Less than two minutes later, I stood at Dan’s glass front door, about to ring the bell when panic set in. Going out to the island to research my article and help with the clean-up had been one thing, but this felt on a different level. If anyone had told me three months ago that I’d be going to a strange man’s house for dinner, I’d have laughed in their face. My life was changing too fast and I wasn’t ready to step out of my comfort zone.

‘Sorry,’ I silently apologised to the sassy voice in my head, ‘but I can’t do this.’

As I turned to flee, a shadow appeared, the door peeled back and there was Dan, standing in front of me in faded jeans that hugged his hips and a pale blue shirt, the top few buttons undone and sleeves pushed up to his elbows. Soft jazz music drifted from somewhere inside.

‘You came!’ He appeared almost as surprised as me.

‘I said I would.’

‘I know. I’m sorry, I just lost track of time. I was …’ He glanced back into the house, then shook his head and reached out to grab my free hand, drawing me inside. ‘Never mind. Come in, come in.’

Chapter 40

40

As the door closed behind us with a loud thump, I followed Dan through the entrance hallway into the depths of the house and looked around in awe. The glass mansion was just as massive as it looked from the outside, but it was warmer and cosier than I’d imagined. I’d pictured a cavernous space with a minimalist look, bare walls and surfaces, except maybe for a few bits of abstract art and a couple of pieces of feature furniture. The reality was far from that. It wasn’t messy, and nowhere near as cluttered as Xiang’s shack had been, but it was clear the owner had many varied interests and cared more about them than he did about maintaining a show house.

Large bright colourful paintings hung on the walls—mostly landscapes, a lot including water—and some framed puzzles were also in the mix. There were very healthy-looking houseplants scattered throughout (which I admired because indoor plants were one thing I’d never managed to keep alive), mismatched but quirky floor lamps spilling soft light from the corners, and in the living room a fire crackled away happily, adding to the relaxed ambience.

‘It’s the first time I’ve had a fire this year, but it felt like the night for it,’ Dan said, noticing the direction of my gaze.

‘I’ve been looking forward to it getting colder so I can try the one in the shack,’ I replied. ‘There’s something special about a warm fire on a cold winter night.’

‘I couldn’t agree more.’