"Our house. You live there now, too," Kane corrected her.
Kris snorted. "That's what we told her. It's her house, too."
Jasmine gave Kris a warning glance. "I told the girls they could stay there when they visit Sydney. That is, if you don't mind," she said to Kane.
"Of course I don't mind. And Sam's free to cook in the kitchen," Kane said with a wink at Sam. "Hey, Sam, you do know I'm being honest when I say I love Jasmine, right?" he asked.
"Yes, of course," Sam said readily.
"Well, I'm being just as honest when I say I really love the food you cooked tonight, too."
Sam beamed at him.
Jasmine squeezed Kane's hand under the table in gratitude. Life was blissful.
If only the whole blackmail drama was well and truly over, she could fully relax. But simply having received no emails from George in the last three weeks didn't mean he had abandoned his malicious intentions. It still made her very nervous, especially now that she was going to live with Kane.
*******
Jasmine walked around from room to room, inspecting Kane's property in awe. She had guessed it was big but she had no idea it was this big. It had a massive master bedroom with an equally massive walk-in wardrobe and an en suite complete with a spa bath. There were three more bedrooms, three more bathrooms, Kane's study room, a games room, formal living and dining rooms and her favourite room in the house, the huge open plan area that housed the entertainer's kitchen, informal dining and second living room.
Something sparkled outside and her breath caught in her throat. A swimming pool hugged the whole living area side of the house and the clear floor to ceiling glass wall gave the impression the house was floating on water.
"Wow," she said under her breath as she walked towards it.
"You want to go out?" Kane asked, opening a glass sliding door that led to the outdoor deck.
Wordlessly, she stepped out and felt the gentle warmth of Sydney's winter sun.
"It's beautiful out here," she murmured, already imagining herself lounging on the day bed with her laptop not far away. "What's in there?" she asked as she spied a small building separate from the house.
"It's a cabana. I've also got some gym equipment in there."
She grinned. Kris and Sam would love visiting her here. Oh, and Ari, too.
"What do you think?" Kane asked softly.
"It's breathtaking, Kane," she said sincerely. "You've designed an incredibly beautiful home."
He smiled, pulling her in an embrace. "I'm glad you like it," he said huskily. "You can redecorate it however you want. You have free rein."
An unpleasant thought entered her mind. Was some of the current decor Hannah's? Or a previous girlfriend's? When he designed this house, did he have a girl in mind? Perhaps one he had wanted a family with? It was most certainly not a bachelor pad.
"May I ask you something?" she asked with a hint of trepidation.
"Sure."
"Did, uh, one of your previous girlfriends help you decorate?"
He laughed. "No. One of our interior designers did the work. My company has an interior design arm."
"Oh." She relaxed a bit and let go of her other question. She didn't want to know if he had designed the house for an ex he had wanted a family with. That shouldn't matter now.
~~~~~~~
Jasmine surveyed the master suite with a critical eye while she waited for Kane to finish an email he had to send to someone in Japan. It was an impressive room but she noted that the decor, even the bedding, was a little on the masculine side.
A certain part of her approved. It meant that it was mainly Kane's, even though Hannah had stayed there for a couple of months. It hit her that she needed to see herself in this room to erase the irrational jealousy she felt.
She decided to go shopping and spend some money making this room hers and Kane's. And since she'd have to buy a new car, she could only afford to touch this room. She'd need to watch her spending now that she was no longer an employee with a guaranteed salary every two weeks. Her books had started selling well but there were no guarantees they would continue that trend month after month.
She jumped as strong arms encircled her waist from behind.
"Why are you standing here staring into space?" Kane asked as he kissed her near her ear.
"I'm going to buy us some new bed sheets and towels and maybe put up some photo frames and candles in this room. Is that okay?" she responded, rubbing her cheek against his.
"Of course. I've said you have free rein to do whatever you want."
"Thank you. Just this room would be fine."
"What about your own study? You can convert one of the other spare rooms. Get yourself a desk you'd love to work on."