The intensity of his gaze is burning me up, heating me from the inside out like I’m a clay pot in a kiln. Only the heat has been turned up too high and I’m about to shatter.

“Sadie.”

Yeah. My name coming out of his mouth does nothing to soothe my burning core.

He sighs when I don’t respond, scooting closer to my end of the couch. “Look, I get that shit’s weird right now, but can you look at me, please?”

I purse my lips so tightly I’m surprised they don’t glue themselves together. But I manage to look at him without screaming or bursting into tears, which I take as a win.

“I have something I want to show you. If that’s okay.” He stands up and holds out his hand.

I don’t take it because I’m pretty sure any skin-to-skin contact would result in combustion, but I push myself off the sofa and gesture for him to lead the way.

He does, without acknowledging my hand snub, heading upstairs. Instead of stopping at the second floor, he continues to the staircase leading up to the top level of the brownstone.

“If you got me a library, you really haven’t been paying much attention.” The comment comes out louder and snarkier than I intended.

Jack pauses halfway up the steps and turns back toward me. “Why would I get you a library?”

“We’re going to the forbidden wing.” I furrow my brow at the confusion on his face. “Have you actually never seen Beauty and the Beast?”

“I liked superheroes.” He shrugs and continues walking up the stairs.

Now I’m fully intrigued. I have no idea what to expect from this mysterious third floor, but when Jack pushes open the door and gestures for me to enter the space, I still manage to be totally and completely shocked.

The space isn’t as big as the full footprint of the brownstone, but it’s pretty damn close. Meaning, it’s huge. And completely wide open. The floor is the washed maple you might find in a dance studio, the walls exposed brick and dotted with large, airy windows. The ceiling is broken up with two massive skylights. It’s already dark outside, but the space must be absolutely flooded with sunlight during the day.

“It’s incredible.” My attention is focused solely on the skylights at the moment, so I don’t see what Jack is pointing out at first, until he pulls my eyes from the ceiling.

“I hope this setup will work for you, but if not, we can rearrange it however you want.” He leads me over to a large kitchen island, simple white cabinets, and a butcher-block top, just like we have downstairs.