A Prior Engagement (11 page)

He stepped forward, pulling her against his chest and buried his nose into her hair again, something he couldn’t get enough of. His strong arms slid around her body and held her close. His first thought was she smelled delectable. His second was that she wanted to spend more time with him despite their differences. Holding her tight, he hoped it showed her how much he wanted to be with her as well.

Enjoying the smell of him, she rested her cheek on his chest. As she wrapped her arms around his body, she worked on the adjectives that best described his smell to her, but the only one she could think of was delicious. She rolled her eyes at her thoughts, knowing she sounded silly, but it was true; maybe delectable worked also, but either way, he smelled really good.

He pulled back, breaking their embrace, but took her hands and clasped them together with his. “Do you still want to slum it with me on Monday?”

“I definitely want to slum it with you on Monday if you won’t hold all of this . . .” She pointed behind her. “. . . against me?”

“You can’t help that you’re rich, so I won’t hold it against you.” They both laughed, and then he said, “I’m gonna go from here if that’s all right. I think you’ve learned more about me than you should have at this stage in our relationship.” He handed her bag back to her and shoved his hands into his pockets as she pulled her sweater closer to her body once again for warmth. “Goodnight, Evie.”

“Goodnight, William.”

Chapter 9

Sunday afternoon William rode down Park Avenue, one of the wealthiest streets in Manhattan. His mind wasn’t on the impressive buildings on either side of the tree-lined street, but on Evie—the pretty girl who lived on it.

His body was weary today and he checked his watch. Another four hours and he could collapse into bed and sleep some more. Last night, he was restless with thoughts of Evie. Memories of the feel of her hand in his, and a few images of her lying in his bed wearing nothing but that freed bird, kept him from deep sleep.

William also got whiffs of her perfume every now and then and his whole body seemed to react to it, keeping him more awake than he liked. He already knew that girl was going to drive him crazy, so he pushed his face into his pillow, accepting that fact and fell asleep.

The morning came too fast, and he was tired as he started his shift. While delivering packages throughout the city, he remembered how he had vowed never to be ashamed of his roots. It was easy to lie in Manhattan because everyone seemed to be from somewhere else, but he was always proud to claim Staten Island as his home and that wasn’t going to change now. He would show her his roots and hope she accepted him.

When she walked into Professor Lang’s class on Monday, she was giddy and a little goofy, very un-Everleigh like, feeling more Evie these days. She found a seat and started to gnaw anxiously on her pen.

William walked in, squeezing ahead of slower students anxious to find Evie. When he spotted her, he took the stairs by two and shuffled down the row. Sitting down next to her, he leaned over, and said, “I was looking forward to seeing you.” His voice was a whisper making sure no one else was listening. “But even more to tonight.”

“Me too.” She giggled, but kept her voice low.

William saw the chewed pen resting against her bottom lip, and felt the need to remark. “I thought you of all people had more respect for pens than that.”

He was staring with a raised eyebrow, which made her remove the pen and look at it. “Oh this? I was nervous . . . or excited, maybe a little anxious.” She set the pen down on her notebook and looked at her hands in her lap instead, knotting her fingers together to distract her mind from the pen.

“I hope that’s because of me.”

Every hair on her neck stood on end and she tried to keep from kissing him right there in the middle of Professor Lang’s British Literature for Majors class. She took a shallow breath trying to regain her composure while he leaned back, sliding down in his seat to get comfortable. She didn’t say anything because she didn’t need to. They both already knew the answer.

Evie didn’t take as many notes as usual and William noticed she had random doodles across the pad in between the notes she was taking. His hand wandered over to her pad and he wrote,
a little distracted today?
She was embarrassed and couldn’t hide her emotions from him. She felt so immature and frustrated that she shut her notebook and sat back to listen to the professor.

William saw that he either embarrassed or annoyed her. He wasn’t trying to do that at all. He thought it was cute she couldn’t hide her emotions. He touched her forearm where others couldn’t see. “I’m sorry. I’m also a little distracted today.” She liked that he reassured her and exposed his feelings to equal hers. When they left the building after class, he asked, “If you still want to meet me tonight, I can meet you at your place?”

Smiling at him, she hit him playfully on the arm. “Of course, I still want to go, but let’s meet somewhere else.”

He adjusted his bag from sliding off his shoulder then ran his hands through his hair resting them on the crown of his head. He was hoping to be a little more official tonight and meet at her place and go from there. He was now worried she might be embarrassed of him. He struggled to answer her, but rushed out a suggestion anyway. “Um . . . let’s meet at Pizzeria La Cucina at eight.”

“Yes, that’s perfect.”

Watching her walk away, he said, “Bye.”

Evie spent her afternoon writing an essay she hoped would get her into a summer class that Professor Lang was offering to a small, select group of students. After printing it out and tucking it into her bag to turn in on Wednesday, she showered. The warm humidity had frizzed her hair earlier, and she spent a few extra minutes trying to manage the waves that had appeared. She liked the soft natural waves, but with everyone else’s disapproval of the wilder look, she was usually instructed to straighten her hair.

As she was trying to decide what to wear when going out with a new friend, she remembered how William said he liked when girls wore skirts, but equally liked a girl in jeans. He had seen her plenty of times in skirts, so she decided to dress more casual, like he did. She found her most worn out pair of jeans with frayed spots on the legs and cuffs at the bottom—a pair she adored, but kept hidden in the back of her closet. She put a simple white V-neck T-shirt on that hugged her curves and slipped on a pair of white sneakers. They were too bright white for her liking since she’d never worn them before, never having an occasion to before tonight. After some simple make-up, she sprayed her signature scent on and grabbed a short black cardigan because it was still chilly at night.

She almost made her escape undetected, but Audrey saw her and stopped dead in her tracks, stunned by her sister’s appearance. “What are you wearing?” She asked, blurting it out.

Feeling self-conscious, Evie crossed her ankles and slid her hands into her front pockets. Sensing how uncomfortable her sister was, she clarified. “I mean you look amazing, Sis. Where are you going?” She was surprised her sister actually looked her age for once, instead of always being perfectly put together.

Appreciating the approval from her younger, and much hipper sister, Evie smiled. “I’m meeting a friend from school. We’re going to blow off some steam from all of the studying we’ve been doing.”

Audrey lost interest as soon as school was mentioned, and tuned out the rest. She walked back toward the kitchen and waved over her shoulder. “Have fun and I’m so borrowing your outfit soon. Those jeans are hot.” She disappeared into the kitchen, letting the door swing behind her.

Evie left the apartment in a hurry, almost feeling as if she was sneaking out. As soon as the elevator doors opened into the lobby, she ran out. “Hi, Walter. Bye, Walter.”

She beat him once again to the door which made both of them laugh. “Have a good time, Miss Wright.” Evie noted the smile on his face reflected the one she had, almost as if he knew her secret and was happy for her.

Evie was running later than she’d expected, so she took a cab over to the pizzeria. She gave the driver a large bill for the inexpensive fare, not caring about the money, and rushed into the restaurant without waiting for change. William was already at the bar. She slowed her pace trying to regain control of her breath as she walked over and sat down on the barstool next to him.

Thrilled to see her, always thrilled to see her, he gave her his best smile. “Hey there. Wow, you look great tonight. I haven’t seen you wear anything like this before. I like it.”

“I thought I would go for casual tonight since I didn’t know how to plan accordingly.”

“Would you like a drink?”

“No, thank you.”

“Do you always know what’s ahead, so you can plan accordingly?” He stood up and offered her his hand as assistance, which she graciously accepted.

“Too much.”

“Too much?”

“Yes, I always know what I’m doing, what to wear to do it, and what is expected of me at all times. I know too much. I think that’s why I’m looking forward to tonight so much.” They walked out the door and down the street chatting.

He looked down at his shoes feeling sad for her. “That’s disappointing to hear.”

“No!” She jumped in front of him making him halt with her hands on his chest. “No, that’s not the only reason I was looking forward to tonight, that’s only one small part of it.” She waited until he smiled again and then they started walking.

As they took two steps down to the subway, she stopped and looked around worried, the inner turmoil building. “What is it?” he asked, concerned.

“I . . . um . . . this is going to sound weird, but I’ve only been on the subway once when I was seven.”

“You’re kidding me, right?” He was amazed by this tidbit. If she grew up in Manhattan and had ridden the subway only once in her life, this girl was rich, but not just rich,
stinking rich
. William couldn’t help but feel intimidated by her wealth now.

“No, I’m not kidding and I was always told never to ride it at night.” She looked nervous.

William took her hand protectively in his and reassured her. “Don’t worry. I’ll take care of you.”

Evie remained close to him as he loaded his MetroCard to cover the fare, went through the stalls, and boarded the train. All the seats were taken, but one, and he offered it to her. She shook her head not wanting to be alone, surrounded by the mass of strangers, so he sat down and pulled her onto his lap. When he wrapped his arms snugly around her, she felt safe.

Three stops later, William led Evie off the train and back to street level. A bit frantic, he turned to her and said, “We’ve got to run.” Squeezing her hand tight, he pulled her behind him. They ran to the booth and he told the man about their reservation. A bit put out, the man signaled for them to board.

“Another ferry?” she asked as she smiled at William.

“Not just any ferry, but one that will show us how lucky we are to live in New York.” The wind had picked up, but they both chose to stay outside the boat cabin and enjoy the lights of the skyline.

“Just so you know, I’ve been on a night cruise around the harbor before.” She knew he thought she hadn’t really seen the city, but felt proud to be able to say she had experienced this before.

“I bet not on a ferry.”

She laughed under her breath and then shared more. “You’re right, only by yacht. I prefer the ferry.”

“I think I’d prefer the yacht.” William was only half joking.

Because he wanted to and the moment seemed to call for it, William wrapped his arms around her middle and pulled Evie against his chest. She relaxed her back on him. They both liked the feel and the heat from being this close. She smiled, losing herself in the moment of being with someone so wonderful, feeling like a different person, and wanting to blank out her reality. And, although she should have caught the obvious signs of William’s attachment to her, she enjoyed being free for the first time in years. She felt like who she wanted to be.

They didn’t talk the rest of the hour-long harbor cruise except once when William complimented her. “I like your hair like this. It’s pretty.” This was the first time she felt confident letting her naturally wavy hair show.

When the ferry docked, they walked hand-in-hand to Little Italy and sat at a sidewalk café. William knew this particular restaurant would charge him more for sitting outside than inside, but it was worth it for the people watching. He had discovered that Evie found this a formidable form of entertainment like he did. They shared a large plate of Alfredo noodles and a bottle of house Chianti. Their conversation flowed as easily as the wine and to their surprise, it felt natural and not forced in any way. When the check came, Evie spoke up, grabbing it from the waiter. “Let me get this, please.”