“I’m not sure what happened, but at the risk of being completely reckless before I possibly never see you again, I want you to know that you’re the most incredible woman I’ve ever met. What started as a physical attraction has become something that is new territory for me and something I don’t know how to react to. So if I said or have done anything to make you doubt me, I am sorry. But in full honesty, because that is what I have to offer…I would like to get to know you better. To find out more about what makes you who you are.” I took a step closer. “And why I can’t get enough of you.”
Her eyes sparkled and she bit her lip. “Where were you going to take me for that drink?”
“I didn’t really think that far ahead,” I murmured.
Isabel closed the distance between us. Her wavering eyes were saying something completely different than her body as she pressed against me. “Didn’t you say your apartment was nearby?”
“By the Hudson.”
“Probably a great view,” she murmured.
I gripped her chin and stared at her lips. “It’s astounding at this hour.”
21
ELLE
I wasfamiliar with the recently developed high-rise buildings on Riverside Boulevard. The street wasn’t closed off but it somehow seemed more private. He led me to the last building on the block. A sharply suited doorman opened the glass door for us as we approached, and four lobby attendants welcomed Scott as if he were the owner rather than a tenant. We reached the elevator bank at the end of the lobby and entered an empty car, silently taking it to the top floor.
“The penthouse, huh?” I raised a brow at him.
He chuckled and narrowed his eyes as he led me to one of the two double-doored units. “Would you believe this was the last apartment available in the entire building?”
I shook my head.
“I didn’t think so.” He unlocked the door and pushed it open for me. “It was mostly about convenience actually. I liked the way it was furnished and it had the biggest windows in the entire building.”
Cautious of the delicate dark wood floors, I slipped out of my heels. The apartment was large with an open floorplan. To the left was a modern kitchen with smooth bamboo cabinets, stainless steel appliances which were remarkably spotless, and an elongated island topped with black marble. Just as I’d imagined, the living room had a breathtaking view of the Hudson River and part of New Jersey through floor to ceiling windows. The furniture was dark and minimal, consisting of one dark gray sofa, two lighter toned armchairs, and a cut tree trunk shaped coffee table over a cowhide rug. Even the dining table looked as though it was staged for a magazine.
“You haven’t lived here long,” I observed.
“Two years.”
“Model furniture?”
“I was told the in-house designer spent two hundred thousand furnishing this unit.”
I looked around, questioning what a designer could possibly had spent so much money on when there was so little in the apartment.
“I got rid of a lot of the…extras…kept the mattress though, that alone was thirty grand.”
“That better be one hell of a mattress.”
“Hasn’t disappointed me yet.” A smile tugged at his lips. “White or red?”
“Red, please.” I flushed and turned away.
Scott pulled two wine glasses from the hanging wine rack over the kitchen island and poured into them.
“All joking aside, this is a really nice place.” I walked to the window, taking in more of the view. Who knew when I’d see it again.
He came up behind me, handing over a full glass. “Looks like we just missed the sunset,” he muttered. “Too bad, you’ll just have to come back another time to see it.”
I turned back to face him. “Still an amazing view though.”
“What happened earlier?” he asked after a beat.
I blinked, tensing everywhere at his question. Then held up a finger and took a generous sip of wine.
