“Bailey, …” He still had her hands in his, and again his eyes worked their way straight through her. “I told you. I always have a plan.”
She grinned, and at the depths of her being she knew he was telling the truth. This trip to New York, his time with her, none of it was an accident or by chance. He might want to seem spontaneous, but he had a plan.
Bailey believed that with all her heart.
Seven
HE WAS ASKING HER ABOUT THE REST OF THE CAST WHEN THE driver pulled the carriage to the curb. The man looked like he might’ve been from another country. If he knew who Brandon was, he didn’t let it show.
Only then did Bailey realize where they were. “The Empire State Building!” she gasped. “What a great idea!” They climbed out of the carriage, and Bailey looked straight up. “I’ve never been here.”
“Me either.” Brandon said a few words to the driver about being back in an hour. Then he took Bailey’s hand and led her to the door. His baseball cap was still pulled low over his eyes, the hood still in place. “I decided I’m way too old to have never been to the top of the Empire State Building.”
She loved this, the way he could turn any activity into an event, a memory she would treasure always. “Oh, yes, … way too old.” He walked in and went to the right, where a guard was standing. Immediately the man acknowledged Brandon, as if the two of them had talked before. At the same time, the guy snapped into motion. “Right this way,” he said. He nodded at Brandon and smiled at Bailey.
What had Brandon done? She felt a chill of excitement run down her arms and back. They would have their own escort to the top, was that it? The guard took them to an elevator marked Express. They waited less than a minute, not long enough for the other tourists and passersby to understand what was happening, to catch a glimpse of Brandon beneath the hood or to figure out whether Bailey looked familiar.
Then the elevator shot them to the top of the building in less than a minute. Halfway up Bailey felt a popping in her eardrum. She looked at the numbers whizzing by on the lighted panel. “A hundred floors? We’re going up a hundred floors?”
“No, …” Brandon looked at the guard, and the man winked at him. “Tell her, Joey.”
“We’re going to the 103rd floor, miss.” The man’s accent was as thick as the one Brandon had pretended to have just minutes ago. He waved his thumb at Brandon. “Your boyfriend here called weeks ago. Worked it out with the bigs upstairs. No one gets onto the 103rd floor …” Joey grinned at Brandon. “Except him.” The man lifted his hands and let them fall to his sides. “They just lifted the security ban a few years ago. Even still, only high-ranking officials and government types usually get up here.” He shrugged. “Pays to be famous, that’s what I always say.”
“Brandon!” She squeezed his hand. “That’s so high!”
“It’s a clear night.” Joey smiled. “Should be perfect.”
Bailey wanted to tell him that it already was, that she couldn’t have imagined a more perfect night than the one Brandon had already given her. But the elevator was opening, and as they stepped out, Bailey stopped. Her hand flew to her mouth and she stared at the expanse of city below her. “Brandon …” His name was barely a whisper on her lips. “It’s like we’re flying, like a dream.”
He leaned close and spoke softly near her ear. “Being with you … is a dream.”
Brandon nodded to Joey, who stepped out and to the side, where he took a discreet position to the right of the elevator. He kept his eyes straight ahead, the perfect guard. Brandon had obviously arranged for all of this, the special guard, the ride to the 103rd floor … and now the added safety of knowing that Joey was going to watch over them while they were up here. Bailey felt like a princess, and everything below her looked like some magical kingdom. “I’ve seen pictures …” Bailey walked beside him as they went to the railing and looked out. Her heart raced within her, the feeling of being so high above the city so exhilarating she could hardly draw a breath. “But they were nothing