Micah probably shouldn’t have been surprised at that point when they pulled up to a wrought iron gate, beyond which extended a gravel drive that led to a house that Micah could think of plenty of better adjectives to describe than “pretty big”. And more apt nouns than “house”, for that matter.

Like “mansion”, for example, or if Micah was feeling particularly dramatic, “castle”.

“Is this the part where you tell me you’re actually Italian royalty?” Micah demanded as he took in the colossal, three-story structure. (It had a pair of steeples, for fuck’s sake.) Much like the buildings in Siena, Damon’s ancestral home appeared to be made of brick, but of a much richer, darker variety. Almost more black than red, really.

Damon merely shot Micah a fond look before parking the car. “I asked the staff to clear out for the weekend,” he explained as he removed both his own and Micah’s luggage from the trunk, “so we have the house to ourselves.”

“This place is so massive, I doubt I’d even notice if someone besides us was staying here,” Micah joked, steadfastly ignoring the way his heart sped up at the implications of them being alone. Especially since he still wasn’t completely sure why Damon had decided to bring him here. Perhaps as more proof to his family that their “relationship” was serious?

“Don’t worry,” Damon said as he unlocked the front door. “I’ll give you a tour.”

And after dropping their bags off in the foyer – which was a massive room with vaulted ceilings and a duel staircase that led to the second floor – that’s just what Damon did.

Starting on the first floor, he led Micah to the west wing, which featured the kitchen and formal dining room. The huge, ornate table in the middle of the latter room put the one in Damon’s penthouse to shame.

The east wing featured a drawing room, which was essentially just a fancy living room adorned with extravagantly patterned couches, a billiards room, and a room Damon referred to as “the winter study” – which, living up to its pretentious-sounding name, was basically a frickin’ library disguised as a den.

Damon led Micah to the second floor next, walking him through all eight bedrooms. He explained that the third floor was used mostly for storage, but they did venture up a secluded staircase so that Damon could show off what he called the “observatory” – which was a circular room with huge glass windows for walls and a massive telescope for looking out of them.

Damon told Micah that his grandmother had had a penchant for astrology, and that she would take him and his sisters up there when they were young to read them their fortunes in the stars – before she’d eventually passed on.