Chapter 3
Three
Every time she pulled up to the Brooks estate, she felt like someone should pinch her. It was massive and like something out of a movie.
Holly remembered the first party she attended when she asked Mrs. Brooks about the house and not only got a longer than expected description, but also a personal tour.
Every room was impeccably decorated and there were several times she had to fight the urge to pull out her phone to take pictures of it because it was all so beautiful.
She had been staring at the massive chandelier in the entryway, but that was after being positively dazzled by the gated entrance to the property and the long, perfectly manicured driveway.
She’d never seen anything like it in real life, and she feared she was gawking.
Luckily, Mrs. Brooks didn’t seem to mind.
“I was born and raised in Georgia and always loved the architecture, so it was important to me for this house to resemble a Georgian estate. We lucked out with the property—we’re on five acres in a cul-de-sac, plus we have lake access. The view off the higher decks is breathtaking.”
“Really?” she’d marveled. “How many levels are there?”
“Four total. The lower level is ground level in the back, so you can walk right out to the patio and pool area. There’s a large covered area that’s perfect for entertaining. That’s where most of the party is set up. I’ll bring you down there after the tour.”
All she could do was nod.
That’s when she got to see the entire house—all sixteen thousand square feet of it.
Holly had felt wildly out of place—like she wasn’t dressed fancy enough to even be in the house, but she kept that observation to herself.
And tonight, she felt even more out of place showing up in a pair of yoga pants, an oversized sweatshirt, and sneakers.
After working all day, one of her favorite things to do was go home and change into something more comfortable, and today was no exception.
Plus, knowing she was essentially coming over to snoop around potentially in an attic or storage room in the basement, it just made sense to be casual.
Climbing out of the car, she gently grabbed Shmoop’s leash and led him from the car. “Remember, this is not a playground. You need to behave and show Lucas how awesome you are.”
He just tilted his head, as if considering her words.
“Plus, if you break anything, I’ll have to work until I’m dead to pay for it, so…please behave, okay?”
Naturally, he wasn’t going to reply, but she felt better reminding him about respecting other people’s homes.
Especially when they are homes like this.
Leash in hand, she made her way to the front door and was surprised when Lucas opened it before she rang the bell.
He had changed out of his business attire as well and looked positively yummy in a pair of faded jeans and a navy blue sweatshirt.
“Oh, hey! We’re here!” She sounded way too excited, even to her own ears, but it was too late to do anything about it.
Luckily, Lucas smiled and stepped aside. “Thanks for coming. Dinner should be here in five minutes.” He paused and studied Shmoop as if he didn’t know what to think of him. “Wow. He really does look like the cartoon dog. That’s wild!”
“I know, right? It’s just one of the reasons I fell in love with him.” Carefully, she stepped inside and kept an extra tight grip on the leash. Shmoop was a good boy, but she knew he was definitely going to be curious about the new space. “Would you like me to put him out in the yard or…?”
“Why don’t we play it by ear and see how he does just hanging around with us?” he suggested, leading her to the kitchen. “I figured we’d eat first and then go looking around for decorations.”
“Did you snoop around at all before I got here?”
He laughed softly. “No. I only got here about twenty minutes ago. Plus, I wasn’t even sure where to begin and thought it best to wait for you.”
Aww…
She went to the massive wall of windows in the back of the house and stared out at the property. Even though it was after dark, the entire yard was lit up. Part of her wanted to let Shmoop out to explore, but it was so big out there, she wondered if he’d get lost.
Or get into something he shouldn’t.
“There’s a small fenced-in area next to the outdoor kitchen,” Lucas mentioned as he came to stand beside her.
“My sister Anna has two French bulldogs and she brings them every time she comes to visit. My mother was always afraid that they’d mess up the yard, so she made a mini dog park for them.
I always forget it’s there. But if you’d like to let um…
Shmoop out, you’re more than welcome to use it. ”
“That would be awesome!” she gushed. “Especially when we’re snooping around. I don’t want to lose sight of him and find out he’s eating one of your mom’s expensive pillows or chewing a pair of her shoes.”
“I thought you said he was well-behaved.”
Holly’s eyes went wide as she met his gaze. “He is! I mean…he’s never done anything like that at home, but this is a whole new world and he might get a little too inquisitive or make himself at home and think those things are toys.”
The grin he gave her said he didn’t believe her even a little bit.
Luckily, they were saved by the doorbell.
Lucas excused himself to get their pizza, and she took that time to go into the kitchen and get settled.
She had brought Shmoop’s water bowl with her, so she filled it and put it down so he could drink if he wanted to.
The table was already set and drinks were out, so there wasn’t anything for her to do other than sit and wait.
When Lucas walked in a minute later, her heart fluttered. He was so handsome and she couldn’t believe they were having dinner, just the two of them! It was one of her biggest dreams and now here she was!
With Shmoop happily sitting at her feet, she waited for Lucas to take his seat so they could start eating.
“What was it like growing up in a house like this?”
He placed a slice of pizza on her plate. “We moved in here when I was ten and it was twice as big as our previous house. It was great to have friends over to hang out. We have the theater room and the gym used to actually be a basketball court.”
“No! Seriously?”
Nodding, he went on. “I played a lot in middle school but lost interest in it in high school. My mother was relieved because even though it was her idea to put in an indoor court, she really wanted the space for a gym for her and my father.”
“That’s still kind of cool. I can’t even imagine what it’s like to have so much space. You could probably hide out and no one would be able to find you for days!”
He grinned again. “It came in handy whenever I got in trouble. After a while, my father just stopped looking.” He winked. “Of course, when I finally made my presence known, I’d still get punished, but he’d be calm by then.”
She had a million questions she wanted to ask about his family and try to find a way to convince him to help his parents get back together. Unfortunately, there was already so much to do that she felt like focusing on the party had to come first. Playing matchmaker would come later.
She hoped.
“What was your favorite hiding spot?”
“There’s a room behind the theater room.
It’s mainly just storage, but I had set up an entire space of my own back there with video games, snacks, and random pieces of furniture that had been in storage that I knew no one would miss.
It was a great place to go where it was quiet.
We used to host a lot of parties and sometimes I just didn’t want to take part. ”
That made her a little sad, but she supposed it made sense, especially knowing him the way she did now.
The pizza was delicious and she was enjoying it, but now she had even more to look forward to while they snooped.
“You’re smiling,” he said, interrupting her thoughts. “What are you thinking about?”
That was easy. “I’m just excited to get started!”
She never stopped talking.
Correction, the conversation never stopped.
But she did most of the talking. And most of it was in the form of questions.
All through dinner, Holly managed to flow from one topic to another and even though he typically enjoyed eating his dinner in silence, this was kind of nice.
Once they were done, they decided to start their search up in the attic and then work their way down to the basement. He knew where the door to the attic stairs were, but he was embarrassed to admit that he’d never been up there.
Not that it mattered, because Holly was leading the way like this was some kind of hunting expedition.
And who knows, maybe it was to her. He still wasn’t feeling like this was going to lead to everything she hoped it would, but at least he could say that they tried.
Besides, it wasn’t like he had anything else to do tonight.
“Oh, wow! Look at this space!” she said with awe as he came up the stairs behind her.
The attic was completely finished and it ran the entire length of the house with a ten-foot ceiling. If it wasn’t used for storage, it could easily be converted to living space.
“And it’s so organized!” she gushed. “Look! Everything’s labeled!” She slowly walked around reading everything. “Anna’s baby stuff, Katherine’s baby stuff, Lucas’s baby stuff…school stuff…hmm…pool house decor…wedding gowns…” Glancing over at him, she smiled. “Tons of personal stuff.”
He nodded. “I never realized she kept so much of that sort of thing.”
“From the looks of it, it’s like a time capsule up here.
Anything you could ever want to find from your childhood is here and clearly marked.
” She kept strolling and reading. “My mom’s not this organized, and I don’t think she saved nearly this much stuff.
” Pausing, she laughed softly. “Probably because our entire house could fit up in this attic.”