“Everything okay?” she asks, leaning back into me.

I hold her closer, breathing her fresh scent. “How would you fancy a trip to the countryside?”

She turns fully in my arms.  “Where? Heaven’s Gate?”

“Yes!”

A crease mars her forehead. “Why? Is everything okay?”

I tuck her head back under my chin. “I just have to take care of something. It’s nothing serious.”

Aaliya twists back to look at me. “And work? We have to continue on Jonathan’s project and I have to keep in touch with my own offices.”

“We have enough space in Heaven’s Gate for both of us to work, individually and together.”

She gives me a beatific smile. “Well then, yes, of course. I’d love to go to Heaven’s Gate.”

Aaliya

WE’VE BEEN DRIVING for miles in a private forestland until Damien stops his Jaguar at a slope and I take in the view before me. I step outside the car, unable to believe my eyes. There, at the base of the slope, surrounded by acres of tended gardens and miles of forest, resting like a sleeping monster is Damien’s country house, Heaven’s Gate. I had expected a rambling old country manor, not something that is freaking Downton Abbey! No, this is probably even bigger than that.

The afternoon sun’s rays burst through some clouds and shine on the house, making the yellow sandstone shimmer. Good God in heaven! I’ve stepped onto the set of a TV show, because who lives like this? My breath rushes out in a whoosh as I take in the surreal reality of Damien’s magnificent country home.

Damien puts an arm around my shoulder as he comes to stand beside me. “It’s just a house, Aaliya.”

I turn to him, my mouth opening and closing several times before I can speak. “Are you crazy? It’s not just a house. It’s...it’s” I splay my hands in front of me, unable to complete the sentence.

“Just a house,” he chuckles. “Bigger, but a house nonetheless. Come on, let’s go.”

Damien takes off as soon as we are seated. We descend down the slope, Mike following behind in another car.

“So, this is all yours now?” I ask Damien, my eyes darting from my window to the windscreen, trying to take in everything at once.

“Yes, as far as your eyes can see. It’s all mine!”

The pride in his voice is unmistakable and the love shining on his face is clear as day to me.

He cocks a brow and grins mischievously. “Unbelievable, isn’t it? It was never supposed to be mine but fate determined it to be otherwise.” He drives a bit further before saying, “I’ve always loved this land. It calls out to me in a way I cannot explain. This place is home. It is home, a home like no other.”