too much of an intrusion, and the big garbage trucks wouldn’t be on their way to his neck of the woods for at least another hour.
“I’m glad, too,” she said. “It was a definite step outside my comfort zone, but you made it safe. Thanks for that.”
He grinned. “I’m going to call my mom later and tell her she did a good job raising me. She’ll be delighted. She’d lost hope by the time I was in high school. Thought I was a selfish brat. Not without reason, I must confess.”
“Really? How were you bratty?”
He sighed, not sure he wanted to confess quite so much, but what the hell. It wasn’t as if he would see her again. “I got a little carried away. I thought I was hot, and a lot of the girls in my school agreed. It wasn’t pretty, actually. I was the farthest thing from gallant you can imagine.”
“Teenage hormones. Understood.”
“My brother, Mike, wasn’t quite such an ass.”
“Was he close to your age?” she asked, looking pretty under the streetlight.
“About four minutes younger. So the comparison was apt. And shoved down my throat. The ‘why can’t you be more like your brother?’ had a lot to do with my issues.”
“You have a twin.” She looked startled, and then smiled as if she’d just remembered something. “Identical?”
“Yep. You find this amusing?”
She shook her head. “Is he on a trading card?” she asked. “Not for me. My friend made a remark—never mind.” She cleared her throat. “Are you two close now?”
“Yeah. He lives just outside of Oyster Bay. I haven’t seen him a lot lately because of work. He recently opened an art gallery in Sag Harbor.”
“It must be nice, having a twin. I assume you still aren’t being compared to him unfavorably?”
Max chuckled. “Nah, we’re good. What about you? You a native New Yorker?”
“Yeah, I am,” she said, and then she winced.
“What’s wrong?”
“High heels are the devil’s work is what’s wrong. I’d rather be thinking about the lovely night and not my aching feet.”
“Yeah, I’m enjoying the walk, myself. But if you’re in pain—”
“The ridiculous part is that my house is so close. I’m in the Bowery, by Sheriff. Amusingly, I live on Attorney Street.”
“That is close. Huh. No wonder we ate at Lviv.”
“Family,” she said and shrugged.
“Makes perfect sense.” They’d stopped, and she’d used his shoulder for balance as she’d taken off her left shoe. He liked the way she wiggled her toes. The dark maroon nails looked black between lampposts. “I’ve got an idea.”
“What’s that?” She switched to the other shoe, and commenced the wiggle.
“We’re really close to some benches. Why don’t we go sit down for a little, give your feet a rest, then let’s see if you want to walk the rest of the way or not.”
Her grin was great, and that they would spend a little more time together was kind of nice. He liked her. Not enough to change their arrangement, but for his first night back in the thick of things, Natalie had been a terrific mistake.
It didn’t take them long to get to the metal benches, a rare commodity in Manhattan, especially finding two of the four empty. They sat as far from the others as possible, and he leaned back to put his arm on the back rest above her shoulders.
“I wish we had forks,” she said, staring at the box on her lap.
“I swear, I’ll never tell another living soul if you want to sneak a bite with your fingers.”
She arched an eyebrow at him. “Eating cheesecake right out of the box is no trifling matter. My reputation could be ruined.”
“Fair enough,” he said. “To seal my pact of silence, I’ll have a bite myself. Maybe even two.”
“You rogue. Deal.”
She flipped the lid back, and his mouth got a little too excited. “Ladies first,” he said. Now that was gallant.
Her giggling softly and him enjoying her unabashed enthusiasm, they both managed a few messy tastes each and ended the treat the only
“I’m glad, too,” she said. “It was a definite step outside my comfort zone, but you made it safe. Thanks for that.”
He grinned. “I’m going to call my mom later and tell her she did a good job raising me. She’ll be delighted. She’d lost hope by the time I was in high school. Thought I was a selfish brat. Not without reason, I must confess.”
“Really? How were you bratty?”
He sighed, not sure he wanted to confess quite so much, but what the hell. It wasn’t as if he would see her again. “I got a little carried away. I thought I was hot, and a lot of the girls in my school agreed. It wasn’t pretty, actually. I was the farthest thing from gallant you can imagine.”
“Teenage hormones. Understood.”
“My brother, Mike, wasn’t quite such an ass.”
“Was he close to your age?” she asked, looking pretty under the streetlight.
“About four minutes younger. So the comparison was apt. And shoved down my throat. The ‘why can’t you be more like your brother?’ had a lot to do with my issues.”
“You have a twin.” She looked startled, and then smiled as if she’d just remembered something. “Identical?”
“Yep. You find this amusing?”
She shook her head. “Is he on a trading card?” she asked. “Not for me. My friend made a remark—never mind.” She cleared her throat. “Are you two close now?”
“Yeah. He lives just outside of Oyster Bay. I haven’t seen him a lot lately because of work. He recently opened an art gallery in Sag Harbor.”
“It must be nice, having a twin. I assume you still aren’t being compared to him unfavorably?”
Max chuckled. “Nah, we’re good. What about you? You a native New Yorker?”
“Yeah, I am,” she said, and then she winced.
“What’s wrong?”
“High heels are the devil’s work is what’s wrong. I’d rather be thinking about the lovely night and not my aching feet.”
“Yeah, I’m enjoying the walk, myself. But if you’re in pain—”
“The ridiculous part is that my house is so close. I’m in the Bowery, by Sheriff. Amusingly, I live on Attorney Street.”
“That is close. Huh. No wonder we ate at Lviv.”
“Family,” she said and shrugged.
“Makes perfect sense.” They’d stopped, and she’d used his shoulder for balance as she’d taken off her left shoe. He liked the way she wiggled her toes. The dark maroon nails looked black between lampposts. “I’ve got an idea.”
“What’s that?” She switched to the other shoe, and commenced the wiggle.
“We’re really close to some benches. Why don’t we go sit down for a little, give your feet a rest, then let’s see if you want to walk the rest of the way or not.”
Her grin was great, and that they would spend a little more time together was kind of nice. He liked her. Not enough to change their arrangement, but for his first night back in the thick of things, Natalie had been a terrific mistake.
It didn’t take them long to get to the metal benches, a rare commodity in Manhattan, especially finding two of the four empty. They sat as far from the others as possible, and he leaned back to put his arm on the back rest above her shoulders.
“I wish we had forks,” she said, staring at the box on her lap.
“I swear, I’ll never tell another living soul if you want to sneak a bite with your fingers.”
She arched an eyebrow at him. “Eating cheesecake right out of the box is no trifling matter. My reputation could be ruined.”
“Fair enough,” he said. “To seal my pact of silence, I’ll have a bite myself. Maybe even two.”
“You rogue. Deal.”
She flipped the lid back, and his mouth got a little too excited. “Ladies first,” he said. Now that was gallant.
Her giggling softly and him enjoying her unabashed enthusiasm, they both managed a few messy tastes each and ended the treat the only
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