"I"ll speak to the partners and get them to let you go early."
"No, Ethan, I don"t want you to. I don"t think Al will say anything now that I"m working my notice, and there"s no point rubbing their nose in it." But I wanted her as soon as possible. "I"ll speak to them when I get back. They asked me to think about it over Christmas, so it"s not common knowledge. I guess they think I might change my mind."
"Did you agree to that?"
"What?"
"Not telling anyone. Are you thinking you might change your mind?"
"No, of course I"m not. I told you, me staying there doesn"t make sense for a hundred reasons. And you seem to be happy enough about it, so . . ."
"In case there is any doubt, I"m f.u.c.king ecstatic about it." I grinned at her and couldn"t resist kissing the corner of her up-turned mouth. "Okay, I"ll leave it to you, but if you don"t negotiate them down to a month-max-I"ll be forced to intervene."
"I"m an excellent negotiator, you"ll see."
I got the feeling we weren"t just talking about notice periods any longer. I"d give her anything she wanted. There was no negotiation to be had as far as that was concerned.
"So, can we go back to spending all our time in bed now? I"m not sure I like this whole being clothed and in public thing," I said.
"No, you have to do all the touristy things with me before I move. I can"t live here without having been to the Statue of Liberty or Washington Square Park. I"ve never even been on that bridge in Central Park."
"Oh, G.o.d, really? You want me to show you the sights? My p.e.n.i.s won"t do?"
"It is an either or? I want both."
I chuckled. "Okay, I can live with that."
"Tonight though, it"s all about your p.e.n.i.s," she whispered into my ear as she rubbed her palm against my d.i.c.k and then trailed her tongue along my jaw.
The next morning, I woke before her, and as quietly as I could, grabbed my boxers, a t-shirt and my phone, and made my way into my study. I had plans to make, things to buy-a night to remember to organize.
I called Mandy first. "Hey, thanks for last night. It was a lovely evening."
"It was a really great to see you both. You two are so awesome together. It"s so good to see."
"Thanks. I need your help with something. I"m not good with this stuff, you know, the romantic s.h.i.t . . ."
"You seem to be doing just fine."
"Yeah, but this is different. I really can"t risk f.u.c.king it up when I propose to her."
All I heard was squealing on the other end of the phone. "What can I do? What do you need?" Mandy finally asked when she"d calmed down.
"So you don"t think it"s too soon? That she"ll say no?"
"She"s given up her job and is moving continents for you. She"s not going to say no. When are you going to ask her?"
"This is what I wanted to ask you. Is New Year"s too predictable? I don"t know what girls want."
"Oh, wow. So before she goes back."
"Do you think it"s too much?"
"No. And I don"t think it"s predictable, I think it"s wonderful. And you shouldn"t be asking me. You know her and what she likes much better than I do. You"ve got all the answers to this stuff. You don"t need me to tell you."
She was right. This shouldn"t be something Mandy planned and I went along with. This should be about Anna and me.
"Okay, you"re right. Thanks."
When I put down the phone, I started scouting rings online. I was going to have to move quickly. I only had today. Tomorrow was New Year"s.
"Baby," Anna shouted from the next room.
"In here," I responded, clearing down my search history just as Anna poked her head around the door. "I was going to go for a run. Do you mind?"
"Good idea. I can do some yoga here and then have a bath if that"s okay?" She sat on my knees and looped her arms around my neck.
"This is your home now, Anna. You can do whatever makes you happy. There"s a mat in the closet in the small guest room. Or go to the gym downstairs."
She kissed my shoulder. "No, a mat is good." I could tell that it wouldn"t take much convincing for her to get her naked and back in bed, but unfortunately, I had to get moving.
I reached around her waist and stood up as she wrapped her legs around me. "You"re like a monkey."
"A pretty monkey, though, right?" She mock scowled.
I laughed. "A very beautiful monkey."
She hopped down, "Okay, enjoy your run." She pecked me on the lips and ran off to retrieve her mat.
I quickly changed and managed to smuggle my wallet into the pocket of my Columbia University sweatshirt and headed out the door.
I hoped Harry Winston would be open.
Anna Whenever I finished a run, I looked like I"d escaped a kidnapping attempt-red faced, sweaty, hair everywhere. Ethan on the other hand, looked like he was mid-way through a Gucci photo-shoot when he got back to the flat. He was all tan with a slight sheen to his skin that made him look all the more male. I was desperate to jump his bones. In fact, I"d been desperate before his run, but he"d seemed determined to exercise-a desire that never seemed to grip me, unfortunately.
"So, I thought we could go to the Met, or the Guggenheim," Ethan said, breaking me from my haze of l.u.s.t as he got dressed after his shower.
"Sounds good."
"You don"t sound enthusiastic?"
"I am, I"ll get my stuff." This was good. Normal things that normal couples did. I just couldn"t get enough of him, I wanted to drag him back to bed.
"Okay, I need to make a phone call, so I"ll be a few minutes." He worked so hard but it was kinda hot. I liked his drive and determination.
I was rooting through my case when Ethan came into the bedroom.
"I"ll clear out my c.r.a.p when you"re back in London, but there are some drawers free in the closet. Why don"t you unpack properly?"
My stomach flipped and I bit back a grin. There were some things I brought with me that I could leave. A couple of dresses and a pair of shoes at least. "Okay, I will, later."
"Are you ready?"
I nodded as I pulled on my hat and followed Ethan out to the hallway with my boots in my hand.
"f.u.c.k me, I didn"t realize you owned flat shoes. I"ve never seen you in anything other than heels, or naked. Sometimes in heels and naked."
"You see, this is when reality sets in. Real life starts right here, with my flats. It"s not all nakedness and high heels, baby. Are you ready? Ready for taking out the garbage and buying me tampons? Ready for seeing me puking up and not wanting s.e.x? I might wax my top lip tonight-are you ready for that?"
Ethan was laughing at me as I prodded his rock-hard stomach. "You"re f.u.c.king crazy and I"m more than ready. Come on shorty."
"You see, I used to be beautiful and now I"m shorty and I"ve not even moved in yet." I sighed dramatically as I followed him out of his building.
"You"ll always be beautiful, baby," he said, snaking his arm around my neck and resting it on my shoulders.
He went to hail a cab, but I stopped him. "No, I want to take the subway."
"Seriously? I"ve not taken the subway in a decade. It"s disgusting down there." He winced as if he was in pain.
"Don"t be a baby. I"ve never done it and I have to do all the things you would expect a New Yorker to do."
"Really?"
"Really. We have to do the unglamorous day-to-day stuff, Ethan. It"s good for us."
"Okay, you get the subway and I"ll get a cab and meet you there. That feels like a day-to-day compromise."
We stood on the sidewalk laughing at each other. "Oh baby, when did I say anything about compromise? Come on, we"re going on the subway." I dragged the sleeve of his coat and started walking. He reluctantly followed.
"You know we"re going in the wrong direction for the subway."
"Ethan!"
He grabbed me by my waist and kissed me hard.
"What was your favorite bit of the day?" I asked Ethan as we got home from several hours at the Met and what Ethan described as a reconnaissance trip of the Guggenheim.
"What do you mean? The day"s not over and I enjoyed all of it."
"I"ve done favorite things since I was a kid, play with me," I said. "What was your favorite bit, the favorite thing you saw or step you took or conversation you had."
"Let me think. Just one?"
"We used to do top three."
"Okay, my favorite three things of today . . . one, I like that I got to see you in flats."
I grinned at him. Was he serious? Flat shoes sucked.
"And then I liked how I got to kiss you in the street."
"Ethan! We"ve just seen some of the most beautiful art ever to have been created. Your top three things of the day can"t all be about me."
He raised an eyebrow at me. "Do you get to choose, or do I get to choose?"
"I want a no-bulls.h.i.t response."
"The other two were no-bulls.h.i.t responses, Anna. I won"t lie to you."
"Okay."
"The last of my top three is a painting. The Velasquez. The one of his Moor slave. It"s my favorite in there. I feel like he"s trying to tell me something from the canvas. How he captured that is incredible."
His eyes softened as he spoke, but his face was serious.
"You like art?" I asked.
"What is fascinating about it was that it was a practice run for Velasquez"s portrait of the Pope at the time. He was just prepping and that"s what he came up with. f.u.c.king brilliant."
"Have you been to Madrid? To see, you know, the one that Pica.s.so did as well . . ."
"Las Meninas." He finished my sentence for me and looked at me as he nodded. There was something different in his eyes. "You like art?" he asked my question back to me.
"A bit. I"m spoiled in London, there"s so much. I like baroque stuff-Caravaggio, Rubens and your man Velasquez. Did you get to see the Boy Bitten by a Lizard when you were in London? G.o.d, I love that painting. It"s tiny, but wild." I caught myself making shapes in the air with my hands and quickly dropped my arms self-consciously. I looked across at Ethan to see if he had that "is she crazy?" look on his face that he sometimes wore.
"You couldn"t be any more beautiful to me than you are right now, Anna," he said as our eyes met.
My cheeks heated and he closed the distance between us and slid his arms around my waist.
"Can we stay in tonight?" I asked. "Unless you had plans? I"d just like to be with you tonight."
"That sounds perfect."
He skimmed his hands down my back and began to harden against my stomach.
"Me talking about gay boys and lizards gets you hot?"
"Anna," he growled in that disapproving tone he had that always made me laugh. He cupped my a.s.s in his hands and he lifted me. I wrapped my legs around him. "Come on, pretty monkey."
Chapter Nine.