Page 172 of Titus

I unlocked the door and stepped aside. “After you, mi amor.”

Catalina smiled and walked inside. Her reaction was immediate as she stopped and took in the entire area.

I leaned softly against the doorframe, gently crossing my arms as I looked at her face, noticing her expression with quiet curiosity.

The woman who designed and created spaces like this for other people’s happiness or desires was suddenly speechless. Though her planning was on a grander scale than this, I saw what truly captivated her.

Like Nat said, she didn’t care for flashy wealth, which summed up virtually every place I owned. It was the simpler things that Cat preferred, places like this. I just didn’t have the exact confirmation of her tastes until I watched her take it all in at this very moment.

Her reaction was exactly what I’d been hoping for.

The late-afternoon sunlight poured through the windows, bathing the cottage in a warm golden glow. Exposed wood beams stretched across the vaulted ceiling, while natural stone surrounded the massive fireplace that dominated the living room.

The space wasn’t enormous, and that had been intentional. I owned enough enormous properties. What I loved about it was that this place wasn’t meant to impress anyone. It was meant to feel like home.

I watched as Catalina slowly turned in a circle, observing the oversized cream-colored sofa, the antique wooden furnishings, and the fresh flowers arranged throughout the room. She slowly moved toward the French doors, which were open to the private stone patio.

Every detail of this cottage had been designed to feel comfortable and intimate. It was as if the outside world couldn’t quite reach you here.

“This place is everything.”

A smile tugged at the corner of my mouth. “And I’m learning more about the woman who holds my heart captive,” I said.

“What are you learning?” she playfully teased.

“That she’s impressed by places that take her away from the hectic world we are forced to live in.”

“The escape is a better way to put it,” she grinned. “This fireplace is beautiful.”

“Like you,” I said with a soft laugh.

Catalina embodied everything this cottage felt like… a refuge from a demanding world I had been trapped in for longer than I realized.

In fact, if I hadn’t told my brothers I was spending the entire weekend with her—living my life, for once, with her—I’d be in a board meeting. Hell, who was I kidding? I’d be in Monaco on my yacht with the rest of them, attending events every night this summer.

Instead, I was here, fully present in a cottage, feeling more fulfilled than I would be by signing another acquisition.

I trailed behind as Catalina explored the cottage, finding it much more enjoyable to discover everything with her than being there alone.

She wandered into the bedroom and immediately stopped again. The room centered around a massive four-poster bed dressed in crisp white linens. French doors overlooked a private garden, and a stone fireplace mirrored the one in the living room.

The peach Juliet rose arrangement I’d selected from a high-end floral boutique sat on the nightstand, and a bottle of champagne waited nearby, chilling next to the chocolate strawberries I’d hoped she’d approve of.

She walked quietly to the arrangement set in a stone vase. The Juliet roses were handpicked, and their petals shifted between soft peach, champagne, and warm apricot, each bloom unfolding delicate layers that looked almost impossibly precise. Cream-colored ranunculus nestled among them, while a handful of sweet peas drifted above the arrangement, completing the perfect arrangement for the most perfect woman.

“These are gorgeous,” she said, grabbing the card I’d written for her days earlier.

“They are,” I said, approving of the final piece the florist arranged, “but the woman standing next to them is even more spectacular.”

She smiled and opened the card, reading every word slowly. It was as though she didn’t trust herself to rush through them. As though nobody had ever written words like that for her before.

For the woman whose beauty transcends flowers, diamonds, and gold.

Every extraordinary thing I have ever done pales in comparison to the privilege of loving you.

Yours always,

—T.