Charity stepped out of the car, awed by the cabin that Lincoln had called both quaint and rustic. It was anything but.
“This place is huge,” she said. “I thought you were going for primitive living.”
He laughed.
“I grew up in a mansion with my own nanny, my own personal kid chef, a maid and a slew of tutors, coaches, and advisors. Cooking my own meals and doing my own laundry is primitive living for me.”
She shook her head, laughing at the exaggerated grimace he made to get his point across.
“You’re an excellent cook,” she said.
“Thank you,” he said, grabbing her bags and his and leading the way into the cabin.
When he opened the door, a gasp escaped her lips. The cabin was two stories, with beautifully stained wood floors and a winding staircase that looked like something out of the movies. The outside looked like a normal wood cabin despite the size, but inside, the walls and floors looked like any other house in Seattle. There were windows and skylights everywhere, and it took her a moment to realize that, while the house was bathed in light, there wasn’t a single man-made light on in the house.
“This is amazing,” she said.
“If you like the foyer, you should see the rest of the house.”
“Very funny.”
“I knew you would like it here. How about a tour?”
He set her bags down in the foyer and took her hand, leading her through every room of the house.
“This kitchen is to die for,” she said, taking in the marble countertops, the large island in the center, and the appliances a professional chef would kill to have in their home kitchen. “That refrigerator is big enough to store food for a small army.”
“During the winter, the road is sometimes impassable. I’ll be stuck here for weeks at a time, so I needed to make sure I could ride out an epic snowstorm.”
“What’s through that door?”
“The mudroom that leads out the back door to the garage, and a laundry room. There’s also a staircase that leads directly to the master bedroom so I don’t have to traipse through the entire house to go to bed.”
“Can we see that room first?” she asked.
“We can, but once you see my room, you may not want to sleep in the guest room.”
“That’s a chance I’m willing to take.”
He burst out laughing, scooping her into his arms and twirling her around, then kissing her soundly and setting her back on the floor.
“You’re a little firecracker,” he said.
“I’m glad someone finally gets me.”
She almost let herself fall into the darkness with the memories of George, but Lincoln’s hand took hers and whisked her away, up the back staircase and onto a large landing with several comfortable chairs, a bookcase, and an entire wall of windows with the view behind the cabin.
“Or maybe I could sleep right here,” she said.
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”
“Is that the lake in the distance?”
“It is.”
“This place is perfect. It’s going to be hard to leave when this is all over.” As soon as she said the words, she wished she’d kept that last thought to herself. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that. I know that this is just until we get through all this. I don’t expect anything after that.”
He smiled at her, his expression soft and a little wistful.
“I do,” he said. “In fact, I’m hoping that you’ll want to stick around when we get through this.”
“Are you sure?” she asked, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath before she gazed into his again. “I mean, isn’t it normal for people put in an emergency situation to think that the adrenaline is attraction?”
“You watch too many movies,” he laughed.
“But, what if it’s true?”
He shrugged.
“We’ll cross that bridge when we get there. I know that you’re probably not ready to hear this, but I’m falling in love with you. So, if all the time I get is until this is over and the adrenaline wears off, I’ll take it.”
“Really?”
“Time with you is worth the possibility of a broken heart.”
Her throat caught and she could feel tears threatening.
“No one has ever said that to me before,” she said.
“Then they were fools.” He moved to stand behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and holding her so they were both looking out the window to the pristine wilderness beyond. “You’re a goddess, but more than those ferocious curves and the most beautiful eyes I’ve ever seen, it’s your heart and your mind that I find myself wanting more of.”
“Go on,” she said, causing them both to laugh.
“I like a woman who likes to hear how wonderful she is.”
“And I like a man who wants to tell me those things,” she quipped, laughing again.
“You’re magical,” he said. “You would not believe the type of women I’ve met. I know you’re only twenty-six, but even women my age and older pale in comparison to your wit and your drive. I’ve spent most of my thirty-four years trying to find someone who is my equal. I never thought I’d find her, and then you dropped into my life.”
“Luckily, it wasn’t literally.”
“That’s another thing. I wasn’t going to go down that trail. I had all the footage I needed, and I was dead tired, but for some reason, I decided to keep going instead of heading back. I’ve never done that before. It was almost like fate was calling me to you. Dropping you off at the Metro and thinking that I would never see you again was the hardest thing I’ve ever done.”
She leaned against him, and he bent down to kiss her neck.
“You’re special, Charity. And I’m not going to let you go without a fight.”
“It feels good to hear those words,” she said.
“Anytime,” he said. “Come on. I want to show you the master bedroom. You’re going to love it.”
He opened the door with a flourish and stepped back. She walked in slowly, taking it all in, shocked silent by the beauty of it all.
The room was huge, with several large windows on two walls, giving it an almost panoramic view of the wilderness beyond. The wall directly across from the bed also had a sliding glass door in the middle, leading to a large balcony. On one of the two solid walls, there was a door that led to a bathroom with a large jet tub and a shower that made the one at Hotel Andra look quaint.
“Hey, this shower has the same type of water fixture,” she said.
“I made a few calls this morning,” he said with a casual shrug. “There’s one in the guest bathroom, too.”
“Just like that?”
“The construction crew was already coming here with furniture to assemble, so it wasn’t a big deal.”
“Except you had major plumbing work done in the middle of nowhere within hours of requesting it.”
He smiled.
“It’s one of the many perks of being rich,” he said. “Just like this is.”
He touched the wall and a screen appeared.
“What the—” she said.
“There are control panels everywhere, but the lock screen is the same as the surrounding wall so they’re almost invisible unless you know they’re there.”
“That’s awesome.”
“Not as awesome as this is.”
There was a soft whoosh as the watertight seal separated, then the roof retracted, revealing a large, clear glass skylight above.
“The rest of the roof holds solar panels and the rainwater system, so this is the only roof that retracts. But at night, we can sleep under the stars without worrying about the weather.”
“Wow,” she said. “That’s some perk. Are there other perks I should know about?”
“You’ll see them soon enough,” he said.
“I can’t believe this place,” she said. “And you’re right, I don’t think I want to stay in the guest room.”
“You haven’t even seen it yet.”
“I don’t have to. I want to be where you are.”
“Good,” he said, taking her hand. “Because I have a lot more I want to show you.”