You Don't Know Us

Chapter Seven

I was blown away by the house looming in front of me. It was my dream house come to life. White with tan colored stone, the 2 story structure was covered in windows that were flanked by black shutters. The French front doors also contained windows but were a dark wood. There was a front porch that had white rocking chairs and tables, making the house seem more and more inviting. To the left is a three car garage, one of the doors opening to let the Maserati inside.

Ryder lets me out of the car and we walk through the garage to the door into the house. We pass two other vehicles, but I can't tell you what they were. One looked like a newer Jeep and the other was a shiny black car that was just as pretty as the Maserati.

The minute we step into the kitchen my mouth drops. It is absolutely gorgeous. Large wooden beams stained a dark color decorate the ceiling. There was an island in the middle that held a dark wood counter and grey colored cabinets. The cabinets that adorned the wall were the same color as the island counter. The counters were a grey marble that matched the tiled backsplash. Hanging above it all were two gorgeous iron chandeliers that looked like they may have been from another time period.

"Wow, Ryder. This kitchen is amazing."

He threw his keys on the counter and then looked around with a disinterested air. "Yeah, I guess it's pretty nice. I bought the house about 6 months ago, so it's all pretty new to me." He shrugs off his jacket and throws it over one of the barstool at the island. "You can make yourself at home. Do you want something to drink?"

I set my purse and jacket on the neighboring stool. "I'll have white wine, if you have it?"

Ryder nods and turns down a small hallway. When he comes back into the kitchen with a bottle of wine, I use my deductive reasoning to assume he went to the wine cellar. Because why not? This kitchen has everything else; including an espresso machine mounted in the wall. I mean, really.

Ryder is quiet while pouring the wine into the glasses. I remain quiet as well, knowing that he was just collecting his thoughts.

He clears his throat after handing me a wine glass, "Would you like a tour of the house?"

"Please," I say, emphatically. I would have wondered off to explore on my own under any other circumstances.

"Alright, follow me," he says with a small smile, and grabs my hand to pull me along.

He takes me into the living room, that contains a huge fireplace. The couches are a soft brown leather that look welcoming, weirdly enough. It had the kind of look that made me want to curl up in the corner and read.

"Living room," Ryder says without any ceremony and drags me to the next room.

This is how the tour goes through the whole house. There's a large office that has a library- which killed me to pass up, a media room with a projector mounted to the ceiling and large leather chairs, a home gym, and then the bedroom.

While the room contained the dark wood floors and beams that ran through the whole house, the linens on the California King bed were a light grey color that was almost white. Dark gray throw pillows decorated the bed. A large patterned rug held a spot between the bed and another fireplace that held two comfy looking chairs. There were large windows and a set of French doors that led to a balcony. Being night, I couldn't tell what exactly it overlooked, but I couldn't imagine a house like this having a terrible view.

"Wow," I breathe. Not really knowing what to say.

Ryder lets out a light chuckle. "Go look at the bathroom," he says, nudging me to the doors to my right.