and shrugged. “There’s no view, so I just switched them out for something that gives light and interest.”
“It’s really cool, Nolan. Your home feels lived in, not like a decorator’s experiment.”
He seemed pleased. “Jensen’s apartment was like that and he hated it. Right after he sold it, he bought Snow Village.”
I ran my hand across the sofa table made of iron with an inset mosaic tile in various shimmering hues of metallic blue. “I figured you’d have one of those fancy high-rise luxury apartments.”
“I did for a while. It felt like I was living in a hotel. Since I’ve got a great view of the Cities from the Lund building, I decided I didn’t need that at home. This house is an oddity. It’s not big enough to be a family house and there’s no yard, which is unusual given it’s in the suburbs. Plus the spiral staircase that goes to the lower level is problematic for most people.”
“You have a spiral staircase?”
He grinned. “It’s cool. Come take a look.”
The staircase wasn’t a basic metal one, but wood with wide steps and a curved bannister with twisted metal. The thing was a work of art. “Omigod, I love it!”
“It’s one of the things that sold me on the house. Downstairs has the media room, the second bedroom and guest bathroom.”
“This house only has two bedrooms?”
“It had three, but I converted the one upstairs next to the master into my closet.”
“I love that you personalized this house so it works for you now, not the you in a few years when you might be married and want something bigger with different amenities.”
When he didn’t answer right away, I thought maybe I’d said the wrong thing.
But he pulled me into his arms and hugged me tightly. “Thank you for saying that. I don’t think my family gets it, except maybe for Jensen. A big space when you live alone just feels ten times emptier.”
“I think Dallas gets it.” I wasn’t sure if I should mention her ghost issue with the house she owned. “Plus, you don’t entertain so why would you want anything more than this?”
“Along those same lines, if I had a bigger place would I be expected to have people over?”
“So you really don’t socialize here?”
Nolan tipped my head back and looked into my eyes. “No. There’s so many of us in the Lund Collective, when we get together we’re usually at one of our parents’ houses.”
“What about friends?”
“Socializing to me has always meant going out. So even when I had what my family called my flavor-of-the-week years I never brought them to my home.”
“You went to their place for hookups?”
“Sometimes. LI has a small studio apartment downtown for out-of-town business associates that’s rarely used on the weekends. It was easiest to go there.”
“Handy if you were drinking. And for parking. But I imagine some of those women were expecting you’d take them to the Ritz or someplace since you’re a gazillionaire.”
His eyes searched mine. “You really aren’t jealous, are you?”
“No.” I snaked my arms around his neck. “We’ve both got pasts. So what if you dated the beautiful people. They’re not here with you now. I am.” I kissed his surprised expression. “Any doubts I had about your attraction to me have been more than satisfied, Nolan, and I hope I’ve given you that same confidence.”
“You have.” He rested his forehead on mine. “Do you know how crazy I am about you?”
“Maybe.” I nuzzled his cheek, just because I could. “But maybe you’d better prove it to me again a little later. In front of the fireplace on that soft-looking rug.”
“Done.” Another smooch to my mouth. “But I believe I promised you a late lunch.”
I cut back through the foyer to grab my cell phone out of my bag. The only seating in the kitchen was one of four chairs tucked under the long side of the marble counter opposite the prep area. “Weird question, do you have a dining room?”
He shook his head. “That was another plus about this house. However, I did add another garage bay after I bought this place. The builder created a laundry room / storage area / mud room between the garage and the house. Made more sense to me than having the laundry room in the utility room downstairs.” He pulled a covered bowl from the refrigerator. “The one thing I kept was the double deck.” He pointed out the French doors. “On this level there’s a bistro table and a small