It was a chilly, fall day when I met Griffin Anthony Boyd.

My father had a trip to New York planned for my sister, Beth. She’d just gotten her business started (that he invested in and pretty much owned) and he was quite proud of her for following in his footsteps.

Mind you, I’d won many awards for my art at the gallery. I received money for my work, won Best Poise trophies and ribbons for my dancing. I was an artist in the truest of forms, but they couldn’t respect that.

Apparently I was only a starving artist to them, constantly being told that getting awards isn’t the same thing as getting money. Like my pig of a father always said, “If it doesn’t bring in the dough, it isn’t worth jack-shit.”

We were eating dinner, Dad arrogantly boasting about Beth as she smiled behind her glass of fine red wine. She’s three years older than me, which mean she was twenty-five when she finally got her business up and running. Another link to Dad’s heavy pockets.

“Why can’t you be like your sister here, Colette?” he asked. “Why can’t you work with the numbers? Make some real money.”

I narrowed my eyes across the table. “I’m not Beth. I’m not going to pretend to be passionate about something just to make you happy.”

Beth rolled her eyes. “Sounds like someone’s jealous.”

I scoffed, dropping my fork. “I’m jealous? Please, Beth, tell me. What the hell is there to be jealous of? Being miserable about your new job?”

She laughed. “I’m far from miserable. The money will be terrific. Unlike you I will be able to take care of myself and make a decent living, travel the world if I please.”

I thin my eyes at her. “Yeah, because money is all that matters.”

“Um, in this world, Colette, it is. You think we would even be on this ferry, in this private section drinking this expensive wine and eating our expensive dinners, if we didn’t have the money? No,” she shook her head, “you live in a fucking fantasy, sis. You should get the fuck over that right now. Grow a pair and step up in this world or someone will always be taking care of you… and it won’t be me.” She rolled her eyes. “Besides sleeping with a relative’s boyfriends, how else will you be taken care of?”

She’d pulled the last straw. I hated Beth, I really did. With a passion. I’d always wanted to pull her hair out, destroy her oh-so-pretty face. Crush it with whatever I could, like the knives and forks that sat in front of me on top of the table,

“Girls, girls,” Mom butted in, but I ignored her mellow reaction, shoving from the table. I looked at Dad, but he only looked at me and shrugged. “Beth has a point, Coley,” Mom murmured.

“Don’t call me that,” I spat, and then I stormed away. She was just as bad as them. She didn’t deserve to call me by my childhood name because a childhood name held respect. They had no respect for me.

So, yes, I did sleep with Beth’s boyfriend. Like the guilty rat he was, he went and told her even though he knew she was sleeping around on him too.

She only stuck with him because he was a rich guy but as soon as she found out about his sexscapde with me, she immediately dumped him, not even giving him a chance to explain or even let him talk about finding out about how she cheated. She kicked him out, and I haven’t seen Stan Michaels since.

Maybe I was being a little slut… and maybe I was a little too drunk. But who cares? She sure as hell didn’t. She just wanted a reason to dump Stan and she got it through me.

I needed to get as far away from my family as possible. I was truly fed up. I walked through the dining room, finding the exit and swinging the door open. I felt people watching me, all probably wondering what the hell my problem was. I didn’t care.

I took a look around the deck I was on. Empty, just the way I needed it to be. No distractions. No interacting. Just quiet.

I looked ahead, spotting the beautiful layout of New York City. The lights twinkled like stars in the night sky, towers lurking above, almost like guardians of the metropolitan area. There were a few clouds above it, but it was normal to see up here.

Walking towards the handrails, I gripped them, and the coolness settled my heated palms. The breeze drifted by my bare shoulders. It didn’t bother me. I needed to cool down.

It wasn’t until several minutes passed when I felt eyes on me. I didn’t know whom they belonged to. I figured it was one of my family members, maybe Mom, who was always so overprotective. But the heavy, permanent feeling on my backside didn’t feel familiar. I know it sounds weird, but it was different this time.

It weighed me down, so much that I felt uncomfortable. I looked over my shoulder rapidly, spotting a guy cleaning off the tables.

He wore a black vest over a cheap white button-up shirt. His brown hair was smoothed back and gelled to perfection. And as he collected each dirty dish on the table by the window, I couldn’t help but admire the mystery in his eyes.

There was darkness.

Sadness.

Gloom.

But on the bright side there was also amusement and curiosity. His eyes were soft but hard, if that is even possible. They pierced right through mine, and I felt fire immediately creep from my belly to my throat.

My cheeks blazed with that same ferocious fire and as he dropped his bin of dirty dishes and started marching towards the door, I spun around, facing forward, my heart galloping like a wild steed.

The door squealed on its hinges as I heard it open. And then it clicked shut, proving that he was now outside. My teeth started to chatter, and suddenly I felt vulnerable and cold.

His steps were measured and slow, and when he finally stood by my side, I released the heavy breath that was trapped in my lungs.

Through the corner of my eye I could see him looking towards the city as well. I pretended not to be bothered by his presence, but I couldn’t help but wonder what the hell he was doing out here in the cold with the crazy-ass girl wearing a long, halter top dress. I was freezing my ass off, and I knew he was too.

“Cold, huh?”

I swallowed hard, avoiding his eyes. “Yeah.”

“I love nights like this.”

“Me too,” I agreed.

I felt him look at me and shift a bit. “Mind if I ask you a question?”

I wrapped my hands tighter around the railing, the sway of the boat settling some of my nerves. “What’s that?”

“What are you doing out here? I love nights like this, don’t get me wrong, but without a coat or anything it feels like we’re on top of a fucking iceberg,” he laughed.

“You didn’t have to come out here,” I retorted.

“That’s true,” he said, sighing. “But I wanted to.” I finally looked at him, and his bright brown eyes caught and held mine. A smooth smile stole his lips when he finally got me. “Ah, there she is. What’s wrong?”

My lips twitched as I fought a smile. Silence filled the gap between us, and when I realized he was just a complete stranger, someone I would probably never see again, I spilled my truths. “I just needed to get the hell out of there. My family is a fucking joke.”

“Are they?”

“Yes.”

“What happened? If you don’t mind me asking.”

I could have told him the truth, about sleeping with Beth’s boyfriend and all, but I didn’t. Come to think of it, I still haven’t to this day. “They adore my sister more than me. They think what I do is worthless just because it doesn’t involve me wearing an expensive tailored suit and traveling from city to city to handle business deals.”