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9
The River Cafewas every bit as nice as she’d heard, candles flickering against entire walls of windows, the river glittering between them and the city skyline on the otherside.
Liam had made a reservation, and they were quickly seated at a window table. Nina wondered which favors he’d had to call in to get such an amazing table at one of the best restaurants in Brooklyn on such shortnotice.
She happily agreed when he asked if he could order for them. Liam’s taste in food was decidedly more exotic than hers, but she’d gotten more adventurous — in more ways than one — over the past year, and anyway, Liam had never steered her wrong when it came tofood.
He ordered an Australian Shiraz to accompany the appetizers of steak tartare and foie gras as they talked about Africa, about the school and hospital he’d helped build while documenting the journey for a well-known travel magazine. He didn’t mention the blond, and Nina tried not to think about the picture of them online, his arm around her shoulders, both of them shining with health and happiness as they looked into thecamera.
The main course was rack of lamb served with pistachio pesto and ricotta and Mushroom Wellington, the pastry so thin and buttery it melted in Nina’s mouth. Liam looked in her eyes, watching her face with rapt attention as she told him about her work at the gallery, her friendship with Judith, her blossoming love ofphotography.
She’d forgotten the power of his singular attention, had forgotten how rare it was. In a world where people stared at their phones even when they had company, his focus on her was almost embarrassing. It left her nowhere to run, no place to hide from the power of his blueeyes.
They finished the meal by sharing a piece of goat cheese cheesecake, layers of tangy cheese, lemon curd, guava sorbet, and ginger strudel forcing her to close her eyes as she savoredit.
When she opened them, he was smiling ather.
“See? Aren’t you glad I made you havedessert?”
“So glad.” She’d protested that she was too full for dessert but it was hard to have regrets with the explosion of flavor on hertongue.
They lingered over espresso, their conversation meandering, wandering to Nina’s parents, who had visited the city for the first time since her divorce, to an offer on the table from a major publishing house for a book of Liam’s photographs. She was impressed, but he brushed off her excitement with his trademark brand of humility and humor, saying there were social media influencers young enough to be his daughter earning bigger advances than the one he was beingoffered.
The joke was a reminder of the age difference between them, but she found she no longercared.
By the time they left the restaurant, Nina was sleepy and stuffed. They agreed to take a walk along the river in spite of the cold, hoping to work off some of the food. She tucked her chin into her coat and was moving to put her hands in her pockets when Liam’s hand closed overhers.
Their fingers intertwined instinctively, like no time had passed since they’d last been together. She leaned her head on his shoulder and looked at the city shimmering across the river, the Brooklyn Bridge wearing strings of lights likediamonds.
Their breath emerged in front of them like smoke, but she was warm from the inside out. It was more than the glorious meal they’d enjoyed or the hot espresso. It was Liam, the calm strength of his presence next to her, so different from Jack’s power, an undercurrent of tension that had been both erotic andexhausting.
Being with Liam was like putting on your own coat after wearing a borrowed one: the way it seemed to remember the contours of your body, the smell comforting and intimatelyfamiliar.
They made their way along a concrete path, deserted thanks to the cold, and stopped at a place where the path looked out over the city across thewater.
“I like living in Brooklyn,” she said. “The city looks even prettier fromhere.”
“It seems to be a universal truth that some things can only be fully appreciated with a little distance,” hesaid.
She sensed there was more to his words than a comment about the city. A few seconds later, she felt his lips in herhair.
“Nina…”
She closed her eyes, relishing his arm under her cheek, the wool of his coat pleasantly scratchy against her skin. When she looked up at him, he was staring down at her, his eyes glittering in the light cast from the street lamps on thewalkway.
She turned instinctively toward him and his hands cradled her face like she was a precious jewel. They said they were sorry at the same time, thenlaughed.
Nina shook her head. “It was my fault.I— ”
He put a cold finger against her lips. “Let’snot.”
“I saw Jack for awhile,” she blurted, determined that there be no secrets between them this time. “Last year when you were in Africa. It didn’t work out and it’s… well, it’s really donenow.”
He brushed his knuckles across her cheek. “I don’tcare.”
He lowered his mouth to hers and the world spun under her feet as she closed her eyes, lost in the press of his lips, the slide of his tongue against hers as he explored her mouth slowly anddeeply.
She wrapped her hands around his waist and stepped into him, letting herself sink against the wall of his body, letting him absorb her as his hands slid into her hair. He angled her head, taking their kiss deeper, his tongue becoming more urgent as it parried withhers.
