Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 103050 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 515(@200wpm)___ 412(@250wpm)___ 344(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 103050 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 515(@200wpm)___ 412(@250wpm)___ 344(@300wpm)
I smirk. “But it’s the thought that counts.”
“It really is. And I like that you’re trying to impress me.” A shadow of confusion crosses her expression.
I want to ask why, but I don’t. “Good.”
“It’s a beautiful view,” she says, looking over my shoulder, toward the Empire State Building.
“It certainly is,” I reply, not taking my eyes from her. She’s the only view I’m interested in.
Her blush, which I’ve not managed to illicit all night, is back.
“You are…” Her thought trails off.
“You want me to finish the sentence? Tell you who I am? Or at least how I see myself.”
She gives a small nod. “Yeah, actually, I do.”
“Focused. The object of my focus can change, but whatever I’m doing, I like to commit to that. If I’m at the office, I’m all in. If I’m with Willow, I’m not talking to the office.” I pause. “Your turn.”
“What about with women?” she asks.
I give her my best flirty smile. “I’m focused there too. Never had a threesome, if that’s what you mean.”
She rolls her eyes. “I mean, have you cheated?”
“Never,” I answer quickly. “But then again, I’m not often in relationships. When I lived with Gabby, there was no one else until we split.” Her gaze flits from my mouth back up to my eyes. “What about you?”
“But you’re not finished,” she says. “You’re just focused. There’s more to you than that.”
“I want to hear about you too. Let’s take turns.”
She sighs and her eyes trail away from mine as she thinks about her answer. “I’m hard working,” she says. “I never got anything for free, and that’s fine.”
“Is it fine?”
“It is. Because we’re all dealt a different hand. And also, when you see people who you think had things easy, it’s often not the case.”
If I didn’t like her before, I do now. She has a refreshing take on the world. She’s insightful.
“Your turn,” she says.
“I’m a father,” I reply. Maybe I should have started that way. “Sometimes I don’t feel like the best father, but Willow’s my daughter, no matter what kind of father I am. I can’t quit—not that I want to. I have to push through and keep getting better. It’s made me a better man. A better businessman. Being a father is the most important thing in my life.”
We’ve finished our starters and the waitstaff clear our plates.
She narrows her eyes as everything’s removed from in front of us. When we’re alone again, she asks, “Why do you think you’re not the best father?”
I pull in a breath. “It’s just as I said before. I should have been able to give her a white picket fence, a mum, dad, two kids, and a dog. And I haven’t managed that with Willow.”
“And you think she’s worse off because of that?”
I pull my eyebrows together in confusion. “Of course. You don’t?”
“Not necessarily,” she replies, then she pushes her chair out and stands. She reaches out her left hand. “Let’s go and admire the view before the entrees. That’s what they call the main course, right?”
I nod, stand, and take her hand. She feels warm and safe and like someone I’ve known my entire life.
When we get to the wall, at the edge of the terrace, she turns to me. “I had the kind of family life that you were describing. My mum and dad have lived in the same house since I was born. My parents are still happily married. My mum was a part-time librarian and full-time mother and housekeeper.”
“Were you unhappy?” I ask.
“Not at all.”
Exactly, I think. That’s what I want for Willow.
“But sometimes I wished for more. I’m lucky, my best friend lives in the same village as my parents and we’ve been friends since forever. I work just on the outskirts of the village. Everyone knows everyone where I live, and I swear, I could knock on any house and they’d take me in.”
“Sounds idyllic.”
“It’s very safe,” she says.
I can sense the but in her tone.
“Safe is good,” I say. “The number one thing I want for Willow is her safety.”
“But you want her happiness too, right? Sometimes I think if life had been a bit more…more—” She stops herself. “I don’t know how to put it. All I know is that I’m thirty-six years old, and coming to Manhattan is my first…adventure. I wish I’d stepped out of that safe world a bit sooner.” Her hand sweeps down the lapel of my jacket, her gaze full of regret. “I’m really enjoying New York and it makes me sad that I didn’t do something like this sooner.”
I want to scoop her up and make it all better for her immediately. But I wouldn’t know where to start.
“You’re saying safe isn’t always good?” I capture her hand as it falls from my torso and thread my fingers through hers. I’m completely mesmerized by what she’s saying.