Chapter 2 #2
Usually, I listened to music while I walked, but not this time.
I just wanted to soak in the sounds of the city, and there were plenty—lots of hustle and bustle from the congested traffic.
Central Park was the favorite meeting point of New Yorkers, primarily because it was one of the few places in Manhattan that wasn’t concrete.
There were so many people on the sidewalk that I had to pay extra attention or risk slamming into someone.
When I was closer to the park, Ian shared his location with me again, and I found him without a problem.
Damn. The man just appeared hotter every time I saw him. He was wearing a black T-shirt that made his biceps appear even more defined. His ass was round and begged to be squeezed. And those blue eyes were mesmerizing. How could he be this hot?
Riiiight… I made a mental note not to reach out to Ian every time I wanted to explore the city.
He winked at me when he saw me, and I joined the group.
Up close, I noticed that his shirt was tight enough that I could spot some serious abs.
He cocked a brow, and I quickly averted my gaze.
My pulse quickened as I focused on the two women next to him.
One of them was pushing a stroller. I had never met his sisters.
They didn’t go to college in DC with Ian, so I never ran into them.
Come to think of it, I’d only met his brother Dylan a couple of times, though I didn’t remember where. He wasn’t with us in Lake Tahoe.
"Hey, Ellie. These are my sisters, Josie and Isabelle. This is my niece, Sophie."
Josie was the one pushing the stroller. The siblings looked nothing alike. Isabelle had a wild mane of red hair, and Josie had dark brown hair that brushed her shoulders. None of them had Ian’s dark blond hair or angular cheekbones.
"Hi, nice to meet all of you. I hope I'm not intruding on family time. I was just dying to go out and about with someone who knows the city."
"No worries. You're not interrupting anything at all, and it’s lovely to meet you,” Isabelle commented right away and added, “And I understand your excitement.
I moved to New York about a year before my brothers did, and I'm still excited about the city.
I was a tour guide for a while, so if you need any tips on where to go or not go, ask me. "
"Thanks so much," I said. They all seemed so kind. And even though I was there for a short time, I wasn’t going to hesitate to reach out to Isabelle for some suggestions.
"I've been living here for over fifteen years,” Josie said. “So I know my way around the Big Apple. If there's anything you need, just let us know. I'll give you my phone number."
“I’ll give you mine too,” Isabelle added.
As I typed in their numbers, I couldn't help but feel a bit overwhelmed. Why were they welcoming me with open arms? I was a perfect stranger. Yes, I was Ian’s friend’s sister, but they didn’t know me from Adam.
Since I moved around after graduation, I didn't maintain any close friendships. Josie and Isabelle would be easy to befriend. I liked them instantly.
“Do you want to see something specific in the park?” Isabelle asked.
“Not really. I’m open to anything.”
“We were going to suggest the North Woods trail,” she replied, and we all nodded in agreement.
“Sounds great to me.”
After a few short minutes of walking, I realized the deeper we went into the woods, the more I felt like I was in a forest and not in New York. Tall, thick trees surrounded us, and we even walked by a small waterfall. A multitude of birds chirped around us; it truly was a magnificent place to see.
“When do you start the new job?” Isabelle asked as we were crossing a rustic bridge.
Josie was carrying Sophie in her arms, and Ian had the folded stroller over his shoulder.
He kept looking around us, shooing everyone to one side if large groups passed us.
His protective streak was strong! He and Henry were definitely two peas in a pod.
I couldn’t stop checking out Ian’s biceps.
And that ass. His presence was overwhelming my senses. Oh wow .
"I start tomorrow. I'm very excited. I've wanted to come here for a couple of years, and now it's finally happening.” Almost tripping on a vine, I gathered my balance and my thoughts and continued.
“I want to learn everything . Hopefully, in a couple of years, I'll have enough knowledge to open my own restaurant. "
"In New York?" Josie asked.
"I could never afford to open it in New York, but honestly, I'm used to moving around the country.
So I will just follow the dream and see where I find a place I can afford.
Anyway, that's still a few years away. So I'm not making any specific plans yet.” I was twenty-three. I was hoping to open my own place in my early thirties. Until then, I was going to save as much money as possible and soak up all the culinary knowledge I could. I couldn’t wait to move to New Orleans and learn the ins and outs of Southern cuisine.
The mix of Creole and Deep South foods intrigued me.
“But it’s good to have a goal in mind,” Josie said.
I nodded in agreement. We talked a bit about the city as we walked, but we mostly just took in our beautiful surroundings. The air was cool and crisp, and the smells of the forest were intoxicating. I was already planning my next hike; maybe Harper would go with me… or maybe Ian.
“By the way, Brayden and I are going to postpone the wedding,” Isabelle said out of the blue. I assumed he was her fiancé.
“Why?” Ian said. “What did he do?”
He transformed right in front of my eyes from laid-back to overprotective brother, and I liked it a little too much. How was that even possible? I wasn’t a fan of Henry when he got like this.
Isabelle burst out laughing. “Nothing, but I’m three months along now.
I’d be five months pregnant for the party and the reception, and I just don’t think I can deal with the wedding and the paparazzi while also worrying if all the stress is affecting the baby.
” Turning to me, she explained, “My fiancé is Brayden Clarke.”
My jaw dropped, and my voice sounded high-pitched as I exclaimed, “The lead singer of GreenFire?”
They were my favorite band. I was stunned that I didn’t know this, that Ian didn’t mention it earlier. Not that he had an opportunity, but still.
Isabelle nodded. Ian appeared more relaxed and said, “Okay, that sounds reasonable. So when are you going to have the wedding?”
“Not sure, but we’ll keep everyone posted. Okay, where do we go from here?”
We reached a crossroad. There was a huge map in the center, but I was terrible at reading these kinds of maps.
“Right, looks like we hang a right,” Josie said. The trail was 3.7 miles, and we finished it an hour and a half later. Sophie fussed for twenty minutes before she got downright upset, crying in her mom’s arms.
“I think that’s my cue to go,” Josie said. To my astonishment, Ian leaned over, smiling at Sophie and tickling her under her chin. Sophie calmed down a little and eventually smiled big at Ian. I had no clue that a grown man making faces at a baby could be considered hot, but damn .
“Wow. Since when are you a baby whisperer?” Josie asked. I liked the cute banter between the three of them and that they were a team, obviously supportive and caring of one another.
Isabelle clapped her hands. “Excellent. Pretty please, practice that skill more until my little one comes along.”
Sophie started wailing again, more uncontrollably, and Josie grimaced.
“I have to go. It was great meeting you, Ellie.”
“Likewise.”
Isabelle left with Josie and Sophie, leaving me alone with Ian.
I instantly became hyperaware of him. Something about him just demanded my attention.
I was certain that he turned heads in any room he walked into.
His presence was magnetic. I felt the heat of his body and knew he was watching me.
I carefully looked up out of the corner of my eye.
My stomach cartwheeled when our gazes crossed.
“What do you want to do now?” I asked.
“Actually, I have to go too. I have an appointment with a client.”
“On Sunday?” Disappointment rolled through me, making me realize just how much I enjoyed being with him this afternoon.
“Yep. The perils of running your own business.”
“Thanks for today. I like your sisters."
"And they like you too.”
"So they meant it when they said I could touch base and we could go out whenever I want to?" I asked as we walked lazily to the coffee cart. The park looked less like a forest here and more like a smattering of trees against the urban landscape of glass and steel towers I remembered from photos.
"Yes. My sisters never say anything they don't mean.”
I ordered a cappuccino, and Ian a black coffee. I felt his gaze on me the entire time the barista prepared our drinks. After we took our cups, we sat on a wooden bench with chipped brown paint just a few feet away. I could hear the traffic in the distance.
“This is very tasty,” I said, still feeling this unexplainable tension between us.
“It’s my favorite coffee cart in the park.”
“Cool! Do you have other recs?”
“Yes. Between the two of us… I’m a much better tour guide than Isabelle."
"Is that so?" I said, acutely aware of how close to each other we were sitting.
"Oh yeah."
"And why is that?"
“You'll see.” He pinned me with that molten gaze of his. My breath caught. My heart rate sped up. How could my body react like this to him? I searched my brain for a topic of conversation before I risked turning into a tongue-tied twelve-year-old again.
“I can see why you and Henry are friends, by the way. Your protective streak is just as strong as his.”
“Talking about Henry… now that we’re alone, how about we negotiate that deal?” he asked, making me laugh.
“Henry didn’t bad-mouth you, Ian. He just said that you’re a great friend… but warned me off dating you. Said you’ve never had a serious girlfriend.”
Ian flashed me a half smile. “He’s right. And he’s warned me off too.”
I turned toward him so fast that I nearly spilled my cappuccino. “What? My own brother bad-mouthed me ?”
“Fuck, you’re cute. No. He said that given my reputation, I shouldn’t even dare cross a line, flirt, check you out, nothing.”
“And what did you tell him?”
“I promised to keep myself in check. I thought it was going to be easy, just as I did when we went to Tahoe.”
“What about Tahoe?” Was that my voice? It sounded strangled. My breath caught.
“It was the first time I realized how damn gorgeous you are. And you’re even sexier now. Might have checked you out a couple of times.” He wiggled his eyebrows. I felt my face heat up. Clearing my throat, I licked my lips and straightened my shoulders.
“It’ll be our secret,” I said, hoping he couldn’t tell how much his compliment pleased me. My brother’s warning rang in my ears, but somehow, the image of Ian, the player, didn’t match the one of Ian, the baby whisperer .
I mentally shook myself. None of this mattered. He was my brother’s best friend, and I wasn’t going to come between them just because Ian was hot as hell.
“Now that I’ve confessed, I don’t feel guilty anymore.” He wiggled his eyebrows again. “How about we start with a clean slate?”
“Let’s drink to that.” I clinked my cup of coffee to his. Our fingers brushed, sending a jolt of heat through me. Holy shit! Was I on edge just from a brief touch?
This was a bad omen for our clean slate if there ever was one.