Anna
I was relieved we weren’t going to some fancy benefit type thing that evening. I’d brought a full-length evening dress, just in case, but as it was just dinner, I kept things a little more casual in a tight fitting, high-waist satin pencil skirt and sheer-sleeved silk blouse. I also made a special effort with my hair, first curling it and then pinning it up loosely. When I was finished, I put some make-up in my clutch and went to find Ethan. I almost ran into him as he was coming out of his office.
“Hey, I’m ready.”
“You look incredible,” he said, reaching his hand out to cup my ass.
“You don’t look so bad yourself.” What I meant was he looked heart-stoppingly handsome. He was wearing a suit but no tie. He seemed to get better looking, if that was at all possible. “I like your hair longer like that,” I said, pushing my fingers through the strands as he bent to kiss my neck.
“You’ll need your coat. And gloves and a scarf.”
“Thanks, Dad.”
“Anna,” he growled.
Ethan had hired a car for the evening and we headed uptown to the restaurant.
To my surprise we pulled up at the entrance to the Time Warner building. We seemed to be going to the Mandarin Oriental.
I looked at Ethan and he smiled at me and took my hand as we walked inside. We didn’t end up going to the hotel. Instead we headed to the fourth floor, to a restaurant called Per Se.
“I thought you might like to look out from here. It’s lower than from the suite, but still beautiful and I know how you love that view.”
“Ethan, it’s beautiful and thoughtful and—thank you.”
They seated us kitty corner by the window and a stunning view of Columbus Circle and Central Park.
“Have you been here before?”
He shook his head “No. But I always wanted to come. I’ve never had the opportunity until now. And tonight seemed to be the perfect time to share this with you.”
“You’re right. It is perfect.”
I had butterflies in my stomach. The evening felt big. Ethan had clearly put a lot of thought into picking this place.
“Shall we have a glass of champagne?” he asked
I nodded a little too enthusiastically.
“Maybe a bottle?” he asked the waiter. “Are you okay?” he asked me when we were alone again.
“Yeah, of course. A bit overwhelmed coming back here, you know?”
He nodded. “To where it all began? It was only going to be for the night and now you’re moving here.”
“Are we being crazy?” I asked him. “Maybe this is a little nuts,” I said, thinking out loud, my heart starting to thump in my chest.
“What do you mean crazy?”
“I mean me moving to New York and us living together. I had a job and I have friends and family in London and I’m going to start again in New York. I mean it sounds like maybe it’s a little crazy?”
“Are you worried? Are you thinking you might not want to?”
I took a deep breath and thought about the question. Was I worried? I shook my head. “I don’t feel worried. I know in my heart like it’s the right thing to do, but I think that if I was looking at my decision, not knowing how I feel about you, then I’d think I was a little nuts. Does that make sense?”
All I could think was that this was happening so quickly. Coming back here brought it all in to focus. I needed to calm down. It wasn’t like I couldn’t undo things if it all went badly wrong, right? If I could handle the worst case scenario—Ethan and I breaking up once I’d moved here—surely I would feel better.
Ethan didn’t respond, he just looked at me. I couldn’t read him.
“And it’s not like I don’t have a job. And we’re getting married or anything, god forbid.”
“God forbid?”
“Yeah, I mean, it will be fine. I’m looking forward to it.”
Ethan was silent. I reached for his hand and he squeezed it as he looked out onto the view.
“I’m sorry. I was thinking out loud. I shouldn’t do that. I just got overwhelmed coming back here, thinking back to our beginning and forgot my filter.”
“I don’t want you to filter anything. I’ve told you. I need you to talk to me and I’m glad you did,” he said. There was something in his voice that told me however much he wanted me to talk to him, he was disappointed with what I’d said.
“It doesn’t mean I have doubts. Not about you, or about us, Ethan.”
He squeezed my hand and kissed me on the corner of my lips, in the way that made me melt. “God forbid,” he said.
* * * * *
I lost count of the number of courses when we got to five.
“I’ve never tasted anything like this,” I said. “I think they have wizards in the kitchen.”
“Wizards?” Ethan raised an eyebrow at me.
“I think so. No human can create things to eat like this. It’s magic. Is it what you thought it would be?”
“In some ways. Better because I’m sharing it with you, I think.”
“Wow, you have all the lines tonight.”
He chuckled. “I think maybe I lost one or two along the way tonight.”
“You did?”
“So, we’re going to make a stop on our way home, ring in the New Year and then go back to create an Everest of feathers in the living room to get naked on. Sound good?” he asked.
“Sure. Where are we seeing in the New Year?”
“You’ll see.”
I grinned at him. “I can’t believe I’m flying home tomorrow.”
“It’s gone quickly. But you’ll be back soon. You promise you’ll speak to them about your notice period?”
“I promise.”
“Because if they don’t shorten it to a month, I’m going to step in.”
“Ethan, you’re not going to do anything. I’ll deal with it. You’ve got other things to do—like clearing out closet space.”
“We can go shopping for the apartment when you get back if you like?”
“What for? What do you need?”
“Well, if you want to refurnish it or change things.”
“I love your apartment, just like it is. Why would I want to buy new things for it?”
“I want it to be our apartment.”
I grinned at him “Well, we might need some new pillows after tonight.”
* * * * *
“So, Miss Anna. One more view for you before we head home.”
I followed his eyes up toward the sky as I stepped onto the sidewalk and realized the car had stopped outside the Empire State Building. “I know you came with Leah, but it’s different at night.
“Good evening, Mr. Scott,” the doorman said and we stepped into the lobby. I looked at him. The doorman knew his name? The lobby was quiet, with just members of staff peppered around, their eyes on us.
We headed toward the elevator, which was being held open for us. I looked at Ethan but he kept his eyes straight ahead, his hand clasped in mine.
“You have friends in high places,” I said to him as the lift doors closed.
He grinned and looked down at me but didn’t say a word. We went straight to the Main Deck on the 86th floor. The elevator doors pinged and we stepped out to the internal viewing area to the sound of Tony Bennett singing Manhattan. I looked around and didn’t see a single other person. Did we have the place to ourselves? Was it closed?
Apparently, it wasn’t closed to us. By the door there was a small table, on it an ice bucket holding a bottle of champagne and two glasses.
“I can’t believe you’ve done this Ethan.” He was fighting a grin as he expertly opened the bottle of champagne.
“I want your first New Year’s in New York to be a proper introduction to the city. From up here, you get to see your future.”
“Our future,” I said feeling overwhelmed and breathless. “You’re amazing and I’m so lucky,” I managed to choke out.
“You got that wrong. I’m the lucky one,” he said as he handed me a glass of champagne and kissed me lightly on the lips.
He grabbed my hand and we headed outside.