Page 51 of Merciless Protector

Wind rushed in and I saw what she’d labeled a railing. It was knee-high with a bar set on top you could hold on to. Shawn went first, and I tightened my grip on his hand. The balcony, if you could call it that, was a two-foot-wide walkway. Though breathtaking in every sense of the word, panoramic views of the city’s skyline captivated me. It felt like we could see the entire country from up here and possibly touch the clouds. We had a view of the world from an entirely new perspective.

Shawn started pointing out things like the Statue of Liberty. It was when he pointed down and I made the mistake of looking that I swallowed my tongue.

“That’s the eighty-sixth floor,” he said. The people looked like ants. Then again, they were nearly twenty floors below us. “How about a picture?”

He brought out a phone before I could protest him releasing my hand. I was sure the wind gust would lift me up, and I’d be done for. His giddiness and capturing my fear in his lens made me want to throttle him until he pulled me close, put his mouth on mine, and all my fears disappeared. I wasn’t aware of how he maneuvered us to capture picture after picture as we made our way around to see everything. He videoed some of it and promised to send me all the pictures.

When we arrived back at the door, I’d almost forgotten where we were. Our make-out session in between kept my fear at bay.

The woman was waiting and offered to take our picture. Shawn easily handed her the phone, leaving my back exposed to the railing. Though I smiled, I could only imagine what my face would really look like in the picture. Then we were back inside, being ushered down the steep stairwell and into the elevator that was waiting for us. When we were back on the seventy-eighth floor, the woman bid us farewell.

“You were afraid, weren’t you?” Shawn teased.

“Abso-freaking-lutely,” I admitted. “Have you been up there before?”

He nodded. “As a kid, but it was cooler being up there with you.”

His gaze pierced deep into my soul, and we were edging toward total PDA in the lobby when Mr. Russell appeared. “I have the documents you requested.”

“Just another minute,” Shawn whispered, a hair away from my lips. Then he was gone, and I took a seat where the receptionist suggested. This was the moment I wished I had my phone. Instead, all I had were my wayward thoughts.

As much as I wanted to see the city, I wanted to work on the heat that simmered between Shawn and me. Then, I remembered that sexual chemistry wasn’t our issue. He’d said he wanted to marry me. But what did we really know about one another? Okay, I’d met his family, I told myself. A lot of couples don’t do that until they are engaged. So there was one check. He’d saved my life on a number of occasions. That was a big plus. We’d had a fight, and it didn’t end in fists, so that was another check. How much more did I need to know? What was the magic amount of time or information about a person you needed to be in love? I could guarantee there were people who’d gotten married who knew less than I did. What really was my hesitation?

“Tayla.” His voice was the potion I needed to pull me out of my thoughts. “Are you ready, or are you still scared?”

I rolled my eyes but allowed my happiness to show on my face. “Ready when you are,” I said.

With his arm wrapped around my waist after hoisting me to my feet, Shawn grinned. “Ready for the rest of the tour?” he asked, mischief dancing in his eyes.

I beamed at him, my eyes surely sparkling with delight. “Show me everything!”

Amid the bustling streets of New York City, my heart swelled with excitement as Shawn, my self-proclaimed personal tour guide for the day, took me to iconic sights like the Rockefeller Center. It was the sounds of the vibrant metropolis that solidified that I was really in the city that never slept.

We made our way to Times Square, where the dazzling lights illuminated even in the day. I marveled at the energy of the busy streets, feeling as though we’d stepped into a movie set.

“I’ll bring you back here at night. You have to see it then as well,” Shawn said with an arm around my shoulder with me tucked tight against him. “Are you hungry?”

The man was always trying to feed me. “I can eat.”

With a mischievous grin, Shawn leaned close and whispered, “Great. I want to take you to my favorite spot.”

Curiosity piqued, I followed him until we arrived at a unique gem—a charming rooftop garden overlooking the city. Twinkling lights adorned the pergola, and an array of vibrant flowers filled the air with a sweet fragrance. But to get there, we entered a building that had painted cast-iron lawn jockey statues that lined the exterior of the building. Inside was filled with antique toys and sports memorabilia that were apparently donated by famous patrons. We were treated as if we were one of them and whisked into an elevator to the rooftop. It wasn’t until after we were seated and left alone that I had a chance to ask Shawn what the name of the restaurant was.

“Are you going to tell me about this favorite place of yours?” I asked as we hadn’t been given a menu or even asked for our drink selection.

His eyes softened as he looked at me. “I come here whenever I’m in town and need a moment of peace amid the chaos of the city. And now, I’m sharing it with you. It’s mine.” My eyes widened. “Well, mine and Connor’s and that grumpy brother of his.”

“You own this place?” I asked for clarification.

He nodded. “We resurrected it. It’s the historic 21 Club if you didn’t know. Been around since 1922. It closed during the pandemic. We couldn’t let it stay closed so close to the hundred-year anniversary. Kalen, that’s Connor’s brother, wanted to buy it because he and his wife had history here.” I could tell there was more story there, but let him speak. “Connor jumped in because they have this cool basement he wanted to use as an underground private club.”

When he didn’t elaborate, I asked, “And you?”

He shrugged, but some of the joy was wiped from his face. I lifted my eyebrow in question, and he finally continued. “One of the few good days I spent with my dad was here. He and his pals came here a lot and when I was old enough, I was brought in like some male passage into adulthood, though I was only sixteen at the time. I got to taste beer and whiskey and even had a cigar until I puked my guts up. But it was fun.”

It was easy to see that he wished he had a better relationship with his dad. “That’s cool. Though promise me you won’t bring our son here at sixteen for the same thing.”

That turned his frown around. “I won’t because we’re having a girl.”

---