“You’re kidding me?” A delighted expression crossed his face when we got out of the car on Fifth Avenue and 34th Street.
“No, come on.” I tugged at Presley’s sleeve. “I’ll get the tickets.”
“Do you know I’ve never been?” He followed me through the brass doors.
I handed him his ticket and couldn’t resist kissing the tip of his nose. “Typical New Yorker. But I’ll confess, we take all our big out-of-town clients here, or I’d probably never have come either.”
We rode up to the observation deck of the Empire State Building, and because it was midweek and cold as hell, few people were about. The entire city lay spread out before us in a twinkling grid of lights.
“My God, I never realized it looked like this. I mean, I’ve seen it from planes, but somehow it’s different.” Like a kid at Christmas, his excitement turned infectious, and I couldn’t help laughing. I wanted to hug him.
“It is pretty spectacular.” He shivered, and grabbing the opportunity, I put my arm around him. “Better?”
He didn’t answer, but he didn’t pull away either.
We walked around the deck and stood by the corner.
“The city has always been so mysterious and yet so exciting. You think you know what’s going to happen, yet at the last minute it knocks you on your ass.”
The wind whipped around us, blowing Presley’s hair across his face. With my gloved fingers, I moved the glossy strands aside. “Like you.”
“Me? I’m neither.”
“Don’t tell me no. I’m never wrong.” I caught his chin. “I never lose a deal, because I don’t like to be told no.”
“I’ve already said no to sex.”
“How about a kiss?” He tensed, and I trailed my fingers over his lips. “We’re in one of the most romantic places in the city. Don’t you feel it?”
“Yes, but—”
“Shh,” I whispered, brushing my lips over his. “Don’t think. Just feel.” I tried to keep it light, but at the touch of those full, soft lips to mine, something wild broke inside me. I cupped his face and drank from his mouth like a drowning man gasping for air. His kiss fired my blood, sent it pulsing through my veins. It jump-started my heart to pounding again, instead of beating sluggishly. The noises of the city faded away, and all I knew, all I felt, was Presley.
After his initial hesitation, Presley sank into the kiss, his lips as eager as mine, the sweep of his tongue thrilling. His arms crept around my neck, and we clung together, feeding off each other’s breaths. He tasted of wine and sugar from the crème brûlée we shared, and I licked at his lips, wishing I could eat him whole.
“Nate…” He pulled away from me, eyes glittering, mouth open and gleaming wet. “We have to stop.”
With any other man, I would’ve cursed, turned on my heel, and left without a second thought. But this was Presley. No one else had ever made me feel this way, and if possible, I wanted him even more.
“I’m sorry. I got carried away. Blame it on the magic of the moonlight.” As if to prove my words, the expanse of gray, puffy clouds parted, revealing the icy lemon crescent of the moon.
“It is pretty magical up here; I will give you that.” He turned his attention back to the view, but not before I saw his smile. “And just so you know, I don’t think that no sex means no kissing. I’m not a fool.”
“Well, in that case…” I pulled him close again.
Chapter Eleven
I hadn’t expected Nate to be as attentive as he was, but we texted each night during the week and talked about our days. Once he stopped by the store with coffee for me and watched as I negotiated the sale of a sterling silver tea set from the eighteenth century.
“Where do you find these things?” Nate asked. “And how do you know they’re real?”
“I have a degree in art history, and my father got me an internship at Christie’s auction house my sophomore year of college. I studied under some of the best appraisers in the business. You learn to spot fakes based on facts.”
“That would be a good skill to have with people too.”
Those light eyes held mine.
“You’re right. It would save a lot of heartache for sure. But to answer your question, when my father was alive, he introduced me to all the dealers he had relationships with. It helped that we knew each other already when I took over the store. And I have a list of clients. I check the estate sales of apartments, and often one client recommends another.”
