to know is the look on your face when she came through the door.” He wrapped his hands around the cup and Simon noted the prominent blue veins that came with aging. “You and she share the same thing your mother and I have always shared. A current that runs deep, a connection few others get.”
He’d explained they didn’t have a relationship, but he bloody well had no intention of discussing his feelings with this man who’d never evinced the slightest interest in his feelings before.
“Wouldn’t you say it’s a bit late in the day to decide you’re interested in my life?”
“That’s ultimately up to you, but no, I don’t. I can’t change yesterday, but I can change tomorrow.”
Simon didn’t know what to say. He wouldn’t promise anything he couldn’t deliver on and he just didn’t know if it was too little, too late.
His father looked disappointed. “Okay. Will you come back tomorrow, or rather later today, to see your mother?”
“I’ll come back.”
It was the most he could promise.
* * *
“You must be living right. What are the odds of finding a parking spot on a Manhattan street?” Tawny said as Simon eased his father’s aged Jaguar into an empty space within half a block of her building.
“Must be all the poor sods stuck at work,” he said with a slight smile.
Charles Thackeray had offered his car since he wasn’t going anywhere and Simon would be returning in the morning...well, later today. She’d been more than content to ride home in air-conditioning as opposed to running. They’d driven the dark streets in companionable silence, each wrapped in their own thoughts.
“Dad said there’s a flashlight in the trunk. Give me a minute to get it,” Simon said, opening his door and getting out.
Fine by her. The worn leather seats were soft like a glove. It was no hardship to sit on her butt a little longer.
The trunk slammed and Simon appeared at her door, flashlight in hand, the beam of light making the surrounding dark all the thicker. He opened the door for her. “At least we don’t have to tackle the stairs in the dark this time.”
“I’m eternally grateful to your father,” she said, climbing out of the car, Simon’s hand beneath her elbow. He was a thoroughly modern man with an endearingly old-fashioned sense of gallantry.
The street lay quiet, deserted. She and Simon seemed to be the only two people awake in the city. Even the few voices they’d heard when they’d left earlier were now silent.
They walked to the front of her building. “It was nice to drive.”
His teeth flashed white in a weary grin. “It did beat the hell out of walking back.”
Once in the front door, Simon took her hand in his as they followed the swath of light across the lobby to the stairwell.
“I’m not so sure that Dad would’ve offered the Jag if it had been only me. I bet you’ve never met anyone that didn’t like you,” he said as they climbed the stairs.
Tawny felt sure he was talking to distract her from the dark. Even with the flashlight the inky black played host to her worst fears. She focused on the conversation and tried not to think about being swallowed up by the dark.
“That’s not true. For the most part I get along with everyone. I like people. I think that’s why it bothered me so much that you seemed to dislike me from the moment you met me.”
“I’ve never disliked you.”
She snorted but didn’t argue the point. “And Mrs. Hinky doesn’t like me.”
“Mrs. Hinky?”
“My next-door neighbor. But she doesn’t like anyone. Personally I think she’s a bit of a nutcase, sort of paranoid. She’s convinced people spy on her.”
Simon made a choking noise. “Does she live to your right, if you’re facing your building?”
“Yeah.” How did Simon know Mrs. Hinky?
Simon recounted his earlier impromptu flashing on the ledge. Tawny laughed until she was gasping for air.
“Oh my God. That would’ve totally freaked out anyone, but especially Mrs. Hinky....” She dissolved into more laughter.
“Poor woman. I’m sure I was her worst nightmare come to life.”
“I’ve seen you naked and it’s no nightmare. But I’d better go over and explain tomorrow—well, later today—just so she’s not totally freaked out.”
“Probably not a bad idea.” He tugged on her hand to stop her. “We’re here.”
It hadn’t taken them any time. “You sure?”
“Yep.” He flashed the beam onto the number stenciled on the door. “Seventh floor.”
They were quiet walking down the dark hall. Reaching her apartment,