in the driver’s seat, overriding her conscience as her legs continued to carry her down the steps.
She wanted a peek. Just a quick one. There was no way she could bring herself to ask Colin for a tour of this place; it would only make her look nosy and intrusive.
As if sneakily exploring it on her own didn’t make her look that way.
You’ll be quick, Andie assured herself. No one needs to know that’s what you’re doing.
She just wanted to see the downstairs, and then she’d come right back up, get a drink, and spend the rest of the night with Colin, behaving herself and keeping her curiosity in check.
At the bottom of the staircase was another hallway, just a bit narrower than the one upstairs. The voices and merriment were louder now, coming from a giant game room at the end of the hall; arcade games and varied gaming tables—billiards, foosball, Ping-Pong, air hockey—along with the biggest flat-screen television she’d ever seen and a tremendous sectional couch occupied the expansive room. She lingered for only a moment, attempting to appear as if she were looking for someone rather than nosing around, and she noticed the home theater across the hall, complete with tiered rows of plush recliner seats and an extremely intimidating-looking sound system.
Andie shook her head in disbelief as she turned to walk back upstairs, stopping when she spotted a third doorway at the opposite end of the hall. What the hell, she thought. She’d already given in to her shameless snooping. When would she ever get to be in a house like this again?
She realized what it was before she even crossed the threshold: a wine cellar.
“My God,” she said under her breath as she reached the doorway. It was practically the size of her apartment; the walls were floor-to-ceiling shelves full of bottles, and in the center of the room were several more independent shelves, filled to capacity. There had to be hundreds of bottles.
She stepped into the cellar in complete awe, her eyes fixed on the soaring shelves bordering the entire room, nearly tripping over something underfoot. Andie looked down to see a small wrought-iron step-ladder on the floor next to the door, and as she lifted her eyes back up to the impossibly tall shelving, she bent to grab it, dragging it over to the nearest wall of wine.
Just as she was about to climb up and take a closer look, a loud slamming sound caused her to jump, and she whipped her head around to see the cellar door closed behind her.
“Crap,” she mumbled, stepping down off the stool. She walked back toward the door and twisted the handle.
Nothing.
Andie froze, her eyes widening for a second before pulling a bit more forcefully.
“No,” she whispered, twisting the handle the other way and trying again. “No, no, no,” she begged, leaning back on her heels and grabbing the handle with both hands, yanking back with the full weight of her body. The substantial oak door didn’t budge. It didn’t even squeak. “Oh God, please no,” she whimpered to herself.
The voice came from behind her.
“Well, that sucks.”
She screamed before he’d even finished his sentence, whirling around and flattening herself up against the door.
Instead of being startled by the ear-piercing shriek that ripped from her throat, he seemed amused by it. The corners of his mouth curved up in a smile as his eyebrows lifted ever so slightly.
Andie’s instincts kicked in as she felt the panic begin to swell in her chest. Locked in a cellar with a strange man at a party where she didn’t know anyone, where practically no one would be looking for her. Weren’t there scary movies that began this way? For all she knew, the room was probably soundproof. She felt a surge of adrenalin heat her veins as she kept her eyes on him, her back against the door.
“Did you think that was down there for show?” he asked, nodding toward the iron step stool she had dragged over to the shelves.
Andie brought her hand to her still-thudding heart. “I…I didn’t know…I’m sorry,” she said, reaching behind her with her free hand and twisting the handle again. The uneasiness in her chest was beginning to mix with embarrassment. “How do we get out?”
He shrugged indifferently. “We wait. Someone will probably be down here any second now after that scream.” He smirked as he added, “Nice pipes, by the way.”
Andie couldn’t help the frown that tugged at the corners of her mouth