"You can, if you so desire."
The gate opened as if he’d willed it so, and a sweeping driveway lined by palm trees led to a large white house. The grounds of the estate stretched far and wide in every direction, with the sparkling blue ocean behind it.
I paused and looked around at the greens of the trees and the blue of the sea. “This is gorgeous."
"It gets better." Lucifer took my hand as we started along the driveway. The scent of the flowers hung heavy in the hot afternoon air, and I walked slowly to savor them. “You haven’t even seen the house yet."
“Forget the house. I think I’d be happy to live outside.” I laughed and swung our hands as we walked, freed from my worries by the hope of future happiness.
"Then let's explore the grounds first." Instead of leading me to the front door, we went around the side, where we discovered a large sparkling pool and spa, an outdoor kitchen with a seating area and a cabana, and lots and lots of land, all overlooking the ocean. "There's more than enough room for our horses to roam, and for you to create another garden here."
My mind was already swimming with ideas for what I could design for the space. We continued on, past a guest house that looked bigger than the house I'd lived in with Brandy, and a walkway that led down to a private beach. I stood at the top of it, soaking in the sunshine. Even though I was so much more than an angel now, I still loved it. "It's perfect."
“You like it?” he asked.
I let loose a breath, “I love it.”
Lucifer watched my face closely with a small smile. "Let's head inside."
We approached the two-story house, which had an incredible system of miniature waterways running around it between more palm trees. The house boasted wide glass windows and whole walls that seemed to simply fold out of the way to allow the exterior and interior to merge into one luxurious space. My heart beat wildly as I coveted all that I saw. I almost didn’t need to see the inside. Lucifer knew me so well after all this time—if this was the house he'd selected to show me, there was no doubt it was the perfect one.
As we stepped through the entrance doorway, I squeezed Lucifer’s hand in mine. A big open concept living area flowed into a chef's kitchen and out through a wall of glass doors with access to the vibrant green lawn and turquoise pool, with the ocean glinting in the sun behind it. A glorious staircase led upstairs, while a hallway led off to other rooms to the side. The house was empty of all furniture, but I could already imagine how I would decorate it—lots of black and white, plus sea greens and ocean blues, with a splash of earthy sand tones.
As Lucifer led me further inside, he said, “There’s plenty of room for the boys to stay, it’s close enough to hop back to Vegas quickly, and it’s secluded enough to give us both privacy and safety."
"You don't need to give me a sales pitch," I said with a laugh. "I'm already sold."
Lucifer smirked. “You haven’t seen the best part yet.”
I lifted an eyebrow. “The bedrooms?”
He shook his head, mock disappointment on his face. “Really? No, love. The library.”
I perked up at that. "It has a library?"
A wicked grin lifted his lips. "Of course it does."
We stepped inside, and my mouth fell open. Row after row of white bookshelves lined the big space, which had a view of the ocean behind a spot that looked like the perfect reading nook. It was even bigger than Lucifer's library in Vegas, and I could already imagine all the glorious hours it would take to organize our books in here. Plus, we'd need new ones to fill all these shelves. Naturally. In fact, I was pretty sure I'd need an entire wall to shelve all my favorite romance novels.
There were two guest bedrooms on the first floor, along with an office and a yoga studio we would turn into a sparring room. After we checked them out, we finally headed upstairs. The second floor opened up so you could see the living room below, before leading off into the other bedrooms. The primary bedroom was huge, with an attached room that would be perfect for when the baby was young. The bathroom was just as impressive, all newly remodeled with intriguing 3D tiles that looked like waves, that I just had to run my hand over. The other bedrooms upstairs were also a good size for our daughter to grow up in or for guests when they visited.
"I've seen enough," I said, as I leaned on the handrail on the landing overlooking the first floor. Everything about this home felt right. I could see us raising our daughter here, our horses would have plenty of space, and Brandy was close by. Plus the estate would be easier to defend and more secure than a penthouse in a big city. "Let's make an offer today. I want this house."
"It's yours." Lucifer wrapped his arms around me from behind. "I already bought it."
I spun around in his arms. "You did?"
"The second it came on the market, I made the previous owners an offer they couldn't refuse. I hope you'll forgive me for making the decision on my own, but I wanted to surprise you, and I acted quickly to make sure we didn't lose the property to someone else. It was too perfect to pass up. "
"I love it, and I love you for knowing how much I would love it."
"Good." He bent to kiss me, then took my hand and led me into our future bedroom with a naughty smile playing across his lips. "I think we should celebrate our new home."
"Now?" I asked with a laugh. "We don't even have any furniture yet!"
"I don't need furniture to give
