3
DAMN, WAS SHE CRYING? With growing apprehension, Nick watched the reflection of her heart-shaped face in the window. She nibbled her lower lip and stared forlornly at the pedestrians crowding the sidewalk who were making better time than they were. Her chin quivered, or maybe that was the trick of the light coming through the rain-splattered glass. Was she upset about not having a guide? Or maybe she was just plain lonely.
He turned away and ordered himself to forget about her. She was a grown woman. If she wanted company she would have brought a friend. He focused on two young women in absurdly high heels, huddled under one umbrella and rushing to cross the street. He often liked being alone himself, so that was easy to understand. What he needed to do was mind his own business. Next time he was gonna use the car service. No more cabs for him. And definitely no sharing.
He tensed when he thought he heard her sniffle. Slowly he angled back toward her, regarding her from the corner of his eye. She wasn’t crying, but was messing with her phone. Her dark head bent forward, her cute, slightly upturned nose wrinkled in concentration and her fingers worked quickly. Probably texting someone to meet her. Didn’t matter to him. Not his business, he reminded himself.
“Do you know—?”
“What are you—?”
They both spoke at the same time.
“Sorry,” she murmured, tucking her phone into her purse. “Go ahead.”
“After you.”
She smiled wryly, flashing both dimples. She really was cute, with her wavy collar-length hair swinging as she moved her head. Her eyes looked like they might be brown, but the lighting wasn’t good enough for him to tell for sure. “I forgot what I was going to say.”
He chuckled. “Me, too.”
She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and blinked at him, her head tilting slightly. “I know this sounds crazy, but you look familiar.”
The driver’s head bobbed suddenly, and Nick caught the man’s eye in the rearview mirror. Nick narrowed his gaze in warning. She didn’t know who he was, and he liked it that way.
She opened her mouth to say something else, but gasped when the cab swerved sharply to keep from rear-ending a bus. She clutched the back of the driver’s seat, and with the other hand, tried to stop the packages on her lap from sliding to the floor. “Please tell me we’re close to the Thornton,” she muttered.
A brown shopping bag ended up on the floor, and he reached to retrieve it, but she quickly snatched it up as if she thought he were going to steal the thing.
“Not too far,” he said, leaning back.
“Close enough that I can walk?”
“Only if you don’t mind hiking twenty blocks in the rain.”
“Twenty blocks?” Her alarmed gaze lowered to the ticking meter. “You don’t think that’s far?”
With the rain and heavy traffic, it had taken fifteen minutes to go only a few blocks, and they’d already racked up quite a hefty fare. Nick hadn’t given it a second thought, but then he wasn’t on a budget. Anyway, he planned on dropping her off first and paying the whole thing.
“I’m going as fast as I can, miss,” the driver said, and then angrily muttered something in Italian and purposely lurched the cab forward when a black Mercedes tried to squeeze in front of them. A couple of explicit hand gestures were exchanged between the two drivers and then all was calm again.
Crazy, but Nick kind of missed the horn honking. A few hotheads ignored the law to cut back on noise that had been instituted some years back and still leaned on their horns as if that would make the traffic go any faster, but overall, the city was a quieter place.
Nick noticed her death grip on the armrest and, to distract her, said, “I don’t think I caught your name.”
“Emily.” She relaxed her hold and slid him a brief glance. “Emily Carter.”
“So, where are you from, Emily Carter?”
“Berber, Indiana.”
“Is that anywhere near Logansport?”
She lifted her eyebrows at him. “About fifty miles. I can’t believe you’ve heard of it.”
“I grew up across the border in Pilner, Illinois.”
“Really? So you’re a tourist, too.”
“No, I’ve lived here for about ten years now.”
“Big change.”
“Yep.” He nodded. “It took a while to get used to the faster pace.” He could feel the driver staring at him in the rearview mirror again, but he felt confident he’d made his point and the man would keep his mouth shut.
“You said your name is Nick, right?”
“I did.”
She squinted, studying him quizzically.
If she recognized him it was his own fault. He didn’t know why he was being all chatty. He tended to shy away from people unless he was cornered. As much as he appreciated the money and fame that playing pro ball afforded him, he missed his privacy. Missed the days when he could go to a restaurant and eat an entire meal without being interrupted for an autograph. Hard to believe he used to lap up the attention. But he’d been young and easily impressed when he’d first been drafted into the majors. The arrogance had come later.
The traffic started to move again, and she abruptly turned to look out her window. This time they made it through the intersection and didn’t stop moving for the next eight blocks. The rain had eased up some, and Emily craned her neck, appearing eager to miss nothing they passed. He supposed they should consider themselves lucky. At this time of year, it could just as easily have been snow and not rain that had fallen on the city. Of course, he wouldn’t mind some of the white stuff, at least not until it turned to gray sludge pushed aside and piled high at the curbs.
Almost as if she’d read his mind, she met his eyes, gave him a dazzling smile, and said, “Wouldn’t it be cool if this suddenly turned to snow? You know, those kind of big fat fluffy flakes that cling to your hair and eyelashes and trick you into swearing you smell fresh Christmas trees and hot apple cider?”
He smiled back. “And hauling out your sled even before there’s enough accumulation for a decent ride down the neighborhood slope.”
“Exactly,” she agreed, all dimples. And then she sighed. “I checked the forecast before I left. It’s supposed to snow on Thanksgiving day back home.”
“Don’t tell me you still have your sled.”
“I’ve always been kind of partial to inner tubes.”
“Oh, yeah, you could get some speed out of those suckers.”
She laughed. “I’ve suffered more than one broken bone to prove it.”
“Amazingly
