Page 47 of Wild Ever After
It’s hard to see beyond the many projects going, but he points out the new flooring and windows on our way up the stairs to the bedrooms.
“My office is downstairs,” he says. “It’s mostly filled with weights and workout machines now. Eventually, all that will move to the garage, I think.”
“The garage?” I question because when he pulled into the four-car garage, I didn’t see a lot of room for anything else. Besides his Ferrari, he has the motorcycle and four-wheeler he told me about, plus a Mercedes SUV. Not to mention, the many tools that are also taking up a decent amount of the space.
“I’m thinking of selling the Mercedes. That’ll give you room to park in the garage.”
“That’s not necessary,” I say.
He doesn’t respond; instead, he heads down a long hallway and flicks on a light in a room at the end of it. “This is the only room that doesn’t have shit stacked up in it right now or wallpaper I need to remove. It’s also the second biggest room in the house. Mine is at the other end.”
He walks in just far enough to let me pass.
“This is thesecondbiggest?” I mutter, mostly to myself. I think mine and Sam’s apartment could fit inside the space.
He chuckles softly. “I wasn’t sure what furniture you had. Anything you don’t want, just let me know and I’ll move it out tomorrow.”
The bed looks heavenly. It’s upholstered in a beige tone, that feels too feminine to believe Declan picked it out, and has lots of white fluffy blankets stacked on top. I pick up a cherry red throw pillow.
“It’s gorgeous. I was going to shop for a new bed this week. Most of the furniture I had at the apartment belonged to Sam. The rest of my stuff is in Leo’s garage. I don’t have much.”
“Do you want me to grab it all now?” He takes a step back into the hall.
“No.” I stop him. He’s already done too much. I can get it all tomorrow after a good night’s sleep. “I’m good tonight. All I want to do is shower and crash.”
“Let me show you where that is.”
“Great.” I toss the pillow and give the bed one last longing look. I cannot wait to get clean and climb under the covers. Just the thought of stepping under the warm spray has my muscles relaxing.
Declan heads back down the hall. I look closer at the other rooms we pass this time. They’re empty, except for boxes and a few pieces of furniture, like he hasn’t decided what to make of the spaces yet.
I’m staring into a room with an ugly rose and hunter green border around the top of the walls and nearly collide into the back of him.
“Oh, shit,” he says, just loud enough for me to make out the words.
“What’s wrong?” I ask.
He turns the handle of the door in front of him and it swings open. I follow his gaze inside the bathroom. He moves forward a step and flips on the light, then lets out another string of curses.
“Woah,” I say, staying behind him but peering inside.
The entire bathroom is wrecked. An old toilet has been pulled from where it was once located near the sink (or what’s left of the sink) and is in the middle of the room. The walls are the only thing still intact, and they’re covered in an ugly striped wallpaper that has yellowed with age.
Declan rubs two fingers between his eyes. “I forgot I demo’ed this right before we left.”
“You did this?” Carefully, I step farther into the room.
“I like to hit things with a sledgehammer occasionally.” A boyish grin takes over his face and then it drops. “I’m sorry. There’s another full bath downstairs, or you can use mine until I get this put back together.”
“It’s a great space.”
“Too big really. The master has everything I need—a huge shower and dual vanities.”
“No tub?”
He shakes his head.
“You need a tub.” I walk over to where I think the tub or shower was before. “Not here though, over there.” I point under the window. “One of those clawfoot tubs.”
