Rachel's Rolls

Chapter 11- Bradley

We drive for another couple of hours before we finally make it into London. Traffic is quiet thankfully, as it's almost 11pm and Rachel is fast asleep next to me. I pull into the drive of my house and wait for the electric gates to open. I put the car into park and gently brush the hair off Rachel's face from where it's fell, making her stir. She blinks sleepily at me, before stretching her arms above her head.

"Where are we?" she asks, yawning.

"We're at my house, baby." I say with a smile.

She look's over at me in shock. "Wow! This is your place? I don't know why but I thought we'd be staying in a hotel."

She leans forward in her seat, trying to get a better look down the drive. I chuckle at her wide eyed expression and start driving up the driveway. As you pass through the ornate black metal gates, you find a long drive surrounded by trees and open expanses of grass on either side. Further up sits an open courtyard which sits my 4 other cars and a water fountain which is illuminated by the soft glow of lights from under the water. I pull to a stop by the front door and get out to round the front of the car to open Rachel's door. She distractedly thanks me while looking up at the front of the house. I leave her peering through the windows and let Nellie out of the boot. She darts off running around before going to sit next to Rachel with her tongue sticking out the side of her mouth.

"Your house is beautiful!" Rachel exclaims with awe in her voice. It's a traditional home, with huge windows either side of the arched wooden front door.

I join Rachel at the top of the steps and open the front door, ushering her in. As you step through the door, you're greeted by a wide hallway with original hardwood flooring, the soft glow of lights highlighting the pictures I've put up on the walls over the years I've lived here. Some are of the achievements me and my brother have accomplished with our business, but they're mostly of our parents and happy moments from my childhood. Rachel stops to look at all the pictures one by one before wandering down the hallway, into the open-plan kitchen and dining space at the back of the house. I follow along quietly, listening to her mumble about how much she likes the house. I'm smiling like a love drunk fool and I fucking love it.

She gasps when she see's the kitchen. "Oh my god! This kitchen is a dream!" she says while running her hands over the marble counter tops, beaming.

The kitchen is the beating heart of any home so when I designed it, I wanted it to feel warm and homely. As you walk in, the whole back wall is completely made of glass which opens up fully when it's warm out. To your right, is a wrap around kitchen which has shaker style cabinets with cream-colored marble countertops and a huge kitchen island in the same style with a double sink which is overlooking the garden. All the appliances are top of the range, with an American style fridge/ freezer and a wine cooler. On the left, is a large 10-person dining table with pendent lights hanging over it. Then there are double doors that lead into the living room behind the table.

"I thought you'd like it. That's one of the reasons why I brought you here. I wanted you to see it before I sold it."

She spins to look at me, her eye's comically wide. "What? Why are you selling? I've only seen a little, but I couldn't imagine letting this place go, it's amazing." she say's while running her hands around the edge of the 6 ring cooker.

"I do love this house but I'm relocating to Pine Brooke to look after the new office there. Jeremy is staying in London to oversee the business here and he's been looking for a new place. I offered him my house, rent free seen as I won't be here, but he refused. So, he's buying it instead. We had had many heated discussions about him buying it, but he was adamant and wouldn't budge. So, I settled on a fraction of the actual house price. He's happy and I dont have to give it up completely, I can crash here when I'm in town for meetings. Win win." I say, shaking my head, laughing.