Page 100 of Tempting Promises
I stand in front of the guy with a thick New York accent. “Whadya want?”
“Two hot dogs. One with ketchup and sauerkraut and the other with . . .”
Rowan looks at me, shakes his head like he’s shivering, and then turns to the vendor. “One with mustard.”
“Eww,” I say immediately.
“Oh, and ketchup and sauerkraut is a better option?”
I shrug. “It’s better than mustard.”
He hands us the hot dogs and Rowan offers to pay, and this broke girl isn’t going to complain. Then we walk over to the bench in the park. “Okay, take a bite.”
“It’s a hot dog that was in a cart.”
“Soaking in the water all day, getting all the flavor.”
His brows lift and then he sighs. “Okay then.”
He takes a bite and I sit here, anxious to hear. Although, I don’t know why I’m anxious since I’m sure he’ll find something wrong with it. “Not bad,” Rowan says.
“See! The city has hot dogs on every corner. You can literally never be hungry here.”
Rowan laughs and shifts his weight into me. “Eat your gross hot dog so we can go to the next sight you have planned.”
I ignore the jab and eat in pure happiness. After we’re done, Rowan and I take the subway, which is its own experience.
Where I am completely comfortable, he looks like he’s ready to bolt. It’s kind of funny.
“You can breathe,” I say softly, facing him as we’re kind of wedged together right by the door. My hand rests on his chest to balance myself.
On a normal day, this wouldn’t be an issue, but I’m still in these freaking heels. I’m totally getting sandals as soon as we stop. There’s sure to be someone selling them on the street where we’re going next.
“I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”
I laugh quietly. “You look like a tourist.”
“Because I am one.”
His eyes find mine and he stares at me, somethingis different, softer almost. Neither of us smile or speak, it’s as though we’re saying so much when we say nothing. There is a connection between us, one that I can’t understand, but I feel it now.
The train stops and I look up to see it’s our stop. “This is us,” I say, hating to break the moment.
He nods and places his hand on my back, leading me out. We get up to the street and I inhale, forcing myself to return to the light and fun banter we had. I don’t want to think about whatever that was in the subway.
“Okay, I need shoes and we’re going to do one of the most iconic things that we can here.”
He looks over at the Empire State building. “We’re going up top?”
“The observation deck is a must. No matter what.”
“I’m trusting the master.”
“That’s a first,” I say as we walk over to where there’s a vendor.
“You can get shoes on the street?” Rowan asks in disbelief.
“You can get anything here.” I wink and then grab a pair of the slip-on sneakers for twelve bucks.
