Page 12 of Angel Eyes

“Okay, there are two things wrong with that statement. First, bike tours are for everyone. And second, I’m not single, remember?”

“Sorry, wishful thinking. Well, if I can’t stop you, then at least promise me you won’t do anything embarrassing like wear a fanny pack.”

My lips quirked as I reached for a bar of soap. “What’s wrong with a fanny pack?” Ember’s sigh of exasperation was cut off by the sound of the cab driver leaning on his horn and swearing in a Brooklyn accent. “Why are you headed to the Plaza? I thought you said that place was only for stuffed-shirt investment bankers and women who wear houndstooth.”

Her tone brightened. “I’m meeting this guy Declan for cocktails. He’s a CFO in town for a board meeting, and we happened to cross paths last night at a rooftop party in Hell’s Kitchen.”

“I thought you were dating someone named Trent,” I said, my brows knitting as I tried to recall my sister’s latest guy of the month. “He liked English Premier League soccer, didn’t he?”

Ember snorted. “No, that was Levi, and good riddance to him. If I never have to watch another EPL soccer game, it’ll be too soon. He was absolutely obsessed with it.”

“Okay, so who was Trent?”

“Trent was the venture capitalist who lived in Chelsea. Completely OCD, that one. He organized his socks by length and color, Jules. By length and color.”

I breathed a laugh. “Sounds charming. But seriously, Em, maybe you should take a break from serial dating and find a guy you have a real connection with.” My sister went through men faster than Vogue magazines, and while I never judged her for it, I was beginning to wonder whether there wasn’t something more to her behavior.

“Hard pass,” she said, the noise of her surroundings rising as she stepped out of the cab into the bustling thoroughfare that was Fifth Avenue. “I just don’t think I’m the settling-down type. The second a man gets comfortable, he’s swapping candlelit dinners at Jean-Georges for takeout in the Village.”

“Uh-huh.” I climbed out of the tub, wrapping myself in a towel. “And you know this how?”

“Call it intuition.” She paused. “Speaking of settling down, how are things with Kyle?”

I froze on my way to the linen closet to retrieve my hair dryer. “Um …” Crap. I darted a quick look around the bathroom, as though I might find a way to escape this conversation hidden in the crown molding.

“Please don’t tell me that bastard hasn’t called you.” Her voice echoed like she’d entered a cavernous space, the distinct sounds of a piano playing in the background.

“Oh, sounds like you’re in the hotel lobby,” I said as panic crawled up my throat. “Maybe we should talk about this later.”

“Nice try, Jules. Do I need to go give that dickhead a kick in the ass? Because I’ve got a new pair of Louboutin heels that need to be broken in.”

“No, there’ll be no need for any ass-kicking. We’ve texted a bit, but he’s having a hard time adjusting. We had a life plan, you know, and I sort of went off script without consulting him.”

“Consulting him? My God, are we even related?” She expelled a breath, the tap of her heels on the marble floor mirroring the thrumming of my pulse. “Look, it’s none of my business, but I know you. You always put everyone else’s needs first. But loving someone doesn’t mean swapping your dreams for theirs or putting yourself second so the people around you can feel comfortable. It’s okay to choose yourself sometimes, and you don’t need anyone’s permission to do the thing that’s right for you.”

I forced a swallow. “Thanks, Em.”

I hadn’t wanted to admit it, but the tension with Kyle was weighing on me. And, as much as I empathized with how he must be feeling, I couldn’t help but notice he didn’t seem to care very much about how I was feeling. Maybe he had once, in the beginning of our relationship. But now, four years down the line, it was starting to feel like he had lost sight of me in the effort to build us.

When Kyle and I met, we’d both been first-year associates at our firm. We were eager and ambitious with our entire legal careers in front of us. And after three years of law school, being sworn in as attorneys made us feel like we were on top of the world. Our lives had fit together so seamlessly back then, our goals completely aligned.

But what would happen if our paths diverged? Could our relationship survive it?

Honestly, I wished I knew.

Five

Gabriel

Iscanned the roster, then looked up at the group assembled outside of Le Peloton Café. Fifteen people milled around, all waiting to head out on the morning tour, but according to the roster, there should be sixteen.

I blew out a long breath, running my eyes over the list again.

Everyone had checked in except for one person listed at the very bottom. There was no name, just the words female student scribbled in Nora’s handwriting.

“Is anyone here a student?”

Maybe I had missed the person in the cluster of tourists congregated on the sidewalk.

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