Repaying the Debt

Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

Her heels clicked as she came to us from another part of the store. “I’ll get them packed up and sent over to your place. I’ll add the bill to your tab.”

“Thank you, Glenda.” Leo called out, not looking up.

My mouth fell open and I turned around to look at him. I knew he had money, that he was a famous artist. But this was too much.

When he realized that I hadn’t gone into the dressing room, Leo looked up at me. He stood up, tucking his phone into his pocket. “Why are you still standing there?”

“I can’t afford those clothes.” I said, feeling odd like I was floating.

“You can’t, but I can and as my fiance, I would spoil you.” He walked over to me, his pace slow. Making my heart thud in my chest as he stopped just in front of me, close enough that if he leaned down, he could kiss me. “Consider the clothes a gift.”

“A gift?”

“Yes, a gift. You can keep them when this is all over.” He gave me the briefest of smiles before he strolled deeper into the store.

It made me wonder if he was expecting anything in return for this gift. I turned away from him, hurrying back to the dressing room to put my dress back on. Glenda was loading the clothing in her arms when I stepped in.

“See, a knockout.” She said, before leaving me alone in the small room. I didn’t feel like a knockout. I felt overwhelmed and tired. Hopefully, we would be heading to his house after this.

I looked out the car’s window, eyes going wide and my mouth falling open. This couldn’t be his home. It was massive. The gray brickwork seemed to go on forever. Dark wood was trimmed around the windows and balconies loomed at several of the windows. His apartment building was unlike anything I had ever seen.

“You live here?” I asked, thinking about how much the rent had to be in a place like this.

“Yeah,” his voice was tired but calm. It probably wasn’t as impressive to him as it was to me. The car pulled up the driveway, parking in front of the large glass doors.

Maddox got out, walking around the car. He opened up Leo’s door and I didn’t bother waiting for him to open up mine. I opened the door, getting out of the car. My feet hit the gravel rocks that lined the driveway and I turned, marveling at the building. Lush plants framed the walkway and there was a dark pool off to the side that seemed to wrap around the house.

“Isobel.” Leo said as he walked around the car towards me.

“Sorry, it’s just,” I said, gesturing to the building. “Wow.”

“Are you going to come in?”

Nodding, I moved to follow him as Maddox pulled the car away. Leo pulled out his keys, stepping closer to the door. The lights were on inside and it painted everything in a soft, warm glow. He unlocked the door before holding it open for me.

When I walked inside, I saw that something was covering the light. It was a sculpture, similar to the ones that I had seen tonight. Delicate but bright, with vibrant hues of reds and golds.

“Your work?” I asked, turning to look away from the light and towards him as he locked the door.

“Yeah, my father likes to put my work on display.” The tops of his cheeks heated up. He looked at me, bringing his hand up to the back of his neck.

“Does he own the building?”

Leo lifted an eyebrow, giving me a confused half-smile. “Yeah, it’s our home. I mean, when my dad and brother are here.”

“Your home?”

“Yeah.” The word was spoken slowly and drawn out.

“It’s just this place is huge and it’s only the three of you?”

Leo looked around as if realizing for the first time that his home was like a mini-mansion. “I guess I just didn’t notice. I’m not here that often. I prefer to spend my time in my studio. I think Ian is home.”

“Studio?” I asked. It made sense that he would want to spend most of his time in a place where he could work on his art. Not in an eerily quiet house. This wasn’t a family home.

“Yeah, come on. I’ll show you.” He reached down, grabbing my hand in his before pulling me through the house. His touch was warm and made butterflies flare to life in my stomach. We walked down a hallway that led to a kitchen that looked like it was made for a master chef.

Everything sparkled in the dim lights. I didn’t have time to study it as we walked out of a set of double doors and onto a large patio. Off to the side sat a large barn. That wasn’t the right word for it really but I didn’t know how else to describe it.

The building was large and had the same dark gray stonework as the front of the house with large windows. Its flat roof had a metal bar around it with twinkling lights strung up. Did Leo like to go there to take a breather when he was working?

He pulled out a set of keys, unlocking the door. He turned to me, holding the door open. “Welcome to my studio, Isobel.”

I stepped past him into the dark space. The lights weren’t on like they were in the house. The door closed behind us and I felt my throat tighten. It was so dark that I couldn’t see anything. All I could hear were Leo’s steady footsteps as he walked deeper into the room.

There was a sharp click and light filled the open space. I closed my eyes, trying to calm my racing heart. I knew that I shouldn’t be afraid, but it was like some primal fear that I couldn’t chase away.