It felt like he was crossing an invisible barrier when he stepped past the threshold and into the Baker home—more correctly labelled as a mansion. He had been nervous about coming over to her home, afraid that Gary Baker had some unknown security system set up or that he would just know Chris was there to begin with. The two had been treading dangerous grounds being in public at the Harvest Festival and then at the Halloween party together, but this felt a little too close to home, literally. After some convincing, Lottie’s reassurances became more and more comforting until his anxieties began to wash away, and what was left was just pure awe, his eyes taking in the large mansion and his thoughts drifting to how a place like this could exist in the first place.
“Holy crap,” he said aloud, his stare shifting around the brightly lit home, “This house is more enormous when you’re inside.” He couldn’t take his eyes off of his surroundings, but he was aware enough to realize his girlfriend was still right there, leaning in to give her a kiss on the forehead while distracted eyes continued to take in his surroundings. He couldn’t even bother to take his coat off, too busy trying to soak up his surroundings and grow acquainted to the Baker household. He let go of her hand then when he spotted the living room, making a quick beeline towards the floor-to-ceiling windows that overlooked the water. “Jesus,” he murmured to himself, his hands coming to his hips as he looked out the window and stared out at the water, enamoured by the view. In all of his life, he had never seen so much wealth put into one home, especially not in person.
“Wow,” he said with a shake of his head, slowly coming back to reality as he turned back to look at Lottie, his eyes alight with excitement. “Hi, babe,” he finally said with a sheepish laugh, crossing the room to meet her again. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a hug, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. “Sorry, I think I just got seduced by your house,” he joked before adding, “I wish we came here more often. This place is insane.”
They did have a security system, mostly because of the fancy area they lived and the risk of their home potentially being targeted, but she didn’t think it was checked unless there was a reason to. Lottie was good with computers, she could always delete the footage of Chris arriving at the home if she really needed to, but she’d assured her boyfriend that her Father was not a spy, he wasn’t omniscient and he wasn’t going to simply know that someone else had been in their home. After a little reassurance and comforting, she’d managed to convince him to come over, so they could actually spend some time together. She was aware that she was becoming a little more reckless, becoming less considerate of her family all the while, her feelings for Chris growing stronger and that concern about their opinion lessening, but it hadn’t gone completely.
A breathy laugh left her as he entered, distracted as he leaned in to kiss her forehead and his attention clearly more on the room that anything else. Lottie didn’t mind, not really, and instead giggled at his reaction. It left her grinning when he released her, following him into the living room where the sun was slowly sinking beneath the clouds. The view was gorgeous from the long, floor length windows and she almost wished it was Summer, so she could take him outside to enjoy the water properly, but she wasn’t sure he’d agree to potentially catching hypothermia if she suggested skinny dipping right now. Instead, she just watched his awe, arms wrapping around him when he returned to her.
‘‘Ah, I knew you were only with me for my money.’’ She teased playfully when he claimed he’d been seduced by the house, amused by his enamoured reaction to her home. Her arms circled his shoulders, stealing another kiss. To her, the wealth that she was surrounded by had, rightly or wrongly, become very normal at this point. It was just her home, somewhere that she was very much used to, and she hadn’t really considered that it would seem so strange to him. They came from very different backgrounds, but she knew money wasn’t an issue between them.
‘’Do you want a proper tour?’’