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CHAPTER 5

AMELIA

“I’m excited to see what you think,” Tristan says as he turns into what appears to be a very long driveway. “There aren’t gates here. For the most part, the people who live here give me my privacy.” He shrugs. “And I’ve never wanted to put anything up that would impede my view. You’ll see what I mean.”

“How long is this driveway?” I’m craning my neck, trying to see the house, but I can’t see it yet.

“About two miles. It sits far enough off the road to be completely secluded. One of the reasons I love it so much. We’re about eight miles from town, so it’s easy to get there.”

I’m about to ask him something else, but that’s when I get a good look at the house I’m going to be living in. My family is well-off and I’m familiar with luxury. But this house? Takes my breath away. It looks like it was literally situated here by God himself. Like it’s been here since the beginning of time. It sits in the place it was meant to be for eternity .

“Amazing, isn’t it?” His voice is quiet in the awe filling the Range Rover.

It appears to be about three stories high. The outside is dark blue with weathered shingles and a massive porch. To the left looks to be a five-car garage. “It is.” I badly want to know what the other side of the house looks like and the inside. I need a complete picture.

“Wait until you see the rest of it.”

He parks and we’re quickly out, him grabbing my hand. Mine are cold, like normal, and feeling his strong warmth is a relief. “Wait, what about our stuff?”

“There’s a small staff here.” He entwines our fingers together. “They’ll take care of it while I show you your new home.”

As we enter, I’m literally rendered breathless by the view. While this side of the house had few windows, the backside? It has nothing but windows. We walk slowly through the foyer, in my peripheral I see staircases, but my gaze is dedicated to what’s in front of me. The living room is manly, all leather and dark colors. What’s got my attention, however, is the fact I can see the ocean through the window.

“I can’t believe you have this view,” I whisper.

“This,” he whispers right along with me, pulling me into his side. His arm wraps around my neck, causing me to lean into his side. “Is my happy place. There’s something about sitting in either here or on the back deck and watching the waves, listening to them, and just enjoying the quiet. There’s so much noise in my life, so many people who need me for something, or want me to make some sort of decision. My father, telling me what I should do, or what I shouldn’t do. Here, it doesn’t matter. I can be me, and more than anything, that’s why I love it, and why I hope you love it too. ”

“I think I’m going to,” I tell him, feeling the sense of peace he talked about as I look out over the water.

Like a scene from a postcard, snow is softly falling, coating portions of the rocks that lead to the beach. How I got dropped in the middle of a fairy tale, I’ll never know.

“This is my other favorite part of the house,” Tristan says as we get to the lower level. “This pool is where I spend most of my time during the winter. It’s not big at all.” He moves to the side to allow me to look.

He’s right, it’s a small square with a waterfall, but it’s got a beautiful view of the ocean.

“When I have anything to think about, I come here, sit in the water and contemplate life. Water calms me more than anything else ever has, maybe that’s why I feel so comfortable here. I want you to love this place as much as I do.”

I look down, noticing he hasn’t let go of my hand since we arrived. I like it, but I don’t make a comment about it. If he knows he hasn’t let me go, it may startle him and ruin the easy friendship we’re coming to have.

“I’m sure I will. I can see the appeal, and I can’t wait to view it all through your eyes, Tristan. Show me the rest?”

He takes me through an amazing kitchen, a library, workout room, shows me a couple of bathrooms, a pantry, and two guest rooms. We’re about to head up the last set of stairs to the top floor when he stops, turning to face me.

“This is the master.”

As we climb the stairs, I hold tightly on to his hand. My heart is pounding, mouth is dry, because he didn’t mention more than one. When he opens the door, I gasp again. The bedroom is the length of the house. There’s a huge bed with windows looking out over the ocean again. Only here, you can see so much further because it’s higher. There’s a veranda with what looks to have outside furniture, and I can’t wait to sit out there, hopefully with him.

There’s a sitting area on one side of the room, situated around the focal point of a fireplace. It’s cozy, and everything I would want if anyone asked me what I imagined my home as an adult would look like. Carpet on the floor looks plush and like it would sink between my toes if I took my shoes off.

“Wanna see the bathroom?” he asks.

If the bedroom looks like this, the bathroom is going to be amazing. “Oh my god, yes.”

He laughs at my enthusiasm. “Come on.”

When he opens the door, I’m totally in love. There’s a tub so big I can probably lie down in it, a shower large enough for at least five people, and the largest makeup vanity I’ve seen in my life. “This is…” I don’t even have words for it.

“I’m a guy.” He laughs. “This means nothing to me, but I’m really glad you like it.”

Turning to him, impulsively I throw my arms around his neck, hugging him tightly. “I do like it, I can see why you love it here.”

He wraps his arms around my waist. “I hope you’ll come to love it as much as I do.”

“I can’t wait to see it through your eyes,” I tell him. “Can’t wait for you to show me why you’d rather be here, instead of at the palace.”

“Oh you’ll see that very quickly, trust me.” He laughs again as he pulls me back through the room and has a seat on one of the sofas around the fireplace. “There’s a few things I need to talk to you about. ”

And that’s when my stomach drops. I’m unsure of what he’s going to say, don’t know him well enough to be able to gauge what he may say by his facial expression.

“While we’re here, we’re going to become comfortable with one another. We’re going to learn all the things other people learn about each other while dating. Together we’ll figure out what it is to run this country.”

Hearing him talk about us like a couple is comforting. “Together?”

“Together, I’m not going to let you go about this alone. Sometimes, the media will be harsh. I watched my mother go through it, watched her hate it, and sat by while my father did nothing. I swore to myself that when it came time for me to be one in charge, I wouldn’t allow my wife to shoulder the responsibility of being the face of our nation.”

He grabs hold of my hand, twisting his wrist so that he strokes my palm. “I appreciate that, Tristan. While I do have some training, and obviously Shannon will be with us, nothing will help more than the two of us standing strong.”

“Which brings me to my next point.” He continues running his fingernail along my palm. “Obviously this is the only master suite. There are two options. I can stay in one of the guest rooms, or we can stay here together. The decision is yours. Whatever you want to do, I’ll stand behind.”

My breathing increases as I think about the implications.

“I don’t want to pressure you,” he continues.

“You’re not,” I assure him, closing my palm around his finger, biting my bottom lip as I think about what sharing a bed with him means. “In a few months we’ll be doing it anyway, right?”

“Is that you saying you want me to stay here with you?”

This may be the worst decision of my life, but we have to become comfortable with one another and the best way to do that is to spend time together. Here, in this room, at least we’ll have complete privacy. Even if my heart does pound at the prospect of sleeping in the same bed with him.

“Yes,” I answer. “Yes, I want us to share this room together.”

“To share the bed?”

“Yes.”

He shifts so he can move his palm to my neck. “To share our bodies?”

“Yes, when the time comes.”

I’ve got to set a few boundaries, and that’s the biggest.

“Understood, Amelia. I’ll have them bring both our bags up here.”

He gets up to go let them know and as I watch his retreating back, I sigh. My life—is about to get way more interesting.