It’s too early.” Didn’t the man ever sleep?
“We have important things to do today.”
She rolled over and half opened her eyes. “What important things?”
“I thought we’d go spend some time in New York today.”
That woke her up in a hurry. “Really?”
“Yeah. Take a day off before we head out of town.”
She sat up and hung her legs over the side of the bed. “That sounds like fun.”
“Ever been?”
She shook her head. She’d always wanted to go.
“Then let’s get going.”
Gray had already showered, so she scrambled back to her hotel, took a quick shower, changed, and packed. Gray had already arranged a private plane to take them there since they’d only have the day. A car met them at the airport and drove them into Manhattan.
Evelyn unashamedly sat at the window like a geeked-out tourist as they entered the city, gawking at the amazing skyline, picking out the Chrysler Building and Empire State building, her heart climbing into her throat as she spotted the Statue of Liberty.
She’d always planned to take a week’s vacation in New York, and had an agenda of places she wanted to see. There’d just never been time.
“I know. We aren’t going to be able to do it all. But I can give you an overview,” he said as the car let them out in Times Square.
“What about our bags?” she asked as the car drove away.
“The driver will take care of them.”
Trusting Gray, she shrugged, and with no small amount of glee, she did a complete turnaround, gaping at the immense blinking signs, the sheer amount of humanity crowding the sidewalks and clamoring for space amidst the cluster of traffic and honking horns. Tourists walked Times Square, no doubt as shell-shocked as she was.
She turned to Gray. “I’ve seen this before in movies, but it’s nothing like being here.”
He grinned and took her hand. “Come on.”
They walked along the street and Evelyn took in every sight and smell, the street vendors hawking everything from pretzels and hot dogs to clothing and jewelry. The police were out in force, patrolling on foot and on horseback. It seemed like there was a cop every three feet. In a city with millions of people crowding and shoving into her, she’d never felt safer, surprisingly.
Gray stopped and grabbed them a bus ticket for the tours.
“A bus tour, really?” she asked, surprised he’d want to do something like that. It was totally something she would have done, likely the first thing because she’d be so eager to see everything all at once.
“You’ll enjoy this. I’ve done it before.”
She halted and stared at him. “You have. You, the rich guy, took a tourist bus.”
“Best way to see Manhattan, in my opinion. You can hop on and off at any stop.
We’ll take both of them so you can see everything.”
“I’m stunned.”
He laughed. “Come on. Let’s go get in line.”
He bought them water and they waited for the big red double-decker buses. When it was their turn, they climbed aboard the top of the bus. She looped her arm around Gray’s and leaned against him.
“I’m ridiculously excited about this,” she said as the bus took off.
Gray was quiet and she was anything but, commenting on everything she saw on the tours, from Union Square to Chinatown to the Flatiron Building. The architecture of buildings they passed particularly fascinated her, and she grabbed her phone and snapped pictures of building fronts that caught her eye, especially some of the old churches.
She scanned the map. “Oh, the Met is coming up.” She looked at Gray. “Do you mind?”
“We can go anywhere you want.”
They hopped out at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and went in. Lord, but the place was huge. They grabbed a map and maneuvered their way through several of the exhibits.
“You need an entire day—possibly two or three—just to see everything. There are more than two million works in here,” she said, reading the information sheet. It was overwhelming.
“Yes,” Gray said. “But it’s worth it.”
“You’ve been through here.”
He nodded. “More than once.”
“What’s your favorite thing?”
“Greek and Roman Art.” He led her to the section, showed her some of his favorite pieces.
“This is one I could look at for hours,” he said, showing her a marble sarcophagus.
The intricacies were awe-inspiring. She took his hand and laid her head on his shoulder, examining it with him, absorbing the detail and appreciating the work that had gone into it. They wandered the section and looked at each piece. She found herself watching Gray as he admired the sculptures, noted the way he cocked his head to the side, how long he would study the pieces.
Who would know this about him if he hadn’t taken the time to share his love of art?
He was such a complex man and she loved that about him.
When they left the exhibit, he turned to her. “Your turn. Show me what you love.”