Page 84 of Erik's Redemption
She snapped her lips shut and looked up at the big house. It really was huge. Two main floors, with a fully functional attic and a huge basement. There were about eight bedrooms, and every one of them was large.
“I’m sorry, Angel.”
Her gaze swung to Erik, and she tried to form a smile, but her lips couldn’t make it work. “You can’t help how you feel.”
A pained look crossed his face, as if he knew exactly what he was asking her to give up yet wasn’t capable of changing his mind.
It was only the knock at her window that had her gaze shifting to the side. Henry stood there, tapping his watch.
Her next smile came with more ease. He had a dinner reservation tonight, something he’d told her about veryexplicitly, giving strict instructions on how long they could stay here.
She climbed out of the car, and Henry was talking before her feet hit the ground. “Remember, Han. Out by—”
“Five. I know. You’ve told me a million times.”
His brows rose. “Well, I’llkeeptelling you, in case you forget. That reservation at Telders was hard to get.”
“Leave her alone,” Owen said, shoving his hands into his pockets. “She’s doing her job by showing me this house.”
“Yeah, and she can do me a favor by making sure I’m not late for my dinner reservation.”
Hannah shook her head. “Well, come on then.”
She was moving toward the door when Erik’s fingers wrapped around her wrist, pulling her to a stop. “I’m gonna stay out here and watch the house. Make sure we don’t get any visitors.”
She looked down the driveway and lowered her voice. “You think we were followed?”
His eyes were unreadable. “No, but you can never be too sure.”
She swallowed. “Okay.” Rising to her toes, she kissed him, hating the small distance she felt growing between them after their conversation.
Her heart was still heavy as she moved up the steps and to the front door. The second they pushed inside, Henry gasped. “Holy shit, Han. This place is huge!”
It truly was. The ceilings were so high his voice echoed. A chandelier centered the foyer, and the wooden staircase went up, then split off two ways.
She grinned at Henry and Owen. “It’s gorgeous, isn’t it? Almost a hundred years old, but great bones.”
Owen walked over to the staircase and ran his fingers along the balustrade. “I definitely like all the land. But it might be too much house.”
Yeah, that had been Hannah’s thought, but she figured it was worth a look.
Henry moved behind him. “No such thing as too much house. You can always find stuff to do with space.”
Hannah chuckled and gestured to the right. “Okay, first we have the formal living room. Unfortunately, because it’s an old house, you don’t have an open concept, but walls can always be knocked down.”
Henry walked over to a wall and knocked. “Probably load-bearing, but you could get a steel beam put under the ceiling in the form of a bulkhead.”
She squeezed Henry’s arm. “This is why I need you with me.”
They made their way into the kitchen. Again, the space was old and dusty, but Henry moved around the room, explaining to Owen all the renovations that could be made.
Hannah was actually getting invested in the renovation ideas, a part of her even envious thatshecouldn’t live here. She knew from experience that Henry was great at renovations. He was in construction, and he’d been the one to basically transform her home.
When they finished downstairs, they were about to move up when Owen turned to Henry. “Can you grab your tape measure? Then we can determine whether some of my stuff will even fit in the rooms.”
Henry grinned at Hannah. “The man has a shitload of stuff.”
“Lucky there’s a shitload of space here.”
