“Don’t do that.” With a giggle, she regains her composure and takes a timid step closer to the window.
We stand together in silence, both peering down over the edge. I’m not usually bothered by heights, but at this angle it does make me a little dizzy.
“I always forget I’m up this high.”
“You forget? With this view?” She sounds unconvinced.
I shrug, realizing I probably sound like a pompous ass. “Mostly because I’m usually in my office staring at my computer, or in the gym. But I should probably take the time to enjoy the place a little more, huh?”
She smiles, nodding her head before taking another step closer to the window. I join her, our arms touching with the proximity.
“You want a tour of the place? It’s pretty spectacular, and since it mostly goes unappreciated by me, someone should enjoy it.”
I don’t know why I made the offer. Maybe because I like the company, or maybe I just don’t want to be alone. I spend most of my life alone. Usually, it doesn’t bother me; I can put it out of my head. But this time of year—around the holidays—it gets harder and harder to ignore the loneliness. The older I get, the more I realize life is passing me by while my dream of having a family becomes an even more distant fantasy. I’m not old, not quite thirty-six, but I don’t want to be that fifty-year-old dad at the park, struggling to keep up with his five-year-old.
“I should probably get back to work.”
I chuckle, bumping her shoulder “I happen to know the boss, and I don’t think he’ll mind if you’re a little late getting back.”
She stares at me, an impish grin taking over her lips as she shrugs her shoulders. “Okay then, yeah.”
That’s when we both look down. She probably just realized we’re still holding hands. I don’t let go, continuing to hold onto her as I pull her away from the window.
“Let’s start in the kitchen, it’s my favorite part,” I say, leading the way.
“Oh my god!” she gasps, her hand shooting to her chest as she takes in the panoramic windows that dominate the space. “Is that the—”
“John Hancock? Yeah. Dinner with a view.”
“This is unreal,” she says, her voice just above a whisper. She pulls her hand from mine to drag her fingertips along the edge of the black marble countertops. I stand back, watching her eyes bounce around as she takes it all in. “You cook?”
“Love to cook. Not saying I’m good at it, but I like to experiment in the kitchen.” I’m this close to addingand in the bedroom,but I bite my tongue, reminding myself that not only is Sadie Emmert my employee, but I also have no idea if she’s single. I highly doubt it.
“Me too. My boyfr—ex-boyfriend,” she corrects, and my ears perk up. “He uh, didn’t appreciate my experiments, although he never had an issue with my baking.” She giggles nervously, her eyes darting away from me, returning to the view.
“That’s a shame. Maybe we can experiment together sometime.”
Her head whips around to look at me and I motion for her to move to the next room before she freaks out and runs screaming from my apartment.
“This is my office, where I spend most of my time,” I say, opening the door.
“Does every room have this view?”
“Yeah, three hundred sixty-degree views, which is why it came with the price tag it did.”
We walk through a few more rooms before moving down the hallway toward the great room.
“Wait, so there’s a living room, a sitting room, and now a great room?”
“Technically, the first area was a family room, then a sitting room, and now this is the living or great room.”
“With a grand piano?” She laughs, shaking her head. “I just—my mom would freak if she saw this.”
“Does she play?”
“Yeah.” She nods as she steps closer to it. “And it’s a Steinway!” she squeals, pulling out her phone then stopping herself.
I laugh. “You can take a pic. You can even play it if you know how.”