The Note (Manhattan Nights #5) - Natalie Wrye Page 0,59

whoever that was that was looking for me probably wanted more than a date.”

Drew breaks out into a sloppy grin. “Ah, so the boyfriend does have a name. Noah. As in ‘from the Ark.’”

“No, as in ‘I’ll poke holes in your Trojans if you ever bring up his name again.’” I hesitate. “Now, let’s focus on the guy behind the bar. Did he happen to tell you who he was?”

Drew lifts a shoulder while shaking his head. Killing any hope that he might have gotten anything useful from the conversation with the suited stranger, he lets the shoulder drop with a snort.

“Haven’t got a fucking clue. Just thought I should warn you before leaving. This guy looked like the lawyer type. And if it were me,” he chucks a thumb at his chest, “I’d be thinking about all the things I did to make some ambulance-chaser show up to my place of work.” He bows at the waist, his duty now done. He winks before I can say another word.

“Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got an off-day to enjoy and a box of reasons to enjoy it.” He pats his pack of Trojans.

He nudges me with an assuring shoulder, and in his absence, all I can do is wonder about what I’ve done this time to warrant a stranger in a suit coming to my place of work to see me.

Honestly?

I’ve had enough “suits” to last for a lifetime. But I can’t focus on those. Despite already packing a few items, I did have to head home and get changed.

My “non-boyfriend” was on his way to pick me up.

Chapter 18

NOAH

The inside of my mind is like the city, crazy and crowded, when Caesar pulls to the curb outside of Sophia Somerset’s small Manhattan apartment’s double doors.

The ride to Connecticut is only an hour. But like everything surrounding Jase’s wedding to Mindy, my older brother would like to do it in style.

I sit in the back of one of the black limousines he’s ordered, waiting for Sophia to show.

As the December weather nears the middle of the month, the wind and cold pick up outside the car windows. Fairy lights have already started to appear around the city, shoppers with early holiday bags.

In a set of gray sweats and a t-shirt, I feel comfortably not out of my suited element. That is, until I look up and see my unwilling wedding date standing outside her apartment’s front double doors, a frown on her pretty face as she shimmies down the small front stairs in a pair of glittery sky-high heels.

Rocking a gold sequined cocktail dress on her curvy frame, she starts to saunter up to the limo doors, and I get out immediately, my chest tightening as my eyes take in her figure.

Opening the back door for her without a word, I remind myself that I’m crazy to be so damned attracted to this woman.

But it’s hard when she’s gazing at me like that on the windy street, her hazel eyes hot. A few tendrils from the messy updo framing her gorgeous face and even amidst the evening chill, my skin heats, heart thumping as she nears, her lilac fragrance filling the air around me.

I wet my bottom lip as my mouth goes dry.

“So, is this how we’re heading to Connecticut?”

I nod. “This is how we’re heading to Connecticut.”

And with that she flounces in the limousine. A grim look decorates the space on her pretty face as she settles in, and with a quick tap to the limousine hood, I sit beside Sophia as we head to my brother Jase’s wedding welcome party.

A mere five days away from when our debt on the Luxe building is due, I glance over at my annoyingly gorgeous wedding date, also known as my solution to keeping my brothers in the dark long enough for me to fix this.

And the stunningly beautiful answer to my problems sits quietly there, her whispering voice almost drowned out by Sinatra over the stereo, the sounds of “I’ve Got You Under My Skin” drifting over the elongated backseats.

I listen to her speak.

“You know for a second in that Scottish bar, I almost thought your request was serious. You certainly sounded like it.” She crosses her bare legs under a shimmering gold number. “You’re surprisingly a good liar.”

I take another swig from the coffee I’ve stashed in a nearby cup holder, letting the dark liquid soothe my tongue. I sigh. “Just trying to keep up with you, my dear.