“I had patience.” She turned her head and looked out the back window. “But, I think it flew out the window somewhere back around mile marker fifty-two.” She settled back against her seat, giving him a sarcastic grin.
Jake chuckled. “Smartass. As a matter of fact, we’re just about there.”
Five very long miles later, they turned on yet another paved road. This one had a sign warning trespassers that it was private land.
“Uh, Jake...” She looked over at him. “I think you took a wrong turn.”
He smiled, “Trust me. I didn’t.”
Olivia looked at the sign as they passed by it. “But that sign said—”
“I know what the sign says. I’m the one who put it there.”
“You did?”
They went around a corner and pulled up to a large, iron gate. It wasn’t like one of those fancy ones with the great big initial in the middle like she’d seen on T.V. that shouted ‘Look at me, I have money!’
This one was practical. Efficient. It seemed to be saying something more along the lines of ‘Keep away or I’ll shoot your ass.’
“What is this place?”
“Patience, sweetheart,” was all he said before turning away.
Instead of entering a code to get in, as she’d expected, Jake leaned out the window toward a mounted box. It looked like a camera, but then, a horizontal red light appeared on the camera’s screen. No way.
“You have a retinal scanner to get into your gate?”
She didn’t care that she sounded impressed. That was impressive. Actually, it was really freaking cool.
Almost soundlessly, the gate in question answered for him when the two halves began to slowly open toward the paved drive in front of them. Jake, the smug bastard, gave her a smirk and a wink, before putting the truck back in drive.
“And here I thought I had a good security system,” Olivia mumbled beside him. A small grunt was his only response as he drove them through the gate.
After a couple of curves and turns, the trees opened up into one of the most beautiful sights she’d ever seen. The cabin was breathtaking. It wasn’t enormous or fancy, yet if Olivia had been given the opportunity to pick out the absolute perfect home, hands down, this would be it.
The ranch-style, log cabin stretched out in the middle of what looked to be an enormous piece of land. The porch was lit up and ran the entire length of the house. Olivia couldn’t help but smile at the two wooden rocking chairs and small table, centered between two large windows to the right of the dark green front door.
The landscaping she could see was immaculate, its bushes and bright red flowers giving the place just the right amount of femininity. Down the hill and to the right of the house sat a large, rustic barn. There appeared to be a large fenced area behind it.
“Wow,” she muttered, mostly to herself.
“Like it?” Jake asked from beside her.
Unable to pull her eyes away, she answered wistfully, “It’s perfect.” And it was. “What is this place?”
He turned his head toward her and reached for her hand. “My home.”
She swiveled her head around, looking at him like he’d lost his mind. “Uh, did you forget? I’ve been to your home. Like, a million times.”
Jake actually looked a little nervous when he said, “No. You’ve been to my apartment. This”—he motioned toward the cabin with his head—“is my home.”
Olivia didn’t know how to respond to that bit of news. She was still speechless when Jake came around to her side of the truck and opened her door.
Trying to process what he’d said, she silently followed him up the front porch and waited for him to unlock the door.
Once inside, Jake flipped on the light switch. Olivia thought she was surprised before, but that was nothing compared to what she felt now.
Her mouth dropped open as she turned in a slow circle, taking in the cabin’s interior. The walls were unique. The bottom half were large logs like on the outside, and the tops were drywall, painted a neutral beige.
Absentmindedly, she noticed two newly patched holes on one of the living room walls, which hadn’t been painted over yet, and assumed he’d been doing some work there.
The vaulted ceiling made the space appear much larger than it actually was, and an enormous stone fireplace nestled between two windows served as the focal point for the cozy living room. The dark leather furniture made Olivia smile because it was all so...Jake.
Olivia quickly took in the rest. Behind the living room area was the most beautiful kitchen she’d ever seen. Like the rest of the wooden furniture, the cabinets were made of a dark, solid wood. Somehow, the granite countertops, large bar area, and stainless steel appliances still worked in the otherwise rustic space.
Directly in front of her was a long hallway with several doors on either side and at the end was a set of large, double-doors. Olivia instinctively knew it was the master bedroom.
Jake’s bedroom. In Jake’s amazingly beautiful house. A house she knew nothing about.
She turned to him and crossed her arms in front of her chest. “Spill it, McQueen.”
He stepped closer to her. “I didn’t tell you about this place because I...cared too much for you to.”
Olivia started to tell him that made no damn sense, but he shut her down quickly.
“Do you want me to explain myself or not?”
Olivia huffed, “You’ve got about two seconds.”
She saw the hesitation in his eyes just before he squared his shoulders.
“The truth is, I didn’t tell you about this place before, because I knew if I did, then you’d want to see it.”
“And that would have been a problem why, exactly?” she asked, clearly confused.
He lifted his hand and tucked a wayward curl behind her ear. “Because, sweetheart. I knew if I saw you standing here, in the one place where I truly feel at home, I’d screw everything up by telling you how I
