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Maybe once I got them into their rooms, we could all sit down and talk it through. Christ, did I even have the energy for that? My legs were shaking as we walked through the living areas and followed Wolfe up the stairs to the second floor.
“That’s my room down there,” he said, pointing to the main suite at the end of the long hallway. “You can pick any other rooms you want. One room has an ensuite, but all the rest share this bathroom here.”
“Okay. Thank you.”
I watched him go, forcing myself to drag my gaze from him walking down the stairs. Stupid that simply walking down some stairs could look hot. Fuck, I was going crazy.
Before I could explore that thought any further, Florian grabbed my attention, running through the nearest door and throwing himself on the bed. “Holy cow! This bed is as big as my whole bedroom.”
Laughing, I said, “Sure, but that doesn’t mean you can jump on it. You want this room?”
“Yes! I can see the pool from here. Can we go for a swim?”
“Maybe. You can help me unpack first.”
He rolled his eyes in reply, but bounced off the bed nevertheless and came back out to the hallway.
“What about you, Ariel?”
“Which room do you want?”
I smiled. It was just like her to check in with me first. “I don’t mind, honestly. They all seem pretty amazing.”
Ariel took a wander, glancing through all the open doors before settling on the room at the far end of the hallway that overlooked the river.
That left Tiana and Belle to make their choices. “Oh, baby, what’s up?”
Belle was standing in the doorway of the room across from Ariel’s, her eyes shimmering with anxious tears. “This room is too big.”
Tiana and I moved to stand next to her, looking in at the enormous room. The bed was huge, with a thick mattress that looked a mile wide. Way too big for my little five-year-old sister.
“Hey,” I said softly, hugging her close. “You don’t have to stay in here. You can still share a room with me if you want.”
“Really?”
Wiping at the tears on her face, I gave her a reassuring smile. “Of course. What about you, Tee? You wanna bunk in with us? Or have this whole room for yourself?”
Tiana’s gaze roved around the spacious room, her expression blank. I had no idea which way she would go until she said, “I might stay with you for the first night. Then I’ll see.” Tiana and Belle hugged each other, relieved that they could still share a room with me.
“That’s a great idea. Right, everyone put your stuff away. I’m going to see about getting some shopping done.”
“What about a swim?”
I rolled my eyes affectionately at Florian. He was nothing if not persistent. “If everything is put away neatly, and you behave, I’ll speak to Wolfe about it.”
Back downstairs, I found Wolfe in the kitchen, staring into his fridge. He glanced at me over his shoulder. “Hey. I just realized I don’t have enough food for all of us. I’ll need to go to the supermarket. Write me a list of what to get.”
“Thanks, but I’ll buy our own groceries. We don’t want to impose on you any more than we already have.” I crossed my arms over my chest, ready to argue.
Wolfe closed the fridge door and frowned at me. “You’re not imposing, Esme. I just want to help.”
“I know, but really, it’s okay. I’ll handle it.” I stepped a little closer to him. “Please, Wolfe. This is important to me.” In lots of ways, I couldn’t even begin to explain to him.
He looked at me for a long moment, his gaze unreadable, then he surprised me by relenting. “Fine,” he sighed, running a hand through his hair.
I huffed out a breath, because that was so much easier than I was expecting.
“What can I do to help, then?”