“Come on in and I’ll show you around,” Luke says, but before he opens the door, we both hear a voice.
“Luke?”
It sounds like an elderly woman, and Luke faces the door and closes his eyes for a beat. He draws in a deep breath with his nose and exhales out his mouth before he turns around.
“Hey, Mrs. Adams,” he says.
“Oh, Luke, you know I want you to call me Dorothy,” a petite older woman with short white curls on her head and glasses perched on her nose says. She walks with a cane and moves just short of the bottom step of Luke’s porch.
“Dorothy,” he corrects himself. “How are you today?”
“Just stopping by to see who this pretty lady is and why she’s walking into your house with suitcases.”
I giggle. This woman is nosy, and she ain’t shy about it. “I’m Ellie,” I say.
Her eyes dart to me and seem to narrow a bit, like she’s checking me out and judging whether I’m good enough to be in Luke’s presence.
“She’s Josh Nolan’s sister and she’s going to be staying with me a while,” Luke says. “She’s new to town and you better be nice to her.”
“I’m nice to everybody!” she protests, and Luke laughs. “Why aren’t you staying with Josh if he’s your brother?”
I laugh. “They’re doing some renovations.” It’s the simplest answer for a nosy neighbor, and it’ll give her something new to spy on.
“What are your intentions with my Lukey?” she asks me.
I’d love to bang him into oblivion.
I don’t say those words. Obviously.
“He’s been generous enough to offer me a place to stay for a while. That’s all,” I say.
Dorothy raises a brow. “That better be all,” she says, pointing her cane at me. “Because I’m the only lady allowed to sit on that lap.”
My eyes widen and Luke coughs uncomfortably. “Okay, Mrs. Adams, we need to get inside. But we’ll see you soon.”
“Yes, dear. My granddaughter will be in town in a couple weeks and she’d love to see you again.”
Luke shoots her a smile and nods, and then he rushes to unlock the door and open it.
“Nice meeting you,” I say to Dorothy, and I wiggle my fingers.
“I’m not sure about that,” she mutters, and Luke ushers me in and closes the door before she gets a chance to say more.
I step into a round grand entry, and this house is just as ridiculous as my brother’s. A staircase with fancy iron railings sprawls in front of me, circling up to the second floor. When I look straight up, though, there’s a circular skylight letting the sunshine into the entry, giving the effect of daylight inside. It’s bright and white and not at all what I was expecting.
“So that’s my neighbor, Dorothy Adams,” he says.
“Yeah, I gathered that. She gets to sit on your lap?”
I swear his cheeks turn a little pink, and he shrugs. “She’s always been a little, uh...openly flirtatious with me. She’s always asking me to fix shit at her house or open a jar of pickles. Then she either moans or makes comments the entire time I’m working.”
“Doesn’t that make you uncomfortable?” I ask.
“Incredibly. But she’s a little old lady with no family around, so I do what I can to help.”
Aha! Another insight into Luke Dalton.
He’s not a douchebag. He helps old women even though they’re inappropriate with him.
Instead of harping on that point, I glance around at the entryway. “Why do you need such a ridiculously enormous house?”
He laughs. “I don’t. Brutal honesty, my ex-wife picked it out. She was always much more into showing her status than I was, only a small part of why we’re no longer together.”
“And she didn’t get to keep it?”
He raises his brows and shoots me a sly smile. “I’m here, aren’t I?”
“Why haven’t you moved?” I ask.
He hitches up a shoulder. “Mostly for convenience, to be honest. But also for the backyard.” He points awkwardly. “So this is the staircase, and that’s upstairs.”
I giggle. It’s about as stupid a statement as when I said I’m the sister earlier. “I figured. How many bedrooms are up there?”
He squints as he looks up. “Technically there’s six, but I’ve converted a few of them. Follow me.” We walk through the massive entry to a hallway that leads into the kitchen.
This isn’t just a kitchen, though.
If I was a chef, this kitchen would be a freaking dream. Hell, it is a dream, and while I’m not a chef, I sort of know my way around the kitchen.
“Wow,” I breathe as I look at the endless black quartz countertops with little sparkles in them and the white cabinets and the gray walls with a white subway tile backsplash. It’s just so...massive. Imposing. Beautiful.
He points toward the room connected to the kitchen. “That’s family room number one.”
“Number one?” I ask, and he nods.
“I have two. Plus a massage room, a fitness room, a home theater, a study, two offices, a yard overlooking the mountains with a pool, a pool house that doubles as a weight and workout room, and some sports courts.”
I stare at him with my jaw hanging open. I’m sure I look like an idiot, but this is where I’m living? No wonder why Josh said I wouldn’t even have to see Luke. I probably won’t with all this space.
“Sports courts?” I echo...never mind the freaking massage room. Does that come staffed? I’m not opposed to Luke just rubbing some oil on me.
He nods. “A full basketball court, a tennis court, and I had a customized field put in with turf so I could run drills in the off-season. The patio has some workout equipment, too. You’re welcome to use anything. I have a small house staff. Sheila comes in Monday and Thursday to clean. Debbie comes by a few times a week to cook. Handyman Cam swings by once a week for pool maintenance and whatever else I need him for. So if you see these people around, they’re all supposed to be here.”
I follow him through the house as I try to gain my bearings. This is like a freaking orientation.
We stop in front of a closed door. “Ready for this?” he asks, and I shake my head as my eyes widen. I don’t know exactly what I’m supposed to be preparing for.
He opens the door, and a wild beast lunges at him. Okay, maybe not a wild beast, but an adorably cute puppy who’s very excited to see her owner.
Luke just laughs as the dog licks his arms, and then he says, “Pepper, sit.”
Pepper.
Oh my God. Pepper wasn’t some side chick at all! She’s his freaking dog!
I feel a little better. I survey the room. It’s the other family room, and it has a few couches and a television. Dog beds and toys are scattered around the room with a crate in the corner, dog bowls, and a doggie door that looks like it leads to a fenced side yard with grass. It’s a dog’s paradise, honestly.
“Ellie, I’d like to introduce you to Pepper, the current love of my life.” He scratches her under her chin, and the dog sits patiently and wags her tail. “Do you like dogs?” he asks me.