Page 61 of Heartbroken Husband
I strode over to stop them from crashing right through the glass, but honestly, as soon as I got my first glimpse of the yard, I almost shrieked too. It was more private resort than yard with a gigantic, sparkling blue pool, a waterfall, and a water slide.
Immediately, however, I noticed that every feature containing water had been fenced and gated—and it looked like a new install. I stared at it for a moment, overwhelmed by the fact that he’d actually thought about that. He had forgotten car seats but he added safety features to the pool. Points for Zach.
Amber, however, was squinting at the yard before she shook her head and turned to sweep her gaze across the expansive first floor of the house again. It really was frightfully large, living areas fitting into one another like puzzle pieces, all open concept to a massive, farm-style kitchen that also opened up to the deck overlooking the yard.
“Okay,” Amber said slowly, turning back to me. “So he’s obviously not marrying you for your money.” She leaned closer to me. “I can’t believe he’s this rich. I mean, it’s not just me, right? This is beyond belief. Objectively.”
I wanted to laugh again, but I was speechless as I followed the girls around the house. Amber trailed behind us, all of us exploring the place from top to bottom. Finally, I shook my head. “It’s definitely not just you.”
Zach appeared at the top of a staircase, our luggage somehow balanced in his hands. Naturally, because the house wasn’t impressive enough, he was also carrying everything himself.
“The rooms are ready,” he said casually, but his tone didn’t help the place feel less like a small hotel rather than a house. “You’re welcome to come choose where you want to sleep.”
The girls shrieked and thundered up the sweeping wood-and-glass staircase toward him, but when I moved to follow, Amber stayed put. She looked up at Zach, a sweet smilespreading on her lips that told me she was trying to charm him into getting something. I just didn’t know what yet.
“I saw a guest house when we pulled in,” she said. “Just down the road. Do you think I could stay there?”
So that’s what she wants.
Zach paused halfway down the stairs. “You want the guest house? It’s got four bedrooms, so it might be a bit big?—”
“I definitely want the guest house.” She paused, then smiled again and added, “You guys should have your space. This is a bonding trip, right?”
He considered her for half a second longer before he shrugged. “Sure, it’s up to you, but if you get scared out there all alone, don’t wake me up.”
“I won’t.”
Digging into his pocket, he pulled out a set of keys and tossed them to her. Then his features took on a stern sort of expression. For just a second, it was like I could see the father he would one day be to a teenager. “Just do me a favor and park your car where no one can see it.”
She frowned. “We’re in the middle of nowhere.”
The girls came tearing back down the stairs, screeching to a stop in front of me. Jennifer looked up with big eyes, already pleading before the words even came out of her mouth. “Can we each have our own room?”
I glanced at Zach, who immediately frowned like he hadn’t known there was any other option, but he nodded. “Sure.”
“I call the big one!” Jennifer shouted, spinning back around and taking off again.
Lu was hot on her heels. “No, I do!”
“You always take everything!”
“I do not!”
The door shut firmly behind Amber, letting me know that she was making a getaway before the argument could get outof hand, and I sighed but followed the girls and Zach up to the bedrooms. I shouldn’t have been surprised that having their own rooms would be such a big deal to them.
They’d been sharing ever since we’d left the Hamptons, but they were old enough to want their own space. Even so, it seemed unnecessary to dirty the bedding in two rooms and to have them argue about who got which one when it wouldn’t last anyway.
“You always end up in the same bed in the morning,” I said as I followed them into the hotly contested bedroom first. “Why don’t you just share this one?”
Lu crossed her arms. “No.”
“You said we can have our own,” Jennifer whined, fixing me with those puppy dog eyes all over again.
“This one and the one next door share a bathroom,” Zach said from the doorway, glancing at me. “They’re Jack and Jill.”
I sighed. “Fine.”
“Really?” Jennifer asked.
