Addy stretched in her bed and stared at her high ceiling. Unlike Gracen, who made her father buy her a house only to spend all her time at their parents’ mansion, Addy lived in a penthouse on Fifth Avenue.

She’d worked hard enough and made good investments. Her penthouse was another sound investment. The two stories had been gutted and remodeled to give it a clean, sleek feel. It was mostly white because she loved white, but also because it was such a soothing color.

She got up and headed for her kitchen. The soft Berber carpeting rubbed the soles of her feet and made her feel extra cozy on such a cold day. June, her housekeeper, was probably gone for the day.

Saturdays, she only came in early to make lunch and leave Addy breakfast for when she woke. She padded toward the kitchen, a yawn falling from her lips only to stop in her tracks.

“There you are, Addy,” June said, her coat on as she readied to leave. “I could not believe these all came in for you.”

Addy glanced at her white living area covered in vases of long-stemmed red roses. There had to be twenty vases all over her place.

“What is this?”

June grinned. “There’s a card, Addy. Read it. I want to know what man shows this type of romance for you.”

Taking the card from an excited June, she opened it and read a personalized note.

One rose wasn’t enough to tell you how much I loved seeing you last night.

-Nick

Goodness. She glanced around her home. Nick had sent her at least two florist shops’ worth of flowers.

“Ah,” June sighed. “I can tell you’re happy with whoever sent them. I hope you have finally found love, Addy. You deserve it.”

“Thank you, June,” was all she could think to say.

“You had a call from a Nick,” June told her as she headed to the door. “He said he’d be here at ten to take you for breakfast and for you to dress comfortable and warm.”

Wait. What? Her heart tripped as she glanced at the decorative clock on her wall. He was going to be there in five minutes. Crap!

“Bye, June. Have a great weekend,” she yelled as she rushed over to her bedroom to shower and toss her entire closet on her bed.

She didn’t know how, but she managed to be dressed by the time the security man called letting her know she had a visitor. Wearing a pair of black leggings, knee-high flat leather boots, and a long sweater, she slipped on her more casual wool coat, an eternity scarf, and a beanie hat. For makeup, she went with cherry Chapstick to keep her lips moisturized in the cold. Yeah, she had taken casual to a whole new level.

She rushed to the lobby and lost all air from her lungs. Nick wore a pair of black jeans, a black wool coat and a navy turtleneck under it. He had Timberland boots and she grinned at that. Tims were a NY thing but she’d never dated a man who wore them. Nick was a first. It was great.

“I see you’re judging my boots,” he grinned, pulled her into his arms and kissed her soundly.

“No,” she laughed, loving the feel of his lips on hers. That warmth he made magically appear in her showed up out of nowhere. “I actually think they look very cool.”

“They’re good boots for the winter. Ready to go?”

She nodded and took his offered hand. They went to his Jeep and she loved that he already had the heat on so she wouldn’t get cold.

“Do you ever go out of the city?” he asked as he drove them on to the Major Deegan Highway. Thankfully it was Saturday morning so the traffic wasn’t too bad. Once the holiday vacationers made an appearance, it would take forever to get to uptown Manhattan and out of the city.

She shrugged. “A few times. There’s some hospitals up in Nyack and Westchester that have had events I’ve attended.”

He picked up her hand from her lap and brought it to his lips, placing a kiss on her palm. “Today will be fun.”

The first stop was George’s Diner in the Bronx. Located right under the 6 train on Westchester Avenue, it was apparently very popular. The place was packed to the gills and you’d think they were giving the food away. There were even people lined up outside. The scent of fresh brewed coffee and pastries made her stomach grumble.

Nick shook the guy’s hand at the register and they were quickly seated in a booth.

“I’m guessing you’ve been here a few times?”