Freefall to Desire by Kayla Perrin

she could have a floor all to herself?
    “Humor me.”
    “Alex, it’s not really necessary.”
    “When I was in college, someone I knew was going through something similar to this. Neighbors who were a problem. That girl ended up in the middle of a dispute that had nothing to do with her. She got stabbed. I don’t want to take any chances with you.”
    Brianne couldn’t argue with his logic. Bad things happened to good people all the time. People who were in places they were supposed to be, but at the wrong time.
    Besides, she could tell by the look on Alex’s face that he wasn’t going to take no for an answer.
    Alex strolled toward the opening to the living room. “I’ll wait here while you get changed.”
    “Okay,” Brianne said, not bothering to protest. And there was something about the fact that Alex wanted to protect her that made her feel a warm tingle. Again, she found the reaction odd. But once again, she dismissed it as misplaced. Especially right now, given that he wasacting in the role of protector. It was easy to feel a sense of something toward him.
    Gratitude. That had to be it. He was about to hopefully reunite her with the love of her life. Of course she would feel a sense of gratitude.
    But as Brianne made her way up the stairs, she couldn’t help thinking that it wasn’t gratitude but something else.
     
    Half an hour later, Alex was in a neighborhood in Buffalo that Brianne had never been in. A neighborhood with massive houses on large lots.
    When Alex slowed and turned into a driveway of one of the larger houses, Brianne’s lips parted in surprise. It was an older home with a large wraparound porch, a pool to the left surrounded by a fence and a long driveway. Alex drove to the back of the driveway, where—to Brianne’s surprise—she saw another house that was definitely bigger than her parents’ home.
    “Both of these are your houses?” Brianne asked, knowing she sounded astonished.
    “This house back here is a carriage house. It’s perfectly fine as a stand-alone house, but I guess it was built for staff, or as an in-law suite.”
    “In-law suite? It looks much bigger than your average house.”
    “Three thousand square feet.”
    “Oh, my,” Brianne said, nearly choking. That was nearly twice the size of her parents’ home. “What do you do with it?”
    “I’m renting it out to a husband and wife. A yuppie couple with no kids who are quite happy here. At least for now.”
    “Wow. I’ve never seen a carriage house, except on television. And your house—” She turned to gaze at it from the passenger seat. “It looks massive.”
    “Sixty-five hundred square feet.”
    Sixty-five hundred square feet. The words echoed in Brianne’s mind. She could hardly believe it.
    “May as well leave your suitcase in the car,” Alex said. “Unless you’ve got toiletries in there that you need.”
    “Actually, I took my toiletries bag out of the suitcase already.” She patted the large purse on her lap. “Before we head to the airport, I’ll put it back in.”
    Brianne got out of the car and followed Alex to the back door of the house. It was late, and she had planned to go straight to bed, given that they had to catch a flight in the morning, but the moment she stepped inside she found herself saying, “Can I get the grand tour?” Then, “Actually, it doesn’t have to be tonight. I can see the place in the morning.”
    “If you want the tour, I’ll give you the tour.”
    The first floor was massive—with a giant living room, an equally large kitchen that had been recently remodeled, a dining room and two sitting rooms. It was one of those beautiful old homes that had been immaculately maintained.
    Six large bedrooms—seven, if you counted the home gym. Four full bathrooms. Three half baths. Brianne toured it all with open-mouthed wonder.
    “And you live here by yourself?” Brianne asked as Alex completed the tour of the fourth level.
    “Yeah.”
    Stepping out of the