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“You might have to do it on your own. I’m not sure I can move.”
“I’m not sure I can either. That was a perfect end to a hell of a day.”
“You had a hell of a day?” Concerned, she raised herself on her elbow so that she could look at him. “Tell me.”
“I can’t even remember now. I think you might have fused my brain.” His eyes were closed and she stroked her hand over his chest, tracing the line of hair that led lower.
“Do you want a beer? Wine?”
He opened his eyes. “It might not be cold. Did we close the fridge door?”
“I have no idea. But I do remember something breaking.”
“I think that might have been my self-control, but just in case it wasn’t we’d better not walk around in bare feet.” He sat up, delivered a lingering kiss to her mouth and sprang from the bed. “Don’t move. I’ll grab us drinks.”
“Or we could take the drinks onto your terrace.”
He hauled on jeans without bothering to button them. “You want to have sex in public and risk falling off my balcony?”
“I was thinking more of having wine and conversation.”
“Conversation. I can probably do that. As long as you stay on one side of the terrace and I stay on the other.” He threw her a shirt. “Put that on.”
“I have a dress somewhere.”
“Your dress is what got us to this point. If you put it back on I’ll be taking it off you again in under four seconds. Your only chance of wine and conversation is if you wear a shapeless shirt. And even then there are no guarantees. I suggest you button it up to the neck.”
She felt giddy, happy and ridiculously flattered, but she did as he suggested, pulling on one of his shirts. It fell to midthigh and flopped past her fingers so she rolled back the sleeves.
Because she had nothing else to wear on her feet and she’d definitely heard the sound of breaking glass, she slid her feet back into her high heels.
As she walked downstairs she could hear him cursing.
“You’re right. We did break something. Don’t come in here. I’ll clear up and bring the wine onto the terrace. That’s if I can find a bottle we didn’t break.”
Molly checked on Valentine and then wandered outside, feeling the air cool her skin.
The roof terrace wrapped itself around two sides of the apartment. Up here they were insulated from the bustle and the street noise, the craziness of New York City. Far beneath her she imagined people strolling along Fifth Avenue, pausing to gaze in shop windows, jostling the crowds. Friends, lovers, strangers, all crammed together in the small area that was Manhattan. She heard the shriek of a siren, the muted blare of car horns. No one bothered to look up as they hurried about their business. Coming home from work, going out to dinner, walking on air, walking off a temper. Everyone had a different reason for being there. It fascinated her to think of all those separate lives. People passing each other, but never meeting, oblivious to the highs and lows of each other’s lives.
She stood for a moment, content, and then turned as she heard him behind her. “I’ve lived in this city for three years and there is still a point in almost every day when it takes my breath away. The view from your apartment is incredible.”
“It was the roof terrace that sold me on the apartment. That and the fact that the craziness is far beneath you.” He was holding a bottle of wine and two glasses. “Sometimes, after a bad day, I sit out here.”
“And today was one of those days?”
“It started out that way.” He poured the wine and handed her a glass. “But it ended well.”
“Do you want to talk about it?”
“Definitely not.” He leaned his forearms on the balcony railing and stared over the park. “I’m the guy who has full control over his emotions. I don’t need to talk about anything.”
She stared at his profile, waiting, and eventually he turned his head to look at her again.
“What?” He sighed. “Okay, I’m lying. Generally I am that guy who has full control over his emotions. When I’m working, I’m the lawyer. I’m there to do the best for my client. Nothing else comes into it. I pride myself on my professional objectivity. I’m as neutral as Switzerland.”
“But?”
He breathed deeply and ran his hand over his face. “Undone by a little girl and her doll.” He muttered the words so she wasn’t sure she’d heard him correctly.
