Chapter Twenty
Sia
I thought leaving Seaville and coming back to the city would ruin the magic Zach and I found in our blissful two days in paradise. I was wrong. We’ve been back for a month now and I’ve been at his house more than at my own place, including sleeping over. I keep waiting for our perfect bubble to pop at any minute, but it hasn’t. Things feel natural with Zach; they feel right. I’m happier than I’ve ever been before. It scares me, but I push these fears aside because there’s nothing I can do about the future. I can, however, live in the moment, and this moment is wonderful.
Zach was in the city all morning while I was at the house putting finishing touches on most of the rooms. He didn’t want any involvement in the final accents, which I love. That’s my favorite part of decorating: a bright throw pillow here, a detailed lamp in the corner, uniquely framed pictures, light placement. The things that make an ordinary room into a showstopper.
I hear the front door open and smile as I come around the corner. I meet Zach in the hallway, and my heart still thunders when he immediately steps up and pulls me into his arms, his head descending as he gives me a breathtaking kiss.
“I’ve missed you,” he says when he pulls back. I laugh. I do a lot of that these days.
“You’ve only been gone for six hours.”
“That’s a lifetime,” he says. I shake my head. There’s no way I’m admitting to him I’ve missed him as well. We’re in such dangerous territory at this point in our relationship that I’ve gone long past every warning sign and I’m hanging off the edge of the cliff. I can’t be upset about it, though.
“Are you ready for a walkaround?” He’s loved all of the decorations, but the finishing touches are really where it’s at.
“More than ready. Lead the way,” he says, taking my hand as we tour the enormous house. As we step through the different areas I smile at each one. This began as a project, but it now feels like a home. It did before, of course, but it didn’t have any wow factor other than the sheer size. If you’re looking at nothing but size, there are incredible buildings all around the country that no one wants to live in because they require too much work.
I don’t understand how people let these homes degrade so much. That’s not the case with this home. It’s solid and well-maintained. It only needed to be made beautiful again. But many homes never get needed repairs and eventually they fall to the ground. Someone lovingly built these homes, so it’s very sad to see them destroyed. I think we live in a country of abundance, and people simply move on to bigger and better things, letting anything in the past disintegrate. It also might be that things are now made with subpar materials, making them unfixable when things start going wrong.
“Okay, this might be my favorite room of the house,” I tell Zach as we step into the library. He stops as he looks around the large room with a fireplace along the back wall with two comfortable chairs in front and a bright table. The walls are lined with bookcases, with the books organized by category and color. Lamps are in each corner, and a small bar is in the corner.
“This is fantastic, Sia,” he says as he walks around the room. “I might have to start working in here instead of the den.”
“If I lived in this house, this would be the most used room. It’s comforting and bright, but at night it can be soft and soothing. I’ve taken multiple pictures to showcase this room on my website.”
“You’ve transformed it. I don’t think I’ve done more than walk by the door for most of my life, and now I don’t want to leave. I couldn’t have picked a better person to make this home come alive.” I’m beaming as he says this, though trying to keep my feet on the ground.
“Well, I don’t want to go either, but there’s more to see,” I tell him with a laugh. I’m always a little bummed to leave the library. It’s so warm and inviting. I’d love to curl up on one of the recliners with a great book and glass, or bottle, of wine, and simply lose myself in a story. But we do have much more to see.
We walk down the hall. “This is my favorite guest room,” I tell him, opening the door to reveal a beautifully decorated room done in soft pastel colors with antique white furniture and bright accent pillows and lamps.
“I guess I need to find some guests to come and stay,” he says with a laugh. “It would be a shame not to use this room.”
“I’m so glad you like things so far. People make guest rooms fancy, and nothing is wrong with that, but I like comfort more than pizazz. It’s always hard to be away from home, so if you make a visit enjoyable, your guests will want to come back again and again.”
He laughs. “Well, maybe we don’t want them to stay too long.”
“If they stay too long, you can always turn off the hot water. That will drive them away fast.”
He shakes his head. “I might have to do that to my brothers just for fun,” he says with a wink.
We leave the room and move down the hallway, then turn a corner, and step into the kitchen. He’s seen this room every day, so there’s not much more to show, but I’ve hung some brightly colored towels, added a set of canisters, and installed a gorgeous spice rack.
“I need to bring Nikki here to cook a meal. She’ll die over this kitchen.”
“She’s welcome anytime. I love home-cooked meals. My cook has been on vacation for two months visiting his family in South America. I can’t wait for him to get back. His mom broke her hip, so he’s been there taking care of her.”
“Oh, that’s wonderful he was able to do that.”
“Yes, I told him I can do takeout so he can take all the time he needs and still have a job when he comes back. He worked for Gramps for years.” I smile as I imagine cooking in this space. I wish I loved cooking even ten percent as much as Nikki. Maybe it will happen if I ever live in a home like this with such a fantastic kitchen.
“These appliances are all top-of-the-line and have warranties, but you shouldn’t need to have repairs. I make sure to order the ones that will make life easier for my clients. Someday when I have my own house, I’m definitely getting one of these ovens. They aren’t cheap, but they cook beautifully.”
“Very nice,” he says, making me laugh. He doesn’t really care about this room, as he doesn’t cook. He does appreciate the beauty of the makeover, though. I love the stainless-steel appliances, granite countertops, and bright white cabinets with sage green walls. It’s my second favorite room of the house even if I’m not a cook. The kitchen is where most families meet up and discuss their days. I remember it well, sitting at the table talking to my mother as she prepared a beautiful dinner. We spent far more time in the kitchen than the living room.
“When the final rooms are finished, we’ll need to have a party so everyone can see the fabulous work you’ve done.”
I beam at him. “I wouldn’t say no to that.”
I’ve been saving his new bedroom for last. I’ve made him promise not to go into it all week until I put the final touches on it. Today, I’ve moved all of his clothes into the closet, with some help. The man has a huge amount of clothes and more shoes than I have which is just wrong in my humble opinion. He also has far more space than I have. I’m sure I’d own more shoes if I had the same closet space this man has. Moving his clothes over from the last room, he still has over half his closet to fill. Crazy!
“Here we go,” I say as I open the door and we step inside.
Zach lets out a whistle as he looks around the beautiful room. “Wow, Sia, incredible.”
The bright walls are inviting and adorned with beautifully framed images of Zach with his brothers, his parents, and his grandparents. The cream carpet feels like you’re walking on clouds, and the huge bed is covered in a soft tan comforter that feels like satin. I might’ve laid on it for a while and gotten lost in its softness.
The nightstands and bed are a light pine, and the lamps are grey with silver shades. The muted colors are what he likes best. I would’ve opted for more color, but this room is what he wants. I have to admit I like it a lot.
We move to the master bathroom with bright white walls and sleek silver counters with bright red wall art and accessories. The shower tiles look like they’re sparkling when they get wet and the double showerheads make the morning routine an experience versus a chore to get ready for the day. My favorite part of this bathroom, though, isn’t the huge linen closet, but the step-down tub that can easily fit two people. If I get the chance, I’ll use it before I have to leave his home.
“I don’t even know what to say, Sia; this is better than I ever could’ve envisioned.”
I’m smiling ear to ear. “Thank you. I love it. Personally, I would’ve used more color throughout the house, but you can always add and take things away as you get used to the new spaces.”
We leave the bathroom and he tugs me toward the bed with a wicked grin on his face. “Want to test how soft this bedding is?”
I shake my head. “Not yet, lover boy. The tour isn’t over.”
He reluctantly follows me to the living room, a place we’ve spent many evenings together. It’s difficult to choose my favorite room because I love this one too. We step inside where the final pictures were hung today and a few lamps were placed. The beautiful throws make it easy to curl up and watch a movie on the giant television on the back wall.
I stand back as Zach looks over the pictures along the vast walls. He moves around, looking at each one, then stops at the huge family portrait centering the back wall. It’s stunning, an image from many years ago with Zach, Blaze, Callan, their parents, and grandparents. The boys are sitting on the branches of a low hanging limb, while Gramps and their father stand on the side, and Grams and their mother sit in front of the tree. They’re all smiling and look so happy, like nothing in the world can possibly break them apart. It’s both beautiful and tragic that they can no longer be together like this.
“I forgot about this picture,” Zach says, his voice slightly scratchy. I look at the sheen in his eyes and realize my own eyes are filling and spilling over. “Thank you for finding it and turning it into the centerpiece.”
“This has all been my pleasure, Zach. I feel bad being paid for a job I loved so much. The second I saw this image I knew it needed to be the focal point of the room.”
He walks over to me and pulls me into his arms. I willingly go. I really am sad this project is almost over. All of my jobs are special to me, but this one has been the best so far. He leans down and kisses me and I melt against him. Before I get too lost though, I pull back.
“Now, sit down. I’ll be right back.” He chuckles as he moves to his new couch. We’ve been snuggling on it almost nightly for the past week.
I quickly move to the kitchen and pull out the bottle of wine chilling in his new wine fridge. I pour us each a glass, then pull out the fruit and cheese platter Nikki made. I carry it all back to the living room.
“I should be pouring wine for you,” he says.
“Nope, today is all about you. It’s our semi-grand-opening. Only a couple of rooms to go. We have to finish the bonus game room and your old bedroom, now that it’s empty.”
“We have multiple guest houses on the property, so don’t think you’re getting away from this job too soon.”
“We haven’t talked about guest houses.”
“I don’t think about them too often, but my brothers love using them.”
“Now I’m curious.”
“We’ll finish in here first, then go and look at those,” he says as he grabs an apple and some cheese. It’s one of my favorite snacks.
“I might be all booked up, Mr. Callahan.”
“I’ll make it worth your while,” he assures me as he takes away my glass of wine and lifts me onto his lap.
“Oh, and how will you do that?” I ask as he nuzzles my neck and makes me lose my train of thought. It doesn’t matter how many times I make love to this man, I still can’t get enough. I love his touch, love being close to him. It’s incredible.
“I might not let you go,” he says, making my already accelerating heart go into the danger zone.
“We’ve agreed no talking about the future,” I remind him, but I’m wondering now why I put this rule in place.
“I’m playing by your rules, but know we can have it all,” he says, his tongue doing delicious things to my collarbone. I’m losing all ability to think with his lips on me.
“We need more time before we decide anything.” I don’t know why we need more time as this feels like what I’ve always wanted. But the second I tell myself this is it, there will be no turning back. I’m scared to take that final leap.
“I’ll give you more time, Sia, but just know, you’re mine, and I don’t plan on letting you get away.” He doesn’t give me a chance to respond before he takes my lips with his and stops any argument I might be ready to make.
After a few minutes of kissing, he stands, carrying me through the house to the new bedroom. I love how he holds me like I weigh nothing at all. I love being in his arms. This is where I belong. I can fight it all I want, but it’s useless. I’m his. I might want to say I still have a choice in this, that if we end, it won’t hurt, but I’d be lying.
He goes right through the bedroom, straight into the bathroom, and sets me on the counter, kisses me again, then moves to the tub, and starts the water. I’m giddy as he adds several peach bubble-bath beads. Once the water fills the tub, he comes to me and begins stripping my clothes away.
Once we’re both naked I melt in his arms before we step down into the tub together. He leans against the back, then pulls me into his arms, and I melt. His hands and lips caress every inch of me. The urgency we felt in the beginning is still here, but now we take our time, learn the things that make both of us melt.
We make love in the tub before we climb out, dry off, then climb into bed together and make love again, slow and steady, for hours. I’ll never tire of this man’s touch. I want him always. Before I fall asleep I realize the truth... I’m head-over-heels in love with him, and it’s far more powerful than what I felt nine years ago. This time, it’s forever. Now, I just have to wait and see if forever is what I’ll get.