He leans in, his elbows resting on the table. He’s as close as he can get with Pierce between us. “That’s why you’re here.”

“Good choice.” Somewhere along the way, I learned to fake confidence, too.

“If you don’t mind, I think we’ll be going,” Pierce interrupts our exchange. “We have some work to do yet tonight.”

“Just work?” Wade asks, lifting a brow.

“Just work.” Pierce stands. His shoulders are stiff, and I can tell that even though this hasn’t been so bad, he’d rather be anywhere but here.

“Well, it was good seeing you again.”

As Wade walks us out, his assistant hands us a carefully put together itinerary for the next few days. It’s so thorough that I’m surprised it doesn’t tell me when I’m going to get to use the ladies’ room.

“Remind me again why I agreed to do this with him?” Pierce asks as we climb into our waiting car.

I stifle a laugh. He was so nonchalant about this before we left Chicago, but in reality, Wade crawls under his skin like a blood-sucking insect, eating away at him until he can no longer ignore it. “I think it had something to do with money. Lots of money.”

“Next time, remind my forgetful ass that he’s not worth it. I need something to drink. Would you like to join me?”

“Give me one reason why I should.”

“Because I asked you to … because I want you to.”

I’m tempted to look over at him, but I can’t. Not when I already feel his eyes burning into the side of my face. I know exactly how he’s looking at me—the same way he does when we’re alone. And, after what happened in the elevator earlier … I just can’t.

“Can I take a rain check?”

“No, but I’ll compromise.”

I chance a look in his direction. “A cup of coffee?”

He shakes his head. “That’s not going to cut it tonight.” He pauses, his deep green eyes staring into mine. “One drink in the hotel bar then if you want to go to your room, you can go.”

“You’re kind of pushy.”

“And you’re kind of beautiful.”

I snort. “Kind of?” Oh my God, I can’t believe I just said that.

The look I tried so hard to avoid minutes ago is there—eating away at my conscience resolve. “Lila, I don’t think you can handle the weight of my thoughts. If you want to skip drinks, we could discuss them.”

“Drinks sound good,” I answer back quickly, rubbing my fingers together to control the nervous butterflies in my stomach.

He laughs.

The rest of the ride is quiet. The day is winding down as the city’s business people make their way down packed sidewalks. We barely move, but as long as it’s quiet, I could sit and stare at the view for hours.

But then my mind flashes to the past. It’s been doing that a lot the last few months when it has nowhere else to go. I hate thinking about it. Even though some things were good, my mind has a way of focusing on the bad. Chicago wasn’t an escape for me; it was just another stepping-stone in the journey of life. Love and hurt and everything in between—it just follows you wherever you go.

Warm fingers curl around my bare knee. I flinch, but then reality comes into focus again. “We’re here.”

We’re at the same hotel we stayed at last time. Memories emerge, but I bury them. This time is different.

“Do you always stay at the same place?” I ask, chewing on my lower lip.

The driver pulls his door open, but his eyes remain on me. “I’ve only had one bad experience here.”

His eyes linger. Mine are stuck to them. “Why would you want to come back?”

“Because I think everyone deserves a second chance.” With that, he slides out of the seat, holding his hand out to me. I take it, leaving our fingers entwined as we walk up the sidewalk into the hotel I fell in love with last winter. Nothing about it has changed except for the way I feel once inside. There’s no shock and awe … just memories.

Pierce uses my hand to pull me to his side. “Do you need to change, or should I have someone bring our bags up?”

“It’s just one drink, Pierce. I think I can handle it in this.”

He turns, acknowledging the older gentleman who’s handling our bags. “Can you make sure those make it up to our rooms? The red one belongs to Ms. Fields, and the other is mine.”

“Sure thing, Mr. Stanley. Anything else I can do for you?”

“No, and thank you,” he says, passing the man a couple twenties he had rolled between his fingers.

He guides me to the right where a dimly lit restaurant sits, piano music faintly echoing through the doorway. It’s the same one we had dinner in the last time we were in town. “Would you rather sit at the bar or get a table?”

“Bar,” I answer without hesitation. If we do everything the opposite of how we did it last time, the results should be different, right?

We take the last two seats at the bar, each ordering a glass of red wine. Pierce defies my wish for drinks only, ordering a caprese salad for us to share.

“I agreed to a drink, Pierce.”

His lips curl. It’s so hard to stay mad at him when he does that. “What kind of guy would I be if I gave you alcohol, but didn’t feed you?”

“Let me think … one who stuck to his word.”

“Nope,” he says, holding a fresh piece of mozzarella close to his lips. “An asshole.”

I follow his lead, taking a bite of tomato and cheese all at once. “I didn’t realize how many assholes I’d met in my life until you just defined them for me.”

“If I had it my way, you’d never have to deal with another.”

There he goes again, laying it on thick. I put my wine glass to my lips, remembering what he did to them earlier. One side of my brain is telling me it would be okay. He’d never hurt me like Blake, not intentionally. But the other side—the one I’ve chosen to listen to—is telling me he could tear down the cage I’ve put around my heart.

Love feels so good but hurts so bad. If I didn’t think I could love him, the only question would be his room or mine.

Pierce is worth more than one night.

“Weren’t we supposed to go check out the hotel building tonight?” I ask, desperately trying to change the subject.

“Shit,” Pierce mutters under his breath. “If we can’t do it tonight, I’m afraid we won’t get to without Wade around, and you know how that goes.”

“Do we have time yet tonight?” I ask, enjoying yet another bite of salad.

He looks at his watch and signals to the bartender. “It’s only a couple blocks from here. We can walk.”

I look down at my four-inch heels and shrug. I’ve put miles on them before.

After charging our drinks to his room, he grabs my hand again, and we start down the quiet street. The sun is setting over the horizon, and I wonder what it would look like if we were near the ocean right now. I’ve always wanted to see the sun set over the ocean.

“Have you ever watched the sunset over the ocean?” I blurt as we cross one of the many busy streets.

“I’ve seen it a few times. Why do you ask?”

I shrug, trying to keep pace with him. “I’ve only seen it in pictures. I’ve always wondered if it looks even better in person.”

He stops suddenly, coming to stand in front of me. “You’ve never seen the sunset over the ocean?” he asks.

I shake my head, feeling slightly embarrassed. I’m not a world traveler, and just being in New York is a big deal to me.

The corner of his mouth turns up, and his eyes glimmer the way a little boy’s would if he were about to create mischief. “We’re not going to worry about the 5th Avenue project tonight.”

“But—” Before I can continue, he’s on the curb signaling an available cab down the street.

“We can run there tomorrow, but I have other ideas for us tonight.”

I slip into the waiting cab, watching Pierce follow. I’d argue, but I learned a long time ago that it doesn’t get you far with Pierce Stanley.

I sit quietly, watching parts of New York I’ve never seen go by. Maybe when this project is over, I can come visit with the sole intention of exploring—trying different restaurants, walking through museums, seeing all the different neighborhoods. From the little bits of it I’ve seen, New York is full of inspiration.