Chapter 6
CHAPTER SIX
Gage
I rest one foot on the bench and stare out over the East River.
This is the reward for my daily pre-dawn pilgrimage since I moved to Manhattan.
The sunrise from this spot is fucking amazing even when low fog blankets the city as it is now.
Some days, I make the trek on foot, like I did today. Other mornings, I bike here to enjoy the peace that this spot offers before the city wakes and grinds up to full speed.
New York City is as far from the serenity of open water as a man can get, but I’m learning its charm is unique.
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”
I turn at the sound of a familiar voice behind me.
“Gus,” I flash him a smile. “You made it today.”
Gray-haired Gus was sitting on this bench the first day I wandered down here. He didn’t offer a last name. I didn’t ask.
All I know about him is that he’s a native New Yorker with a tarnished band on his ring finger and a thousand stories about the woman he loved.
“Lois favored days like this.” He waves his wooden cane in the air. “Fog is for the fearless she’d tell me.”
Lois, his late wife, was fearless, just as Katie is.
I tossed and turned the night away thinking about her.
I checked out the website for her boutique, Katie Rose Bridal, as soon as I got home last night.
It opens at ten a.m., and I plan to be at the door at nine fifty-five.
“Where’s your mind today, Gage?” Gus lowers himself to the bench.
I shift my stance, dropping my hands to my hips. “On a shower.”
He laughs, taking in the running shorts I’m wearing and the sweat pouring down my forehead.
“Lois ran a half marathon once. Did I ever tell you that?”
Twice, but I’ll listen again if he’s in the mood.
“She placed second.” He waves two fingers in the air; both are curled from the wear of arthritis on his joints. “I was waiting at the finish line with a dozen red roses.”
Then he dropped to one knee and slid a diamond on her finger.
He doesn’t finish the story. A helicopter overhead catches his attention.
“I’m taking off.” I reach forward to pat his shoulder. “I’ll see you tomorrow?”
“God willing you will.” He laughs. “Make today count, Gage.”
I plan on it.
Sticking to the plan will only take you so far. For me, that’s the showroom floor at Katie Rose Bridal.
“Is she here?” I ask the question for a second time. “Has Katie come to work yet?”
“As I told you already, Kate is unavailable at the moment,” Natalie says to me.
I thought she’d grant me some insight into when I can talk to Katie since we spent a large part of our afternoon together yesterday.
She helped Annalise into a gown and for the next hour I sat on a bench listening to the maid-of-honor and the bridesmaids tell her that the dress was made for her.
Natalie tossed me a sympathetic look after the first thirty minutes. Today, I’m getting nothing from her but a brick wall.
“I’m an old friend of Katie’s.” I shove a hand into the pocket of my jeans to slide out my phone. “I’ve got a great photo of her when she was in college.”
Her eyes drop to my phone as I scroll through the album that holds more pictures of Katie than I can count.
Natalie’s hand lands on mine to stop me. “She called this morning and said she’d be late. I have no idea if or when she’ll show up, Gage.”
I exhale. “I’ll drop back in this afternoon.”
“Good idea.” She looks past me when the door to the boutique opens. “That’s my first appointment of the day.”
I glance over my shoulder at a petite blonde woman holding a bridal magazine.
If owning a store like this was Katie’s dream, she kept it hidden from me.
The woman I fell in love with aspired to take over her dad’s company. She wanted to see her name on the door of the CEO’s office at Wesley Pharmaceuticals in Los Angeles.
I look back at Natalie. “How long has Katie owned this place?”
“I’m not sure.” She shrugs a shoulder. “She hired me a little over a year ago. If you’ll excuse me, I really do need to get to my bride-to-be.”
“Don’t let me keep you.” I glance down at my watch. “When you see Katie, tell her I’ll be back.”
“I’ll do that,” she says cheerfully.
I take my leave and step out onto the sidewalk outside the boutique. I have no idea if Katie is avoiding me, but sooner or later I’m going to come face-to-face with her. If I have my way it will be this afternoon.