Fool's Gold (Contemporary Romance) (19 page)

V
ICTORIA
 dressed alone in Beta’s bedroom. He was in the kitchen, talking to Chuckles. Her hands shook as she buttoned her pants, and she wondered if she’d just made the biggest mistake of her life. If she’d known he was actually a virgin, she would have
never
been so forward with him.

Or would she?

The longer she sat, the less sure she was that she regretted anything. He was a careful, considerate lover, and if he’d come too quickly the first time, he’d
more
than made up for it the second time. She pushed open the door, emerging into the low light of the front room.

Beta’s face fell as soon as he saw that she was dressed. “Are you leaving?” he asked.

She shrugged. She had been, but now she wasn’t so sure. All she knew was that she was full of energy, and sitting still was out of the question. “I need to go for a walk.”

He deflated like a pricked a balloon. Guilt hit her like a tidal wave. She couldn’t just walk out on him, not after that. And, she realized, she didn’t really want to.

“Do you want to go, too?” she offered.

“I, uh…

There he went, tripping over himself again. “Beta, relax. It’s not the end of the world. I just need to stretch my legs, okay? You were wonderful. Really. Now get a jacket.”

The color returned to his face. He tossed something into the trashcan, then nodded. “Okay.”

Victoria watched Chuckles eat as Beta got warmer clothes. He had taken great care of the cat, she had to admit.

When he came back, he took her hand, and they left the apartment together. “Where do you want to go?” he asked in the elevator.

“I don’t know. Just around.” It didn’t matter much. Just a trip around the block, something to get the restless energy out, would be fine.

“I know just the place.” He led her to the corner and waved down a cab.

She couldn’t hear what he whispered to the driver, but as the cab cruised toward Midtown, she started to suspect. “Beta, are we going to Times Square?” It was such a touristy thing to do, but as long as he was with her, she didn’t really care.

“No.” He grinned.

They swept past 42nd Street and kept going north. The cab stopped at the corner of 49th and Beta helped her out, then paid their driver.

“So where are we going?” Victoria asked.

“Here.” They came around a corner, and there, before them, was Rockefeller Center, a Christmas extravaganza, all lit up with white Christmas lights.

It was breathtaking.

A few people were still ice skating, their figures gliding through the night. Beta led her forward toward the lights.

“It’s beautiful, Beta. Thank you.”

He squeezed her hand. “I don’t know what happens now. I love you. I have always loved you. You can leave now, but I won’t stop loving you.”

He stared off into the distance, watching the skaters glide like swans.

Victoria squeezed him back, then rested her head on his shoulder. “I love you, too Ben. I think I always have, but I didn’t realize it.”

“I guess this means you don’t think of me like a brother anymore?”

Victoria laughed. “Definitely not.”

They stood there in the half-darkness, just the two of them, alone in a city of millions. And in that one crystal moment, Victoria knew she was finally home.