“I wanted to give it a little time. You’re not the kind of woman I’m used to, Faith.”

She couldn’t tell if that was a compliment or an insult. She wondered what he saw in her at all, besides convenience. Did she have anything in common with his other affairs?

She settled on a ploy of humor. “What did the other women you were with think of your apartment? Were they a little scared of the decorating, too?”

His fingers dug into her hips. “I’ve never brought a woman here. You’re the first.”

Her heart pounded against her ribs. Turning in his arms, she looked at him. “No one?”

“No one. Trust issues.” He shrugged. “You’re the only woman I’ve met in ten years who seems to want me for me.”

How . . . sad. Didn’t people realize a soul-deep connection was ten times more powerful than money and fame? She’d take her new friends and contentment over all the money in New York any day.

Alec leaned in and brushed his lips over hers. “I want to make love to you in that bed. Been thinking about it nonstop since we got to the airport.” Easing back, he smiled. “But I should show you around the city before the party. We’ll never get out of here if we start now.”

Okay. Wow. A resounding ping of happiness hit her square between the eyes. Just an hour ago she was wondering what had happened between them. But now he’d just told her what he wanted, and it was her. Alec still found her attractive.

She would rather stay here in his arms, in the bed they had yet to climb into, than head out and see the sites, but there would be time for that tonight. A little tease to get him excited about their own after-party couldn’t hurt, though. Maybe saying something sexy would keep his mind on her. “Lacey helped me pick out some panties to wear under my dress. I can’t wait for you to take them off.”

He sucked in a breath, and with narrowed eyes trailed his gaze down the length of her as if trying to imagine the details. With a groan, he kissed her deep, pulling her against him and pressing his pelvis into her belly. “What color?” he asked, nipping her lower lip.

Locking her knees to stay upright, she looked into his gray-blue eyes, relieved to see unadulterated want in them. “You’ll have to wait to find out.”

Verbal foreplay didn’t come naturally to her, but she found she liked it. Liked the effect it seemed to have on him. Grabbing her bottom, he squeezed and let go before taking two steps backward and shoving his hands in his pockets.

Watching her mouth, he asked, “Where would you like to go? In the city, I mean. As a tourist.”

She smiled at the nervous tone of his voice, relieved he was unnerved, too. “Where would you suggest?”

He glanced at the bed and sighed. “Statue of Liberty? The Guggenheim? Empire State Building?”

“What about the 9/11 Memorial? Can we do that first?”

He rocked back on his heels. “Sure. I know a great Jewish deli not far from there for lunch.” He held out his hand. “Come on.”

chapter

sixteen

Alec had been surprised by Faith’s request to visit the 9/11 Memorial, but he shouldn’t have been. Someone like her would want to pay homage to the lives lost and pay her respects. That was just the way she was built. Sure, she’d have an interest in fine art or other attractions—she’d be interested in anything—but it said a lot about her that she wanted her first stop to be a place of such terrible loss.

They hadn’t said a word while they were there. Alec had moved to New York a good five years after the attacks on the World Trade Center and hadn’t visited the memorial himself. He’d watched her and the myriad of emotions that splayed across her pretty face before they moved on to walk down the street.

He’d been watching her since the airport. Something was different about her today, and he couldn’t figure out what. She wasn’t one to chat endlessly, but she’d been even more quiet than usual. He wondered what gears were turning in her mind.

Didn’t matter. He liked looking at her. Could do it all day. She was an interesting conundrum and atypical of the female species. Alec figured the day he’d get a handle on her, he’d discover a rash of new qualities to trip him up all over again.

Faith Armstrong was something special. And she was getting to him.

Holding her hand, he walked into the deli he’d discovered his first year in the Big Apple and grinned at Zelig, who was behind the counter. He and his wife had started the business more than forty years ago. The place was still busy as hell. The scents of fresh bread, cabbage, and corned beef hit him at once. Zelig was a large, robust man, but his black hair had grown more and more gray since Alec last saw him.

“Alec!” Zelig shouted, wiping his large hands on an apron. “Long time no see. How are you?” He came around the counter and wrapped Alec in a hug.

“I’m great, thanks. This is Faith.”

“Faith,” he repeated, hugging her, too. “Pretty name for a pretty lady. What can I get you two? Anything you want.”

Faith smiled at Alec and shrugged. “What do you suggest?”

Alec barked a laugh. “Everything.” He turned to Zelig. “Give us the tabbouleh platter with the pita and chocolate babka for dessert.”

“You got it!” Zelig jerked a thumb at Alec and addressed Faith. “This one here can eat me out of babka.”

When Zelig went back behind the counter, Alec found a corner booth and slid into it across from Faith. “Wait until you try their food. It’s an orgasm in your mouth.”

Faith laughed, the skin around the corners of her eyes crinkling. “I believe you. How’d you find this place?”

After Laura’s accident, he’d been wandering around the city trying to ease the guilt and stumbled into the deli late one night. Zelig fed him some chicken soup and sourdough bread, saying nothing about closing time to an obviously distraught Alec.

Alec shook his head. “Don’t remember, but I’m glad I did.”

Her amber eyes told him she didn’t believe him, but she let it drop. “When we walked in, that was the first time I’ve seen you smile or laugh since we landed.”

Observant, wasn’t she? “I have a love/hate relationship with the city.”

Before he could clarify, Zelig brought their order. “The babka’s coming. You want a loaf of cinnamon to take home, too? For breakfast?”

Alec grinned. “That would be awesome.”

With Zelig gone, Alec spread some of the tabbouleh onto a pita wedge and held it up to Faith’s mouth.

She glanced at the tomato, roasted peppers, and herb combination before opening her mouth. She bit down and moaned. “That is good.”

“Told you,” Alec said. “I’d mention the corned beef was to die for, but you wouldn’t eat it.” Not with all the healthy consumption rules she lived under. Now that he knew part of her story, he couldn’t blame her.

“In moderation is okay. Maybe we can try it next time.”

Next time. There would be no next time. They were in New York for one night and then heading back to Wilmington. Where she’d stay. And he’d eventually leave. An ache formed in his gut. Heartburn, he figured.

Like she was so apt to do, Faith changed to a safer subject. “What can I expect from this party tonight?”

God, he wanted out of it. Wanted to take her back to his apartment and drive her as insane as she was making him. Repeatedly. All damn night long.

He loaded more tabbouleh onto a pita wedge for himself. “A lot of people, for one. The publicists and editors will have the press there. After some schmoozing, I’ll read a passage from the book and then do a signing. It’s really an excuse to make the publisher feel important. Drinking, socializing. You know, torture for a writer.”

She grinned. “Should we develop a secret signal for when you want to escape? I could rub my ear and blink three times.”