Chapter 17
17
Jake continued being a good tour guide like he had been when he took me to the library. He really knew the city and pointed things out to me if he thought I had missed them, asked me where I wanted to go next, and had no complaints when I suggested another tourist spot that I wanted to see.
‘Are you sure you don’t mind?’ I asked as we headed for Grand Central Station after we had walked around Rockefeller Center.
‘No, I told you I’m enjoying seeing the city through your eyes. Remembering what it was like to come here for the first time.’
‘Who did you come here with?’ I asked, wondering if he’d had a romantic break with an ex. I couldn’t help but feel curious about his love life after he knew how crap mine had been.
‘My parents,’ he said, glancing at me before looking ahead again. ‘I was a cynical teenager but this city won me over. It was bright and vivid and enthusiastic.’ He looked at me again. ‘How could I resist?’
I liked the smile that was playing on his face. ‘That does sound like a good combination,’ I said, smiling back.
‘An irresistible one you could say. We’re here.’
I swallowed and followed Jake inside, taken aback by that flirty exchange but enjoying more than I should have done.
Grand Central Station was stunning. I couldn’t help but have a little fantasy while I was there about kissing someone right in the middle before they went off to do something heroic. When Jake asked what I thought of the station, I quickly pulled myself out of my reverie to tell him it was as impressive as it had always appeared to be on film.
When we left, I asked if we could take a proper look at Central Park. Jake suggested we headed for The Lake, so we walked there together. It was beautiful with the trees and bushes framing it and above were skyscrapers looking down on the clear water like they were keeping watch over it. It was such a gorgeous late afternoon, the light danced and sparkled on top of the water and it felt that not only was I seeing something I had seen in so many movies, but like I was in one myself.
‘This is my favourite part of the day,’ I declared when we paused in our walk. My feet ached despite my comfy cowboy boots. We must have done thousands of steps. But I was a happy kind of tired. I knew I would feel achy tomorrow but it was worth it. I was here in New York and the stress of what we’d been through at the conference melted away with my happiness at drinking in this magical and vibrant city. And I was surprised by how at ease I now felt with Jake.
‘This has always been one of my favourite New York spots,’ Jake agreed. ‘You feel so removed from the city. And yet it’s right there above and around us. This park is a little oasis in the middle of such urban sprawl. I know we have beautiful parks in London and I love walking through them, but this is special. I love looking at the skyscrapers reflected on the water. Nature reminding us it’s here for us to appreciate and look after.’
‘You can tell you’re a writer,’ I joked. I liked it when he talked poetically. ‘I could never write anything. I don’t have an imagination. That’s why I want to help books get into the world instead.’
‘I think that’s the perfect goal for an agent; plenty of them don’t have the same passion for stories.’
I glanced at him. ‘Like Hayley?’
‘She is great at the business side of things, as I’m sure you know, but I never get the impression she loves books like I can tell you do,’ Jake said. We faced each other. Central Park was busy but I found myself only focused on him. ‘When you talked about reading When I Met You , your whole face lit up.’
I smiled, a little bit embarrassed at how I had fangirled over his latest book. ‘Well, it’s a really great book, Jake.’
‘That means a lot to me that you think so,’ he said softly.
‘I only wish loving books was enough for this job. This conference is showing me that maybe Hayley has the right idea in treating it just as a business. Maybe I listen to my heart too much,’ I said, biting my lip.
Jake’s eyes narrowed in on my lip before moving back to meet my gaze again. ‘I wish you wouldn’t put yourself down,’ Jake told me. ‘I like that you listen to your heart.’
‘You do?’ I felt a sudden spark of electricity from his eye contact. It travelled down my spine right down to my toes.
‘I wish I could do the same.’
I wished he could too but I was too scared to say it. Instead, I exhaled shakily and cleared my throat. ‘What now?’
‘Can I show you a place here that I love?’ Jake asked.
I nodded. ‘I’d love to see it.’ We broke our eye contact and started to walk out of the park but I couldn’t stop myself from wondering if Jake had felt the same spark I had. It was too crazy to think he would have done though so I tried to push it to the back of my mind, but my body felt its effects the whole way.
* * *
‘Wow, this place is amazing…’ I said, walking across the rooftop in shock. Not only was the bar and pool area of the members’ club Jake had taken me to cool, but the view beyond it was incredible. I stepped towards the glass wall that encircled the rooftop and came up to my waist. Beyond it, New York was laid out in front of me, sparkling with light and life.
‘This view,’ I gasped. The cool breeze ruffled my hair as I looked down at the city. The sun was starting to dip now, making me realise we’d spent a lot of time together today. Soon, we’d see a beautiful sunset; I could feel it in the air.
Today hadn’t started out well with the tricky reader session and I still had no idea if we could do enough at this conference to help change opinions on Jake but I had enjoyed spending time with him in the city more than I thought I would. When we were alone, it felt like less and less like we were just colleagues. And that both scared and thrilled me.
‘I’m glad you like it,’ Jake murmured, close to my shoulder. ‘Being an author has some perks,’ he added with a wry smile.
I glanced at him. ‘I’ll say. You’re one hell of a tour guide, Jake.’
‘You’ve enjoyed the day?’
‘I’ve loved it.’
Jake smiled. ‘I’m glad, Freya. You deserve it after what’s happened at the conference. I am sorry that I fucked things up for us.’
The word ‘us’ hovered in the air. I kind of liked it. Jake seemed so sincere; I really wanted to have the faith in him that he wanted me to have.
‘How about a drink?’
‘Sounds good,’ I replied, and Jake disappeared to the bar. I watched him go, marvelling that someone who had seemed so intimidating to me just a couple of days ago had become someone I was enjoying hanging out with.
I looked out at the view again. It was incredible. I would never have thought I would see all this with Jake Richards but now I couldn’t imagine having seen it with anyone else.
‘What’s your name, beautiful?’
I jumped as a man appeared on the other side of me, close to my elbow. I glanced at him. He looked about my age and wore jeans and a tight t-shirt, flashing muscles at me. He held a bottle of beer and gave me a long look up and down.
‘That’s not your boyfriend, is it? He looks too old for you.’
That surprised me. Obviously, I was well aware Jake was ten years older than me and that had always made me nervous of him but today, the age gap hadn’t seemed an issue. As I grew more comfortable with Jake, we felt closer to equals. This guy though was reminding me that we weren’t.
I looked behind us to where Jake was getting us drinks. This place screamed money and being out of my league. And Jake in his immaculate outfit, looking like a movie star, screamed the same. I felt my chest sag and I wasn’t sure why. Maybe it was because being up here with him hadn’t felt like a continuation of our city tour but a little bit like a… date.