Total pages in book: 148
Estimated words: 135517 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 678(@200wpm)___ 542(@250wpm)___ 452(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 135517 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 678(@200wpm)___ 542(@250wpm)___ 452(@300wpm)
I watched her as we drove through the gates, and her eyes lit up. “Ryder, where did you find this place? I didn’t even know this was here. It’s beautiful.” She wasn’t lying; the place is known as a masterpiece among the elite and was built sometime in the early nineteen hundreds by some tycoon who had way too much money.
I never really had any interest as the place had about ten bedrooms and as many or more bathrooms, which for a single guy was too much. Funny how I thought of myself as single even when Janie had brought it to my attention the first time. When I lied to her a couple of weeks ago about buying the home for us, I’d already made up my mind that I wanted to live there with Elena.
Not just to get back at Janie, of course, though I couldn’t wait to see her face once she realized what I had done. But when I saw the place for myself and learned its history, I fell in love with it myself and knew that Elena would love a place like this.
For Janie, it would’ve been more like a fashion statement, whereas I knew my girl would love the place's aesthetics and layout. The gardens and grounds alone were worth it, but the mansion itself was something out of an old Hollywood classic.
I didn’t tell her when I gave her the old iron key that still worked on the front door that this was her new home, and there was a lot I couldn’t do because the guys were there, like carrying her over the threshold, though the way Tyler rolled his eyes at me and walked away told me he knew exactly what I was thinking. I’ll have to thank him later for not calling me bitch made in front of my woman.
Zak signaled to me that I had five minutes which I used to let her drag me all over the first floor, which was as massive as my own house, and that shit has two stories. “This is huge. When are you going to decorate?”
“I was hoping you’d want to do that.” She didn’t say anything, but I think her blush was answered enough. She got so lost in her excitement that she grabbed my hand and pulled me towards the floor-to-ceiling French doors that led to the backyard and the Olympic-sized pool, which was one of the first things I’d had remodeled because I knew how much she loved to swim.
Even after dropping her off there, I found it hard to leave, but I felt a little more at ease when I saw some of the men that had been at my home there. There was one newcomer who, when Elena saw her, she seemed surprised.
“Do you know her?” I was ready to bounce the older woman out the door until she smiled and approached my girl.
“Why do you look so familiar?” Elena asked her, but there was no alarm in her voice.
“Wait, you’re the old lady who warned me about the dark magic, aren’t you?”
“Yes, dear, sorry I had to be so secretive back then, but I was in a bit of a rush. My name is Char.”
Black magic, what the hell was she talking about? I looked at Elena for answers, but she was too busy looking at the other woman as if she’d seen a ghost.
“We’ve got to go, Ryder. She’s in good hands with Char and the others here.”
“I’ll be fine, Ryder. Go do whatever it is that you’re doing.” I guess that was her way of telling me that she trusted the guys on my say-so.
I shared as much about them with her as I could, and I know she appreciated all that they’d done. However, I get the feeling she trusted them more because of their nieces than anything I said.
“Okay, I’ll be back later tonight,” I looked at Tyler for reassurance, and he nodded yes.
“Okay, I’ll see you then, I guess.” This isn’t how I wanted to introduce her to our new home, but I guess it’ll have to do. I hated to leave her, but the guys were acting kind of antsy, and I got the idea that time was of the essence.
They didn’t take me back to my house but instead headed for the Saunders estate way on the other side of town. If Bel Air was exclusive, then this place wasn’t even on the map.
This place is one of those well-kept secrets of the Uber-Rich; each house starts at about one hundred million, and that’s for a bungalow, believe it or not.
There were a few new faces when we arrived, the younger Saunders among them, and they all looked me over like I wasn’t much. It shouldn’t be, but it’s very refreshing being treated like just another guy instead of the star worship I’m accustomed to getting wherever I go.