Page 216 of New Storm Rising
“Yes, Mrs Ambrose?”
“What…what do I do now?”
“Now?” Rising to my feet, I put my papers aside and strode towards her. In front of her, I came to a stop and stared into her eyes with the utmost seriousness that the occasion deserved. “Now there’s only one thing we can do.”
Tentatively, she glanced up to me as I was towering over her. “Yes?”
I fixed my deep, dark eyes on her and, reaching out, gently touched her cheek. “Go on our sightseeing tour.”
Her eyebrows twitched. In her gaze, I could see the intense desire to throw another pillow at me. Or maybe something harder.
Distraction successful!
Before she could notice my scheme, I snatched her hand and pulled her up into my arms.
“Get dressed. We’re on our honeymoon, are we not?” Leaning forward, I caressed my lady wife’s cheek. With a soft sigh, she closed her eyes and leaned into my touch. “It’s time we start acting like it.”
Smiling, she relaxed into my embrace—whereupon I promptly let go and strode out of the room.
“Hurry up and dress,” I called over my shoulder as the door closed behind me. “Time waits for no man!”
“Well, it’s lucky that I’m a woman, then!” came her voice through the thick wooden door. “And as long as we’re trading quotes, how about ‘Patience is a virtue’?”
I did not bother to dignify that horrendous, outrageous lie with a response. Instead, I made my way down the stairs before my wife could utter any more blasphemy. But, despite the atrociousness of her words, I couldn’t keep a small flare of warmth from spreading through the chilly depths of my chest.
That’s my littleifrit. A woman indeed.
Ten minutes and twenty-seven seconds later, a vision of beauty descended the steps into the lobby. Not that I would ever call her that outside of my own head, but…I swallowed, trying to regain my equilibrium.
“Shall we?” Stepping forward, I gazed into her warm, chocolate brown orbs and extended my arm.
For a moment, she stood on the last step of the stairs—then descended and linked her arm with mine. “We shall.”
And, together, we strode out onto the busy New York street.
“So, where do we go first?” she enquired, a bit overenthusiastically. A moment later I found out why. “A five-star restaurant? A theatre on Broadway? An art exhibition?”
Why not just go to a pit of money-eating monsters?
“No. We’re in New York, are we not? To truly take in the jewel that is this incredible city, one should visit its most marvellous architectural wonders.”Which, fortuitously, does not cost any money.“Such as the High Bridge, the Trinity Church—”[46]
“—and the many other places that can be entered without paying entrance fees?”
This was the problem with getting married. Your significant other got to know you far too well.
Half-turning to cup her face, I looked deep into her eyes. “Mrs Ambrose…a true man measures his worth in strength and love, not money.”
She cocked an eyebrow. “You are really amazingly talented at spouting stuff that makes you being stingy seem romantic, you know that, don’t you?”
“Naturally. I am talented at everything. Now let’s go, shall we?”
In answer, she simply smiled at me. During my many travels, I had seen treasures of gold and diamonds, paintings of old masters, famous statues from antiquity and so much more. Yet, right then and there, I could have sworn her smile was the most precious treasure in the world.
I really needed to work on my objectivity before negotiating my next business deal.
That didn’t stop me from tightening my grip on my wife, however. Arm in arm, we embarked on our tour. The following few hours were…exceedingly strange. We did stupid, innocuous things. Together, we wandered through the streets, climbed various tall buildings, ate far-too-expensive sweets, rowed on the river without any particular goal in mind, and engaged in various other utterly useless, time-wasting activities. All the time, every fibre of my being was screaming at me that I could be doing a thousand other, much more productive things. And yet, the whole thing had been…fun?
Was that the right word?
