Cinderella Liberty (3 page)

"Whatever." Zippy pressed the phone to his ear. "Be quiet. It's ringing."

While Zippy waited for his sister to answer, Crash took another sip of beer. He was starting to get excited about the det again.

It would still be a hell of a fun time up north. Zip and his sister might very well be up to no good and playing matchmaker, but not even that could ruin this trip.
 

He just had to get through his workday tomorrow and then he'd be on his way. New York City had better watch out.

CHAPTER 3

New York City

"Trish, I'm so, so sorry I couldn't come with you today. Are you sure you're okay there in the city all alone?"

"I'm fine, Dawn. Really. I've been to Manhattan by myself before. And my brother should be here any minute." Trish glanced at the clock in the dashboard of her car.

"I still feel bad."

"Well, don't. I'll just have to have fun with all the hot Marines on my own." Trish smiled as she heard Dawn's groan through the cell phone.

"Don't remind me. I can't believe I'm missing Fleet Week for jury duty."

"You're doing your civic duty." While Trish would be doing hers here in New York by supporting the troops—or at least ogling them. Her gaze tracked two sailors as they crossed the street. Well worth the hour and a half drive from home. Seeing her brother would be nice too.

Dawn sighed. "That won't be much comfort while I'm sitting there bored to death in some courtroom and you're surrounded by hundreds of men in uniform."

"I think it's more like thousands of men in uniform, actually."

"Great. Rub it in some more, thanks. Crap. They're calling us back into the courtroom. I'll call and check in later. Text me if anything good happens. Oh, and send me a picture of some hot military guys so I have something to look at."

"Yes, ma'am. Talk to you later." Trish disconnected the call.

It definitely would have been much more fun if Dawn had been able to come but at least she'd have her brother, Danny.

Her phone buzzed and she glanced down to see his name on the readout. Speak of the devil…

She hit the button to answer. "I see you replaced your cell so you don't have to call me from your friend's phone anymore."

"Yes, I did. And no teasing. I've had enough from him on that subject. Where are you?" he asked.

"Where you told me to be. Parked along the curb in front of your ship, and hoping the cops don't chase me since I've been here for like twenty minutes already and this is a no parking zone."

"I know. Sorry. They just cut us loose now. We'll be right down."

"Okay. See ya."

We.
Trish had to wonder who Danny had with him. She supposed she'd find out soon enough.

He wasn't right down as he'd promised, but about ten nerve wracking minutes later, as Trish kept one eye trained for parking enforcement and the police because she'd been standing in a no parking zone for half an hour, her brother and one other guy appeared. A very large guy, she noticed. One who filled out his uniform quite nicely.

"Hey, Trish. Good to see you." Danny hugged her, and then peered past her into the car. He frowned. "Wait. Where's Dawn?"

Danny's obvious disappointment had Trish laughing. "She couldn't make it. And it's very nice to see you too, big brother."

"I thought you were bringing her."

"I thought I was too, but something came up." She gave up waiting for her brother to make the introductions and turned to the Marine standing off to the side. She extended her hand toward him and couldn't help but notice he had the bluest eyes she'd seen on anyone, male or female, in a long time. "Hi. I'm Trish."

"Sorry." Danny turned to include his friend in the conversation. "This is John O'Malley, but you can call him Crash. We all do. Crash, this is my sister, Trish."

"Nice to meet you, ma'am." He took a step forward and extended one arm toward her.

She smothered the urge to cringe at the
ma'am
and chose instead to focus on an inventory of his assets. He was tall, just like she liked in a man and big, with nice thick arms and large, strong hands. The kind that would make a woman feel truly held. She couldn't see his hair beneath his hat, but that didn't matter. A man with a jawline that strong would look good no matter what. In a short military haircut. Hell, even bald.

And that uniform… Very nice. Sure, her brother was dressed in the same thing, but somehow it didn't look quite the same. This Crash certainly filled out his well.

His large hand wrapped around her smaller one, much like his smooth southern drawl seemed to envelope her, making her want to hear more. She managed to say, "Nice to meet you too. Danny's talked about you before."

"Has he?" His sandy brows rose above eyes the color of the summer sky. "Forgive me if that worries me a bit."

As he released her hand, Trish laughed. "Don't worry. Nothing bad."

He shot Danny a look, and then focused his gaze back on her. "I'll have to trust you on that."

Danny rolled his eyes. "Don't worry about Crash. He's always suspicious of me. So where do you guys want to go first?" He rubbed his hands together and looked from one to the other.

"We've both been here a bunch of times, so maybe we should ask your friend what he wants to do." She turned to Crash and wondered how he'd gotten the nickname. They called her brother Zippy, but since their last name was Zipkin, that was a no-brainer. But John O'Malley being called Crash? Must be a story there somewhere and she hoped to find out what it was before the night was over.

Crash shrugged. "This is my first time so everything's new to me."

He was so adorable she'd gladly take him anywhere he wanted. "My hotel room is near Times Square." She glanced at her brother. "We could park my car there and walk most places, I guess."

"As long as there's booze and women involved, I'm fine with it."

Trish rolled her eyes. "I don't think that's what Crash wants to do on his first trip here."

"Are you kidding? That's exactly what he wants to do. We're leaving for Afghanistan where we can't partake of either of those things." Danny reached for the passenger side door handle. "Come on. Let's go. Times a wastin'."

"All right." Trish sighed. She'd take her pain in the ass brother to a bar, but it would be by way of some tourist attractions so Crash would at least see something while he was here. "Why don't you let your friend sit up front so he can see better?"

Danny's brow creased in a deep frown. "No. I need to be up front so I can tell you where to go."

"I know where to go. We're only driving to the hotel and the damn streets are numbered, Danny. How lost could I get?"

Crash moved toward the back of the car. "It's fine. I can see plenty from the back."

"See?" Danny cocked a brow. "Just get in."

"Fine." Trish noticed the smirk on Crash's face as he opened the rear door. Apparently sibling bickering amused him. That was a good thing. Trish had a feeling he was going to see a lot of it today.

She managed to get to her hotel and park the car without killing her brother and his incessant back-seat driving, even if it was from the front passenger seat, but it left her good and ready for that bar Danny was so intent on getting to.

They'd just hit the sidewalk and she was considering options when Danny started to look antsy. "Where we headed?"

"How about we walk to Rosie O'Grady's for drinks? It's not too far." And they'd pass lots of cool places along the way.

"Sure. That'll work." Danny agreed and Trish hid a smile.

She'd managed to get her way so Crash could see some sights. The iconic lights of Times Square. A few of the Broadway theaters. And the walk would take them right past the famous Military Island where the Armed Forces Recruiting Station was. Though come to think of it, Crash might not be as excited about that as Trish always was as she tried to get a glimpse of some men in uniform.

It didn't matter. Just the crowds and people watching in the city, and particularly in Times Square, were worth taking the time. There was certainly a lot to see already, and they'd just arrived. A horse across the street caught her eye. She put a hand on Crash's forearm to get his attention, but all it did was capture hers—those were some rock hard muscles the man had.

He glanced down at her to see why she'd stopped them.

"Look." Trish tipped her head toward the officer on the horse standing right in the middle of the sidewalk on the other side of the street.

Crash followed her gaze and she watched as his eyes widened. "Holy... A cop on a horse. Right on a New York City street."

"What's the hold up?" Danny had finally realized they weren't behind him anymore and backtracked to where they stood.

"I was showing Crash the policeman on horseback."

Danny glanced across the street. "And?"

"And, maybe he'd like to get a picture taken with him."

Crash's eyes got brighter. "Would he let me?"

"We can ask." Trish shrugged.

"Okay, I'll ask. Will you take it?" Crash pulled out his cell.

"Of course, I will." She took the phone and eyed the scene across the street. The massive animal with the officer atop his back. The neon behind him. Crash in uniform. It would make one hell of a photo. "Run on over and I'll take it from here so I can get a wide shot."
 

"A'ight." Crash grinned like a kid who'd just heard the ice cream truck turning on to his street. He waited for a yellow cab to creep by, and then trotted across the road.

Next to Trish, Danny stood shaking his head. "Look at him. He looks like a damn tourist."

"He
is
a tourist. Leave him alone. He's having fun." Trish smiled as she watched Crash crane his neck, looking up to talk to the officer seated so far above him. She glanced back at Danny. "If you run over there, I'll take one with the both of you."

Watching Crash, Danny pulled his mouth to the side like it was a ridiculous suggestion, but then he rolled his eyes. "All right. I guess it might look kind of cool since we're both in our Charlies."

Trish laughed. "In your what?"

"That's what we call this uniform. Just take the picture and don't worry about it." Danny turned toward the street and made his way across, dodging the traffic.

She may not know the names of all of the Marine uniforms, and until now she hadn't much cared, but she wasn't opposed to learning. Especially if Crash was her teacher and the body tucked away beneath his Charlies was anything like she imagined.

Trish raised the phone, hit the camera function button and lined up the shot. The two Marines in their short-sleeved khaki shirts and green trousers with their chests decorated with ribbons earned over the years made for an impressive sight, one that had a few passers-by taking a second look.

Smiling, she snapped the picture and planned their next stop, which would not be Rosy O'Grady's if Trish had any say in it. Oh, they'd end up there, but
after
Crash got to see more of the city.

Trish did a good job of it. Before they finally pushed through the front door of their final destination over half an hour later, she'd managed to cram in a few more things, including Crash's first New York City hot dog and pretzel from a street vendor.

Inside the cooler air of the dimly lit restaurant, Danny bypassed the main level and led them down the stairs to the bar. He aimed for an empty table. "What do you want to drink? I'm buying."

"Thanks, Zip." Crash dipped his head in a nod. "Beer for me."

"Yeah. Me too." A nice cold beer sounded good after walking around the hot city.

"Okay. Be right back." Danny headed for the long bar against the right hand wall while Crash pulled out two chairs from where'd they'd been tucked beneath the table. One for Trish and one for himself.

"Thanks." A man who pulled out chairs for a woman. Where the hell had he come from? With a smile on her face she couldn't control, she decided to ask. "Where are you from, Crash?"

Certainly not New Jersey. Sure, Trish was used to having men pump her gas, but only because that was the law in her home state. This whole chivalry thing was new to her, but she could easily get used to.

"Alabama originally. Now I'm in North Carolina with Zip and my mama is in Florida."

Trish nodded. That explained so much. The soft drawl she heard in his voice. The manners she didn't come across too often in Jersey men, her brother included. "Well, then I'm glad I got to show you a little bit of the city."

"Me too." Crash glanced at the bar then leaned forward a bit. "You know, I think Zippy was upset your friend couldn't come. He was fixin' to hook me up with her."

Trish swallowed away the bitter taste of disappointment. Didn't that figure? The guy she had the hots for was already hot for her friend. She needed to find new girlfriends. Maybe some old, married ones. "Did you want to be fixed up with her?"

"Hell, no." He sounded pretty adamant and, bitchy though it might be, Trish was happy he wasn't interested in something with Dawn. "I'm glad she didn't come. I mean, no offense to your friend. I don't even know her and I'm sure she's real nice, but I don't need a fix up. I'll find my own women, when and if that time comes."