, I knew you were rich but ... this is likerichrich.” I didn’t miss the hint of disgust in her voice.

“Is ... that a problem?”

Her brow furrowed. “No, I mean, I guess not. Though you did shatter my dream that you were some down-on-his-luck black sheep that I could take pity on.”

I scoffed. “Oh, I’m still the black sheep.” I shrugged, feeling slightly embarrassed. “Just maybe not so much thedown-on-his-luckpart.”

Kate lifted her hands to take in the open space. “Clearly. With money like this, why even take the farmhouse renovation? We could have found someone else.”

I suppressed a smile. “I’m sure you would have loved that.”

She blinked in innocence. “Is it too late to hope?”

I shook my head and stuffed my hands into my pockets. “Wasn’t about the money.”

Kate walked across the kitchen and stepped into my space, wrapping her arms around my middle. I lowered my lips to her hair and wrapped her in a hug.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

The sudden shift in intensity clogged my throat. I couldn’t speak, so I simply dropped a kiss on the top of her head.

As much as my body was screaming at me to lift her up, let her wrap those long legs around me and finally have my way with her here, we had an important appointment to make.

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