“HAVE I MENTIONED how much I loved the column?” Gabe asked.
Veronica smiled up at him as they strolled along one of the quieter paths through Central Park, and his pulse sped. She looked so beautiful. And a little different, despite that they’d only been apart for two weeks. She wore just mascara and lip gloss as far as he could tell, instead of the smoky shadow and dark liner she often wore. Her short black skirt was topped by a casual T-shirt. “You’ve only told me about ten times. Thank you.”
“When we talked on the phone... I’m sorry you went through that. When you said your stepbrother was an asshole, I didn’t realize you meant that it went on for years.”
She nodded. “It’s okay. I’m finally learning to let it go.”
“You seem different,” he said.
“Do I?”
“Yes.” He watched her until she crinkled her nose at him. “You seem more like you were with me in private. Like your guard is down, even here in your least favorite place.”
“Maybe. And speaking of...how’s life in the city?”
He looked around them at the huge ancient trees and the walls of gray rock. “Noisy,” he said. Even here he could hear the sound of distant construction and impatient taxi drivers.
“Yeah. I assume this is still your favorite part of New York?” she asked.
“Of course. Well, this and the library. I haven’t been there since I’ve been back. I’d love to go with you. But here...these were the first rocks I ever climbed.” He gestured at the rocky hill ahead of them. “Seriously. I would spend hours here as a kid, pretending I was in a deep, dark jungle. Pretending I was an explorer.”
“It’s beautiful here,” she said, sighing, even as someone jogged between them, forcing them to step quickly apart. Veronica tilted her head. “Was that guy using an actual Walkman?”
Gabe squinted and shook his head. “If nothing else, this town is truly interesting.”
“It is,” she said, her voice carefully neutral.
He wanted her to give the city a second chance. More important, he wanted her to give him a second chance. “So...” he ventured, “I wasn’t expecting to see you so soon. Are you ever going to tell me why you came?”
She shrugged, her lips pressing together in a secret smile. “Maybe I just missed you.”
The words stabbed him in the heart, because the teasing in them was so at odds with his own ridiculous hope. “I was actually kind of hoping that was it, you know. It feels like a lot longer than two weeks since I left.”
She laughed as if he were joking. “No, I came because I figured you must be lonely without my expert sexual skills. How would you ever find another girl that has to be taught how to have sex?”
“Now you’re just fishing for compliments, Ms. Chandler. Not very subtle.”
She blushed, and Gabe felt as if he were having yet another dream about her. Veronica, here in the city, blushing and laughing as though they were back to normal. But they weren’t. She hadn’t touched him once.
“You look so strange,” she said, her brow creasing. “Like you’re a different person now. You look like you belong here.”
That hurt almost as much as her joke that she’d missed him. He ran a hand over his jaw. “My mom made me do it.”
She laughed so loudly that a pigeon flapped up into the air and moved its plump body five feet farther up the path. “That’s what happens when you move back home at thirty-one.”
“Shut up. I’m looking for my own place right now.” The words eradicated the laughter between them.
“Right.” She nodded. “So you’re really staying.”
The traffic noise grew louder as they moved toward the edge of the park. Veronica crossed her arms and squeezed them tight to her chest as if she was cold. He recognized the gesture now. She felt insecure or uncertain. She was unhappy. He wanted to put his arms around her, kiss her, tell her how sorry he was. But all he could do was talk.
“I haven’t given my notice at the library yet, but... My dad won’t stop working unless I take the reins. He’ll kill himself. I can’t let him do that.”
“I know,” she whispered.
“I was hoping maybe you’d come over and meet him.”
“Gabe—”
“He’s up and around now. He’d love for you to come by. It’s almost like nothing happened. And my mom is kind of counting on seeing you.”
She groaned. “They know I’m here?”
“Of course.”
“Why would you tell them that? I’m just a girl you dated for a couple of weeks!”
“That’s not all you are.”
“Yes, it is!”
“Then why are you here?” he challenged.
They stopped at a curve in the path. The trees were still thick here, but you could see the silver-and-white faces of the buildings beyond them. There was no illusion left here. No pretending that they could be anywhere.
“I got an offer for syndication,” she said. “A couple of days ago.”
“What?”
“My column. It’s going to be syndicated.”
“Here?”
“Not here,” she said, laughing. “There are enough advice columns in New York. But it will go into a few smaller newspapers in the West and Midwest, and it’ll be featured on a big online news source. I’m meeting with an agent tomorrow. That’s why I’m here.”
“Holy shit, Veronica,” he breathed. Then he said it louder. “Holy shit!”
He finally hugged her and she hugged him back, laughing when he picked her up and spun her around. “You’re amazing,” he said.
“I’m terrified,” she admitted, but she didn’t look terrified. Her eyes glowed as he set her down. Her wide smile softened. And when he ducked his head, she watched his mouth come closer instead of saying no.
He kissed her lightly, just a brush of his lips, but when he felt her sigh against him, he tried again.
“Oh, God,” she whispered against the kiss. His heart felt thin, fragile. As if the ache inside it might tear open at any moment.
“You smell so good,” she murmured. Her hands rose to press against his cheeks. “That’s weird to say, isn’t it? But I missed your smell.”
Gabe made himself laugh instead of groaning in pain. “It’s not weird. I missed everything about you. Your taste, your scent, your touch. The sound of you sighing.”
She shook her head. “Don’t say that.”
“It’s true.”
“I barely know you,” she countered.
“This is real.”
“You live in New York,” she said, and he couldn’t think of anything to say to that. He lived in New York, and she despised the city. Then again, she was here.
“Just come home with me,” he said. “My dad just got out of the hospital, you know. He needs cheering up.”
“God, are you guilt-tripping me?”
“Yes. Plus, you never thanked my mom for those cookies.”
She shoved him. “You’re awful!”
“Come on. It’s only a few blocks up.”
He wasn’t sure what he was doing, luring her home. He’d spent the past couple of weeks blowing off any mention of her, but his parents had kept needling him, egged on by Naomi. When he’d mentioned Veronica was coming to town, they’d practically swooned. Gabe was already in too deep, halfway in love with this girl he might never see again, and now he was introducing her to his parents.
Idiotic, like every other step he’d taken with Veronica. Idiotic, but somehow inevitable. Come home with me and break my heart. I’ll do my best to break yours, too.
For some reason, she came with him.
They waded through the busy streets that bordered the park, but a few blocks in, the streets grew narrower and almost quiet. “Upper East Side,” she said. “Very nice.”
“Not upper upper,” he said. “Come on.”
“Where are we heading? Seventy-second?”
“Sixty-eighth,” he said. “Barely respectable.”
Laughing, she touched his arm and then left her hand there. Gabe felt like a teenager cataloguing every inch of progress with the girl he liked. She let me kiss her. She put her hand on my arm. He felt dizzy with it.
“Hello, Gabe!”
“Mrs. Tran,” he called out to the woman sweeping the steps of a little shop. “Good afternoon.”
“Pretty girl,” she said with a grin.
“I’m a lucky guy.” Veronica elbowed him, but her hand wrapped more securely around his arm.
They passed a tiny park wedged between two tall buildings. The screams of the kids crawled up the bricks and echoed above the trees. “This is a nice street,” Veronica said.
“You know, New York isn’t so bad. It can be just as nice as any other place if you find the right people.”
“I know that,” she said quietly. “I know that it was me and not the city.”
“I didn’t mean it like that.”
“Maybe not, but it’s true. I came here running from my life, but my life came right along with me.”
“So you don’t hate the city?”
She shot him a careful look. “It’s not the right place for me. It’s not the right place for you, either.”
“I can make it the right place. For a little while.”
“Here?” she pressed, looking pointedly up the fifteen-story building they were passing.
He didn’t look with her. He’d passed it a thousand times in his life. Instead of answering, he pointed to the next building. “This is it.”
She smiled at the elaborate five-story brick facade. “This is where you grew up?”
“Yep. We moved here when I was nine.”
“Which floor?” she asked, craning her neck as they climbed up the stairs to the entry.
“Fourth,” he said, then added, “And fifth.”
“Oh, my God!” she gasped. “You’re filthy rich!”
“We had a big family. And my dad was expanding the business.”
“I guess so!”
He unlocked the door and waved her in. “Ready?” he asked as they stepped onto the elevator.
“This is a terrible idea,” she said, then set her jaw as if she were heading into battle.
She was probably right, and he couldn’t care less.
* * *
VERONICA’S FACE FLAMED with embarrassment as she was enveloped in yet another hug. “She’s the cutest thing I’ve ever seen!” Gabe’s mom said.
“Mom,” Veronica heard Gabe groan, though the word was muffled since his mom’s arms were wrapped around Veronica’s head.
“Well, it’s true. Look at her!”
“Thank you, Mrs. MacKenzie,” Veronica said as she was set free.
“Oh, my word, call me Mary.”
“Mom, please stop embarrassing Veronica. And me.” I’m sorry, he mouthed when Veronica caught his eye.
“Don’t sass your mom,” his dad said. “That girl is clearly the cutest thing we’ve ever seen.”
Gabe shook his head. “Unbelievable. Really.”
“Are you hungry?” Mary asked.
Veronica had been trying to edge closer to Gabe, but his mom put an arm around Veronica’s shoulders and guided her deeper into the apartment. “You must be exhausted, flying all the way from Wyoming.”
“I’m fine. Honestly.”
“A cappuccino, then. I just bought one of those new cup brewers with the steamed-milk attachment. You won’t believe how good it is, and a fraction of the price of Starbucks.”
Veronica looked back until she spotted Gabe and his father following.
“Veronica!” a familiar voice cried as they walked into the huge kitchen.
Naomi bounded across the tile and swept Veronica into yet another hug. “It’s so good to see you again!”
“Nice to see you, Naomi. You look great.”
“Oh, my God, my roots are a mess. Don’t even look. Claire is meditating but she should be down soon. It’s only her fourth meditation of the day,” she added with a roll of her eyes.
“Leave her alone,” Mary said. “It helps her chakras or something.”
“Sure, Mom.”
Gabe drew near and Veronica reached desperately out to clasp his hand before she got swept into a river of his relatives.
“Mary,” his dad said, “make her one of those cappuccinos.”
“I’m doing it right now.” Mary rushed over to the machine and started opening little latches and inserting tiny plastic cups of coffee grounds.
“You know,” his dad said, “Gabe’s never brought a girl home until now.”
Veronica shook her head frantically. “I’m just in town for a business trip.”
“Dad,” Gabe said hoarsely. “Please. Don’t.”
“It’s true!” Naomi cooed. “Look at his face. He’s blushing!”
He rubbed his face with both hands. “This is literally the worst idea I’ve ever had.”
His dad slapped him on the back. “Or the best, eh?”
“Mom...” Gabe took a deep breath. “Maybe hold off on the coffee for a bit. I’m going to show Veronica around.”
“Oh, take her up to the garden!” his mom suggested. “She’ll love it. It’s just like being in the country.”
“It’s not like being in the country,” Gabe muttered as he tugged Veronica toward a staircase. She happily followed. “My family doesn’t understand wide-open spaces,” he explained as they hit the stairs. “They find the idea of Wyoming vaguely sinister.”
“Oh, wait a few minutes!” Mary yelled. “Your sister is meditating!”
Gabe pulled Veronica faster up the stairs. “That was the stairway,” he said as they reached the top floor. “Hall bathroom,” he said, gesturing toward the first door before pulling her down the dark wood of the hallway. “My bedroom.” He tugged her inside. “With a door that locks.”
The door closed solidly behind her.
“Oh, my God,” she whispered.
“I know.”
“Your family is a TV family.”
He cringed. “Which TV family?”
“I don’t know. All of them at once?” She started laughing, then laughed so hard that she snorted. “I’m sorry,” she sobbed, covering her mouth to quiet the noise. “Your sister is meditating.”
Gabe fell back onto his bed and stared at the ceiling. “You were right about this being a terrible idea. They’re a bit much. Maybe.”
“Maybe,” she gasped, giving in to one last bout of hysteria before she got her laughter under control. “But, Gabe, honestly...they’re wonderful.”
He raised one eyebrow and glared at her.
“I’m serious. They’re everything I always imagined about other people’s families. When I was, like, eight years old and watched too much television.”
“Shut up.”
“Don’t sass me, Gabe.”
He groaned and made a lunge for her, pulling her down on the bed beside him. “I’ve never made out with a girl in this bed,” he said, rising up on his elbow above her.
She wanted to tell him no. She meant to. But he looked so sweet above her, his hair flopping down to shade his eyes. Eyes that were looking at her mouth as she licked her lips.
This was a terrible idea. Even now she had no idea what she’d come here to say to him. That it was over forever. Or that maybe—just maybe—they could see what happened long-distance.
Whatever her decision, it wouldn’t be made clearer by making out. But...
“You have dimples,” she whispered, reaching up to touch his cheek. Of course he did. She should have known. It would’ve been strange if Gabe MacKenzie didn’t have adorable dimples. They flashed when he smiled, but then he kissed her and she closed her eyes.
Oh, God, he tasted so good. So right. She tangled her hands in his hair and pulled him tighter to her. She was instantly aroused, despite their weeks apart, despite her anger and hurt. She wanted nothing more than to pull up her skirt and tell him, Hurry, shh, hurry. Just be quick before somebody knocks.
She’d never sneaked up to a boy’s bedroom before, never let him run his hand over her breasts with his family only one floor away. She’d never groaned into his mouth and hoped that the sound was soft enough that his parents wouldn’t hear.
“God, I want to fuck you,” he murmured against her lips. “I don’t know if I should say that or not, but I do.”
She didn’t answer, because she was thinking the exact same thing, but her lack of objection seemed to encourage him. His eyes darkened and he kissed her again.
“We shouldn’t have come here,” he growled. “We should have gone to your hotel. Will you take me there later? Will you let me touch you again, Veronica?”
His fingers sneaked down her leg and under her skirt and he pressed his hand to her panties.
She gasped and pushed up toward him.
“I know you’re mad,” he whispered. “I know you’re pissed, but you feel so good.” He stroked her through the material until her hips rocked in time with his touch. His fingertips dragged over her clit.
“Will you take me back to your room, Veronica? Let me fuck you? Make you come?” He slipped beneath the fabric and she groaned at the new brightness of the pleasure.
“Yes,” she said. “Yes.” And then she was saying the things she’d imagined. Things she’d never say to someone else. “Here. Do it now. Just hurry. Before someone comes up.”
“Now?” he rasped as his fingers pressed inside her and she arched up to meet him.
“Yes. Please. I missed you.”
“Yes,” he agreed. He rose up and frantically unfastened his belt and pants, but before he could do more than tug his underwear down, a knock thumped at the door.
They both froze. She was sure her eyes were as wide as his.
“Gabe?” his mom said through the door. “Come on down—the coffee is ready!”
“Okay,” he said, the word unnaturally bright.
“We’re going to walk to the restaurant afterward, show Veronica around.”
“Uh,” he croaked. “Sure.”
Her quiet footsteps moved away.
Veronica and Gabe stared at each other until she looked down to see half of his cock exposed. She couldn’t help it. She started laughing again.
“Oh, Jesus,” he groaned.
“I’m sorry!”
“Now you know why I’ve never made out with a girl in this bed. Please tell me you’ll invite me to your hotel.”
He started to tug up his pants, but Veronica stopped him. “Just let me...” she murmured, then leaned forward to press one very chaste kiss to the warm skin of his cock.
“Fuck. Veronica.”
“You taste so good,” she whispered.
“Stop,” he begged.
“Okay. Don’t tell your mom I did that.”
He collapsed onto the bed with a desperate moan and tugged up his pants. “I distinctly remember telling her to wait on the coffee.”
She felt a sadness that wasn’t only about her unrequited lust. “They’re so sweet, Gabe.” She slipped her fingers into his hair just to remind herself how soft it was. “I can see where you got it.”
He turned his head to watch her, his big brown eyes melting everything inside her into something dangerously soft. She sat up quickly before she could throw herself into his arms and confess her terrible, stupid love for him. “Let’s go. What if your parents think you were fingering me in here?”
“They know the cutest girl they’ve ever met would never let me do something like that.”
Oh, God, she loved him so much. Him and his beautiful eyes and his stupid dimples and his ridiculously perfect family. She shouldn’t have come here. She had to let him go.
Gabe checked his clothing and disappeared into his bathroom to wash his hands and then they tiptoed down the hallway as if his mom didn’t already know they’d been locked in his room.
The party started again as soon as they stepped into the kitchen. There were stories and pictures and cups of coffee and an introduction to Claire, who was as beautiful as Naomi but calm and quiet. Gabe’s dad showed her pictures of the new location he had planned. It wasn’t that far from where Veronica had lived in Brooklyn, though in a much nicer neighborhood.
She noticed that Gabe said nothing about the restaurant, though. His dad did all the talking. Gabe changed the subject as quickly as he could. When everyone began getting ready to walk her over for a tour of MacKenzie’s, Gabe whispered, “Sorry about this.”
Not exactly the response she’d expect from a man about to take over the business.
Still, he seemed cheerful as they stepped into the warm, sunny evening. Veronica felt cheerful, too, which was strange. She was in the city she hated, after all, with a man she’d been fighting with, and all while taking a slow stroll with his big family.
But it felt...cozy. Even the city felt cozy, as if she were cocooned in a warm family bubble that colored everything around her. Still, this wasn’t the New York she was used to. There was no garbage piled on the curb. No men calling come-ons from across the street. This was a privileged part of New York she’d never been part of.
Granted, she knew there were nice working-class neighborhoods in the outer boroughs, but she hadn’t even had the money to upgrade to working class. Hell, if she moved here today, she wouldn’t be able to afford her old neighborhood.
But this part of the city...it was awfully nice if you could afford it, and she could imagine visiting. Spending time here. Walking to dinner with Gabe.
“Here it is!” his dad called out from ten feet ahead of her and Gabe. He swung an arm toward the glass-doored entrance of MacKenzie’s. “Our third location. Unfortunately for them, it’s my home base now.”
But the employees didn’t seem to feel put-upon. The hostess gave both James and Mary big hugs when they came in, and several others gathered around to pat James’s back and tell him he looked great.
It was only five-thirty, but the long bar was starting to fill with people ordering drinks or sipping spiked milkshakes. The hostess led the way to a big round table. “Who wants a drink?” James boomed.
“Not you,” said Mary. “And no sneaking a burger in the kitchen.”
“Why don’t I just lie down and die right here, then?” he grumbled.
“That is not funny!” she snapped.
“Aw, I’m sorry, babe.” He kissed her cheek and all seemed forgiven. “No burgers today, all right?”
Naomi and Claire both ordered vodka sodas, but Veronica wasn’t missing out on a spiked milkshake. She shoved down her self-consciousness and ordered a vanilla bourbon milkshake, happy when Gabe did the same. Before the drinks even arrived, though, she was scooted from the table by Gabe’s dad.
“Take her on a tour!” he said to Gabe. “Show her around. This was the first location we designed from scratch. It used to be a shoe factory, if you can believe that. We gutted the whole thing, what...twenty-eight years ago now? Gabe was just a baby. We still had that place over on the West Side.”
Gabe took her hand, sending sparks up her arm as he led her through the dining room toward the swinging kitchen doors.
“Well,” he said as they walked into the white-tiled kitchen space, “this is it.”
The area was smaller than she’d expected. Space was at a premium in the city, of course, but the design of the big dining room made the public area feel expansive. As small and crowded with kitchen staff as it was, the area looked spotless. A couple of the guys on the line waved spatulas toward Gabe. He waved back. Two of the dishwashers burst out laughing at something. Gabe didn’t seem interested. He guided her toward a big glass door at the back.
“My dad’s office,” he said. “He likes to see what’s going on.”
Small as it was, the office was comfortable. There was a desk and a couple of chairs and even a love seat pushed up against a wall. A big bouquet of fresh flowers sat in the middle of the desk with a note perched in the middle. The door closed behind them, shutting out the noise of the kitchen.
She looked around, trying to picture Gabe here at this desk. “Is this where you’ll work?”
“I suppose,” he said. “I’m hoping I can have an office in my apartment, though. Get some quiet. I should probably rent out an official office, though. My dad liked being in the thick of things and he was always moving from location to location. But we need something more central.”
His voice was flat. Tired.
“The employees seem pretty happy,” she tried.
“Yeah, Dad likes to hire the best, so he doesn’t pay minimum wage, even to the dishwashers. He has high expectations. He gets people who care. I think it’s a great business strategy, but it’s really just who he is.”
Gabe glanced up and Veronica realized someone had signaled him from the other side of the door. “Hold on,” Gabe said. “The manager needs something.”
She looked around the office for a moment, wondering what James would’ve pointed out if he were giving the tour. The original blueprints were framed and hung behind the desk. She studied those for a moment but then she caught sight of Gabe again and watched him instead.
He was flat mouthed. Tense. With his beard gone and that resigned expression on his face, he looked like a stranger. Something twisted deep in her chest, something close to fear. This wasn’t right. He didn’t belong here, but there was nothing she could say to change that. She couldn’t come between him and his family. Gabe would die for them. She knew that. And this wasn’t dying. Not quite.
He opened the door and flashed that familiar carefree smile she remembered. “Come on. Our milkshakes are melting.”
Yeah, so was her heart. Because she realized now that this was her last night with Gabe MacKenzie.