“It’s almost noon.”
“It is?” I asked.
I pulled my phone away from my ear before my eyes widened.
“Yikes. It is,” I said.
“Are you feeling okay?”
“Yeah, no. I’m good.”
“I’m really not sure how to take that answer.”
I giggled and shook my head as I slid my legs off the side of my bed.
“What can I do for you?” I asked.
“What are you doing for lunch?”
“Apparently I was going to sleep right through it until you called.”
“Well, while that sounds very comfortable, I was wondering if you could meet me somewhere.”
“Um… sure. Yeah. Is everything okay? Has something happened with the lawyers?”
“Not exactly. I’ll shoot you the address. Think you could get here around one or so?”
“If I hang up this phone and take a shower right now, yes,” I said.
“Then, I’ll see you around one.”
I didn’t even get the phone call hung up before my phone buzzed in my hand. I looked down at the text message from Everett and saw nothing but an address. And I didn’t recognize it. I tried searching it online to figure out where I was headed, but the address only brought up some map of a road and some rolling hillsides.
Weird.
I cleaned myself up as quickly as I could and decided on one of my summertime dresses. I slipped into a pair of matching flip flops before I fluffed my hair out a bit, then I grabbed my sunglasses and headed for my car. I typed the address into my GPS, then sent Everett a message telling him I was on my way. Wherever I was headed, I was thirty minutes away from it.
I wondered what that man had in store for me.
After driving to the outskirts of Charleston, I hit the rolling hills I saw in the picture I found. But other than that, there was nothing. No houses. No cars. Very few trees. Just pastures of cows and horses and the smell of manure. I didn’t know of anything that was out here, honestly, outside of a few farms. I kept driving, following the directions on my phone as my curiosity piqued.
But when I finally pulled into the driveway of my final destination, my jaw dropped.
The mansion before me was massive. A beautiful plantation-style home with columns on the front porch and a wrap-around main floor balcony with rocking chairs and tables. The beautiful white home sat on a stone-laden foundation and had dark green shutters that matched the beauty of the nature surrounding the house. Blackberry bushes lines the driveway, emitting an incredible smell that followed me all the way up to the two six-car garages that sat on the property.
This had to be Everett’s parents’ house.
I immediately braced. Why in the world would he want me to meet him here? I parked my car between the two detached garages, but before I could open my door I felt it swing open beside me. I looked up and saw Everett smiling at me, with his beautiful blue eyes and his glistening blonde hair shimmering in the sunlight. He towered over my car with a sparkle in his eye, and when he offered me his hand I took it as quickly as I could.
And the electricity that surged up my arm was undeniable.
“Where am I?” I asked.
“My parents’ house,” Everett said.
“This isn’t a house.”
“Okay. My parents’ estate.”