Page 18 of The Love Interest

“Yeah. Well, I’m excited. I always wanted a leopard-print coat.”

He gives me a crooked smile, and it seems Emmett Ford might actually have a sense of humor. He might actually be the kind of guy I could like. Maybe I just need to date a grown-up for a change.

“So now you can cross ‘get yelled at by a crazy lady’ off your New York City bucket list. You got anything else planned? Your boyfriend take you out anywhere fun yet?”

Now I give him a crooked smile.Smooth.And cute. “I don’t have a boyfriend. But I do have a list of twenty-five places I want to see. I was hoping to do a little sightseeing before classes start, but I’ve been so busy ever since I got here.”

“Yep. That’s how it goes. Twenty-five, huh?”

“Does that seem like too long or too short of a list?”

“Twenty-five’s a good number actually. Unless they’re all cheesy touristy places, then it’s lame.”

“Only half of them are cheesy, and I’ll probably go to those when my mom’s here. A third of them are cool. A quarter of them are romantic, so I should probably save them.”

“For when you’re with someone less awesome than me?”

“Sure. Let’s go with that.” We turn onto my street, and I slow my pace because I don’t want to be done with our walk and talk yet. “Well, there is actually one place I’m dying to go to that’s only interesting with another person.”

“Your bed?”

Spit take!

“Sorry,” he says, but he’s looking right at me and he doesn’t seem like he’s sorry.

“Don’t be. And no. When necessary, things can get plenty interesting if I’m on my own in bed.”Take that, grown-up Sad-Eyed Sexy Voice Handsome Man.

“Fair enough.”

“It’s at Grand Central. The Whispering Gallery. Have you heard of it?”

“I have, but people are very hush-hush about it.”

“Ha ha.” Wow. He’s on a roll now. “I was planning to go to Grand Central when it opens at five, actually…”

He acknowledges this hint and nods. Not in the dismissive way he did at the diner. He’s considering it. “Grand Central’s a great place to go in general, actually. The Main Concourse is beautiful.” He looks at his watch. It’s a beautiful watch. “We could take a cab there and walk around until then. It’ll have that just-cleaned smell.”

“Now? You want to go with me?”

“Yeah, I don’t want you going by yourself. And since you won’t let me buy you a drink, I’ll get us a cab.”

“Okay. To be clear—you want to take me to Grand Central? Now? In a cab? And then get out of the cab and go into Grand Central with me?”

“You catch on fast,” he teases. “I don’t know if you were including the Whispering Gallery in the romantic quarter of your list, but it sounds pretty romantic to me.”

“We’ll see.” We reach my actual apartment building, and I stop, turning to face him. “Okay. Well, I still have to run up to my apartment to get something.”

“Your wallet?”

“Right. Oh, and I can pay you back!”

“Absolutely not necessary. I won’t take your money.”

“Okay. Well, I have to swing by my apartment to get two things, then. Do you mind waiting here? I’ll be really quick.”

“I’ll be here. You getting more mace?”

“Well, this thing I’m getting certainly repelssomemen instantly.”