She’d always planned to take a week’s vacation in New York, and had an agenda of places she wanted to see. There’d just never been time.
“I know. We aren’t going to be able to do it all. But I can give you an overview,” he said as the car let them out in Times Square.
“What about our bags?” she asked as the car drove away.
“The driver will take care of them.”
Trusting Gray, she shrugged, and with no small amount of glee, she did a complete turnaround, gaping at the immense blinking signs, the sheer amount of humanity crowding the sidewalks and clamoring for space amidst the cluster of traffic and honking horns. Tourists walked Times Square, no doubt as shell-shocked as she was.
She turned to Gray. “I’ve seen this before in movies, but it’s nothing like being here.”
He grinned and took her hand. “Come on.”
They walked along the street and Evelyn took in every sight and smell, the street vendors hawking everything from pretzels and hot dogs to clothing and jewelry. The police were out in force, patrolling on foot and on horseback. It seemed like there was a cop every three feet. In a city with millions of people crowding and shoving into her, she’d never felt safer, surprisingly.
Gray stopped and grabbed them a bus ticket for the tours.
“A bus tour, really?” she asked, surprised he’d want to do something like that. It was totally something she would have done, likely the first thing because she’d be so eager to see everything all at once.
“You’ll enjoy this. I’ve done it before.”
She halted and stared at him. “You have. You, the rich guy, took a tourist bus.”
“Best way to see Manhattan, in my opinion. You can hop on and off at any stop.
We’ll take both of them so you can see everything.”
“I’m stunned.”
He laughed. “Come on. Let’s go get in line.”
He bought them water and they waited for the big red double-decker buses. When it was their turn, they climbed aboard the top of the bus. She looped her arm around Gray’s and leaned against him.
“I’m ridiculously excited about this,” she said as the bus took off.
Gray was quiet and she was anything but, commenting on everything she saw on the tours, from Union Square to Chinatown to the Flatiron Building. The architecture of buildings they passed particularly fascinated her, and she grabbed her phone and snapped pictures of building fronts that caught her eye, especially some of the old churches.
She scanned the map. “Oh, the Met is coming up.” She looked at Gray. “Do you mind?”
“We can go anywhere you want.”
They hopped out at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and went in. Lord, but the place was huge. They grabbed a map and maneuvered their way through several of the exhibits.
“You need an entire day—possibly two or three—just to see everything. There are more than two million works in here,” she said, reading the information sheet. It was overwhelming.
“Yes,” Gray said. “But it’s worth it.”
“You’ve been through here.”
He nodded. “More than once.”
“What’s your favorite thing?”
“Greek and Roman Art.” He led her to the section, showed her some of his favorite pieces.
“This is one I could look at for hours,” he said, showing her a marble sarcophagus.
The intricacies were awe-inspiring. She took his hand and laid her head on his shoulder, examining it with him, absorbing the detail and appreciating the work that had gone into it. They wandered the section and looked at each piece. She found herself watching Gray as he admired the sculptures, noted the way he cocked his head to the side, how long he would study the pieces.
Who would know this about him if he hadn’t taken the time to share his love of art?
He was such a complex man and she loved that about him.
When they left the exhibit, he turned to her. “Your turn. Show me what you love.”
She gazed up at him and smiled. “Okay.”
She looked at the map and led the way, her pulse thrumming at the thought of seeing the paintings.
When they got to the section it took some twists and turns. The rooms were like a maze. She was glad to have Gray with her, because she might have gotten lost without his help. But as soon as she found the Impressionist wing, she went to the paintings and stopped in front of the first Renoir she saw.
Gray came up and put his arm around her. “They’re beautiful.”
“It’s hard to believe I’m actually seeing them up close like this.” She wanted to reach out and touch them. Of course she knew she couldn’t, but they were so beautiful. She moved along and looked at each one in the gallery, though her favorites were the Renoirs and Monets. She understood now why there were cushioned seating areas in the center of each gallery, why some people sat and just stared for hours.
Art was such an amazing thing. She couldn’t draw at all, but she had such an appreciation for the talent of those who could paint beautiful works that spoke to her heart in this way.
She laced her fingers with Gray’s as they left the gallery. “I think someday I’ll come back to New York and spend every day for a week coming in here to just sit and reflect.”
“It’s peaceful. Gives you a chance to clear your head.”
They left the Met and Gray pulled her half a block down the street. There was a vendor cart and he ordered them two hot dogs and a drink.
“You haven’t truly experienced New York until you’ve had a hot dog from a vendor cart.”
She laughed. “Then by all means, we have to have one.”
They walked a little farther down the street and stopped at one of the benches under the shade trees, eating while people buzzed by on their way to wherever they were going. The hot dog was good and it was blistering hot outside, so the shade helped.
She enjoyed people watching, so Gray suggested they walk to the next tour bus stop, and since they would be walking along Central Park, she didn’t mind the walk at all.
They grabbed the bus and made a few more stops. Gray took her to lunch at an amazing bistro where she had the most perfect Greek salad with stuffed grape leaves, kalamata olives, and feta cheese, topped with dressing so delicious she wanted to scoop it up with a spoon. It was an open-air place so while she ate she people watched, and with so many people going by, it was such a pleasurable experience. She and Gray tried to imagine where they were all going, what kind of jobs they had. She got distracted a little by checking out the fantastic shoes the women wore.
Women knew how to dress in this city. She felt extremely underdressed in her capris and canvas shoes, but at least she was comfortable.
They grabbed the bus and ended up back where they started. She loved seeing everything, but it was an exhausting day. Gray hailed a cab. It was a harrowing ride, kind of like a roller coaster in an amusement park with lots of twists, turns, and abrupt stops. But she felt like she’d been truly indoctrinated into New York culture.
And she was a little nauseated, too, likely because she was still rubbernecking and playing tourist, craning her neck up to see the tall buildings and people watching as the taxicab performed death-defying acts by barely missing pedestrians and other cars.
There was a lot of horn honking going on, and the taxi driver seemed put out by the other cars and the pedestrians getting in his way.
It was insane, really.
“That was interesting,” she said after they climbed out and the cab pulled away, shoving itself into the flow of stop-and-go traffic.
Gray laughed. “Yeah. Welcome to New York.”
It took her a few seconds to register that they had stopped at The Plaza.
“I am so not dressed to have drinks here,” she said.
“We’re not having drinks here.” They went to the registration desk, where he shocked her by checking them in. The registration clerk told Gray that their suite was ready and their bags had already been taken up to their room.
The hotel was the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen. Very Old World, mixed with every modern convenience. And when she walked into the suite, she could have died from the beauty. It was a town house suite—two floors of utter decadence, with a dining room, a living room, an upstairs bedroom, and a marble-floored bathroom she might never want to leave.
There was a huge terrace that looked out over Central Park.
The first thing she did was step out onto the terrace. Gray followed.
“This is lovely. And the view is amazing.” She turned to him. “Thank you for bringing me here.”
“You’re welcome. I thought you might like to stay here tonight.”
“Tonight? I’m thinking of moving in permanently. You’ll have to drag me out of here, kicking and screaming.”
“I get a bug to get out of that trailer every now and then.”
She laughed. “I imagine you do. This is very . . . expansive.” And, she imagined, sinfully expensive. As she looked out over the park and the skyscape, she was envious of those who lived in this beautiful city.
“I could live here.”
“At the Plaza or in Manhattan?”
She laughed. “Definitely in Manhattan, though it’s decadent to think about living in this suite.”
“Yeah? You like what you see?”
“What’s not to like? I love that you can walk everywhere, that there’s awesome transportation. I love the sights of the city, the never-ending choices in food, the atmosphere, the frenetic pace.”
“It is nice here. But I still like my place on the beach the best. There’s a quiet that I can’t get anywhere else.”
She leaned against him. “I can appreciate the beauty there, too. The nice thing is you could afford to have homes in a lot of places.”
“That’s true. And you like the heartbeat of D.C.”
“I do, but mainly for work. D.C. lacks the beauty of New York or the quiet peacefulness of the beach in Daytona.”
“You should marry a rich guy who can give you houses in all your favorite places.
Then, when you’re not busy ruling the world, you can vacation there.”
She laughed. “Yeah, in a perfect world that’ll happen.”
He kissed her neck. “Dream big, princess. You never know what might happen.”
He turned and walked inside. She watched him go, pondering what he said.
*
GRAY WANTED TO MAKE THIS NIGHT PERFECT FOR EVELYN. After they showered, they got dressed. Evelyn looked beautiful in a cream-colored dress that hugged her curves at the top and had a sinful slit up the side. And those heels made her legs look spectacular.
“Oh, did you want to stay in tonight?” he asked as he met her at the foot of the stairs.
She frowned. “I thought we were going out. Is this dress not the right choice?”
He took her hand and brushed a kiss across her knuckles. “You’re a knockout, but I don’t know if I can go out in public with a hard-on.”
She laughed. “Thank you. I still have no idea where we’re going.”
“You’ll see.” He tucked her hand in his arm and they took the elevator down to the lobby, where a car was waiting.
“I feel a little decadent,” she said as they slid into the back of the private car.
“Do you? Good. It’s nice to get away from the dirty track every now and then and live like the rich folks do.”
She laughed. “Gray, you are the rich folks.”
He arched a brow. “Am I?”
The driver took them to the restaurant, where a valet opened the door for them.
“Welcome to Daniel.”
“Oh, I’ve heard of this restaurant. It’s one of the finest in Manhattan,” Evelyn said as they made their way inside. “But very hard to get into. How did you get a reservation? I heard you have to make them a month or so in advance.”
“Well,” Gray said after he’d given his name and they were shown to their table. “I have a few connections here and there.”
“Is that right? I’m impressed.”
They looked over the wine list. “What would you like?” he asked.
“I love wine. All sorts. Something red and smooth?”
He nodded and ordered a bottle after their sommelier made a few suggestions.
“This place is lovely, Gray. Thank you for bringing me here.”
“I’m glad you like it.”
“You’re constantly surprising me.”
“Am I? How’s that?”
“I don’t know. Every time I think I know you, it’s like you peel a new layer off that onion.”
He cocked a brow. “Yeah? Good. I’d hate to be predictable. Predictable is boring.”
“Trust me, Gray. You are anything but boring.”
They had dinner and Gray paid the check. The car was waiting for them and took them to the theater district. He watched Evelyn’s eyes widen as the car let them out in front of the theater.
“Seriously?”
His lips curved. “I thought you might want to see a show while we’re here.”
She squeezed his hand after they got out of the car. “I’d love to. And it’s a musical.
I love musicals. How did you know?”
He shrugged. “A wild guess.”
As they took their seats near the front of the theater, Evelyn whispered, “I feel like Cinderella tonight. You’re the prince and you’re making all my dreams come true.”
She brushed her lips against his. “Thank you for that.”
Gray sucked in a breath at the emotion rolling around his gut. He didn’t know what to do about it—what to do about Evelyn and all these feelings that seemed to pummel him whenever he spent time with her. And those feelings were growing, making him wonder how he was going to live his life without her after she was through with her business with him.