Those Red High Heels (10 page)

“No way, you’ll have to continue with your stellar marketing plan, and then maybe I’ll tell you.”

“You’re joking, right?”

I shook my head and shot him a mischievous grin. It was fun watching him squirm. Brynn had painted a picture of Greyson as a quiet and reserved businessman. So far, I really didn’t see that side of him. He seemed proper and definitely high class, but bantering with him was fun.

Greyson glanced at my bag and then back at me. “I bet you have the book in your bag.”

A flash of panic must have crossed my face, because before I knew it, Greyson was lunging forward making a grab for my purse. I didn’t have much time to think, because the book was probably sitting right on top, ready for him to snatch it up and ruin my plan.

I kicked my purse back, and tried to grab it before Greyson was able to. He was too quick, though, and had my purse in his hands before I could toss it to the other side. So, I did the first thing that came to mind would to get him to let it go. I clicked my seat belt off and lunged forward. I took him by complete surprise and grabbed the bag out of his hands before he had any time to react.

When I finally realized what we were doing, I froze and ended up straddling Greyson’s lap. We were staring at each other. Greyson reached up and moved a strand of hair that had fallen over my face, and placed it back behind my ear. I thought about moving, but I couldn’t. His stare was too intense, and our position was too intimate.

Just as it felt like Greyson was about to lean forward, Tony cleared his throat, which snapped us both out of our trance. I scooted off Greyson and made sure my purse was safe and on the other side of my attacker. My cheeks burned as I straightened my shirt. I’m not sure what was about to happen, but the mood had shifted.

“I’m so sorry I jumped on you, but you shouldn’t have tried to steal my purse. You never mess with a girl’s purse,” I said and shot him a playful look.

“This was round one. I’ve now made it my mission to find out what happens in that book,” he said and returned the same expression.

“We’ll see.” And before we could continue, Tony announced we were arriving at Battery Park.

**

While Greyson and I were making our way onto the ferry, which would take us to Ellis Island and then over to the Statue of Liberty, I fought with my long locks and the ever-present breeze. When I finally won with a loose knot, I turned to see Greyson walking behind me. I don’t know why, but being close to him made me have a warm tingling feeling, like when you’re first falling for someone. I chalked it up to his good looks, but I had this undeniable feeling there was some unspoken chemistry between us. I knew I needed to squash it because he was getting married soon, and if I let myself dream up this perfect scenario where he ended up leaving Nora and running away into the sunset with me ... well, I would end up with a broken heart. Getting over a guy like Greyson Lyons would be a long road to recovery.

“So, you came here when you were a kid?” I asked, trying to get the conversation flowing again between us. I made a mental note that I had done enough embarrassing things in front of Greyson, and I needed to show him I could be completely normal.

Greyson cleared his throat and motioned for us to sit down on a bench next to the railing. “I believe I was in the third grade. If you’re a true born and raised New Yorker, you’ve been to the Statue of Liberty on a field trip. Every year they take a huge group of kids -”

Before Greyson was able to finish his sentence, as if on cue, a group of kids around seven or eight years old came walking onto the ferry single file. I wondered for a minute why they would be here on a Saturday, but wasn’t able to finish my thought because apparently they all felt the best spot on the entire boat was right next to Greyson and me.

“Look, those two are in love,” a little boy whispered to his friend as they sat on the bench beside us.

Greyson and I locked eyes and I shot him a slight shrug. It would have been a cute, innocent comment, until the two hooligans sitting next to us continued.

“I bet they are going to kiss.”

“Ugh, that would be so gross.”

“I bet they are married, too, and they loooove each other.” As the young girl and boy covered their mouths and giggled, Greyson rolled his eyes at me.

The girl leaned in close to the boy, but was still loud enough that we could hear what they were saying. “Maybe they’re in a fight, that’s why they aren’t kissing.”

I started to panic that if these two kept up their taunting, they would peer-pressure Greyson and me to kiss. So, I turned toward them, and leaned in motioning for them to come in close. Once they were right next to my face, I whispered, “Did you know that if kids don’t behave on this ferry, a mean, big ogre man will throw them into the ice cold water, and no one will ever find them?”

Both of the kids took in a big inhale and shook their heads. “No.” They both replied in unison.

I looked over to the little boy who looked like he was about to scream any minute. “Oh, it’s not good. So you had better not talk about strangers any more. That’s a sure fire way to be thrown overboard. You two remember that,” I said and turned back toward Greyson.

Greyson let out a small chuckle as the kids turned toward each other and started talking about the mean man who threw children off the ferry. I wouldn’t be surprised if their teacher found me later and scolded me for telling children scary stories and lying to them.

“You know they’re going to have issues riding ferries for the rest of their lives,” Greyson said and let out another small laugh.

“Probably, but I was afraid they were going to peer-pressure us to make out.”

“Emma, you certainly are different from any woman I have ever met.”

I bit my lower lip and wondered if that was meant as a compliment, or something else.

“Thanks? I guess. Anyway, tell me about yourself, Greyson Lyons. I really don’t know much about you, only that you are ready to take over a multimillion dollar company and are getting married next summer.”

Greyson cleared his throat. “There’s not much to say that you probably haven’t already heard. I guess my life path has been paved for me since before I was even born.”

“So, you’re an only child?”

Greyson sat back and began to relax a bit. “I am. My father only wanted boys, and when he had his first heir, they didn’t need anything more.”

“I guess that’s an interesting way to look at parenthood.”

“You could say that.”

“When you came to Ellis Island as a kid, did you find your ancestors?”

Greyson sat for a minute while thinking about my question. “I know my family’s story, but I don’t believe I have ever seen the paperwork, or anything that exactly shows when they arrived.”

“Well, as long as you know the first and last name of the person you are looking for, I bet we will find them.” I contagiously smiled, and watched Greyson mimic my actions.

“So, what’s your family’s history? Who are we looking for today?” Greyson asked and crossed his foot over his leg, so he was facing more toward me.

If I looked at Greyson too long, I would become caught up in a trance. Those damn blue eyes. So I had to focus on a small spot, just past his head, which was hard to do when he was sitting so close to me. “Well, my great-great-grandfather came over to America from Scotland with his brother. Apparently on the way over, they got into a huge argument and parted ways after checking in at Ellis Island. My grandfather, Ross Walker, stayed in the North, and his brother, Alec Walker, went to the South. Actually, that sounds like a good plot for a movie.”

Greyson laughed a little, and asked me another question, but I held up my hand. “No way. I told you my story, now you tell me yours.”

That earned me a big smile. “Okay, you twisted my arm. My great-great-grandfather came to America in the late 1800s. He made some very smart investments, passed those onto my great-grandfather, who managed to make it through the crash of Twenty-nine, and then so on, and so on. Every single one of my grandfathers only had one son. The women call it the Lyons’ curse, which is hardly a curse because I mean look at me.” That earned him a playful arm slap, “Easy.” He laughed and rubbed his arm a bit before continuing. “Well, here I am today, and the luck of the Lyons continues on today.”

“That’s cheesy,” I said and rolled my eyes.

“It’s not cheesy, it’s good luck.”

Before we could continue our conversation about what was and wasn’t cheesy, we heard an announcement that we were now at Ellis Island. The excitement creeping up in my veins, was about to spill out at any minute. I’m sure my anticipation not only matched that of the group of children who were lining up behind us, but also of the blue-eyed man standing right beside me.

Chapter Ten

Ellis Island ended up being a huge success. Both Greyson and I found our ancestors’ signatures, and I snuck in a quick picture, even though we had a crabby tour guide who said he frowned upon pictures being taken. I didn’t know if that was a real rule, or maybe just his rule. That’s why I didn’t feel too bad when I gave my phone a quick click and captured my family’s history, and talked Greyson into doing the same.

The history on Ellis Island wasn’t like anything I had ever experienced. I was limited to Mount Rushmore, and the Albert F. Madlener house in Chicago, but the history there seeped out of the cracks on the walls and lingered in the air. It was infectious, and before we both knew it, Greyson and I were caught up in story after story of families coming to a new world in search of a better life.

I couldn’t get over the fact that some families were sent away once they arrived. If they didn’t pass the medical exam, there was no other option but to send them right back where they came from. That was a hard concept to think about. Just as we were about to get in line for another small tour, Greyson’s phone vibrated in his pocket, and when he pulled it out, he let out a small breath and clicked it back off. I almost asked if Cruella had threatened him, but he spoke before something inappropriate slipped out of my mouth.

“It’s almost 4:00 p.m., so we should head over to the Statue soon, I had no idea it was this late.” Greyson said as he ran his hand through is hair.

We had been having such a great time looking at our nation’s history, we didn’t even think about keeping track of the time. I was learning quickly Greyson Lyons really wasn’t the tough businessman he had been portraying to everyone in New York. He had been chatting with me the entire afternoon about our history, what it would have been like to travel over here on a ship, with sickness, and many other topics I wouldn’t think a guy like Greyson would be interested in.

“Wow. Yeah of course, or we can skip Liberty Island if we need to head back now? This has been more than enough.”

Greyson grabbed my arm and started to lead me down and out of the building. “No way, Emma. We’re going to do this right. We have plenty of time, as long as we catch the 5:00 ferry.” I agreed and happily followed Greyson to the ferry dock.

The Statue of Liberty was absolutely breathtaking, and I had enough time to enjoy the beauty and history. By time, I mean we walked inside, looked around, and headed back to the ferry. I was okay with that, because I could tell our carefree outing was starting to stress Greyson out, even though he wouldn’t let on to it.

The air was starting to cool down by the time we were back on the ferry and heading back to Manhattan. “Here, take my jacket. I can see you’re shivering,” Greyson said as he placed his warm, good smelling jacket over my shoulders.

I couldn’t say no to warmth, so I gladly accepted. “Thank you.”