Mistress to the Magnate: Money Man's Fiancée Negotiation. Michelle Celmer
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as his, then he whipped into a spot right next to the elevator.
She peered out the window. “So this is it?”
“This is the place.” He opened his door and stuck one foot out.
“What floor do we live on?”
“The top.”
“What floor is that?”
“Six.” He paused a second and asked, “Would you like to go up?”
She did and she didn’t. She had been anticipating this day for what felt like ages, but now that she was here, back to her old life, she was terrified. What if she didn’t remember? What if the memories never resurfaced? Who would she be?
Stop being such a baby, she chastised herself. Like Dr. Nelson had reminded her the day she was discharged, it was just going to take time and she would have to be patient. No matter what happened up there, whether she remembered or not, it was going to be okay. She was a fighter.
She turned to Ash and flashed him a shaky smile. “I’m ready.”
She got out and waited by the elevator while Ash collected their bags from the trunk. He pushed the button for the elevator and it immediately opened. They stepped inside and he slipped a key in a lock on the panel, then hit the button for the top floor.
“Does everyone need a key?” she asked.
He shook his head. “Only our floor.”
She wondered why, and how many other condos were on the top floor. She was going to ask, but the movement of the elevator made her so dizzy it was all she could do to stay upright. Besides, as the elevator came to a stop and the doors slid open, she got her answer.
They stepped off the elevator not into a hallway, but in a small vestibule in front of a set of double doors. Doors that led directly into their condo! They weren’t a condo on the sixth floor. They were the sixth floor, and what she saw inside when he unlocked the door literally took her breath away. The entire living area—kitchen, dining room and family room—was one huge open space with a ceiling two stories high, bordered by a wall of windows that overlooked the ocean.
The floors were mahogany, with a shine so deep she could see herself in it. The kitchen looked ultramodern and she was guessing it had every device and gadget on the market. The furniture looked trendy but comfortable, and everything, from the oriental rugs to light fixtures, screamed top-of-the-line.
For a second she just stood there frozen, wondering if, as some sick joke, he’d taken her to someone else’s condo. If they really lived here, how could she not remember it?
Ash set the bags on the floor and dropped his keys on a trendy little drop-leaf table beside the door. He started to walk toward the kitchen, but when he realized she wasn’t moving, he stopped and turned to her. “Are you coming in?”
“You told me you do okay,” she said, and at his confused look she added, “financially. But you do way better than okay, don’t you?”
He grinned and said, “A little bit better than okay.”
Her fiancé was loaded. She lived in a loft condo overlooking the ocean. It was almost too much to take in all at once. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
He shrugged. “It just didn’t seem that important. And I didn’t want to overwhelm you.”
“Oh, awesome idea, because I’m not the least bit overwhelmed now!” She was so freaked out she was practically hyperventilating.
“I take it nothing looks familiar.”
“Curiously, no. And you’d think I would have remembered this.”
“Why don’t I show you around?”
She nodded and followed him to the kitchen, looking out the bank of windows as they passed, and the view was so breathtaking she had to stop. She could see sailboats and ships on the water and they had a phenomenal view of the Bay Bridge.
Ash stepped up behind her. “Nice view, huh?”
“It’s. amazing.”
“That’s why I bought this place. I always wanted a place by the water.”
“How long have you lived here?”
“I bought it after the divorce was final. Right before we met. You’ve lived here almost as long as I have. You’ve always said that your favorite room is the kitchen.”
She could see why. The cabinets had a mahogany base with frosted glass doors; the countertops were black granite. All the appliances, even the coffeemaker, were stainless steel and it looked as functional as it was aesthetically pleasing. “Do I cook?”
“You’re an excellent cook.”
She hoped that was one of those things that just came naturally.
There was a laundry room and half bath behind the kitchen, then they moved on to the bedrooms, which were sectioned off on the right side of the loft. Three huge rooms, each with its own full bath and an enormous walk-in closet. He used one as a home office, one was the master, and the third he told her was hers.
“We don’t share?” she asked, trying hard to disguise her disappointment.
“Well, you’ve always used this as an office and kept your clothes and things in here. I just figured that until things settle down, maybe you should sleep here, too.”
But what if she wanted to sleep with him?
He’s only thinking of your health, she assured herself. She knew that if they slept in the same bed they would be tempted to do things that she just was not ready for. Look what had happened in the hotel. And last night she had wanted so badly to climb out of her own bed and slip into his.
She walked over to the closet and stepped inside, looking at all of her belongings. She ran her hands over the shirts and slacks and dresses, feeling the soft, expensive fabrics, disheartened by how unfamiliar it all was.
“Well?” Ash asked, leaning in the closet doorway, looking so casually sexy in faded jeans and an untucked, slightly rumpled polo shirt, his hair stilled mussed from driving with the windows down, that she had the bone-deep feeling that as long as they had each other, everything would be okay.
“They’re nice clothes, but I don’t recognize them.”
“It’ll come to you, just—”
“Be patient, I know. I’m trying.”
“What are you planning to do now?”
“Look through my things, I guess. It’s weird, but it feels almost like I’ll be snooping.”
“If it’s okay with you,” he said, “I’m going to go to the office for a while.”
They’d barely been back ten minutes and already he was going to leave her alone? “But we just got here.”
“I know, but I’ll only be a couple of hours,” he assured her. “You’ll be fine. Why don’t you relax and take some time familiarizing yourself with the condo. And you look like you could use a nap.”
She didn’t want him to go, but he had sacrificed so much already for her. It was selfish to think that he didn’t deserve to get back to his life. And hadn’t the doctor suggested she try to get back into her regular routine as soon as possible?
“You’re right,” she told Ash. “I’ll be fine.”
“Get some rest. Oh, and don’t forget that you’re supposed to make an appointment with that new doctor. The card is in your purse.”
“I’ll do it right away.”
He leaned forward and kissed her on the forehead, a soft and lingering brush of his lips, then he turned to leave.
“Ash?”