Standing There (Love in the Park 1)

Chapter 10

Lindsay

He walks away, and I’m mouthing, “Oh my God.” I wonder what his family business is because this place is a freaking mansion. Katherine’s eyes are bugging out. We both come from a decent amount of money, but this dude is super rich. It’s unfathomable. This has to be well over a million dollars for this house.

“Wow, girl, you hit the jackpot. This guy has it all. Well almost all. You don’t know if he’s packing yet.” She winks at me.

“You are so out of your mind. Is that all you think about?” I ask, running my hands along the marble countertops. The kitchen is massive in size, larger than I’ve ever seen, but it looks unused. My mind isn’t in a much better place. I’m here with my eyes closed picturing several boys coming into the kitchen calling me mom and asking if they can help bake a cake.

She leans forward, tapping me on the nose. “Well, I know it’s what you were thinking about last night. You called out his name like six times. I hope he’s that good for your sake.”

“Bullshit,” I challenge. I hope I didn’t do that when he got there. I would die right here.

“Don’t believe me, but I’ve got the video. It only catches the middle two. I couldn’t stand around and watch you. It’s a little weird, even for me.”

“Why are you messing with me?” She walks around to my side and pulls out her phone and plays the video for me. I think I’ve just died.

We both don’t hear Roman come behind me until he utters, “Fucking hell, I want that deleted.” I want the floor to open up and swallow me whole. “But first send it to me.”

He wraps his arms around me, kissing my neck. “Come on let’s get some food. You’re going to need your strength because I plan on making you say my name over and over again until you pass out.”

We order some food, then Roman says, “Look around. I’ll be back before the food arrives.” He kisses me gently, then leaves the room.

“Seriously, if I wasn’t here, I’m sure he would have you spread out on this surface doing naughty things to you.” I roll my eyes at her, but damn, I’m thinking the same thing. She spins around the room, wistfully saying, “Dude this kitchen is insane. Tell me you’re in love with it.”

“It’s a fantasy kitchen for sure.”

“Let’s go snoop around.”

We leave the kitchen and into the main foyer. It’s almost as large as the kitchen and has two winding staircases that lead to the second floor. We decide to walk around them which leads to an open family room with one of the largest screens I’ve ever seen. The sofa was it’s equal spanning the two sides of the wall and deep enough to lay comfortably on.

“Seriously, I might be wrong about the jackpot thing. A guy with all this large equipment may be overcompensating for some not so large equipment.” She arches her brow and nods.

“Shut it.”

We keep walking and see the backyard which is enclosed by the same fencing that’s around the front. It’s huge, and there’s an in-ground swimming pool that’s calling my name. Although, I’m not going to ask to go in it with Katherine here. The stinging jealousy I’m feeling hasn’t let up, and I’m not sure why. The bell rings, and Roman comes out of the study right on the side of the left staircase.

“Ladies, the food is here. Do you want to eat in there?” he asks, pointing to the family room we were just in. “Or would you prefer in the dining room?”

“Family room for sure. It looks so comfortable,” Katherine utters, closing her eyes and smiling to herself. I give her a scowl that she doesn’t see, but Roman doesn’t miss.

“I think it’s best that we eat in the dining room. I don’t want you making a mess on my furniture,” Roman laughs and walks to the door to get the food.

We take a seat, and Roman starts handing out our meals. They have a diner that had both types of meals, so we didn’t need to order from two restaurants. Katherine digs into her food like she’s starving, but I’m around the man of my dreams, literally and I’m nervous.

“Lindsay, aren’t you hungry?” she asks. I give her a “shut the fuck up” look, but she’s not paying attention to me. “Come on, you heard your rich man here, you need your strength.”

“That doesn’t mean I have to inhale my food.”

“Well, I’m starving.” I shake my head and eat without stuffing my face.

“The house is huge,” I say offhandedly.

“Is it too big?” he questions with a bit of concern over my opinion.

I shrug because I actually love it, but I didn’t know what else to say. My nerves are on edge. All I can think about is the way he swallows his food. My eyes have moved to his neck several times. It’s totally nutzo, but I can’t stop myself. I take a drink of my pop, then say, “It’s not my house. I think it’s perfect, but it must be hard to clean.”