Read Online In my Arms Tonight (NYC Singles Book 2) by Sasha Clinton - Free Book Online Page B

get him talking. She was curious to know more about him and all that curiosity wasn’t professionally motivated.
    “Do you—” Alex hesitated. “No, it’s nothing.”
    Lingering for a minute, Kat waited for him to do something. And he did—taking up the cigarette he’d abandoned earlier.
    Smoke funneled out through the ‘o’ his mouth formed.
    Exasperated, she stamped her foot. “Oh, come on. Talk about it instead of smoking it out. Whatever’s bothering you.”
    His irises shifted uncertainly, then the tiredness of the day must have overtaken him, because he looked like he was considering telling her about what was bothering him. And from someone as tight-lipped and guarded as him, that would be nothing short of a miracle.
    “Do you want to go to the Empire State Building?” he asked, out of the blue, drawing two tickets from his pocket.
    Her eyes widened. “Right now?”
    “The observation deck is open until two am. It’s only twelve. We could make it.” He fingered the tickets. “They expire tonight.”
    It was late at night and she should be getting sleep so she didn’t faint at work tomorrow, but for some inexplicable reason, she wanted to spend more time with Alex. Hang around him and talk about… well, anything. Just hear his voice. Let her blood remain heated for a few more hours.
    Sure, she barely knew Alex, but her heart said yes. And she always listened to her heart. Because it was never wrong.
    Her response surprised even her. “Let’s go.”

    An hour later, Kat found herself drinking in an ocean of buildings and lights, which enveloped her vantage point in the observatory from all sides. From the hundred and eighth floor of the Empire State Building, the world looked like a galaxy of bright stars. All hers.
    Around her, the observation deck was empty except for Alex.
    Striking a Titanic -esque pose, Kat spread her arms to her sides and pushed her chest out, shutting her eyes. But it was sticky, humid air that clung to her skin, not romantic sea breeze.
    So much for that.
    “I’m curious. Why did you have two tickets?” she said, walking over to Alex, who was clutching the metal grille.
    He’d been gazing at the night sky intently, but her voice shook him out of his trance. “Sorry, did you say something?”
    “I asked why you had two tickets.” This time, she was louder.
    “Oh.” The lines on his face deepened. “I’d planned to come here with someone a year ago, but she couldn’t come. I’ve been carrying these tickets around since then. It’s stupid of me to hold onto them, but I have a hard time getting rid of things.”
    Being a reporter, Kat hated unfinished stories, so she had to continue probing. “Who was she? Your girlfriend?”
    Amusement crossed Alex’s features. “No, somebody who helped me when I was younger. A sort of motherly figure, I’d say. We lost contact with each other once I… graduated from high school.” That pause fell at an interesting place. Was he omitting something? “But I found her through one of my Facebook contacts a year ago.”
    Kat urged him to go on with a slight nod. “So you contacted her and asked to meet her?”
    “When I called her, she told me she had cancer and that she’d never been up on the Empire State Building. I thought I’d take her there.” Exhaling into the space between them, Alex started strolling around the observation deck. Kat remained close behind. “But her health was far worse than I thought. She died not long after I bought the tickets.”
    Kat’s heart flipped in sympathy when she saw the misery on his face. “I’m sorry.”
    “Don’t be,” There was no emotion in his voice. “I’m glad I could talk to her before she died, even if she kept mentioning that she’d have liked to see me married.”
    Kat giggled. “I’m wondering about that, too. Why aren’t you married?”
    Alex’s bachelor status was odd, considering how accomplished he was. And he was past forty. This was the age by which