“I value those things, ya know,” he calls back over his shoulder.
“What things?” I ask, quickly looking away from his sexy rear.
He turns and leans back against the kitchen counter, crossing his muscled arms in front of him.
“Love and commitment,” he answers. “Bring your cute self over here.” His sultry voice drifts across the room and intoxicates me, and I bask in it for a few moments before I get up and walk across the room to him.
“Getting demanding, are you?” I say playfully, peeking up at him. He grabs me around the waist and pulls me against him.
“Would you like it if I was?” His voice takes on a whole new level of raw sexiness, making my legs go wobbly. I rest my hands on his biceps and try to answer him in my own hopefully sexy voice.
“I think I would, Mr. Valentine.”
Leaning down, he kisses me softly. “Dinner was perfect,” I tell him when we part. “And I value those things, too.”
“I know you do, Ivy.” He kisses me once more. “Come upstairs with me? I want to show you the rest of the house.”
“I’d love to,” I answer, wondering if that’s secret code for let’s go upstairs and have sex and I just unknowingly agreed to it. Taking my hand in his, he leads me up the wide wooden stairway.
“My bedroom is down the end of the hall,” he says, gesturing in that direction. “But I’m not going to bring you there, so stop looking like you want to run away. I have these two other bedrooms, which are pretty much never used unless my niece sleeps over, or sometimes my buddy Finn stays over.”
“Finn?” I repeat.
“Yeah, he’s my best friend. Hopefully, you’ll get to meet him sometime, and my niece, too. She’s the cutest thing ever.” We walk toward the loft area, which is set up like a sort of office and art room, with a large desk, easel, and ceramic cups filled with all sorts of different charcoal pencils. More of his framed drawings and paintings decorate the walls.
“Is this where you draw?” I ask, perusing everything. I’ve always been awed by artistic people, and he is one of the most talented I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting in person.
“This is where I’m supposed to draw, but I usually end up drawing in bed or on the couch. Now, I’m going to show you my favorite part of the house.” He draws the blinds back to reveal sliding glass doors.
“Oh! Is this the balcony I saw from the parking lot?”
“It is.”
The balcony is set up like a scene straight from a romance novel. A small electric fireplace is in the corner, which at first seems odd to me since we’re technically outside, but I quickly see the point of it when I see the loveseat over to the right, and the small table in front of it that’s set with lit candles and a vase of purple flowers. A string of tiny white lights runs along the balcony edge and outlines the glass doors. It’s dark outside, but the candles, lights, and fireplace give off just enough light for us to see each other.
“Wow,” I exclaim, eyeing all the little details that he’s obviously put time and thought in to. “This is beautiful . . . I can’t believe you did all this.”
“I was hoping you would like it out here.” He picks up a big thick black throw blanket that’s draped over the couch. “Sit,” he says, nodding to the couch. “We’re gonna snuggle.”