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“You don’t get seasick, do you?” she asked, stepping to the curb and hailing a cab impressively quick. “Pier 83, please.”
With that slit up her dress and those heels, no wonder she stopped traffic.
“Nah, all good.” His cousin did, though – thinking of Drew made him think of the sold-out cruise. “You wouldn’t happen to know anything about a Hanukkah boat ride happening?”
The streetlights lit the flecks in Nora’s brown eyes as the taxi whisked them downtown. “Oh, it’s way more than a boat ride. Eight hours, under twenty bridges, past a hundred landmarks, completely circling Manhattan? It’s a total Baller. And I’m a VIP for life.”
“You are full of surprises, Ruben.”
“You ain’t seen nothing, Beckman.” Nora arched one perfectly-sculpted brow his way.
Smiling, she pulled her phone from her handbag. “I’m texting them to hold the boat.”
Who was this girl? Other than the name on the top of his hit list?
Her boss had called her one tough cookie and a trailblazer. But ever since Nora had blazed a trail right out of that office party, she seemed a different person. Hedstrom had clearly upset some part of her ecosystem with that speech, and Alex had the feeling it wasn’t the free poinsettia that did it. No, it was what he wastaking.
Who withdraws a promised year-end bonus, two weeks before the year-end?
He’d seen all of Britesmith’s Profit & Loss statements and balance sheets; nothing he recalled to warrant such a blow to employee morale.
Alex took the opportunity to check his phone as well. He groaned inwardly, seeing two missed calls and a text from his uncle.Off the clock, Marty.Although were you ever really off the clock when it was your family business? Even on Hanukkah?
Just remember: we Myers deal with numbers all the time.
Use your head.
Not his Beckman heart, apparently.
Nora’s phone jangled to life in her hand. “Hey, Jay. Yeah…uh-huh. I know…I know.” She gave an eyeroll. “Because I temporarily lost my mind, alright?” He liked that her hint of an accent got a tad bit stronger with the sass. “Long story. Nope. Just two. Awesome.Mwah, love you!”
Alex had read up on the bridges and landmarks and all the amenities of the chartered StarLine cruise ship. And about the communal candle lighting to kick off the party. The Moët champagne towers. The DJ, the live bands. And the food prepared by a different hot-shot chef each year. But nothing about anyone named Jay.
He thumbed a text over to Drew.
Hey scored pass to boat after all. See you soon. Do you know a Jay on board?
Dope! Girls on board SO money!
Drew’s response was almost immediate. And useless. It didn’t really answer the question. Who the hell was Jay?
It was stupid, Alex knew. To be jealous. He barely knew Nora. And what little he did know kept sparking warnings like a roadside flare anyway.Trouble ahead – use caution.
Yet, when he thought of all the ways he wanted to get to know her, the night seemed impossibly short.
Eight hours on a boat was a start.
ChapterFour
Who needed a runway when you had a gangplank?
Nora gathered her dress so the hem wouldn’t catch in her heels, feeling absolutely buoyant as they made their way up the metal footbridge. It practically folded up behind them, not a minute to spare.
She couldn’t wait to see Talia. Jay, she knew, would give her shit and eventually ease up. But Talia would be over the moon at Nora’s change of plans.
Change of brain-wiring, more like it.
“Weigh anchor!”
