Luca smiled at Cory as he led his new girlfriend on the tour, teasing him as he walked away. "Let me know if you need any help, young blood."
Cory looked over his shoulder at Luca, as he and Madison started up the stairs. "Right, thanks. I think I can manage from this point."
Luca winked at him as Cory turned his attentions back to Madison. "I guess this is a lot to take in. I never realized how much I take for granted living here. I pretty much do my own thing."
Madison blushed at Luca's comment and giggled as Cory started to lead her up the stairs. "I don't know how you could ever take this for granted. You live in a house with staff, and a security guard, in the middle of a vineyard. You surprise me, Cory. This isn’t at all what I was expecting."
"I got used to being here, I guess. At first, it was very overwhelming, but after you’re here a few times, you’ll be okay. Everyone is cool."
As they got to the second floor, Cory didn’t take her on a tour of the bedrooms, and he didn’t want her anywhere close to his parents’ bedroom, where Shade was in his death slumber. "Some of the staff have bedrooms up here, the rest live in the staff quarters. My parents’ room and Lorenzo's are up here. I don’t want to bother anyone, so I think we can do that another time. My room is on the third floor."
They could both hear the sound of Lorenzo jabbering from his bedroom, as Cory quickly led Madison to another flight of stairs and up to his rooms. Opening the door, he held out his hand gallantly for her to enter. "This is it, my pad." He and Emma had spent two days cleaning in preparation for her arrival.
Madison stepped into the massive suite of rooms that was Cory's space. She was expecting a bedroom, but he had his own apartment on the top floor of the house. "Are you kidding me?"
She walked over to the windows and looked out over the expansive property. The scope of the vineyards was clearly visible from this height, as was the winery and the stables. "What are those fields over there? One looks like lavender, but the other plants aren't full enough for me to tell what they are."
"That would be sunflowers. Kate has her own business. She does things with the lavender and sunflowers." Walking up behind her, he wrapped his arms around her waist, glancing out at the view. "I have the best view in the whole estate. The property goes all the way to the base of the mountains. It’s pretty huge. Dad has stables here as well, and horses. He and Kate ride together. He also boards horses for some of his friends. The vineyards and winery are the main business for my dad, but it was Kate's idea to plant these flower crops. I have no idea exactly what she does with those flowers, but we have people who do the harvesting. It’s not something I pay much attention to. I just do my own thing, but it is very beautiful and peaceful here."
Madison turned in his arms, so she was facing him. "You live in paradise, Cory Medici. You've been holding out on me. Now show me the rest of your place."
Cory took Madison's hand and led her through the living room into his bedroom. "This is it, where I sleep. It’s real open and roomy. Kate did all the decorating. The lighting in here is really amazing at sunset."
Madison's mouth was hanging open as he led her into his bedroom. The room was massive with vaulted ceilings and exposed beams, and a large stone fireplace. She’d never seen a room like this. Although it was very different from her personal style, the artist in her appreciated the blend of colors and textures. The room was warm and masculine, with the tartan plaids and the oriental carpet on the hardwood floors, in shades of brown. "Wow, Cory, I don't think I'd ever leave this room if I lived here. This is an awesome space! And you have a fireplace in your bedroom? How cool is that?"
Cory beamed at her appreciation of his space. "It’s really nice when winter comes. I’m not used to the cold weather since I was raised in California. So, it’s nice to lay here and look out over the vineyards with a warm fire going. Maybe we can do that sometime. It will be nice and cozy."
He wiggled his eyebrows at her as she giggled in response. He didn’t want to push her to make love with him and today was definitely not the right time. "The bathroom is right in here, it’s awesome. When I first saw my rooms, I couldn’t believe I’d have all of this to myself."
Madison followed him to the bath, where the stone of the exterior wall was exposed, and the long counter for the double sink was made of roughhewn wood that had clearly been recycled from another structure. She loved how the natural elements of nature dominated the space. He had a large shower stall, also built from natural stone, and one of those rain forest shower heads. She shook her head in amazement.
"Kate designed all this? I guess I assumed she hired a decorator or something. This really suits you, Cory. It just feels so inviting."
She wandered back into his bedroom to one of the large windows, taking in a different view of the property. She could see the pool and the lush landscape, a tree swing in a massive oak, and an elaborate tree house built into the tree for Lorenzo and she smiled to herself, imagining that rambunctious child growing up here. She saw a large house behind the main house and pointed it out to Cory. "What’s that building?"
Cory walked up behind her to see what exactly she was looking at. "Those are the staff quarters, for the people who work here, like Gi and Emma. Dad and Kate wanted all the buildings on the property to have the same architectural feel, so it doesn’t look all mixed up. You can’t tell what’s new and what’s old, and it all blends in with the landscape around us."
Madison nodded as she scanned the property. In the distance was a high stone wall, covered in ivy. It was set apart from all the other buildings. "And over there? That walled area? What's behind there?"
Cory's got a little nervous as she pointed out the warrior camp. How could he explain that? "Oh, that’s the uh, yeah part of the winery. Top secret stuff over there, that’s why there’s a wall. My dad has some special blends he makes, expensive ones that have come from Italy, old secret brewing stuff. He’s really edgy about that."
Taking her hand, he dragged her back into the living room and to the couch before she could ask more things he couldn’t answer. "Are you hungry? We can order a pizza."
"Sure! I'd love a pizza. What about your family? Will they eat with us?"
Cory threw his arm over the back of the sofa, stalling for time. "Well, they eat really late usually, so no. Let me get Gi to order us a pizza. You want any meat on it or just veggies? We have a ton of things to drink. What’s your poison?"
"Oh, whatever you order is fine. I like everything. And any kind of diet soda will be fine." Madison walked around the spacious living room, taking in the details.
Cory watched her as she casually strolled through the room. He loved the way the ivory lace dress draped over her curves. His eyes went to her neck where he saw her vein pulsing softly. He closed his eyes for a moment to get himself under control. "I’ll be right back, let me tell Gi what we need and grab us some drinks. Make yourself at home."
Madison took in the massive TV. It must be a 72" screen. She noticed all the video gaming equipment and laughed to herself. She was exploring the gallery wall of art over the large sectional sofa when she recognized Kate in one of the paintings, and the very handsome man with the brilliant blue eyes and coal black hair. So, that was Cory's father. She was right about one thing, Lorenzo looked just like him. Cory had come back in the room, as Madison was examining a portrait of another woman who looked much older, but had a very kind face. "Cory, these paintings are beautiful! Who did these?"