Chapter 44
CHARLIE
In all my life, I’d never seen anything like the spectacle that was New York City. It was so alive, bright, and noisy—and I’d realized that before Nathan had even dropped us off at the hotel.
I’d grown up in Texas, and while I’d seen New York every New Year’s Eve on TV watching the ball drop, being here was a completely different experience. It made me wonder why I’d never been interested in staying before.
Not that I’d been here often. I’d come a couple times before to attend a meeting with a client who hadn’t been able to come out to the ranch, and that had been that. On the other hand, exploring this place by myself would’ve been too overwhelming.
Everything was big here. Huge.
The buildings. The billboards. The lights. The sounds. Even the smells.
Dallas and Colt were equally wide-eyed, but we were all trying our best to take it in. I was missing home already, but I was also determined to embrace this new experience I was getting to have.
After checking into a hotel that put the nicest place I’d ever stayed before to shame, the boys and I insisted on taking our own bags from a guy pushing a golden, arched luggage cart.
The uniformed man seemed confused, but I stuck a bill into his hand since he’d brought our things from the car to here as it was.
He shouldn’t lose his tip just because we were used to carrying our own things.
He blinked at me. “Thank you.”
I nodded, an appreciative smile on my lips. “You stole my line. Thanks for bringing everything in for us.”
Still seeming confused, the guy turned and pushed the gilded cart the other way, and I led the others to a bank of golden elevator doors on the other side of the vast expanse that made up the lobby. Dallas arched a reddish eyebrow at me when we were on our way up to our suite.
“How much do you think it costs to stay here for a night?”
I shrugged, my head shaking. “I don’t think we want to know.”
Colt shuddered. “It definitely costs more than any place I’ve ever slept.”
He glanced down at the thick carpeting underneath our feet, his gaze tracking to the digital display panels and the intricately carved detailing along the ceiling of the elevator car.
I drank it all in silently right along with him, already stunned at the opulence and the grandeur that Olivia was obviously used to.
It made me wonder what she’d thought that first night when I’d shown her to the guest room at my place, with all its antique furniture and rustic finishes.
My family and I kept all the structures on the ranch in good shape.
Our maintenance was always meticulously done and Mom liked adding some nicer details to our homes, freshly picked flowers in a vase and good quality bedding, but I doubted Liv had even picked up on those things while she’d been fresh out of places like this.
Neither my brother nor Dallas spoke again until the elevator deposited us on our floor. Colt broke the silence as the doors slid open to reveal a long, impeccably decorated hallway. “Holy crap. I didn’t think it was going to get fancier.”
But it had.
Ornate mirrors hung from the walls. Chandeliers hung from a ceiling that had no business being as high as it was, and works of art were scattered along the length of the corridor.
We spilled out of the elevator, each clutching our bags, and finally managed to track down our suite about halfway down.
I swiped our card over the reader and led the charge into a suite that was at least as big as the first floor of my house. Three massive beds, each with their own nightstands on either side, sat against one wall, the space open to a living area and, better yet, doors that led out to a balcony.
The drapes in front of the glass doors were open, allowing me a glimpse of the expansive city below. Dallas rubbed the back of his head. “Yeah, I definitely don’t want to know.”
“But I’m also definitely not complaining.” A wide grin spread on Colt’s lips as he tossed his bag down on a bed and spread his arms open to his sides. “Gentleman, we’re not in Texas anymore.”
I snorted. “We have fancy hotels.”
“We’ve never stayed in them.”
My eyes narrowed. “Because we have a ranch. Many ranches actually, spread across the state, therefore providing accommodation to us no matter where we might find ourselves.”
Colt rolled his eyes at me before turning to Dallas. “Beer?”
“Beer,” Dallas agreed.
As we got settled in, we sipped our drinks and spent most of our time on the balcony, pointing out landmarks we recognized and marveling at the amount of light even after the sun had set.
My phone buzzed with a text and I pulled it out, expecting it to be my mom after I’d sent her a picture of our view, but instead, I found a message from Olivia.
City: Meet us in the lobby?
Me: Be right down.
I pocketed my phone and drained the last of my beer. “Let’s go, boys.”
“He is so whipped,” Colt muttered when I spun around and marched into the room.
Dallas chuckled. “Don’t blame him. She’s still hot. I should’ve called dibs first that night.”
My fingers rolled into fists at my side, my head bowing as my spine straightened, but then I dragged in a deep, calming breath and reminded myself that he was just messing with me. Because that was what this was. Dallas messing with me. Trying to see if I liked her enough to snap.
I refused to give either of them the satisfaction.
Instead, I changed into a clean shirt and grabbed my wallet from one of the nightstands. “Are you two coming, or would you like to stay here and gossip all night?”
Dallas laughed and joined me, with Colt bringing up the rear as we left our room, heading back down to the lobby to meet up with Olivia and the others.
Nathan had apologized profusely about not being around tonight, but I completely understood that he was eager to get home.
Plus, if he wouldn’t be here tonight, that meant I got to touch Liv as much as I wanted.
Works for me.
As soon as the elevator doors opened, my gaze zeroed in on her where she stood with Liam, London, Lacey, and another girl near the exit doors. Her back was turned to me and there were swarms of people between us, but it was like she had a glowing neon sign above her head as far as I was concerned.
Even in a crowd, I would always be able to find her.
I strode over to their little group, taking in the new addition and quickly coming to the conclusion that she had to be the other sister.
Abigail. She was a little bit shorter than Olivia, with darker, brown hair rather than her sister’s dirty blonde, but their features were too similar for them not to be related.
As we weaved toward them through the crowd, I found my eyes sliding back to Olivia.
Not even the insanely high ceilings or the fancy chandeliers could distract me from the shapely curve of her hips in the dark jeans she’d changed into.
She had another pair of sky-high heels on her feet, hot pink ones this time, and the sight of them made my lips quirk into a smile.
Her hair was in a fancy braid hanging over one shoulder. Tiny diamonds studded her ears and she’d changed her top too, the new one a long way from the casual tees I’d often seen her in back home.
She really is as city as a girl can be.
But I liked it. Surprisingly.
Just as it had happened that first night, someone must’ve nudged her because she started and then slowly turned in my direction. Her eyes landed right on mine without having to search, and she kept looking at me as I strode the last bit of distance toward her.
A smile crept onto her lips as she watched us, and when we reached them, she immediately reached for the new addition’s hand and tugged her closer. “Abi, this is Charlie. Charlie, Abigail. Oh, and those are Dallas and Colt.”
“Way to make a guy feel like chopped liver,” Colt said in a tone that suggested he wasn’t upset about it at all. He stepped forward and smiled at Abi, extending his hand toward her. “Nice to meet you.”
“Don’t worry, Colt. I’ve heard a lot about you too.” She gave him a brief but friendly smile and shook with him, her hand dainty and a little stiff in his.
After greeting him, she turned to Dallas to do the same with him, but her attention seemed to be mostly on me throughout. When she finally reached for my hand, I looked into her bright blue eyes and grinned. “The prodigal sister returns. I’ve been looking forward to meeting you.”
She held my gaze with an intensity in hers that told me she was analyzing every word I said and every move I made. Assessing. Intelligent. Used to taking responsibility for her younger sister, but evidently protective of the older one as well.
“Charlie,” she said my name slowly, like she was testing the feel of it in her mouth and taking my measure. “Thank you for taking my sister to Waterfall Park. She absolutely loved it. So much so that she made me look it up online, and I can’t wait to see it for myself.”
I blinked a couple times more than was normal, a wide grin spreading on my lips. “You’re just as surprising and sassy as your sisters.”
She shrugged as she dropped my hand after giving it an equally surprisingly firm shake. Stepping aside, she slid her fingers into her back pockets and turned to her sisters. “So, now that they’re here, what are we doing tonight?”
“Everything we can,” London said with a smile that told me she meant it. “Let’s go.”
As she, Liam, Lacey, and Abigail started for the doors, Liv glanced back at me, those greens betraying a hint of relief when they met mine. Huh? I wonder if she was nervous about me meeting the last sister.
If that had been it, she didn’t let on, flashing us a smile that seemed to issue a challenge. “Well, country boys. Do you want to explore the city tonight before we all get too busy?”
“Of course,” I said, offering her my arm and tugging her closer as soon as she took it. “We’ll let you lead the way.”
She laughed. “That’s probably a good idea. I’m sure you’ve all heard of Broadway before, right? That’s it right out there. You’re about to experience it in all its glory.”
As we left the hotel, the life on the city streets was palpable, pulsing with an energy all of its own.
People hustling all around. A lot of people.
Movie theaters, fashionable shops, restaurants, and bars lined the entire length of the street, lights, music, and huge, colorful billboards everywhere.
“Pizza.” Olivia grinned up at me. “You need to try the pizza here. Interested?”
“In pizza? Always.” I tugged her even closer to me, trying not to look too much like a tourist as I tried to see everything around me all at once.
Visually, it was a lot to take in as we strode down the street, her girls with Liam ahead of us and Colt and Dallas trailing behind. We got slices from a street vendor, eating them on the go, but all sticking together as a group as they showed us around.
There were so many people that I had the feeling the girls were afraid of losing us in the crowd if we separated too much. I didn’t think I’d ever seen so many people just randomly walking around one street on a normal night.
“They’re like a herd of cows,” I commented after wiping my fingers on a napkin once my pizza was done.
Olivia squeezed my arm, eyes crinkled with laughter as she let out a sigh. “Can’t take the country out of a cowboy, huh?”
I chuckled. “No, you can’t, but that doesn’t make it untrue. All these people really do remind me of a herd of cows.”
“Only you,” she said, but she sounded happy about that, so I took it as a good sign. As they kept showing us around, pointing out the iconic sights, Dallas practically glued himself to Lacey’s side while the other two Walker girls took Colt under their collective wing.
Meanwhile, I couldn’t help but notice how easily our two worlds were colliding. We were all so very different from one another, and this city was a whole different kettle of fish from mine, but our friends and family were meshing flawlessly.
Olivia seemed to come alive in a whole different way here, and I felt myself doing the same simply because I was enjoying seeing it in her. Abigail caught me smiling as we ducked into one of the many bars to grab a drink.
“What do you think so far, Charlie?” she asked. “This is your first time in New York, right?”
“So to speak,” I replied easily. “You know, I really didn’t think it would be for me, but it’s not so bad. It could also just be because we’ve got the best tour guides, though.”
The corners of her lips twitched up and she shot a glance at Olivia. “Wow, he really is charming, isn’t he?”
She chuckled. “Told you.”
Abigail nodded slowly, but made a point of speaking to me a little more while we drank beer and they drank some kind of cocktail in a fancy glass.
She was sweet and kind but also quick-witted and I’d been right about her being as sassy as her sister, even if she was a little more understated about it.
When our drinks were done, London suddenly looked up from her phone and grinned, a wicked twinkle in her eyes. “Who wants to go see a Cirque du Soleil show? Say yes, boys. Trust me, this ain’t like any other circus you’ve ever been to.”