but up close, she did not look like a cake topper at all. Cake toppers were made of plastic and wore generically bland expressions.
This woman’s face was the opposite of generic. It cycled through a rapid-fire slideshow of emotions: confusion gave way to annoyance, and there was still a touch of that entitlement he’d seen earlier. It got his hackles up. She had dark blue eyes fringed with eyelashes so long they looked like cartoons—like someone had drawn them on with a Sharpie—and full, pink lips that also looked kind of cartoonish in the way they formed a heart on top.
It was good she was so snooty underneath all that beauty. That made it easier to say, “Did you not notice that the ‘Off Duty’ part of my sign was lit up?” He pointed to the ceiling.
“It was?” The entitlement slid off her face. It was very satisfying.
“Yeah. We’re headed home, so if you’re on our way, we’ll take you.”
“I’m going to the North Cove Marina.”
“In Battery Park?”
“Battery what?”
“Park?”
“Well, I’m getting on a yacht on a pier in the North Cove Marina. It’s down around the tip of Manhattan. Is that Battery Park? You should be able to take FDR Drive around, and it should take twenty minutes. Exactly twenty minutes—that’s not me rounding up or down.”
“That might be true if FDR Drive was open.”
The cascade of emotions continued: dismay, panic, and, he was pretty sure, outright fear.
That did something to him. Whatever this lady’s deal was, she apparently really needed to get to Battery Park.
“FDR Drive is closed?” she whispered.
“Yep. For resurfacing. Between here and the Manhattan Bridge.” When she didn’t say anything, he added, “So you’ll have to go straight across, which, this time of day, will probably take you at least forty minutes.”
She looked at her watch. It was big and chunky and seemed out of place with the fancy, poufy dress she was wearing. She blew out a staccato little breath, like she was steeling herself for something, and turned to him. “I so appreciate you stopping for me. I will pay you any amount of money you name if you will get me to the North Cove Marina by seven o’clock.”
He barked a laugh. Any amount of money he could name? Maybe four hundred bucks so he could take Gabby to the doctor to talk about her period? Or, no, maybe whatever amount it would take to hire a shrink for him so he could talk about Gabby’s period?
Or maybe just thirty-five bucks for a case of Moretti.
“Of course we’ll take you,” Gabby said from the back seat.
The woman turned to the serious man, who was still frozen half in, half out of the car. “Really, Mr. Benz, there’s no need for either of you to come. I’m getting on the boat by myself anyway.”
Mr. Benz looked like he was going to object, but the woman lifted her chin a good two inches, turned to Leo, and said, “It will just be me, thank you.” Then she turned back to her companions and said it again, more emphatically. “Just me.”
That last “just me” sounded like an order, but it also sounded like maybe this woman wasn’t in the habit of issuing orders.
“You can sort out the car service and send someone to pick me up,” she added in a mollifying tone.
The man’s nostrils flared, but he backed away from the car. “I must insist on collecting your name and contact information,” he said to Leo.
“Hang on, now.” Leo wasn’t really sure what was happening. He had not agreed to take this woman to Battery Park. If he did that, it was going to be three hours before they got home. They had maxi pads to buy and pasta to eat. And the mutt was going to need to pee—Leo had only been going to pick up Gabby and Max from the play, dip down for a quick architecture tour/sibling bonding sesh, and head back home. Dani would be home soon, and she would start worrying about the damn dog.
Which with anyone else Leo would give a fuck about, but they needed Dani. She was the closest thing they had to family.
The woman with the not-plastic face looked at him and said, “Please.” She whispered it so quietly, he was pretty sure Gabby couldn’t hear. Certainly her dude-posse outside the car couldn’t. And after she said it, she bowed her head and covered her face in her hands. Almost like she was already giving up.
Shit.
Damsels in