Chapter Four
chapter four
NATE
“The Tower Bridge, huh?”
“Not just the Tower Bridge.” Paige scoffs. “The top of the Tower Bridge.”
She steps up to the counter and orders our tickets, and before she can even think about paying, I tap my phone against the card reader, so it charges me and not her.
I came to London on a business trip and was heading into a meeting at the Bradford Hotel when I saw a beautiful but distraught woman trip over the cobblestone and land in the road. If I hadn’t witnessed it myself, I would swear that shit only happened in those sappy romance movies my mom and sisters-in-law watched.
I yelled to my driver to stop and then flew out of the car, picking her up and bringing her inside before she got ran over, while my driver grabbed her luggage and left it with us.
Paige was a mess, her eyes filled with tears, her face splotchy from crying, but she was still the most stunning woman I’d ever laid eyes on, and all I could think about was how I wanted to fix what was wrong.
I couldn’t fix the fact that her ex had cheated, but I could help her get a room. And since my family owns the hotel, I had her upgraded at no charge. It took everything in me to walk away, but I had a meeting I couldn’t cancel, and I knew she wasn’t in any place to have some random guy flirting with her or asking her out. That would’ve been both rude and insensitive.
But then, as if fate had stepped in, I ran into her again in the lobby. And this time, she was more put together. She had stopped crying, and her face was no longer splotchy. She smiled at me, and her beauty tripled.
I’ve dated my fair share of women, but I can’t remember ever feeling the instantaneous connection I felt with Paige. As I listened to her talk about her mom and the magic of London, I was enraptured by her presence, her words, her passion.
I wasn’t sure if she felt the connection, until I asked her to show me around London, wanting to spend more time with her—and the truth is, every time I’m here, I’m so busy with business that I’ve never actually explored London—and she made me promise not to share anything about myself, telling me that she’s worried she’ll get attached and want more.
I get it. We don’t live near each other, and she just got out of a long-distance relationship that ended with him cheating. Hell, my life is so busy, I barely have enough time to date someone who lives in the same city as me, let alone try to get to know someone who lives hours away. Logically, her keeping me at a distance makes sense. But that doesn’t stop me from wanting to spend the time I have with Paige.
I was supposed to be in meetings all week, and I’ve never canceled one in my life—I thrive on being responsible—so I shocked even myself when I emailed my assistant, Nolan, and told him he’d be handling the meetings today so I could go sightseeing with a woman I barely knew. The whole thing sounds crazy, and if my dad knew what I was doing, he would ask if I should be mentally evaluated because it’s so out of character for me. But I can’t help it. There’s just something about her that I’m drawn to.
“Here you go,” the woman behind the window says, handing us our tickets.
We get in line for the lift, and since it’s not busy, it goes quickly. It takes us straight to the top, and once we get out, we walk toward the center. The ground is see-through glass, allowing us to get a cool view of the cars driving underneath.
“Look over here,” Paige says, taking my hand in hers and guiding me over to the edge of the bridge so we can look out at the city.
The sky is bright blue today with only a few clouds, which is rare. Boats are making their way down the river, and people, who look like little Lego people from this high up, are walking up and down the sidewalk.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see Paige’s face split into a beautiful, serene smile. She inhales deeply and then releases it, and I imagine she’s letting all the bad out and replacing it with the magic she spoke about.
“Tell me about it,” I say, wanting to hear what’s got her smiling.
“See that area right over there?” She points, and I follow, my gaze landing on an area of shops across the way. “That was my mom’s favorite breakfast place.” She smiles softly. “We would walk along the bridge and stop there for breakfast. She’d order the same thing every time—avocado toast and an espresso.”
“And what would you order?” I ask, wanting to soak in whatever she’ll give me of herself.
“Waffles,” she says with a light laugh. “I love waffles.”
As she continues, telling me how she and her mom would spend their day, her eyes lighting up at her favorite memories, her gaze remains on the outside while mine stays on her. Because the truth is, the magic isn’t in the city. It’s in the people we share the moments with. That’s why she hasn’t been able to feel the magic without her mom. Because it was their relationship, their bond, that made her feel the way she did.
Which is why I understand Paige wanting to draw the line between us from the get-go. She felt what I felt—the instantaneous connection between us. But she’s not in a place to put her heart back on the line. And I get it because I experienced it firsthand—getting your heart stomped on and having to pick up the pieces so you can attempt to move forward.
And the worst part is that even though we’re long-distance, it’s only a few hours. If I lived just a little south, this would be an entirely different story with a completely different ending. But that’s not how life works.
Despite all that, standing inside the Tower Bridge with Paige, experiencing the magic through her eyes…it feels like there’s nowhere else I should be but right here with her. Even if it means that after our time together is done, I’ll walk away with nothing more than the memories I made with this beautiful woman.
“So, what do you think?” she asks, pulling her eyes from the view outside and meeting mine.
“I think you were right. It’s magical.”
She nods in agreement. “I never should’ve let the bad overtake the good.”
“Sometimes, we have to see it and feel it in order to remember it.”
Her eyes well up with tears, and she closes them.
“Yeah,” she chokes out as her fingers, which are still intertwined with mine, tighten their hold. “It’s been a long time since I felt it.”
Someone walks by and bumps into Paige, so I step behind her and encircle my arms around her to protect her from the outside world.
With our bodies so close, I can smell her sweet, feminine scent. I try not to get too close, but when she leans back and relaxes into me, I allow myself to relax as well.
After several minutes of us both taking in the view in front of us, I lean in and murmur into her ear, “Thank you for sharing the magic with me,” wanting her to know how much it means to me. It’s not easy to let someone in when you’re feeling vulnerable.
Paige audibly sniffles and then nods, and after a few long beats of her remaining silent, I assume that’s the only response I’ll get from her.
But then she whispers, “Thank you for helping me to remember the magic.”
And for the first time, I wish my life were different. That I were just an average guy who worked a regular job so I could stop everything and see where things could go with the mesmerizing woman I met in London.
But that’s not who I am. I have a family and obligations back home. People who depend on me. And because of that, I know all I can give Paige is London. Thinking I could give her anything more would be unfair to both of us.