“How did you know that would be there?”
“Since I had planned on getting it renovated, I left it there for any workers who would be coming.” He unlocked the massive door and motioned for her to go in.
Meg entered and had to hold back a gasp. The foyer opened to the top of the second floor. A curved staircase sat on either side of the open area. The style looked like it had been built in the thirties or forties. She walked across the marble tile, looking at the ornate chandelier hanging down. A set of Victorian chairs sat on either side of a rug.
Cade flicked the light switch on and off, with no effect. “They’ve shut the power off. Figures.”
Meg froze. “What? Is the water off too?”
“Probably. I’m guessing Zane had it winterized after I got arrested.”
Her dreams of having a hot bath swirled down an imaginary drain. Cade walked further into the foyer. “You can have your pick of the bedrooms.”
“Is the whole house furnished?”
“Yes, although I didn’t have a chance to take inventory.”
Well, at least there was that. Cade motioned to the stairs. “Want me to give you a tour?”
“I’d love one. This place is incredible.” Her voice echoed in the enormous space.
Cade smiled at her. “I thought so too.”
She turned away from his smile. The way his eyes crinkled was making her stomach get all fluttery, and she didn’t want to be thinking about Cade that way. She was only there until she could get her feet under her.
Cade took her up the stairs. He opened a door. “This is the master bedroom.”
It looked like it belonged in a museum. The huge four-poster bed held a canopy and looked like it was made from a deep mahogany wood. The ensuite bathroom was almost as large as the bedroom. She pointed to the Jacuzzi. “That’s not original to the house.”
“No. The people who owned this before had added in bathrooms to each room, and the kitchen is modernized as well. The rest, I think, is original.”
There were six bedrooms upstairs, and Meg picked the one next to the master bedroom. It was smaller but after she removed the dust covers, it wasn’t in terrible condition. A couple of the bedrooms had stains on the ceiling, indicating a leak, and one window was broken, but someone had taped it up. She followed Cade down the stairs.
“It’s cold in here,” she said, hugging her arms to herself.
“Sorry. No heat.” Cade walked into a room off the foyer. It had a massive fireplace, two couches and several chairs around an ornate rug. “I’ll start up a fire. Maybe that will help.”
She nodded. The house also had a billiards room, a library, a swimming pool and hot tub which were both drained, and a sunroom with a fantastic view of the woods behind the house. The kitchen was indeed modernized, although without power so they had no way to cook. The downstairs bathroom had a large clawfoot tub. Probably an original from when the house was built.
Cade rummaged around and found a few things they could use. Among them were a box of matches and a cast iron Dutch oven. “There’s a fire pit out back. At least we’ll have some hot meals.”
Meg nodded, not too thrilled about having to cook over a fire when there was a double oven and a huge gas range in the kitchen. “Okay.”
They made a shopping list, and Meg ran to the little shop in the town about thirty minutes away to get essentials and some food. When she got back, Cade had a fire going in the great room. It had increased the temperature in the room by about ten degrees.
She carried the grocery sacks into the kitchen and set them down on the marble countertop. Cade walked in from the back of the house. A red spot on his shirt caused her alarm, and she ran to him.
“You’re bleeding again.”
Cade looked down at his T-shirt. “I didn’t realize.”
Before Meg could think, she touched the spot. Her fingers came back wet. “We should fix this up properly. I bought some bandages.”
Cade didn’t look too happy about her suggestion but nodded anyway. “All right.”
“Take off your shirt.”
He gave her a funny look before he pulled his T-shirt over his head. Meg tried not to swallow her tongue. How could he get even more buff than the night before? This guy had some amazing muscles. And why was her heart racing like she was a school girl with a crush? She needed to bandage him up and get away from him before she did something stupid.