Those Red High Heels (8 page)

“You what?” I asked with way more anger in my voice than I intended. “I mean, you what?” I said again in a much smoother voice.

“I thought you would be excited, but if you don’t want to, I can cancel.”

She shot me her puppy dog eyes, her beautiful blue puppy dog eyes, and I was doomed. “Fine, I’ll go. I’m telling you though, I’m not promising any happy ending. Capeesh?”

“Capeesh.” Brynn shook her head and gave me another weird look.

“Oh, no. Now what?” I asked and ran my hand over my face.

“I kind of said you’d be ready in an hour. He’s coming to get you,” she said with a timid smile and stood up quickly.

“Don’t ever tell me I don’t love you. Now get out of my way, apparently I need to get ready.” I set my mug down on the end table by my bed, and groggily stood up. I went into the bathroom and got ready for my sightseeing adventure. I wondered where we were going. Since this was my first time to New York, I had many touristy destinations I wanted to see. It was hard to get people in Manhattan to visit anywhere except fancy art galleries and historical museums.

When I was dressed and ready to go, I walked into the kitchen and Brynn and Collin were sitting at their breakfast nook reading a paper together. They were so cute they made me sick. In the best way possible.

“Good morning you two. Reading anything good?” I asked as I watched Collin give Brynn a quick kiss on her cheek.

Collin looked over at me and smiled. “You look great, Emma. I know Cade is excited about your outing today, and no, not really anything interesting at all.”

When I looked over at Brynn, she was staring up at Collin and all I could see was how much she loved that guy. “Thank you, Collin. Do you know where we’re off to?”

Brynn stood and walked over to me. “It’s one of the top places you have always wanted to go.”

I tapped my finger on my chin and thought about that for a second. “The Empire State Building?”

“No, but I’ll give you a hint. It’s on an island and you have always wanted to see if you could find your ancestors there.”

My eyes lit up, and I became very excited. “Ellis Island? That’s great. I have always wanted to go there.”

“I know; that’s what I told Cade.” Right as she was finishing her sentence, the door buzzed, and we were alerted Cade had arrived.

Brynn walked me over to the door, told both Cade and me to have fun, and to enjoy the day. As I walked through the door, I tried to ignore the tingle that ran up my spine when I looked at Cade. That man made me nervous, and I wasn’t sure how I felt about that.

**

“Emma, wow. I didn’t know if you could get any better looking, but day two is looking pretty damn good on you,” Cade said as he reached forward and placed a gentle kiss on my cheek.

I rolled my eyes and let out a laugh. He never stopped trying; you had to give him some points for persistence. When I looked up at him and noticed his attire, my nerves settled and I began to look forward to our outing. He was wearing khakis with a button-down shirt, and looked so relaxed. It was just what I needed. I loved Manhattan. I really did, but everyone in Brynn’s social circle dressed as if they were going to a dinner party every night. Cade was just what the doctor ordered.

“Cade, you’re too much.” I blushed when he took my hand and led me out of my building. “So, I hear we are off to Ellis Island? I’ve always wanted to visit there, and maybe if we have time, we can check out Liberty Island as well. Thank you, so much for thinking of this,” I said and followed him over to yet another dark car with tinted windows. I would always be wary of them for the rest of my life.

Cade opened the back door for me, and slipped in beside me. “Actually, you better thank Brynn. I haven’t been to Ellis Island since I was a kid, but before we head over there, what do you say we stop for a little brunch at a new restaurant my buddies have been raving about?

As if on cue, my stomach rumbled and we both let out a small laugh. “I guess my stomach says yes.”

Cade was Collin’s younger brother, and you couldn’t miss the resemblance. He was a much more relaxed version of Collin, but you could also tell he liked to have a lot more fun. This past week for me had been so crazy and busy that I was starting to look forward to our outing together.

The conversation flowed effortlessly, and before I knew it we were pulling up to a very swank restaurant that already looked packed. I looked past Cade and must have had a surprised expression.

“I guess my friends aren’t the only ones talking about this place,” Cade mumbled, and motioned his head toward the building. “Do you still want to try this place, because we can always find somewhere else? I could even see if I could pull some strings and get us in right away?”

“No, this is great. I don’t mind waiting. I bet anywhere we go will be this busy. It looks really good,” I said and started to follow Cade out of the car. My long hair was in loose curls and they were instantly caught by the light breeze when I exited the car. I should have brought a hair tie, especially for the ferry over to Ellis Island.

Cade walked straight into the restaurant and spoke to the host. She must have noticed his charm because before I knew it she was twirling her hair and giggling. What was she, nineteen? Twenty? I rolled my eyes but then let it go when he returned with a big smile. “We’re up next,” he said with a wink.

“She didn’t stand a chance,” I mocked, which earned me a loud laugh from Cade.

Before he had a chance to retort anything, the young host walked right up to Cade and motioned for us to follow her. I could hear a few moans and grumbles as we walked past the other guests who were waiting.

When we walked into the main room, I heard Cade say hello to someone else, but I couldn’t make out whom he was talking to. When he finally moved over to the side, I caught a glimpse of a certain face I had tried all night to forget.

“Emma, Cade, it’s good to see you again,” Greyson Lyons said as he stood and shook hands with Cade.

Cade looked genuinely happy to see Greyson, and shook his hand right back. “It really is. We didn’t get a chance to catch up last night. We should get together next time I’m in town.”

A tiny voice in my head kept repeating, “Do not look at Nora, do not look at Nora,” but I failed and glanced over in her direction. The term Ice Bitch took on an entirely new meaning when I caught her scowling at me.

“That sounds great, Cade, in fact, we just sat down ourselves. Would you two like to join us?” Greyson asked as he motioned for a waiter.

Cade looked over at me and I must have had a pained expression cross my face because he gave me a questioning look, but ended up turning back toward Greyson and my new nemesis after I waved him off. “That sounds great, man. We can catch up, it’s been a while.”

Without another word, two more settings were being added to the table and Cade and I joined our new brunch mates. The hostess shrugged and slipped something into Cade’s hand. I could have bet my left arm I knew exactly what it was. Typical.

Nora looked about as thrilled as I did, but I sucked it up and told myself it would only be an hour or two, max. I could do it.

“Emma, it’s nice to see you as well,” that smooth voice said as I finally looked over at Greyson. Of course, he looked drop dead gorgeous.

I took his hand and gave him a light handshake. One thing I learned quickly in Manhattan was not to shake hands like a farm hand from the country. Women here didn’t do it that way. “Yes, what a surprise this is. Thank you for inviting us to join you.” I smiled and sat down right next to him.

“Greyson, how have you been? Business?” Cade asked as he picked up his menu and started to flip through the brunch selections.

I could feel a stare down happening from across the table, but I ignored it and looked through the brunch section as well, and tried to decide what I wanted to order.

“Business is great. It sounds like we may be working together soon on a new project.”

Cade’s eyes perked up as he brought his hand to his chin. “That’s right. I should have figured you of all people would be the one Collin chose to advertise with. Sounds like it’s going to be one hell of a movie.”

As I listened to Cade and Greyson talk business back and forth, I noticed right away Cade was not your typical New Yorker. I could see why he left and headed for the west coast. He was definitely more of a surfer type, laid back and easygoing. What I learned from him last night was that their grandfather raised Collin and Cade from a young age. Their father had gotten into some heavy drugs and was in and out of their life. When their grandfather passed away and left all of his inheritance to the two boys, their dad lost it and has been MIA ever since. Their mother was hardly in the picture and had problems of her own, so they really loved and relied on their grandfather. Cade mentioned a few times that he couldn’t handle the stuffy air in New York, and felt at home the minute he landed and spotted the sandy coastline of L.A.

Nora cleared her throat, interrupting my thoughts, and looked up at me. “Emma, dear. Did you sneak off last night? We didn’t see you very much.”

I cringed at the sound of her voice, but then put on my best fake smile and looked her in the eyes. “I was thinking the same thing, because I didn’t see you after our chat in the ladies room.”

Nora raised her eyebrows and looked back at her menu. Cade shot me a questioning expression, but I shook my head and looked back down at my menu. I ignored Nora, and decided I would order the Parisian ham and Comte crepe. It sounded delicious, and a big hunk of meat would take my mind off the Ice Bitch.

When I looked back up from my menu, I caught a quick glance from Greyson, but it was interrupted by our waitress, who was now standing next to Nora, ready to take our order.

“Welcome to Le Coupole, I’m Nicole and I’ll be your server. Are you ready to order?” Our waitress asked as she looked down at Nora.

Nora cleared her throat. “Yes, I will have the Parisian ham and Comte crepe with the egg on the side, and make sure that the ham is a center cut.”

Crap. Of all the items on the menu, Nora had to choose the freaking Parisian ham. Nicole looked in my direction, and I didn’t have enough time to think of something else. “I’ll have the same, but no extras for me. Just as is, is perfect.” Nicole smiled at me and then looked over at Cade. I noticed a scowl cross Nora’s face, but I didn’t want to make eye contact, so I looked over to Cade who ordered the smoked salmon Benedict.

The rest of brunch was a little less painful. Nora ate about a third of her plate, which made me look like Helga the weight champion. I was starving and the food was so delicious it seemed like a sin to let it go to waste.

The conversation was light, mostly small talk about Greyson and Cade’s new project, but when Greyson looked over at Cade and me and asked what the rest of our afternoon looked like, I felt my body stiffen and didn’t know quite what to say. I didn’t want to mention we were sight-seeing, because it sounded so cliché.

Cade started to speak before I could warn him not to mention our plans for the rest of the day. “Well, it just so happens Emma here has never been to Liberty or Ellis Island. We’re going to go ancestor hunting and see where this gorgeous face comes from.”

Greyson seemed to perk up a little. I’d figured everyone on this small island found the Statue of Liberty taboo. I didn’t know why, but I didn’t want Greyson to see me as a newbie tourist. I wanted him to see me as a businesswoman who could hang with all the other New Yorkers. I did relax a little, though, when he continued. “I haven’t been to Ellis Island or the Statue of Liberty in a very long time.”

Nora rolled her eyes and puffed out a little sigh. “Yes, it was probably when you were eight when all the rest of the children go.”

Greyson shot Nora a disapproving look, but Nora didn’t even flinch. Greyson seemed like a great guy. I couldn’t imagine him marrying a woman like Nora.