Secrets of the Lotus. Michelle Garren Flye

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СКАЧАТЬ now was the time to forge ahead and let him know exactly where she stood. “I mean, I’m not looking to land New York’s most eligible billionaire bachelor or anything. I’m not interested. I just got out of a sort of intense relationship.”

      “Good.” He nodded with satisfaction.

      She gave him a suspicious look. “Yeah, so?”

      “So what?” He folded his hands and smiled politely.

      “So what the hell? You know I’m not going to sleep with you and you claim you’ve known it all along, so why aren’t you rushing me back to my apartment?”

      “You don’t get it, do you? You undervalue yourself.” He took her hands. “I enjoy being with you. You’re fun and beautiful and a really good date.”

      “Thanks,” Josie said, and they both laughed.

      “What I’m trying to say,” Dan continued, “is that even though you’re beautiful, I’m in favor of taking things slow because I don’t want to mess up what I think we can have. I want to continue to see you. I enjoy talking to you. I want to be your friend. I want you to go out with me. Besides…” He let go of her hands and sat back with a self-satisfied smile. “You look good with me.”

      “Ha! You flatter yourself, my dear.” She tossed her head. “I’m way out of your league.”

      “Nobody’s out of my league.” A silence fell. “That’s the problem.” He gazed out the window at the Hudson River. “Everywhere I go, there’s another woman ready to throw herself at me. I’m tired of obliging them.”

      He was right, of course. He could have any woman he wanted. In fact, he had. Still, there was a loneliness about him that tugged at her heart. Josie put her hand on his. The corners of his mouth twitched and he turned his hand over, closing his fingers over hers. Even through their gloves, she could feel his strength. She was glad to note her breathing stayed even. She truly didn’t want to find him attractive, and every minute she spent with him she feared she would.

      “So that line would work,” he said, as if to himself.

      “What?” She caught the mischievous gleam in his eye and yanked her hand out of his. “You creep!” She smacked him on the shoulder with her purse.

      “You seem to have plenty of energy.” He leaned forward and pressed a button. “Alan, take us to Riverside Park.”

      “Sure, boss.”

      A few minutes later, Alan pulled the car into a space near the river and Dan got out. Josie followed, grateful to get out of the lush, enclosed space of the limousine that had been making her feel claustrophobic. Or maybe it was his proximity she was grateful to escape. Once outside, however, she shivered, pulling her scarf and overcoat tighter around her neck and wishing she had on jeans and a sweater instead of the thin, silky dress. No one else was visible in either direction along the walk. Josie felt as if they were completely alone. Even Alan was hidden within the dark confines of the limousine, though Josie had no doubt he was watching.

      “Are you warm enough?” Dan sounded politely concerned.

      “I will be. Let’s walk.” She had no choice but to cling to his offered arm, but she wouldn’t have gone back to the limousine for anything at that moment. Between Dan’s slightly overwhelming personality and her own fear she’d be attracted to him, she felt she needed a few minutes of fresh air. The crisp air, the bright stars and the lights of the city reflected in the river combined in an invigorating mix. Josie breathed deeply. “I love the city at this time of year. The Christmas rush is past, the New Year has begun. It’s like the air is full of promises about to be whispered in my ear.”

      “Really?”

      “Well, I’m an optimist, or so I’ve been told.”

      He absently brushed snow from the guardrail until his gloved fingers could curl around the cold iron. “So can I see you again?”

      “This could get complicated.” She fiddled with the end of her scarf. “I mean, what about my job? You realize how much of my column you normally take up, right?”

      “Wouldn’t our dating be more of a help than a hindrance for your job?”

      “My boss might not see it that way,” she said with a shake of her head. “He doesn’t approve of reporters dating sources. Tonight was fine—you got me into the benefit, after all—but if we were seeing each other on a regular basis…”

      She let go of his sleeve to make a vague gesture, waving her hand over the water, and realized too late that releasing her anchor was a mistake. Her heel slipped on a patch of ice. Dan caught her but her weight carried him into a snow bank, Josie landing solidly on top of him. She sputtered and tried to roll off him, but his arms were still around her. She felt him laughing beneath her.

      “Can you blame me for wanting to take you to all my high society obligations?” He held on just a moment longer. “You’re so graceful.”

      She punched him in the arm and wriggled away, sitting in the snow beside him despite the growing dampness. She hoped she wasn’t doing permanent damage to the dress. “If certain people wouldn’t insist on me wearing three-inch heels.”

      “The magazine would probably take you off the society beat, wouldn’t they?” He resumed their conversation as if they weren’t sitting in a snow bank. “Conflict of interest?”

      “More likely they’d want me to give them an exclusive.” She made a face. “I don’t know, Dan. I’m not sure about this.”

      “Are you not sure about me or dating me?”

      “I can’t honestly tell you.”

      “Fair enough.” He was silent for a moment. “Come to dinner with me tomorrow. Tell your editor your personal life is off limits. If he has a problem with it, quit.”

      Josie stood, brushing snow off her sleeves. “Easy for you to say. Not all of us have multi-billion dollar trust funds to fall back on.” She held out her hand. “Come on, you don’t want anybody to see you sitting in the snow.”

      He accepted her help. “I want to see you again, Josie.”

      She could feel herself weakening even as she helped him to his feet. “I’ll think about it.”

      * * * *

      Dan walked her up to her apartment, letting her unlock the door before taking her hand. “It was a good night, Josie Stewart. I hope there’ll be more of them.”

      He didn’t kiss her. Josie realized she’d been waiting for it only after he smiled, gave her hand a gentle squeeze and dropped it. She wondered why she was surprised, hoping she wasn’t disappointed. “I’ll, um, call you.”

      “I’ll look forward to it.” He turned toward the elevator as she stepped into her apartment.

      The message light blinked a red eye at her in the semidarkness. She switched on the overhead light and hit the “play” button, turning to toss her coat onto the hall chair.

      “Hi, Jo-Jo.”

      She СКАЧАТЬ