Sunset In Central Park (13 page)

M
att’s approach was to keep it low-key and casual, and as little like a
date
as possible, and the moment he saw how nervous Frankie was he knew he’d made the right decision.

“Frankie—”

“What?
What?
Do I look okay? You didn’t tell me where we’d be going so it was hard to know what to wear. I’m probably not wearing the right clothes—”

“You look incredible. Can you walk in those shoes? Because we’re going to be walking.”

“Of course I can walk. You’re mixing me up with Eva, whose shoes are like high-rise apartments. You think I look incredible? You like the tunic?” She tugged at the silver tunic and he smiled.

“I hadn’t noticed the tunic, but now you mention it—” He saw her snatch in a tiny breath.

“Oh, that’s smooth.”

“It’s not smooth.” He slid his fingers under her chin and tilted her face to his. “It’s the truth. It’s called a compliment.”

She skewered him with a glare. “Compliments make me uncomfortable. Back off.”

“I’m not backing off. And you’ll get used to the compliments in time. Are you ready? I have a cab waiting.”

A few days before he might have been amused and a little exasperated that she could feel nervous around him when he’d known her for most of his life, but that was before he’d understood how much there was about her that he didn’t know. It wasn’t about the length of a relationship, he realized, it was about the depth. Now he knew she had secrets.

And he wanted her to share them with him.

He wanted to know who had told her she was a D minus.

But right now he wanted to stop her thinking about the evening ahead. He changed the subject as they walked to the cab, recounting a funny story about a client he had met a few days ago who had wanted to plant an instant apple orchard.

“Instant? How can it be instant? Does she think you have magical powers?” The wary look in Frankie’s eyes was replaced by laughter as they stepped inside the cab.

“She saw a picture in a magazine and wanted her garden to look just like that. She’d read that you could buy mature trees, and thought that was all that was needed. We had a frank conversation.” He relaxed back in his seat, glancing out the window as the cab drove over the Brooklyn Bridge toward Lower Manhattan.

“So you told a client no?”

“I listened and then proposed a different approach. I don’t ever take a job that I know is a bad idea. In the short term
she would have been a client but when her apple orchard withered and died she would have been an ex-client, and my reputation would have been mulched along with the apples.”

“And now she’s probably in love with you.”

Matt laughed. “I wouldn’t go that far, but we definitely reached a level of understanding.”

“Where does she live?”

“Maine.” Eventually he was going to bring up the subject of Puffin Island, but not yet.

“So you need to be careful which species you recommend.”

“Because of the cold climate?”

“Cold climate, short growing season and diseases.”

“That’s what I told her.” But it was good to hear it confirmed. Her depth of knowledge always impressed him. “She wants to grow Pink Lady.”

“Forget it. She can also forget Braeburn, GoldRush and Granny Smith. They don’t ripen before the first freeze so they don’t have the flavor. I’d go with Beacon or Snow. Honeygold and Honeycrisp would work, too, but whatever you’re planting you need to prepare the soil and do some significant ground work, otherwise your poor apple trees will be foundering.”

“Noted.”

They discussed it in more detail as the cab wound its way through Manhattan going north and he noticed that when she stopped thinking about being on a
date
she was relaxed. He also noticed that the tunic she was wearing brought out the incredible green of her eyes. Her hair fell in a tangle of fire and flame past her shoulders, and her nose was slightly pink from the sun. “I’m going to talk to some local apple
growers and in the meantime, I promised to come back to her with a drawn-up plan.”

“Victoria has gone. Who is doing that for you?”

“I was hoping you would.”

“I’m already helping with your roof terrace! What do you think I am, a robot?”

“No. I think you’re capable and talented.” He thought a great number of other things, too, things that kept him awake at night and messed with his focus, but he restricted his compliments to her work. “And it’s because you’re capable and talented that I intend to pick your brains about this garden. I thought you could involve Roxy. Pass on some of your expertise.”

Her gaze softened. “I like Roxy. And you’re generous, taking her on.”

“She’s a hard worker and she deserves a break.” He leaned forward and spoke to the cab driver and Frankie glanced out the window.

“This is Central Park.”

“That’s right.”

“This is our date?”

“What date? We’re not on a date.”

The cab pulled up and Matt paid and nudged a protesting Frankie out of the car.

“I want to pay.”

He shook his head and then remembered how strongly she felt about paying her own way. “You can pay on the way home. Alternatively, you could pay me back by giving me help I can’t get from anyone else.”

She waited while he closed the door of the cab. “So you’re asking me to help you with this job as well as the other one? Even if I have the time I can’t advise you properly without
seeing the garden. I’d need to walk around it and get a feel for the place. I’d need to know more about the soil—”

“So that’s a yes? Thank you.”

“I didn’t say—” She made an exasperated sound. “You’re manipulative.”

“I’m a man who knows how to pick the best person for the job.” It was so much more like one of their normal exchanges that he smiled, and after a second she smiled back.

“Paige does that same thing.”

“What thing?”

“That thing where you charm people into giving them the answer you want to hear.”

“You think I’m charming?”

“No. I think you’re superannoying.”

“Are you hungry?”

“Honestly? Not really. Dating makes me nervous and being nervous kills my appetite.” She stopped dead and there was a hint of desperation in her eyes. “I warned you I was no good at this. I’m supposed to be making sparkly conversation and seducing you with my wit and my body, but so far all I’ve done is talked about apples.”

“First, we’re not on a date. Second, we’re in a public place so it’s probably best if you don’t seduce me, and third, I happen to find apples interesting.”

“Matt—”

“Frankie,” he kept his tone patient, “you’re trying too hard. Just be yourself.”

“I’m nervous. Look—” she held out her hands “—I’m shaking. If you gave me a drink now, I’d spill it.”

“I asked you out because I like you. You, not some version you think you’re supposed to be. You just have to be you, that’s all. It’s not hard, Frankie.”

“Me.” She looked unconvinced. “Okay, I’ll try that.”

He took her hand and tugged her against him, keeping her away from skateboarders and horse-drawn carriages. Central Park on a summer’s evening in August was crowded and colorful and they headed into the park, leaving behind the insanity of the city, the bright lights and the blare of cab horns. They passed joggers and tourists, lovers strolling hand in hand, musicians and a bride and groom posing for wedding photographs.

“Wedding alert,” he drawled. “Keep your eyes straight ahead.”

“There’s no escaping it.” She gave a wry smile and glanced up at the canopy of trees. “It’s beautiful. After a week of staring at towers of steel and glass, I needed a nature fix. This was a great idea.”

“I love Central Park. It’s one of my favorite places in New York. When I first arrived here I missed Puffin Island and I used to come here for my dose of green. It’s a place where you can escape from the crazy energy of this city. There’s a bench I adopted as my own where I did most of my studying. That’s the best thing about the park. Finding your own place.”

They strolled along a narrow, winding path, through sunlight and shadow, past borders tumbling with flowers.

“What would you have done if I’d worn high heels?”

“I knew you wouldn’t.”

“How did you know?”

“Because I know you.” Except that it turned out he didn’t know her anywhere near as well as he’d thought he did, or wanted to. And he was planning on doing something about that.

He looked at her and found her looking at him.

He stopped walking and so did she.

The air stood still. There wasn’t a breath of wind, and all sound vanished.

A single strand of her hair curved around her cheek toward her mouth, as if saying
this way.
He wanted to follow those shining strands with the tips of his fingers and explore the line of her jaw with his lips. He wanted to get close enough to count the freckles that dusted her nose. He wanted to pull her in and kiss her, right there among the trees and flowers, laughing children and barking dogs.

It was the last two that stopped him hauling her into his arms. When he finally kissed her, he wanted it to be in private.

He stepped away from her and glanced up toward the sky, trying to act normally. Trying to act as if his blood wasn’t racing and his heart wasn’t pounding. “Did you know you can do bat walks here in the summer?”

There was a brief pause. “Bat walks?” Her husky tone suggested she was suffering in the same way he was.

“I only found out recently. If I’d known, I would have taken my sister years ago.”

A laugh escaped her. “Paige would hate it.”

“It’s a brother’s duty to scare his sister senseless.”

He chose a route that took them along meandering woodland paths, and they strolled through dappled sunlight, enjoying the outdoor space.

For his own sake he steered the conversation onto safe topics.

He asked her about Urban Genie and she told him about some of their more recent business wins.

“We’re working long hours, but somehow those hours don’t seem so long when you’re working with your friends.
Sometimes we’re laughing so much it feels more like one of our nights off.” She related a couple of stories that made him smile, and then she asked him about his business and he found himself telling her about his current dilemma.

His business was growing so fast he’d reached a point where he had to make a decision on whether to expand or turn down work. What he really wanted to do was find a way to sponsor Roxy for training but then they’d be another person short.

“She shows a real aptitude and she’s keen, but that’s not enough. She needs to learn the scientific fundamentals of plant care so she can take on maintenance programs for the clients.”

“She could do classes evenings and on weekends?”

“But she needs to be there for Mia.”

“When I was training there was a woman who took six years to get her certificate. They’re very flexible about allowing you to do whatever fits with your schedule.”

He was surprised to discover how helpful it was to talk it through with her, because usually he made all his decisions alone. It was the way he operated.

They reached Bow Bridge as the sun set and stood gazing at the views of Central Park West and Fifth Avenue, watching as the tops of the trees glowed red in the fading light.

“Sunset in Central Park,” she murmured. “It doesn’t get any more perfect.”

They were standing side by side, close but not quite touching.

He wondered if she was as aware of him as he was of her.

And then she turned her head to look at him and he saw the heat of his own desire reflected in her eyes.

Her mouth was a soft, inviting curve. All he had to do
was lower his head, but he didn’t. He’d made up his mind that by the time he kissed her she was going to want it so badly she wasn’t going to be thinking about her performance.

Instead, he stepped back and held out his hand. “Our table is booked for eight fifteen.”

She hesitated and then took his hand and they walked along the path to the famous Bethesda terrace.

“I feel as if I’m on a movie set whenever I come here.”

He smiled. “Which movie?
One Fine Day, Home Alone 2
or
Ransom
?”

Their voices and footsteps echoed and he paused under the elegant arches, looking toward the famous fountain.

“I’m more likely to think of
The Avengers.
Or that episode of
Dr. Who.
I’m not a lover of romantic movies.”

“Me neither.”

“You’re a guy. You’re not supposed to enjoy them.” She strolled toward the fountain. “Aren’t you going to ask me my favorite movies?”

“I already know your favorite movies.
Psycho. Rear Window.
You’re a Hitchock addict.”

“Why wouldn’t I be? The guy was a genius. You’re forgetting
Vertigo.
I love that movie.”

“You also love
The Shining
and
Alien
.”

“The first one. Ridley Scott.”

“I love his work.”

“He should have won best director for
Gladiator.
He was robbed.” She glanced at a couple who were locked in an embrace by the fountain and then looked away quickly. “So there’s nothing else for you to find out about me. You already know everything.”

Not everything, but he intended to work on that.

They walked along the path that skirted the lake, watching the last glimmers of light play across the still surface of the water.

“We’re eating at the restaurant on the lake?”

“Yes.” He opened the door of the restaurant and she walked past him. He breathed in the subtle floral scent of her and felt her bare arm brush against his.

All evening she’d been the one who was tense, but now it was his turn.

“This is perfect.” She settled into her chair and gazed at the water. “I’ve lived in New York almost all my adult life and I’ve never eaten here.”

“Jake took Paige here a few weeks ago.”

They ordered, and Frankie sat back as the waiter poured their wine.