Chocolate for Two (6 page)

“You don’t?”

He took a step toward me and shook his head.

“No.”

I swallowed.

He was staring at me with those blue eyes.

“Okay,” I whispered, suddenly feeling like a freshman girl who just got asked to slow dance by the gorgeous star senior quarterback. The only thing missing was a Journey song and braces.

He took another step forward, put one arm around my back, and pulled me close to him. My internal temperature rose twenty degrees.

God help me, he is hot.

He slowly moved his lips down my neck to my shoulder, which was bare but for the strap of my tank dress. Another spark shot down my spine.

I sighed at his touch.

Thank God for summer clothes.

He paused briefly to remove his T-shirt. I put my hands on his chest and nodded.

“Yes, sir, you’re in fine shape. I think you need to keep that job.”

He smiled but didn’t speak. Instead, he led me toward the bedroom.

I didn’t put up any protest.

The next evening I entered the lobby of a fancy building on Exchange Place.

“Hi, I’m here to see Andrea Barnett?” I balled my hands into fists as soon as the words were out of my mouth. I was getting better, but I still turned statements into questions way too often for someone in her thirties.

The doorman scrolled down his list. “Barnett. She just moved in, right?”

I nodded. “She was supposed to get in today.”

He called up to her apartment, and I gazed upward and all around. The ornate ceiling was about as tall as my building. Half a dozen chandeliers gleamed and twinkled decadently above my head.

After Andie gave him the verbal okay, he smiled and pointed to his right. “You’re good to go. Apartment forty-eight C.”

“Did you say forty-eight?”
How many stories are in this building?

He nodded. “Yes ma’am. Forty-eight C. Third elevator bank.”

“Okay, thanks.”

As I rode up the elevator toward outer space, my ears popping, I looked at the buttons and wondered if they were made out of solid gold.

“Finally! Get your butt in here!” Andie practically leaped into the hallway to give me a hug with one hand. Her other clasped a goblet of wine.

I pointed at the glass. “You’ve been here what, like an hour, and you’re boozing it up already?”

She waved me inside. “My company sent over a wine and cheese basket. Isn’t that nice? Let me pour you a drink and show you around. This place is sick.”

I followed her into the living room and froze when I saw the view.

“Oh my God.”

“I know,” she said. “I know.”

I slowly walked toward the arching floor-to-ceiling windows that stretched across one entire side of the living room. My jaw dropped a bit more with each step I took.

“Holy crap,” I whispered.

I could see not only lower Manhattan, the Brooklyn Bridge, the Manhattan Bridge,
and
the Williamsburg Bridge, but most of Brooklyn, JFK airport, the Rockaways, and the Atlantic Ocean, all swathed in the soft orange glow of a nearly full moon. I felt like I was on the Peter Pan ride at Disneyland, gently floating high up in the sky, watching the night lights flickering across the city below.

“Oh my God,” I said again.

It was the prettiest view I’d ever seen.

“Tell me about it. I’ve been staring at it ever since I got here.”

When I was finally able to peel my eyes away, I turned around to check out the apartment. A model of corporate chic, it was the exact opposite of my place. I lived in a classic brownstone with dark hardwood floors, crown moldings, and light green and blue walls. Everything here was white, black, and
sleek
. White tile floors. Black leather couches. White bookcases. Black coffee tables. White kitchen counters and table. Black appliances.

“Have you noticed that it’s like a checkerboard in here?” I asked.

Andie laughed and handed me a goblet of wine. “I know, it’s totally over-the-top. And it’s costing an absolute
fortune
. Thank God I don’t have to pay for it. Did you see the dogs?”

I followed her eyes to a corner of the room. They landed on two life-sized porcelain greyhounds.

All white.

“You’re kidding me.”

She laughed. “I’ve already named them Blanco and Whitey. What do you think?”

I raised my eyebrows and nodded. “How appropriate.”

“Let me give you the grand tour.” She grabbed my hand and led me through the living room and kitchen to the huge bedroom, which was lined with wall-to-wall plush white carpeting. It had a large walk-in closet, a master bathroom with an oversized tub, and an enormous wood sleigh bed. The bed frame was black, and the bedspread was a crisp white, dotted with specks of black; it looked as though someone had shaken a paint brush over it.

I pointed to the sleigh. “Is that a king?” Andie is barely five-two.

She nodded. “A
California
king. I could fit like six people in there.”

“I’m sure someone has. This place is like a movie set. At least you’ll have room for Nick when he comes to visit.”

“I guess so.” She walked abruptly out of the room, which I found a bit odd. I shrugged and checked out the view of the Empire State Building from the bedroom windows.

Good lord. Talk about doing Manhattan in style.

When I returned to the living room, Andie held out her tiny arms. “So, what do you think of my new digs? Not bad, eh?”

“Honestly?”

“Honestly.”

“The
view
is unbelievable, but the apartment sort of looks like a drug dealer’s crib, don’t you think?”

She pushed her blonde bob behind her ears. “Drug dealer? I was thinking more Gordon Gecko.”

I pointed at her and nodded. “Actually, you’re right. Definitely Gordon Gecko.”

She sat down on the black leather couch and picked up her wineglass. “It’s on the gauche side of the spectrum, that’s for sure, but the view more than trumps the décor, not to mention the lotion-y feel of the remote control.”

I coughed. “Did you just say
lotion-y
?”

“You heard me. This place has clearly seen more than its fair share of porn. But it’s my home for the next three months, and it’s free, and I’m super psyched to be here.”

“How much is the rent?”

“I have no idea, but I’m sure it’s a
lot
. They rented it for a big executive out of our German office who was supposed to be here for a year but left early for some reason, so I’m sliding into the tail end of that arrangement. Otherwise, God knows what kind of postage-stamp studio they’d have stuck me in.” She held her glass up to mine for a toast. “To my brand-new life in New York!”

I looked at her sideways as our goblets touched.
This is temporary, right?

“So, how’s Jake?” she asked.

“He’s great. We’re headed down to Florida tomorrow for an engagement party, actually. His parents are throwing it.”

“Given how you’ve described his mom, I’m sure
that’s
going to be fun.” She made a scary face.

I laughed and sat down on the couch. “She’s not that bad. But to be safe, I’m setting my expectations low.”

She took a seat next to me. “I can’t believe you’re really getting married. Have you freaked out on him yet?” Andie was well acquainted with my tendency to turn into an emotional basket case under romantic duress.

I sipped my wine and smiled. “Surprisingly,
no
. I am proud to say that I don’t do that anymore.”

She gave me a suspicious look. “What changed?”

“I’m not exactly sure, but it’s like somewhere along the way I finally grew up. And once that happened, I started believing that he really, truly loves me, and that he’s not going anywhere.”

“Wow, that’s great. I’m proud of you.”

I smiled. “Thanks. How are you and Nick doing?” I knew I shouldn’t ask, but I couldn’t help myself.

She waved her hand dismissively. “Let’s talk about me later. Back to you. What time do you leave for the airport?”

“I think the car’s coming at eleven.”

“Nice. Then you have plenty of time to keep drinking.” She stood up and grabbed her purse. “Come on, let’s go.”

I looked over at the porcelain dogs. After two glasses of wine, I was already buzzed, and I still needed to pack for the weekend.

I shrugged.

What the hell?

“Okay.”

Andie smiled and clapped her hands together. “Great. Now, chop chop. Let’s go take a bite out of this apple. I saw a cool bar down the street that I want to check out.”

She pulled me off the couch, and she pushed me out the door.

“Bye, Whitey and Blanco,” I called as the latch shut behind us.

“
This
is the cool bar down the street?”

Andie looked surprised. “You don’t like it?”

“No, it’s great. It’s just that I’ve been here a million times with Paige.” We were at Harry’s, a glossy tavern and steakhouse in the center of the financial district.

She nodded. “Brilliant minds think alike.”

“Have you seen her yet? She doesn’t live far from here, you know.”

“Are you joking? I just moved here
today
, Waverly.”

“Oops, that was the two glasses of wine I just drank talking. Let me rephrase: Do you have any plans to see Paige?”

She shook her head. “Not yet, but I’m sure we’ll get together soon. Sounds like we won’t be going out drinking, though.”

“Definitely not. She’s getting huge.”

“My mom said they’re going to wait until after she has the baby to get married.”

I nodded. “She said she doesn’t want to be the poster girl for a shotgun wedding.”

Andie laughed. “That sounds like something I would say.”

“Totally. You know, now I see her as
Paige
and not just your cousin, but when I first met her, every once in a while she would do or say something that reminded me so much of you that I’d get a little sad.”

“Sad? Why?”

I pushed her knee. “Because it made me
miss
you, silly.”

She rolled her eyes and turned toward the bartender to order drinks. “You are such a sap. It’s really quite embarrassing.”

I excused myself to use the restroom. When I returned several minutes later, Andie was still waiting for our drinks.

She mumbled under her breath as I took a seat. “Note to self: Before you sit down at a bar, especially in the financial district, always check to make sure there’s a male bartender.”

“What’s the problem?” I asked.

She pointed to her chest. “
These
are the problem. Boobs. Some female bartenders prefer customers who don’t have them, a.k.a.,
men
, because they think they’ll tip better.”

I looked at my own chest. “I don’t really have boobs. Maybe I should order the next round?”

She raised her eyebrows. “That might not be a bad idea. I really like this bar, though. It seems straight out of a movie, doesn’t it?”

“I agree. It’s a Wall Street institution. I bet half the people in here are drinking either straight-up scotch or martinis.” I scanned the sea of expensive tailored suits.

“Only half?”

I nodded. “You’re right. Probably more.”

“I wonder what Harry looks like.”

“You mean the Harry of Harry’s?”

“Yep. You’ve got to have quite an ego to name both a bar and a steakhouse after yourself.”

“Maybe he named it after his son?”

She shook her head. “I doubt it. I say huge ego. If
you
could name a bar, what would you call it?”

I paused to think. “Hmm, there’s a bar on Avenue A and Houston called
The Library
. Every time I walk by there, I think that’s pretty clever.”

“I like that.”

“Talk about a euphemism. Along that vein, I think
The Office
would be pretty good too. Or
The Gym
.”

“I think I’d call mine
The Next Place
.”

I laughed. “I like that.”

“Or maybe
Just One More
? I’ve certainly been to
that
place a thousand times.”

“Only a thousand?”

“Shut it.”

I pointed at her. “Maybe I should do a
Honey on Your Mind
segment on this. God knows, people in New York do love their alcohol.”

“Speaking of alcohol…” She paused to fake-smile at the female bartender, who finally set two glasses of wine in front of us. Then she picked up her glass for a toast. “Here’s to
me
…in NYC.”

I clinked my glass against hers. “Didn’t we already toast to this?”

“That was just a warm-up.”

“Okay, then. This poor city will never be the same.”

“So, are you neck-deep in the planning yet?”

I took a sip of my drink and set it down on the bar. “You mean for the wedding?”

She nodded.

“Haven’t done a thing.”

“Really?” She seemed surprised. “I thought you’d be all over it.”

“I’m still trying to come to terms with the fact that I’m engaged.” I looked at the pretty ring perched on my finger and blinked. Its novelty still hadn’t worn off.

She gave a dirty look to the guy on the adjacent stool whose back kept bumping against hers, then turned to face me and raised her glass again. “And here’s to that. The longer
you
wait to start planning, the longer it will be before
I
have to wedge myself into an ugly, overpriced dress I’ll never wear again.”