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The lobby doors opened, welcoming us into the warmth of a gold and ruby showcase that featured godlike sculptures and enormous works of art. Pillars climbed to the ceilings, reminding me of Olympus. I was finally starting to understand Hale’s obsession with this place as an almost tangible sense of power and possibility drifted around us.
“It feels magical, doesn’t it?”
I stared up at the breathtaking walls and cavernous ceilings. “It really does.”
“Mr. Davenport?”
Startled that someone here might recognize him, I turned. Hale shook the security guard’s hand. “Charles, thanks for meeting us. This is my fiancée, Rayne.”
The guard nodded a polite hello. “Nice to meet you. You can follow me this way.”
We trailed Charles toward an escalator and veered into a bank of elevators. “Where are we going?” I whispered.
Hale squeezed my hand. “It’s a surprise.”
We rode the elevator to the sixty-seventh floor. When we stepped out, Charles paused. “I’ll be waiting right here.”
“Thank you.” Hale released my hand to tighten the lapels of my coat, sliding the buttons through the slits. “It’s colder up here.”
He reclaimed my hand and led me through a set of double doors into a tented area outside of the building. At this altitude, I could hear the wind howling through the alleyways of buildings, but the noise of the city was silent from so many stories above.
“This is it,” he said, leading me down a set of wide steps. “This is where we’re going to say our vows and become husband and wife.”
In the quiet openness, stripped of all luxury and blanketed only by the stars, the space was still an impressive sight to see. Stone parapets and hedgerows lined the perimeter and the spires of the St. Patrick Cathedral speared into the blue night sky.
“Wow, Hale.”
“It’s perfect, isn’t it?”
It was everything he wanted. “Yes.”
“We’ll be standing over here, by the reflection pool.” He towed me toward the edge where a large grassy courtyard dominated the space. “I’ll be waiting here. Our family and closest friends will be seated there and there.” He pointed to either side of the rooftop garden. “And you’ll come from those doors.”
I could see it. Our friends. His siblings. My mom and his. Remington. It wasn’t about the flowers or the architecture for me. It was only about the groom.
“It’s beautiful.”
He faced me and took my hands in his, as he looked into my eyes. “I know everything’s been moving fast and I’ve been putting a lot of the planning on you, Rayne, but everything is going to work out. I feel it. For once in my life, I know—without a doubt—that I’m doing the right thing. You make my life make sense.”
I laughed that he could hold that sort of faith in me, because my life was a complete cluster fuck on most days. How I could make sense of anyone else’s was beyond me.
He placed his hands on my shoulders. “Are you getting cold feet?”
“No, my feet are toasty warm.”
“Then what? I know that look. If there’s something you don’t like, tell me.”
Dropping my gaze, I sighed. “I really thought my dad might want to walk me down the aisle. I know how stupid that sounds. I haven’t heard from him in years?—”
“Hey, that’s not stupid. He’s your dad. Of course you’d want him here.”
Part of me wished I didn’t. Part of me wished I could accept his rejection and reject him right back, but I wasn’t built that way.
His brow pinched as he looked into my eyes, sincerely measuring my pain. “Have you thought about asking him?”
“I tried contacting him.”
“You did?” The shock on his face was tinged only by his worry. “When?”
