“Great. It’s at her family’s hotel. They own the Garwood Inn and Suites, so it should be pretty nice.”
Blake continued on, talking about the event, but all Mel’s thoughts centered on only one thing. His girlfriend was a Garwood. As in The Garwoods of the Garwood hotel chain that owned properties all over the country, as well as right there in New York. They were loaded, beyond rich.
Mel glanced around her meager living room, suddenly self-conscious. Her apartment must seem like a hovel compared to the Garwoods way of life.
When she glanced back at Blake, she felt even more like a fool for thinking, for even a moment, he might have had the slightest bit of interest in her. He was dating a Garwood heir. She was probably lithe, beautiful, and polished with the glow only good money could buy. And childless.
Why on earth would a single man as handsome as Blake, with so much going for him, ever want someone like her? Someone with kids and baggage and an empty bank account.
Feeling foolish, she saw him out, then closed the door and sunk to the floor.
CHAPTER TEN
BLAKE
Blake tried not to think of Mel riding the subway with her kids. People did it all the time, of course. He never batted an eye at children on the subway before. Why should it be any different now?
But over the years, Blake had ridden the subway more times than he could count, especially before his B’s Bikes days, and he had seen enough in that amount of time to know that the subway was one way to get wide-eyed education on the melting pot that was New York City. Still, he swallowed the nagging worry down, knowing it was crazy. Mel was a grown woman who could take care of her own kids. After all, she’d survived four years on her own, hadn’t she? They’d be fine. It was a short subway ride, not a tour of some seedy neighborhood in the Bronx.
He arrived at Garwood Hotel and Suites in mid-town, dressed in one of his expensive suits, his typical attire when it came to social events with Jen and her parents. Still, he tugged on the bottom of his suit jacket as he entered the building, wondering why it felt tight on his skin, like it suddenly didn’t fit. He was well aware of the juxtaposition between how he looked now and when he showed up every morning at Mel’s place, casual in jeans and wondered if she’d notice.
He made his way into the giant ballroom and event center used for a variety of social e
ngagements when he spotted Jen by the back. The event was to start in a few minutes, and it appeared everything was ready to go as he drew near.
Booths with lighted signs lined the far end of the room, toting their goods. The sweet, cloying scent of fried food and sugary treats filled the air. Cotton candy, candy apples, kettle corn, corn dogs, and funnel cakes—everything you could want from an indoor carnival. In the center of the room stood a small carousel. It slowly turned, the colorful horses rose, dipping and diving into the air. Beside it was a fishing game, complete with a little river, with plastic fish and toy rods.
Blake grinned when Jen caught his eye. The kids would love this.
He came up on Jen, who was deep in conversation with a member of the setup crew. “Hey,” he said as he leaned in and placed a kiss on her cheek, startling her.
After she finished her instructions, she turned to Blake and smiled. The red sheath dress she wore fit her slim form to perfection. Giant square-cut diamonds Blake knew were real, glittered at her ears, making her blue eyes sparkle. Her red-painted lips parted into a wide smile as she hooked her arm in his and led him toward some makeshift booths on the other side of the room. Her long legs stretched as they walked, the click of her Louboutins echoing on the gleaming marble floor.
Blake’s stomach squeezed as he glanced down at her, wondering what Mel would think of her when it was so clear Jen came from privilege just by looking at her. Then he shook away the thought. Did it matter?
“I want to show you what we’ve been so hard at work on,” Jen said, beaming. “Of course you have the carnival stuff over there, but here we’ve set up so many wonderful things for the people in attendance.” She pointed to the first tent, flanked with balloons. “We’ve got a representative here from Section 8 housing. He’s going to help anyone who needs it fill out applications and search for available places. Then we have someone here from Medicaid. We’ve got people from Wiseman Employment Agency that helps find temporary and permanent job placings. We have someone from WIC—”
“Wait,” Blake interrupted. Stepping in front of her, brow furrowed, he eyed his surroundings with fresh eyes. “I’m confused. I thought this was just a family event geared toward kids, not . . .” he trailed off as the sign on the booth across from him caught his eye—FREE vision, hearing, and blood pressure screenings.
“It’s a charity event for underprivileged families.” Jen frowned and shook her head as if confused. “I thought you knew.”
Blake dragged a hand over his face. “No. I didn’t realize.”
Underprivileged families? Crap. Mel had no idea, and if she kept her word, she was about to walk in any moment.
He imagined her face when she walked in, bombarded with information from people running the booths. What would she think? Would she take it personally, think Blake was trying to tell her something? Would she be offended?
People started to trickle inside the double doors. The event had officially started, and Blake wished he could crawl in a hole somewhere and hide.
He exhaled, unsure of what he should do, then plucked his cell from his pocket. “Hold on a second,” he murmured, then turned away from Jen.
He listened as the phone rang, urging Mel to pick up. He’d tell her it was canceled, anything for her not to come and feel . . . he had no idea how she’d feel. For how hard her situation must’ve been, she had managed to build a life for herself and her kids. Her apartment, though small, was filled with love and joy. She worked hard at a job she seemed to genuinely like and had finally been rewarded for it. Money may be tight, but she had made it work. Over half of New York was in her position. But she wasn’t underprivileged. He had a feeling Mel may have little, but what she had in abundance was pride—as well she should for all that she’d accomplished on her own—which meant he had to stop her from coming.
When her voicemail picked up, he muttered an oath under his breath, just as someone cleared their throat behind him. He braced himself, hoping for Jen, but when he turned, it was Mel’s amber eyes he saw.
He lowered his phone to his side, tucking it back into his pocket, and swallowed. “Uh, hi.” He weighed his options. He could tell her the truth, that he had no idea and hoped she’d understand, he could make an excuse and whisk her away, or steer clear of the tents and pray she didn’t notice.
Mel’s gaze raked over him before it shifted to Jen beside him. “Am I underdressed?” Then, in a smaller voice, she added, “I thought it was just an indoor carnival.”