"You ready for this?" he asked.
I nodded, and he grinned.
"Welcome to the jungle, babe."
He wasn't kidding. As soon as we were off the escalator, they were on us —three or four cameras with men shouting questions. Declan was as cool as a cucumber. With his arm around my waist, he greeted them politely and answered a few questions.
"Hey, Declan, welcome home. Who's the blonde?"
"Thanks, Eddie. This lovely lady would be my girlfriend, and it's her first trip to L.A., so I would appreciate you gentlemen giving us a bit of space while I try to show her a good time," he said with a wink.
They laughed and gave us some room as we grabbed our bags. We headed out the door, and they followed, of course, asking a few more questions and flashing pictures of us. The driver Declan had hired loaded the car, and I made my way inside.
"Hey, Declan, give us a kiss, will ya? Something for the papers?"
"Sorry, guys. I'm not pimping my woman out for your paycheck. Have a nice day."
He joined me in the car, and we were off.
"Oh my God, is that what this place is like for you all the time?"
"Hmmm...not all the time, but yeah, pretty much."
I was shocked, completely shocked. His life was totally different. In Virginia, he'd been recognized a number of times when we'd been out, but for the most part, we had just gone about our normal lives. He had even gone to the grocery store with me.
"And you were so calm about it," I said.
"I've had a lot of practice by now, but enough of that. You've gotten your first paparazzi mob out of the way now." He grinned. "What do you want to do now?"
"I want to go to the beach! No, wait! I want to see your house!"
"Well, you're in luck. I can grant both of those wishes in one stop."
~Declan~
I never knew why I bought this big house until I heard Leah scream in glee when we pulled up to the driveway.
"Are you f**king kidding me right now? You live on the beach? Why did I not know this about you?"
I just shrugged. Since I'd bought it a year ago, I'd probably spent less than half that actually living here.
"Well, don't just sit here. I want to see this place!"
The driver carried our bags inside, and then I handed over a large tip, thanking him for his help. When I returned, Leah was in the foyer, looking out the floor-to-ceiling windows at the panoramic view of the Pacific.
"Holy shit. It's breathtaking. Can we have dinner right here? We can eat on the floor. I don't want to move from this spot."
"The master bedroom has the same view," I said passively.
Her eyes turned to me, and she looked around until she located the stairs. She took off and ran up them so quickly that I could barely catch up. She made a beeline for the guest room, but then she passed it by and went straight for the master. Decorated in steel gray, tans, whites, and various shades of blue, it matched the view perfectly. It was like an extension of the beauty nature had on display outside.
"So, I may not know a lot about actors, but I'm fairly sure that a house like this isn't cheap. I'm also pretty sure it is probably in the salary range of someone a bit more, um..."
"Famous?" I guessed.
"I was going to go with established, but yeah. Seriously, Declan, what gives? I know you've got to make good money, but this is stupid money rich. Unless they paid you twenty million for that sex scene I'll have to suffer through tomorrow, I really am at a loss here."
"It's called inheritance."
"Really?"
"Yes. My father, the jackass that he was, left his entire net worth, which was a lot by the way, to me. Since he was divorced from my mother at this time, she didn't get a cent, and he made sure of it. But the will didn't prevent me from giving over any of my inheritance to her, so I split it with her."
"And you still had enough to buy this house from Brad Pitt?" I joked.
"First of all, I didn't buy it from Brad Pitt. It was Will Smith's, and secondly, yes, plenty more."
Her eyes bugged out so fast that I couldn't help but laugh.
"I'm kidding...about the Will Smith thing. You were about to go all fangirl on me, weren't you?"
"Don't kid when it comes to celebrities."
"You know, I'm a celebrity," I said smoothly.
"Yeah, but I've heard you pee, and now, all the mystery and allure is gone." She shrugged.
"You have not heard me pee!"
"Have to. You pee with the door open at night, and guy pee is really loud."
"This conversation has taken a really weird turn."
"Just trying to make sure your head doesn't blow up, Hotshot." She grinned.
"You're so sweet."
I came up behind her and wrapped my arms around her as we watched the waves crash into the surf. This beach was privately owned, so only a few people were scattered along the shoreline, mostly runners and walkers. Surfers usually took to the waves in the early morning.
"You got your gigantic inheritance and bought a huge house, so you'd have a swanky place to bring home the ladies?"
I gripped her waist and swung her around until we were nose-to-nose.
"Is that your not-so-subtle way of asking whether you're the first woman I've brought here?"
"Maybe. Now, I'm starting to regret asking it because that bed looks so comfortable, and I really don't want to ruin it with an image of another woman rubbing her skanky body all over it."
"Leah..."
"Hmm?" she said, looking at the bed like it suddenly sprouted horns and bat wings.
"I've never brought anyone here but you."
Her head snapped back to me. "Promise?"
"Promise," I assured her.
"Oh, thank God," she squealed, leaping out of my arms and onto the bed.
"Ditched for my own bed. That's a first."
"You could join me, you know," she said suggestively.
I jumped on top of her, causing her to laugh.
"So...why? I mean, I'm beyond relieved, but I'm not dumb enough to believe that you've been a saint since purchasing this house, so I've got to know why you wouldn't use your bachelor pad for...well, bacheloring."
"Honestly, it's kind of a dickhead reason. But you asked. If I were to take a woman home, she would know where I lived, and then she could track me down. I didn't want any ties or strings with anyone...until you." I smiled. "It was easier to keep where I lived out of it."
"Wow, you were kind of a douche, Declan James."
"I'm a reformed douche," I amended.