Page 401 of Not Over You

“Aw shucks.” He bent, capturing her lips in a searing kiss. “For you, Lori, I’ll play tourist every weekend, even if mingling with this city’s myriad visitors makes me want to spork out my eyes.”

“My hero. Oh, this is going to be so much fun.” She rubbed her hands together. “I want to do it all. Climb to the top of the Statue of Liberty, visit One World, the Empire State, Top of the Rock. Go to the High Line. Take a carriage ride around Central Park, then go ice skating. Drink hot chocolate with marshmallows and cream, and eat hot dogs with fried onions, ketchup, mustard, the works.”

“That’s a lot to pack into two days.” His eyes glazed with worry. “Are you sure that isn’t too much? You know, with your heart.”

“I’m fine. Better than fine. At my last checkup, my cardiologist pronounced me super fit and healthy.”

“If you’re sure. Just promise me that if you get tired, you’ll tell me.”

“Yes, Dad,” she teased.

Snagging her around the waist, he yanked her flush to his body. “Daddy kink never has interested me. Now, if you’d like to call me Sir on the regular, that I can get on board with.”

“Sir, yes, sir!”

He groaned, burrowing his face into her neck. “Do we have to go out?”

“Yes. I’ve told you, I’m not letting you distract me with your oh-so-pretty dick.”

“Fine,” he grumbled in jest. “But I’ll be watching you, and if I think you’re overdoing it, it’s game over.”

She pressed three fingers to her temple. “Scout’s honor, I won’t overdo it.”

“You were never a scout. They wouldn’t have let you in.”

“Oh yeah?” Her hands went to her hips. “Wanna bet?”

Zane laughed, his momentary concern fading in the light of her enthusiasm. “If you really want to play tourist, then we should stay overnight in a hotel tonight, don’t you think?”

“Oh, yes, that’d be amazing. Do you think we could get into the Gramercy?”

“I have somewhere even better in mind. If I can’t pull it off, we’ll call the Gramercy.”

“Ooh, where is it?”

He tapped the side of his nose. “Let me make a quick phone call.”

Zane refused to fess up to where they were staying other than to tell her it was somewhere fabulous. She let him have his secrets, too buzzed by the idea of rediscovering the city she adored with the man she adored even more.

Wind whipped around her ears as they rode the ferry over to Liberty Island, and she snuggled closer to Zane, absorbing the masses of heat he pumped out. She slipped her hand inside his coat, laying her palm directly over his heart, and rested her head on his shoulder.

“It’s fucking freezing.” He blew on his gloved hands. “You’re lucky I can’t say no to you.”

“Is that so?” She drummed a finger against her lower lip. “Epic fail telling me that. You know I’m going to take advantage.”

“Take away. If it’s within my powers, it’s yours. I’d give you the world if I could afford it.”

She went all slushy inside, emotions rising into her chest, where they set up a protective ring around her heart. This guy. How had she lived without him for thirteen years? Regrets were pointless, but stopping them wasn’t easy, especially when she thought of all the wasted time that they couldn’t regain.

The ferry docked, and they, along with countless real tourists, piled onto the island. They walked the perimeter and then made the slow climb to the top. They arrived, out of breath and ruddy-cheeked, but the view made the effort worthwhile. Even better was when Zane snuggled his front against her back, wrapped his arms around her waist, propped his chin on her shoulder, and whispered in her ear all the things he planned to do to her later that night.

They caught the ferry back to Manhattan and made their way through the spine of the island. Her feet resembled two blocks of ice, and she couldn’t feel her hands, but the rush of rediscovering her home city made the discomfort of sightseeing in the middle of winter worthwhile. She’d forgotten how awesome New York was, and why millions of people visited all year round, but especially in the lead-up to Christmas when the city buzzed with a vibrancy unrivaled elsewhere.

“I don’t know about you, but I might have frostbite.” Zane pointed to a coffee shop across the street. “How about we duck in there, grab a hot drink and a sandwich, then make the Empire State our last stop of the day? We can pick up on the rest of the things you want to do tomorrow.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

They ducked through several lines of traffic, ignoring irate taxi drivers who leaned on their horns even when they couldn’t go anywhere. A blast of heat hit them as they entered, and the smell of ground coffee and sugar filled her nostrils. Lori sat by the window while Zane went up to the counter. He returned a few minutes later with two steaming mugs of coffee, sandwiches, and muffins. Lori wrapped her reddened fingers around the mug, blowing on the contents before taking a sip.

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