I pause midsip. Darden asked the same thing. “Is there something I should know?”
“Nope. Just checking.” He looks away from me and begins to clean up the kitchen.
She walks in the room and rushes up to me wearing a clingy black sweater dress with black heeled boots. She slips on her moto jacket, and when her hand takes mine, I try to forget about the tingle of unease I got from Brogan’s question.
We walk down Fifth Avenue to Seventy-Fifth Street, cross over to the sidewalk, and enter Central Park. Holding hands in a companionable silence, we pass the playground, thenAlice in Wonderland, a large bronze sculpture. Not crowded at this hour, the park is sparsely populated, the trees stark as they stick up into the sky.
We reach the lake and pass the boathouse, then the Bethesda Fountain. “Do you want to make a wish in the fountain?” I wait for her to tell me it’s her favorite place.
“No.”
“Well then, that leaves Bow Bridge up ahead,” I murmur as we continue down the path.
Her hand tightens in mine. “Yep. One of New York’s iconic landmarks.”
I laugh at the glow that emanates from her smile.
“Is that your favorite place in New York?”
She nods. “Cliché, right? Made of cast iron—the second-oldest one in the US—it’s the crown jewel of the park. The shape is a cupid’s bow. I mean, come on—how cool is that? Doesn’t it make you gooey?”
“No.” I snort. “I mean, yeah, I appreciate how old it is, the style.”
She nods. “Victorian, Gothic, and Renaissance styles. Plus you have the Manhattan landscape. Where’s your favorite place, then?”
“No clue.”
“Come on; you must have one!”
“Hmm, maybe the stadium? I won three Super Bowls there.” I take in the couples on the bridge. “Don’t people propose here a lot?”
“There’s no ring in my pocket, so don’t freak,” she says with a smirk. “Let’s get to the center and look out over the lake. I love the walkway, the way it slowly rises up. It’s like a surprise at every step.”
“Jesus. You are really, really silly,” I say teasingly as I kiss her hand clasped in mine.
“Growing up, I always dreamed of seeing the landmarks here. This oneismy favorite. Our city is full of grit, but here’s the heart.”
“Hmm.”
We gaze out at a boat paddling by, and my arm goes around her.
She looks over at me, and our eyes cling. Hers are full of uncertainty. Questions.
I touch her face. “Hey. I like your favorite place. It’s cool. I get it. Our city has magic. New York gets dinged for crime and scandals and homelessness, but it’s home. Yours.”
She lifts her hand, her fingers carding through my hair. Her words are shy. “And it’s where I want you to kiss me.”
Warmth fills my chest as I turn her to face me and press my lips to hers. “You and me, little princess. Kissing on Bow Bridge.”
Chapter 15
FRANCESCA
I check my appearance in the mirror. My eye shadow is shades of gold, my lashes long and thick. I pivot for a side view—my tiny bump barely noticeable in a red miniskirt and a cropped pink sweater with a fuzzy red heart on the front. I smile, pushing down my anxieties.
It’s celebration tonight. For two things. One is Valentine’s Day, and the other is Darden, although he doesn’t know it. I step out of Tuck’s master bath and into his bedroom. He’s already gone out to the den, and I pick up the room, folding my clothes I washed earlier. We barely spend time apart. Either I’m here, or he’s at my place. Sometimes we go to the loft when we want time away from Jasper.
My gaze snags on the selfie I printed of us at the Bow Bridge, taken with his phone. Our faces are next to each other, and we’re laughing. We look like cheesy tourists, and it makes me smile—until my throat tightens. The night before at the loft, I planned to tell him about the baby—even attempted it twice but pulled back as I realized he needed to vent. He shared his insecurities, and I couldn’t pile more on top when he was being so vulnerable. Besides, I always had the next day. Only the next day was at Bow Bridge, and we were so happy I decided to wait until the next day.