22. Twenty-Two

22

TWENTY-TWO

D espite Leo’s suggestion that I wear the butler ragged when he was off at his audition the next day, I opted to take a short walk around the neighborhood so I could scout the area. I was back in the room, showered and dressed, when he returned.

“How did it go?” I asked. He didn’t look as happy as I expected.

“Good.” He broke out in a wide grin when he saw me and sauntered over for a kiss. I expected it to be a friendly gesture but it got dirty quickly.

I ultimately had to shove at his chest to get a breath … and start thinking clearly. “I thought we were going to go out.”

“We are. I was thinking we could do something here first, though.”

My lower lip came out to play. “Come on. We only have a few hours to see stuff.”

“Fine.” He gave me another kiss, this one short and sweet, and then tugged at his suit coat. “Let me change. Do you know where you want to go? Please don’t say the Statue of Liberty.”

I made a face. “I used to live here,” I reminded him. “Not in this area, though. I’ve seen the Statue of Liberty. That’s one of the few things you can do on the cheap here.”

His eyes grew troubled. “Don’t pick stuff that’s free just because you don’t want me to spend money. Whatever you want to do, we can do.”

“I want to walk around Manhattan.”

He waited for me to expand. When I didn’t, he sighed. “And then what?”

“That’s it.”

“You just want to walk around Manhattan? I don’t understand.”

“I didn’t live in Manhattan when I was here. There was no way. I had to always ride the subway in so I never really got to spend a lot of time here. I just want to look around. I thought we could get hot dogs and eat them in the park and everything.”

He looked genuinely baffled. “That’s what you want to do?” he asked finally.

I immediately started second-guessing myself. “What do you want to do?”

“No.” He shook his head and stripped out of his shirt, giving me a clear view of his fantastic body. My mouth started to water, and briefly, I wondered if staying in the room wasn’t the best option after all. “We’re doing what you want today, and if you want to walk around Manhattan, that’s fine. I just … are you sure you don’t want to go to a museum or something?”

I made a face. “I’ve been to all the museums. I used to save up and hit one a month. That was my treat to myself.”

He looked horrified. “You rewarded yourself with museums?”

“Hey, some of us like to learn.” I made a clucking sound with my tongue. “It was just a thought. Let’s do what you want.”

“I said no.” He was stern as he placed his hands on his hips and stared down at me. “It’s just not what I was expecting. You’re so…”

“Boring,” I supplied.

“You’re the exact opposite of boring,” he replied. “You’re low-maintenance, though. You’re just happy to be.”

“Be what?”

“Just be.” He pulled off his suit pants and started rooting through his suitcase. He came back with jeans and a simple polo shirt. “I like that about you.”

“I don’t see the point of not being happy in my own skin,” I offered. “If you can’t be happy with yourself, who can you be happy with?”

“I guess I never really thought about it.” He sat down on the bed long enough to pull on some sneakers. “Do you want to know something?”

“Always.”

“I’ve never really walked around Manhattan. I just … go where I’m supposed to go.”

“Then this is going to be fun.” I shifted from one foot to the other, excited. “There are a lot of places to see.”

“Like what?”

“There’s Rockefeller Center, Central Park, Chinatown. Although, do you know what they do have?” Something had stood out when I was researching our options while waiting for him. “They have the Museum of Ice Cream. I wouldn’t mind seeing that.”

He blinked as he regarded me. “You want to go to the ice cream museum?”

“I just want to see stuff. With you.”

His expression was hard to read, but I was almost positive it was yearning I saw in his eyes before it was replaced with amusement. “Fine. Let’s head out and do it all.”

“Really?” I couldn’t help being dubious. “What about what you want?”

“I want to see you happy. I’ll be getting what I want.”

“Are you absolutely sure?”

He held out his hand to me, and I didn’t hesitate to take it. “I’ve never been more certain of anything in my life. Let’s walk around. Let’s see it all.”

“And then you can pick where we go to dinner, okay?”

His smile evaporated in an instant. “Is this your way of ensuring that you don’t accidentally pick an expensive restaurant?”

I was the picture of innocence. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“That’s what I thought. We’ll figure out dinner later. Let’s see Manhattan?—”

“And Chinatown,” I interjected. “I never actually made it there when I lived here, and it feels like a travesty.”

“And Chinatown,” he conceded. “We’ll just see where the day takes us.”

That was exactly what I had in mind when I suggested it. “Let’s get going. We only have a few hours. We have to leave at a reasonable time tomorrow because we have to get to bed early for Monday’s shoot. We have a lot of scenes together, and it’s going to be a long day.”

“Let’s not think about work,” he chastised. “Work is Monday’s problem. Let’s just have fun.”

“I can multitask.”

“No. Fun.” He was stern. “I want to see that smile all day. That’s what I want. No work.”

“Fine. We’d definitely better hit the ice cream museum then.”

“It’s funny, but you read my mind.”

WE HIT ROCKEFELLER CENTER FIRST. It was a beautiful spot, but I preferred it in winter.

“I spent my first Christmas alone here,” I explained to Leo as we looked around. “The tree is magical, and I just … sat here for hours looking at it. I was lonely even though I was surrounded by people, but it was somehow better here.”

He was thoughtful as he regarded me. “Is that why you don’t like LA? Because it’s easy to be lonely there even when you’re surrounded by people?”

I shrugged. “I don’t like LA for a litany of reasons. That’s only one of them.”

“What are the others?”

“The architecture.” My hand was firmly encompassed in his as he led me out of Rockefeller Center.

“I’m kind of hungry,” he said. “How about we hit the park next and get those hot dogs and then we’ll catch a cab over to the ice cream museum.”

“We can walk,” I protested. “Cabs are expensive.”

He pinned me with a dirty look. “What did I say?”

A sigh escaped my lips. “Sorry. It’s habit.”

“Well, it bugs me. The walk will take forever. If we get a cab, we can walk around Chinatown for a bit and debate what we’re doing for dinner. Do you want to eat over there?”

“That’s fine,” I replied automatically.

That face he made when I was being exasperating was back. “I don’t want to hear about it being fine. In fact, we’re definitely not eating in Chinatown.”

“I like Chinese food,” I assured him.

“Shut it. I’ll figure out exactly where it is you want to eat. You just … sit there and look pretty.”

My mouth fell open. “Did you really just say that to me?”

His smirk was fast. “Yup. I meant it, too. You don’t get a say in dinner.”

“You’re very bossy.”

“Oh, you haven’t seen anything yet.”

I’D BEEN TO CENTRAL PARK BEFORE, BUT it was somehow different being there with Leo. We got hot dogs and fries, sat on a bench, and told each other some of our favorite stories about rude New Yorkers.

“I like the people,” I insisted as Leo typed on his phone. He was ordering a cab for us on an app, something I didn’t even know was possible.

“The people here are unbelievably rude,” he countered. “I thought you didn’t like mean people.”

The statement was pointed, and I didn’t blame him for going there. “The people here are authentic,” I corrected. “You weren’t being authentic. You were just being mean to be mean.”

He lowered his phone. “I wasn’t actually being mean. I just… I don’t know how to explain it. I like having a wall around myself. It makes things easier.”

“It’s how you protect yourself,” I agreed. “It’s okay. I know you’re not really mean.”

“No, I was mean. I just didn’t realize I was doing it. I won’t be mean to you again.”

“What about other people?”

“Oh, I’m definitely going to be mean to other people. I can’t help myself.” He stood and held out his hand. “Come on. The cab is picking us up down by 5th Avenue.”

I slid my hand in his without thinking about it. “Have you decided where we’re going for dinner?” I was honestly curious.

“I have a few ideas.”

“Such as?”

He chuckled. “It’s going to drive you nuts until I tell you, isn’t it?”

“I kind of like being able to plan for things,” I agreed. “For example, look at my outfit. It’s fine for a walk around Manhattan. It’s not okay for a ritzy place, though. In fact, I don’t really have any clothes with me that are good for that.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Leo kept his gaze straight ahead when we passed a group of people in leather jackets. He gave them a wide berth and puffed himself out a bit when making eye contact.

“That was very alpha,” I noted.

“I just wanted to make sure that they didn’t say anything to you.”

“What do you think they were going to say to me?”

“I don’t know. Hubba-hubba.”

I had to press my lips together to keep from laughing. “I don’t think anybody says that in this decade. Or last decade for that matter. You know what, I’m not even sure that was a thing in the nineties.”

“People still say it.”

“Name one person you’ve heard say that in the past five years.”

“I just said it.”

“You don’t count.”

“Oh, it counts. I say it all the time.” As if to prove it, he gave my butt a playful swat. “Hubba-hubba.”

“Wow. That is just … wow.” I giggled as I skipped ahead and missed his second swat attempt. He caught me before I could get too far ahead and swooped in for a searing kiss.

He made me laugh. He made me swoon. He made me happy. He was capable of wringing every emotion available out of me. I didn’t get to keep him, though. That’s what I had to keep telling myself. He wasn’t the villain in this either. It would’ve been easy for me to blame my inevitable broken heart on him. It wasn’t his fault, though. If anything, it was a case of bad timing. We were simply on different paths.

“Come on,” he said gruffly, a myriad of emotions passing through his eyes as he pulled away. “I want to get you to that ice cream museum.”

“And then what?”

“And then we have a detour of my making.”

He had my full attention now. “What does that mean?”

“You’ll see.” He led me toward the cabs that were lined up along 5th Avenue. “Come on. Ice cream first.”

I couldn’t help being suspicious. “You’re going to do something weird, aren’t you?”

“I’m going to do something to make you smile.”

“You already have.”

He winked as he opened the cab door for me. “I’m nowhere near done yet.”

THE ICE CREAM MUSEUM HAD BEEN HOKEY but fun. I got sugared up, to the point where I almost forgot that Leo had a plan for the evening. Then we walked around Chinatown, which was visually stimulating and smelled like egg rolls. That was a good thing because I happened to love egg rolls.

Leo bought us some egg rolls to snack on for the ride back to the hotel. When we got to our room—ostensibly to change—I found a garment bag hanging from the bathroom door. It hadn’t been there when we left.

“What’s this?” I was confused.

“I don’t know.” Leo’s shrug was a little too easy. “Open it and find out.”

I narrowed one eye as I unzipped the bag. My breath caught in my throat when I saw what was inside. In the grand scheme of things it was a simple dress. It had a mauve shell and a beautiful white and pink beaded overlay. It reminded me of something out of a Prohibition movie.

“What is this?” I reverently fingered the beads. The dress was expensive. There was no getting around that. The stitching was impeccable. “Did you rent this?”

Leo’s brow furrowed. “I didn’t even know you could rent a dress. It’s yours. I contacted the hotel and they had the butler come up with some dresses for you when I told them what I was looking for. They’ve been sending me photos since Central Park.”

I had no idea what to make of that. “How did you know my size?”

“I guessed. I hope it’s not too big.”

I pulled out the dress even though I was already trying to come up with an excuse for him to send it back. “Leo, this is too expensive,” I said. It was my go-to excuse, but I couldn’t help myself.

“What did I say?” Leo’s eyes flashed dark. “I don’t want to hear about money. You obviously like the dress. Right?” He suddenly looked vulnerable.

“I love it.” I pressed the fabric to my nose and inhaled deeply. “How did you know this was the dress for me?”

He lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “It was the one that stood out when I saw the photos. It reminded me of the outfit you wore to Finz that night. It has the same look. The overlay and everything. It sparkles like you did that night, too.”

“You remember what I was wearing that night?” I was flabbergasted. “You barely looked at me.”

“I looked at you.” His smile was sheepish. “I couldn’t stop looking at you.”

“But you said you were there with Dexter and Chad.”

“I knew where you were going, Sam. I was there when Daisy invited you. It wasn’t a coincidence that I ended up there … although Dexter and Chad had no idea, so don’t hold my stalking against them.”

“It was just minor stalking,” I assured him as I pulled out the dress so I could hold it up against my body. It looked like it was going to be a perfect fit. Because he’d admitted something that made him feel vulnerable, I decided to do the same. “I was mad that night because you weren’t there for me.”

“What do you mean?” His fingers were gentle as they pushed my hair away from my face.

“I didn’t know I was attracted to you at that point,” I said hurriedly. “I was still struggling to figure that part out. I did, however, recognize that when you said you weren’t there for me, I was disappointed.”

“Because you wanted to jump me,” he guessed.

“Don’t be weird when we’re having a sweet moment,” I warned. “I just don’t want you thinking you were the only one who had weird stuff on their mind that night. I still can’t believe you remember what I was wearing that night, though.”

“I remember all of it, Sam.” His voice was husky. “I was attracted to you right from the start. I didn’t want it. I still don’t know that it’s good for you. It was one of those things I couldn’t escape from.”

I found I was blinking back tears and forced myself to stand straight. “I know what I’m doing.” That was an utter lie. I had no idea what I was doing. He needed to believe it, though. “I’m responsible for my own choices here, and I’m exactly where I want to be.”

He nodded. “I’m glad.” He stared a beat longer, then grinned. “Get dressed. I don’t want to be late for our reservation.”

“You made a reservation, too?” I was floored. “When? Where?”

“I did it on my phone when you were in the bathroom at the ice cream museum. As for where? It’s called Ocean Prime. There were too many choices for me to know exactly where you wanted to eat. I wanted something with a solid menu that had good drinks and was reasonably upscale. I read a bunch of reviews, and settled on Ocean Prime because it wasn’t ungodly far from the hotel.”

“And we’re going to need to be close so we can rush home and get naked,” I surmised.

“That might’ve been a consideration.”

I held the dress tight. “What kind of food are we talking about here?”

“The typical stuff. Shrimp cocktail, Maine lobster, goat cheese ravioli.”

I laughed. “Do you even like goat cheese?”

“Surprisingly, I do.”

“Me, too.” I started to move toward the bathroom but stopped myself. My heart was full—dangerously so—and I knew I was falling for him. It would end badly. There was no escaping that. I was no longer capable of walking away, though. I would be crushed when he walked away, but I was giving it my all until then. “If I forget to tell you later, this was the best day I’ve ever had.”

Surprise registered on his features. “How do you know that?”

“Because it already is.” With that, I headed into the bathroom to get changed. I was cruising toward a broken heart, and there was nothing that could stop it. I was going to enjoy myself until the bitter end, though.

That was the only gift I could give myself at this point.