‘Yeah, it’s romantic until one day you catch him with his mistress in the same place making his own romantic moment. And you know what’s even more full of hearts and roses and unicorns that poop rainbows?’ she added archly. ‘Serving him with divorce papers at his mistress’s house after he said he was away at a Vegas cop convention.That’smy romantic moment.’
Beth blanched. She loved Jodi, but guessed she should have remembered who she was talking to. Her friend certainly wasn’t one to be first in line with ticket in hand for the latest Nicholas Sparks movie. She should have remembered that Central Park was indeed the place Jodi had caught her now ex-husband Frank with this mistress. A million miles from romantic. She guessed Katie’s foot-in-mouth syndrome was catching.
‘Sorry, Jodi. I didn’t mean…’
Her friend patted her shoulder. ‘It’s OK, honey. Easy for you to romanticise marriage; you haven’t been there. And I say that not as a criticism but acommendation. Don’t go there, Beth. Single life wins out every time.’
Beth wasn’t completely sold on that, even though she and Danny regularly downplayed any considerations of marriage where their relationship was concerned. But she wasn’t about to start another dialogue about the pros and cons.
‘Anyway,’ Jodi continued, ‘what are you doing here this morning? I thought you and lover boy were heading south this weekend?’
Beth picked up some boxes and turned back towards the stockroom. ‘Danny had something come up last minute. He encouraged me to go ahead anyway, maybe meet up with some of the others, but it would be no fun without him. I might as well stay here and do something productive.’
Ever suspicious, Jodi narrowed her eyes. ‘And what came up that he felt you should still go?’
Beth smiled good-naturedly. As far as Jodi was concerned, there wasn’t a decent man in all of Manhattan – hell, in all of the world. But Beth knew different.
‘It’s just a work thing. His firm has a new client starting a big PR campaign in January, and the entire office has been put into lockdown over something last minute. And that’s fine by me. Especially since the company has been looking shaky as of late.’ She frowned. ‘He’s had a lot of hours cut recently, so it’s good that things are looking better. I don’t want him getting laid off, so he needs to put in the time if they ask him. Simple as that. We can always do the Sunshine State some other time.’
‘Hmm.’ Jodi regarded her sceptically.
Beth swatted at her friend with a playful hand. ‘Oh, stop it. Danny’s a good guy, you know that.’
Jodi snorted again. ‘Well, I’m glad that while you may be a hopeless romantic and always only a heartbeat away from re-enacting the best of Meg Ryan, at least you aren’t caught up in that obsession most women over thirty in this town have about marriage. At least you’re sane in that aspect. Because if you weren’t we just couldn’t be friends,’ she added wickedly. ‘I’m going to go put those boxes away, OK? Man the floor and I’ll be back in no time.’
Jodi disappeared into the stockroom and Beth smiled after her older, cynical friend. It was true that she might be a hopeless romantic, but also that she didn’t obsess about marriage – at least, not until faced with the question in the form of a happily engaged couple with a look of pity on their faces, she thought wryly. She and Danny worked well together, and Beth knew without a doubt in her mind that he was the one for her. They were in love, and dedicated and committed to each other for the long haul. She didn’t need a white dress, a piece of paper (or fairy-tale slippers) to tell her that.
But still, she couldn’t deny that things had changed since the early days. OK, so she didn’t get as many butterflies in her stomach at the sight of him as she used to, but their relationship wasn’t what you would call stale, not by a long shot. It was justdifferent.
Though maybe that was simply what happened when time passed and familiarity grew. In romantic movies, nobody ever got to see what happened to the hero and heroine after the credits rolled. Possibly for good reason, asafterhappily ever after didn’t necessarily make for an interesting story.
Still, Beth couldn’t deny that she wished her and Danny’s once-passionate kisses occurred a bit more often, and that these days unexpected romantic moments weren’t so few and far between.
But, she told herself, she still had the memories: the romance that was part of her and Danny’s story over the years. And that was it, Beth thought: it was their story that made them special together, that made them dedicated to each other. That was the foundation of their love. She and Danny Bishop had been writing their own particular romantic movie all throughout their relationship.
She remembered a moment, very early in the relationship, long before they had moved in together, before they’d even said, ‘I love you’ (though Beth had known it at the time). It was one of her favourite memories.
It was summertime, and they had just been out for dinner in Little Italy, she was still in her little black dress and Danny had thrown his jacket over her shoulders. They had found themselves at the foot of 58th Street, in a spot just overlooking the East River and the Queensboro Bridge, which was lit up with what seemed like a million little sparkling fairy lights.
And it was there that they’d sat and talked about everything and anything, until eventually the sun had started to peek out over the horizon. Beth remembered just how badly she wanted to tell dawn to wait a while longer, that she wasn’t finished with the night yet – that she needed a few more hours of darkness as she learned about this wonderful man who was sitting next to her.
It had been magical. And though Beth didn’t realise it until later, it had also been a scene – quite literally – from out of a movie. Woody Allen and Diane Keaton had filmed a famous piece fromManhattanin that exact spot, sitting on the very same bench. But she had never seen the movie until one night months later at her old apartment, when Danny was flipping through TV channels, and the iconic clip appeared onscreen.
As she watched, she felt as if stars had been trickling down upon her from heaven. It was a sign, a sign from the romantic movie gods – or perhaps even her beloved grandmother – that she and Danny were meant to be together.
Instantly hooked, she had insisted on watchingManhattanfrom the very beginning, and while the more unconventional production wasn’t usually her style, the film immediately took on a very special meaning.
Smiling at the memory, Beth realised that despite Jodi’s misgivings, sometimes romance could indeed be like something from the movies – and in her and Danny’s case it was even better.
Chapter 2
‘Come on, Beth, you’re really refusing to come out for a drink with me? You’re a shame to your countrymen,’ Jodi added wickedly, as after work the pair stepped onto Lexington Avenue and into the prickling cold that was the city in December.
Fairy-lit trees lining the path along the avenue twinkled in the darkness, and street lamps were adorned with Christmas lights shaped like angels, stars and candy canes. Beth, who never tired of the city at this time of year, gave a satisfied sigh at the romance of it all.
‘I can’t imagine the North Pole being colder,’ her friend scowled, as a wave of steam from a nearby subway vent enveloped them.
Beth’s hand went to her neck in an effort to keep it warm in the absence of a scarf. ‘It really is chilly, isn’t it?’ She shivered as goosebumps appeared on the back of her neck, realising she had been out of the warmth of Carlisle’s for less than thirty seconds, and was already freezing cold.
