Straddling the Line(4)
“This is amazing.”
He grinned. “Yeah, I like a good kitchen, too.” He turned to her. “While we’re in here, are you thirsty? Would you like something to drink?”
“I’m good for now. How about we finish the tour first?”
“Sure. There’s an eat-in area in the next room, a lot more informal than the dining room.”
“Oh, yes. I see what you mean.” There was a big table and a fireplace, and white-framed windows with shutters in this room. Haven felt instantly relaxed in this room, much less like she’d have to dress up to eat in there. “It feels comfortable here.”
“Exactly. And the sunroom is next to this room.”
“Oh, wow.” The sunroom was huge, with screened floor-to-ceiling windows and white wood floors. The light was incredible in this room, and the furnishings were casual and bright, with lots of pillows for comfort. “I love this room.” She could write in here, or just relax with a cup of coffee in the morning. She walked to the edge of the sunroom, which overlooked one amazing backyard and pool. She looked past the pool and all she could see were thick, tall trees. The wooded area was amazing.
“How much acreage do you have?”
“Four acres. Like I said, I don’t like having neighbors I can hear.”
“I’d say you’re good to go, then.”
He directed her toward the back of the house. “There’s an exercise room back here, along with a spa and a sauna. And then this door leads out to the pool deck.”
Haven was amazed by all the equipment. “You have an entire gym in here.”
“Yeah. It’s handy, especially during the off-season, if I need to have my trainer over for workouts.”
She turned to face him. “You have an off-season?”
He laughed. “A few weeks here and there. Come on, we’ll head on over to the other wing.”
As they passed the staircase, she stopped him. “What’s upstairs?”
“My bedroom.” He gave her a grin. “Want to see it?”
“Actually, I do.”
He seemed to hesitate. “I think housekeeping staff is in there right now cleaning. So maybe another time?”
“Oh. Sure.”
“Come on.”
He walked her across a long hallway to another section of the house.
“This is your wing. Like I said, you’ll have plenty of privacy here. There are four bedrooms here, and an office. You can use the office whenever you need to, and choose whatever bedroom you want. Each one has its own bathroom.”
She wandered into each of the bedrooms, all of them bigger than her apartment in New York City. She chose one with mocha walls and a beautiful bed, plus an oversized bathroom that just felt perfect to her. Plus, her bedroom had a view of the pool and the acreage out back.
“This one will definitely do.”
“Great. I’ll go get your bags and bring them up.”
“I’ll help you.”
They did it all in one trip. “I’ll just unpack and change clothes,” she said after Trevor set down her bags.
“Okay. Are you hungry? I’ll get us some dinner ordered.”
“Ordered?”
“I have someone on staff here who cooks. Salmon or steak tonight? Unless you’re vegetarian. Hammond makes kickass tofu stir-fry, too.”
“I’m not vegetarian, and either sounds great to me.”
“Okay. See you downstairs.”
After he shut the door, she shook her head. Not only was she living in a huge house, he had people to help him take care of it.
Did he even live alone, or were there other people here?
A girlfriend, maybe? She hadn’t even asked.
He’d been so polite, too. Not at all like his typical teasing ways. He hadn’t seemed like himself, which was . . . odd.
Haven shrugged it off and chalked it up to maybe Trevor treating her differently because he was doing an interview with her. It wasn’t like before, when she was just Bill Briscoe’s daughter, and he could laugh and tease with her. Though she certainly wouldn’t care either way. She knew when to get into professional mode, and right now she was just . . . Haven. She hoped he wouldn’t feel uncomfortable around her. That was the last thing she needed. She felt uncomfortable enough in her own skin these days.
She took a look around, pretty damned impressed with what she saw. The house was huge, the furnishings expensive but tasteful. He’d obviously put some care and effort into this place, unlike a lot of guys who might just buy a condo and get a couch and a TV and not care. It was clear that he cared, that this place meant something to him.
Trevor had certainly come a long way. Much further than she’d expected. He had a chef, and people to clean his house. He’d certainly surprised the hell out of her. She had no idea he was doing so well for himself. He’d always seemed so laid back. A blue-jeans-and-T-shirt kind of guy. She’d just never given much thought to his salary, though she knew he made a lot of money playing both baseball and football. And he had all those endorsement deals, too. He was a popular athlete, both on the field and off.