I glanced in the rearview mirror to see my four year old tilting her head sweetly at me, flashing those dimples that only seemed to get deeper every single day. "Yeah, just give me one second, baby. We're almost there."
Once the light at the intersection turned green, I followed the line of cars to turn left and signaled into the right lane so we wouldn't miss our turn coming up. Nora marveled at the never-ending line of palm trees on the road in front of us, and I didn't hate the sight either.
As I turned and slowed to a stop, I rolled down the window to punch in the code that would let us through the black iron gate. It was quiet, unlike the busy street we just came through, and I drove slow to take a look at our new neighborhood.
It was gorgeous, of course, because everything in Beverly Hills was gorgeous. The lawns were plush and green, the landscaping was done to absolute perfection, the houses were modern and clean, and it felt safe. That was the most important thing.
I gasped for Nora's sake as our new house came into view, pointing at it through the windshield for her to see. It was the last one on the block, on the biggest plot of land. That was my goal when I had it built, that it could be a little further separated from our neighbors. I wanted the privacy.
Parking behind the contractor's big white truck, I killed the engine and dug through my purse to open a chocolate chip granola bar for Nora. I pushed my sunglasses up into my hair as I got out of the car and walked around to help her.
She let me unbuckle her from the carseat with her arms up high, and smudges of chocolate already on her bow shaped lips. I licked my thumb to wipe it off her before taking her hand and guiding her up the wide stone driveway.
The gate was open so I didn't need to use the code, and the contractor was waiting outside for me. He lifted his hand to wave, smiling through his bushy beard as Nora took it upon herself to wave back to him.
"Hi, Brian," I shook his hand before picking up Nora to hold her on my hip.
"Nice to see you, Miss Carter," he led us up to the double frosted glass doors. "Alright, so we got the lock all set up here with just a generic code, but once you're all moved in you can set your own."
I nodded as he entered in the numbers and pushed down on the sleek black handle to let us inside. It smelled like fresh paint and wood, and I was already smiling as I looked around at the blank canvas inside. In every single way, it was everything I could have ever wanted.
Much like the Malibu house, the floors were black and the walls were white, the spacious countertops in the kitchen were made of beautiful white marble stone, and the glass walls on both sides of the house were lined in a clean black accent.
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"Floors are all polished and finished, we got the new appliances built in and ready to go, the lighting fixtures finally arrived so those are set up now, and...yeah. Welcome home."
"It's...insane," I laughed, hearing the echo come back to me. "I mean, seriously."
"Yeah, I think it's great if I do say so myself," he shot me a friendly wink. "Come on, lemme show you the little lady's room."
Our footsteps echoed on the floating staircase as we climbed to the second floor and headed down the hall to Nora's room. Her gasp was as dramatic as it could be, and I swear her green eyes were about to pop right out of her skull.
"Mommy! I love it!"
"Don't tell me," I chuckled, "tell Mr. Brian."
"I love it, Mr. Brian!" She squealed, wriggling in my arms until I set her down.
Two of the walls were painted a sparkly pink because that was her favorite color, and the third was made of glass so she could see the backyard. All of the furniture I ordered with my interior designer was currently on the way, but I wanted to make sure we waited until the house was complete and move-in ready.
"It's pink!" She beamed with her hands on her cheeks, making Brian laugh as he ruffled her hair.
He showed me the guest rooms with their own ensuite in each, and Nora lost her mind when she saw the baby blue paint on the ceiling in her playroom, complete with Pixar animated clouds sketched on top.
While she was distracted by that, I wandered into the master bedroom on the other side of the hall and took in all the natural light that flooded in from the backyard. I could see the massive rectangular pool and the garden down below, and although it was odd not seeing the ocean, I could appreciate the greenery just the same.
What struck me, for some odd reason, was the double sinks and his-and-hers closets in the ensuite. I don't know why I was surprised by that when I was the one who asked for it, but it was the only room that didn't make me smile, despite how beautiful it was.
"I don't even know what to say," I chuckled as I followed Brian back to the playroom. "It's beautiful."
"Well, good," he nodded once. "I think you two will like it here just fine, especially once you get your furniture in. It's private, it's safe, it's a haven."
"Mm," I smiled softly at the last word, feeling like that's exactly what we needed right now.
Once Nora was finished obsessing over her playroom, we made our way back downstairs to check out the office space in the back of the house, the spare room that I had yet to know what to do with, the home theater, the gym and the backyard.
"Well, I'll give you two a minute to take it all in," Brian said. "I'll just wait outside the front for ya."
"Okay, thank you," I raised my hand out to him on my way to meet Nora by the flower beds.
I squatted down to her level and accepted the little purple flower she broke off for me, sniffing the petals dramatically with my nose scrunched up before I let her do the same. She hummed with a confident nod, which made me laugh as I kissed her on the cheek.
"So what do you think, baby? You like it here?"
"Uh-huh," she smiled as she stood up to her full height, which meant she was about as tall as me in my crouching position.
"Our new furniture is going to come soon, and then it'll really be like our home. You'll have all your toys, and your blankets. It's gonna be good."
"Just you and me, mommy," she said, wrapping her arms around my neck, giving me a smile that first belonged to her dad.
I nodded and tucked her wild waves behind her ears, swiping my thumb along her full cheek. "Just you and me, baby."
I said the words easily enough, but that didn't mean I wasn't dying for Harry to change his mind about the reason he's not coming home now. He needed us just as much as we needed him. All I could do was wait for him to remember that for himself.
