She had never even heard of the Vessel before Thad told her about it. The spiral staircase in Manhattan’s Hudson Yards area looked like a cross between a honeycomb and a hornet’snest, and the view looking up from on the ground on the inside was just as remarkable.
“The structure is beautiful from the outside, but you were right about this vantage point,” Ashanti admitted.
Dominique had called while they were still at Madison Square Park with news that the Gen Z-er behind the Dog Whisper TikTok account could fit them in for a quick interview, but they would have to get there within a half hour if they wanted to be on the live show. Thankfully, the interview was in Gramercy Park, just a few blocks from where they were at the time.
After the TikTok Live, they’d brought the dogs back to the hotel and headed out with the intention of fitting in as many of the food spots that remained on Ashanti’s list. That’s when Thad had mentioned the one other tourist site she had to see.
“It’s too bad we can’t go to the upper landings,” Ashanti said. “I can only imagine how beautiful the view is from up there.”
“I was able to go to the top before they shut that down. It’s nice, but you can see that view from dozens of buildings around Manhattan. There’s something about this view when you’re looking up. The sky looks different.”
“Gorgeous,” Ashanti said.
She wobbled and caught his arm to steady herself. Before she knew what she was doing, she squeezed his bicep, marveling at the tautness.
“Goodness, you’re solid,” Ashanti said. It shouldn’t have caught her off guard, yet it did. So much about him surprised her.
“Oh, wait!” Ashanti said as something occurred to her. “Am I doing it now?”
“Doing what?” Thad asked.
She took out her phone and opened the camera app. Her eyes didn’t look any different than they usually did.
She blew out an exasperated breath. “I still can’t tell.”
“Ashanti?” His voice was cautious, as if he was afraid of startling her. “What are you talking about?”
“Apparently, during our segment onLeah and Luke, I was… well…”
“You were?” Thad encouraged.
Was she really about to say this?
“Eye-fucking you,” she said. She covered her face in her hands and groaned. “I cannot believe I just said that.”
Thad’s deep chuckle made her face heat even more. “I wasn’t going to bring it up until later,” he said. “But, yes, you were.”
“Oh, God.” She groaned again. “Why didn’t you say anything?”
“What was I supposed to say? Thank you?”
If the FDNY happened to drive past them right now they would hose her down. She peeked at him through her fingers. His grin was both sexy and understanding, which, for some reason made this even worse.
“You already know the drill,” Ashanti said. “Just ignore it.”
“Yeah, about that,” he said. “No.”
She dropped her hands and jerked her head back. “What?”
“No,” he repeated. “I’ve decided that the only thing I’m ignoring from now on is that agreement we made. This?” He gestured between the two of them. “I’m done ignoring it. No more acting. No more pretending I don’t want you.”
“Thad, don’t.”
“Don’t what? What don’t you want me to do, Ashanti? Acknowledge that you’re the first person I have been even remotely interested in since longer than I can remember? You’re smart. You’re funny. And you made me sort of like my grandmother’s dog, which means you probably have magical powers or something.”
She laughed despite not wanting to encourage him. Ashanti shook her head, wishing things could be different.
She ached with the desire to admit that she felt the same way about him, but then she heard Anita’s voice in her head and remembered why she couldn’t.
