“Here we are,” Ms. Barnes announced as we stepped out of the black SUV.

I felt excitement and nerves while I stared at the towering bricks of the high-rise building before us.

“This is where Kellon lives?” I asked.

“It’s his NYC home. He’s here a lot during the off-season.”

She gestured for me to follow her before she took off through the dark parking garage. I glanced around, marveling over all the expensive cars before I set out behind her, following her to the elevator. This parking garage resembled that of a showroom floor. It was crazy to think all the cars here belonged to one person.

“My son has quite the car problem,” Ms. Barnes stated as if she could read my mind. “One of the many things he collects.”

The elevator opened. I followed her on, trying to control my breathing, but my nerves were too bad. Kellon was welcoming me into his home. That was big. I twirled my hair, watching the elevator ascend to the fourth floor. The doors slid open, and my mouth dropped once again.

“Welcome!”

Ms. Barnes waved her hand around, stepping off the elevator. I stood there for a moment. My feet were frozen as I took it all in.

“This is the living room,” she announced.

The living room? My entire apartment could fit inside here. I stepped off the elevator, following Ms. Barnes as we walked through the living room. The beautiful view of the city could be seen through the floor-to-ceiling windows that greeted me.

“This is beautiful.” I roamed around admiring Kellon’s home, trying not to act like I’d never seen nice things before because I had but nothing as lovely as this.

“Kellon loves it here. I prefer the beach, but hey, who am I?” Ms. Barnes smiled. “Come on. I’ll show you around.”

I placed my purse on a nearby table and walked alongside Ms. Barnes as she showed me around the home. Every room had the sleek feel of a bachelor pad, but small things like flowers and prop books let me know a woman had assisted in the decorating.

“You helped decorate?” I asked as we walked onto the balcony overlooking the skyline. “It’s nice.”

“Kellon’s ex is an interior designer,” she replied, staring at the city as if she hadn’t dropped a seed of doubt in my ear.

The mention of Kellon’s ex made me feel a tinge of jealousy I couldn’t explain. She’d picked and placed everything in his home, meaning her presence still lingered here. I didn’t know how to feel about that, nor did I know if I should be feeling anything at all.

“This is pretty much it. I’ll let Kellon show you the rest when he gets here,” she said before stepping back inside.