Page 11 of The Cinderella Prince

I didn’t need to think about it. I didn’t even need to ask. So I simply stood up and followed this happy adventurer to where he was willing to take me.

Tristan

To my surprise, Cedric didn’t protest when I took us to the subway. He went along, making conversation about things that had nothing to do with his family and theairlineclient. We left that safely away from our agenda. Instead, hespoke about his previous visit to New York and the museum experience, revealing a profound love for museums. He had majored in history with a minor in art history. He spoke about it while we rode the subway between Hudson Burrow and the Empire State Building.

By the time we reached the observation deck, Cedric told me about his deep love for Goya’s later works, the darkness that entered his life and was reflected clearly in his works. Up there, as the light wind chased away the summer heat and ruffled his hair as much as it did mine, we stopped talking. Cedric gazed out at the glimmering lights of New York City.

Cedric’s full lips moved for a moment before he spoke. “It’s beautiful, Tristan.”

There were a few small groups and a few couples moving around the deck. Up here, there was never any true solitude so long as it was open for visits, but that didn’t matter. We stepped toward the heavily secured railing that provided clear views of the city lights sprawling in all directions. Everywhere we stood and looked out, more of New York City took our breaths away. The East and Hudson Rivers reflected the shimmering of the city lights, and Central Park was a massive shadow with only a few lights compared to the streets and buildings around it, some parts of it even completely dark, others as shiny as any stretch of the city.

“Thank you, Tristan,” Cedric said. “I never saw it from here.”

A gust of wind made my skin prickle as I leaned against the railing and gazed out. “It makes you think. We forget how small we really are, how small all our problems are.”

“Everyone’s problems are the biggest problems,” Cedric joked. “But really, they’re no less serious just because they’re not life and death. If you don’t have to worry about what you’ll eat tomorrow, then choosing the right place to live and thrive is the biggest thing you need to tackle.”

That made me feel better about complaining. I shot him a teasing look, remembering how badly I wanted this night to go on forever. “Keep saying nice things. You make me feel good.”

Cedric smiled something that was almost a wolfish grin.There are so many ways I could make you feel good, his eyes said before he looked away, some hint of restraint returning to the set of his jaw. “What’s your favorite cuisine to prepare?”

“To prepare or to eat?” I asked. “Because you can hardly beat Greek and Turkish flavors, but they’re as much an art as a science.”

“Shouldn’t the same be true of most cuisines?” Cedric asked.

“Probably,” I admitted. “And I suppose that’s your answer.”

“I couldn’t agree more,” he said, his hands wrapping around the railing, fists tightening and relaxing. “Have you ever been there?”

“No.” The answer was curt, but it was cooler than how I spoke so far. I cleared my throat when Cedric allowed the silence to continue. “My family’s not exactly wealthy, but they’re not as broke as me, either. When I was little, they took us to all the big places here in the States. By the time we were old enough…ah, we just didn’t.” My throat tightened just as I hastily wrapped up the story.

Jen. I thought of Jen. It was like plunging deep into the icy water, all the way to the abyss of a frozen lake, and feeling every frosty needle stabbing me everywhere at once. Some things were simply beyond anything I could do, yet my mind loved replaying these things just to torture me.

“You’re such a happy-looking guy, Tristan, but there’s a sadness in you that I can’t pretend I don’t see,” Cedric said softly, shifting to me. He faced me rather than gaze at one of the greatest cities on the planet. He looked at me with those knowing eyes, and I realized why he couldn’t ignore my sadness. You knew it when you saw it, but you only saw it when you knew it. There was more that troubled this man than just some airline contract.

“And in you,” I whispered. It was almost as though a bond formed between us when Cedric gave a single deep nod.

Few people knew my whole story. Roman knew, and Mama Viv guessed enough, but I kept it shut deep inside my soul. They only knew because they wore the same look in moments when they didn’t know they were observed. That distant, wondering gaze of a lost soul that so uniquely said, “I don’t want to talk about it. Or think about it.”

Cedric licked his full lips and looked at me for an endless while.

I was perfectly content standing there with the most spectacular view of Cedric against an endless flickering background, but the compulsion to reach for him was stronger than I could control. “I want to know more about you,” I said.

His eyebrows quirked for the briefest of moments.

“I’d like to know everything about you and that airlinethat sent you all the way across the world,” I said, firmer. That was what I did. I knew it was so. There never was a stray kitten I didn’t take to the nearest shelter or a failed food delivery I didn’t volunteer to fix. “Because it must be a helluva contract if it sent you here to me.”

“That it is,” Cedric said with some hesitation.

“Then tell me, and I’ll help you. Somehow, I’ll find a way to help,” I offered. Or demanded, more like.

Cedric took a step toward me. His body was only a few inches away from mine, his gaze cast down and locked onto my eyes. Those two inches he had on me were significant when we were this close, but I forgot all about it. All I knew was the heat of his body shielding me from the gust of wind coming from the north. “I think I’d rather…” He bit his lower lip softly.

“What?” I asked. Whatever it was, he could have it.

“I think I’d like to kiss you, Tristan,” he said.

No way you don’t normally do this, I thought, my knees weakening under his words. He had such an easy charm and effortless way of swiping me off my feet. Before I decided on it, I had already licked my lips and found myself rising to my toes.

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