"You own homes? As in homes plural?" I ask with slightly wide eyes. I know as a younger person, many people in my generation will never be able to afford a home, even with mortgages and loans. It would only be possible if you won the lottery, got famous or married rich.
He smirks and nods as he lifts his glass of wine up to his lips and takes a sip. "Yes, four." I nearly choke on my wine, making it much harder to swallow, the taste somehow becoming more bitter.
"Four homes?" I reiterate. He nods like it's the most normal thing in the world; perhaps in his world, it is.
"I own a property in Cheshire where my family lives, a beachfront property in both Sydney and California, and a house in the Hamptons. I also have apartments in Paris, New York, Moscow, and Melbourne that I loan out to friends when I'm not using them." His smile grows wider as my mouth drops open. Seven, the man has seven homes. And they're not just homes, I bet; they are probably magnificent. Not to mention the dozen-plus hotels he owns. How does one person possibly have so much money? I take a big gulp of my wine as Rhodes starts to dice up some vegetables.
"Well, that's, um, that's very nice." I cough slightly; there is still some red wine trapped at the back of my throat. Accidentally inhaling it from the shock has now caused the roof of my mouth to be coated in it. He smirks softly as he fills a pot with water and turns on the stovetop, placing it on the heat. "You said your family live in Cheshire? Did you grow up there?"
"Is this a game of bloody twenty questions now?" The smile on his face lightens the tone somewhat. I lean my elbow on the counter and place my chin in my hand as I return a smile.
"Just trying to get to know you; if you don't want to talk about it, then it's fine." Only then I'll know for sure if you're just trying to fuck me, or is him opening up one of the ways he could try to convince me to sleep with him? Honestly, at some point my hair is going to start falling out; I wish I could just be as light and breezy as I am pretending to be.
"Yes, I grew up in a tiny town called Holmes Chapel; most of my family still live there or in the general Cheshire area."