Her Heart's Desire

“That’s probably why I like Norma Jean so much,” Ivan concluded.

Tiffany encouraged him to continue the tour. He showed her the galley-style kitchen. While the other rooms held a hint of old European tradition, the kitchen was ultramodern—it had granite countertops, stainless-steel commercial-grade appliances and all the latest kitchen gadgets. Ivan showed her the half bath that he and his brother had been working on.

“The basement has a guest suite, laundry and exercise rooms, and another full bath. We’ll skip that and go upstairs.”

Tiffany peeked into a small office right off the second-floor landing, and then saw his parents’ master suite and Cole’s room. Each room had a bathroom en suite.

Ivan’s bedroom was pale gray with a white tray ceiling. His furniture was black and his bedding bright white, with a rich gray comforter and decorative pillows sprawled across it. He had a sitting area and an amazing view of the well-manicured backyard and stone patio.

“This suits you perfectly,” she replied, looking around his room.

“Thank you, but I can’t take all the credit. My mother redesigned it while I was out of the country. Personally, I think she did it on purpose,” he added. “Come on, Cole wants to say hello before he leaves.”

“He won’t be here?”

Ivan shook his head. “He’s got a date, and I doubt he’ll be back till some ungodly hour in the morning.”

“You don’t say?” She grinned.

He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her. “Have I told you how sexy you look in that damned backless dress?”

“It’s not backless,” she protested. “It’s just a little revealing.”

“I’d love to reveal a lot more,” he ground out. “Let’s go before I forget I have a brother.”

They found Cole in the basement working out.

“Good to see you again, Tiffany. I’d hug you, but I’m way too sweaty.”

“No worries, I’ll get two next time,” Tiffany told him.

Cole turned to Ivan. “Has she met GiGi?”

“Not yet.”

Tiffany spun around. “Why?”

“Cut it out,” Ivan said. “You’re going to make Tiffany nervous.”

A wicked smile etched Cole’s face. “So, what dirt would you like me to dish about my big brother?”

“Hmm…is he always so serious? Or does he cut loose when nobody’s looking?”

“Are you kidding? Ivan wouldn’t know how to relax if it came in a bottle and was approved by the FDA.”

“I relax plenty,” he protested.

“Uh-huh. Unconscious relaxing doesn’t count, big brother.”

“Don’t mind chatterbox here.” He wrapped an arm around her. “Come on, I’ve got a great dinner that’ll be ready in fifteen minutes.”

Ivan glared at his brother from behind Tiffany’s back, but Cole just waved.

When they reached the kitchen, Tiffany looked at the stove top, then at Ivan.

“I thought you said dinner would be ready in fifteen minutes? I didn’t smell anything when we came in. Is it in the oven, or do we need to warm something up?”

“Nope.”