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So tranquil, she thought, when there was nothing tranquil about the man who must have had the pool and the goddess positioned there.

"So, what do you think?" He came to take the seat beside her, lazed back and stretched out his long legs.

"About the house? You must already know that it’s very beautiful." Vivian said.

"I purchased it last year from a business acquaintance, who needed some heavy cash fast," he imparted casually. "The idea was to sell it on but the current housing market made me decide to hang on to it for a while."

"That explains it, then," Vivian murmured.

He turned his head to look at her. "Explains what?" he asked.

"Did Anthony come with the house?" she responded with a question of her own.

"Yes," he confirmed, and she nodded her head.

"The decor and the furnishings?" His eyes started to narrow, and Vivian felt that needling spark of electricity filter into the air. She had to moisten her lips with the tip of her tongue before she could go on. "Your—stamp is not v