Open Your Eyes (3 page)

Chapter Five

“
Are you serious?
The
Nicholas Gallagher? The famous photographer and most elusive bachelor in the world? You’ve got to be kidding. Did you at least get his autograph?” Olivia blasted me with questions when I explained why I was ten minutes late. OK, nearly fifteen, but after she heard the reason why, she wasn’t as petulant as when I came rushing to meet her.

“
His autograph? No, sorry. I didn’t think of that,” I answered with a sweet smile.

She pouted her lips.
“Mom, you’re useless. As soon as you meet a famous person, you’re supposed to at least get their autograph. Is he really as good looking as they say? He’s a bit old, but I heard he’s pretty hot.”

I bit back a smile.
“Nick’s so not old. He’s only three years older than me. And no, he’s not hot – he’s sizzling!”

“Eew, too much information
! Yeah, come to think of it, he is closer to your age than mine. Even if he is hot. Still, you should have asked for his autograph…” My darling daughter had no idea when to let go.

“You can ask him yourself tonight when he picks us up for a show on Broadway
.” I dropped the bomb casually.

“What?”
She sputtered her coffee. “You’re seeing him again tonight? Wow!”

“Correction
.
We
are seeing him tonight. Seems he has tickets for a show, so I agreed that we would both accompany him. It's not a date or anything like that, we are just friends.” Wasting those Broadway tickets would be such a shame. At least that’s what I told myself, even though I had butterflies in my stomach at the prospect of seeing him again tonight.

During the lobster feast I had
relented and told Nick about Olivia, that I was enjoying a holiday with my twenty-one year old daughter who had a desire to experience snow for the first time in her life, and that I wasn’t here with a man. He didn’t hesitate to invite her along as well, which definitely scored him brownie points with me.

“Aren’t you glad now that I forced you to have your hair done at that trendy place on Madison Avenue yesterday? Remember how you complained that it was way too expensive for a cut and
color? Best $300 you’ve spent so far. Honestly, that new haircut makes you look so young and lovely.” She beamed, taking credit for my new and improved appearance.

I grunted – very unladylike
– at the memory of parting with that much money for my new hairdo, yet couldn’t hide my smile at her compliment.

“
No wonder Mr. Gallagher wants to see you again. And he’s even prepared to drag the daughter along. Wow, you really must have made a good impression on the man. Way to go, Mother!” she teased.

“
Olivia, you’re being ridiculous. Yes, we clicked, only because he has a wicked sense of humor. But seriously, there is nothing more to it. Remember, we live thousands of miles away…”

For the tiniest moment I wished there could be more
. But I would take what time I could with him and afterwards, back home, I would always have the memories to relive.

Chapter Six

As we walked into the lobby, my heart skipped a beat as I looked straight into
Nick’s beautiful green eyes. A look of relief flitted across his features as his handsome face broke into an arresting smile.

“You must be
Olivia,” he said as he took her hand in his and kissed her fingers. “As beautiful as your mother.” He drew me closer and chastely pecked my cheek. Warm pleasure spread through my body, and I could hardly contain a smile.

“I
was just beginning to worry that I had been stood up,” he said, a twinkle in his eye, “but instead I’ve been rewarded by the company of the two most beautiful women in New York.”

Olivia
was star struck. Usually she was never at a loss for words, but the impeccable and very charming Nicholas Gallagher got to even her. She winked at me behind his back as we exited the hotel toward a waiting limo. I think she agreed that he was sizzling hot.

The limo whisked us away through the relentless traffic that
was a trademark of New York City.

Nick
escorted us effortlessly through the crowds to our seats at a private box. We were both excited to see
Wicked
and had planned on getting discount seats for the show one evening. Never had we thought we would end up going as guests of Nicholas Gallagher, or that we would be sitting in prime seats.

“I hope you don’t mind, but I invited my niece along
. I had four tickets for tonight’s show. She’s Olivia’s age… and alone in New York. Both her parents are abroad at the moment. I think you will like her. Her name is Sarah,” he offered as we took our seats.

Just then a beautiful
young lady walked into the private box, and her face lit up when she spotted Nick. Her tall wispy frame and blond hair was in direct contrast to Olivia’s shorter body and long dark brown hair. Sarah was as charming as her uncle, and the two young ladies discussed the perils of shopping in New York at this time of year with peals of laughter.

I noticed curious stares in our direction, and I fussed with my hair
and scarf, feeling out of place and suddenly shy. Nick leaned over and took my hand in his, giving it a gentle squeeze. My stomach clenched in a delicious manner as his smile broadened, a strange light radiating from the orange-gold starburst around his pupils.

“Thanks for coming, my newest Aussie mate,” he joked. But then he flipped my hand
over in his and placed a warm lingering kiss in my palm that sent shivers up my spine. Good Lord, he could ignite a fire in my belly with the slightest touch.
He isn’t just sizzling, he’s scorching!
I loosened the scarf around my neck as a hot flush raced through my body.

I caught a glimpse of a
blond woman staring at us in disgust a few rows away. Irene. Fancy seeing her here tonight. She glared at me, her lips pursed into a thin line.
Oh dear, jealous much?

Just then the girls made another silly crack
, and Nick laughed so hard the girls had to shush him to be quiet. He casually slipped his arm around the back of my chair and pulled me closer to him. Irene sneered. The lights dimmed, thankfully it was dark around us now and the show started.

D
uring the intermission, Irene made quick work of worming her way into our midst. She placed her hand possessively on Nick’s arm, ignoring the rest of us.

“So, you
’re the lady who came to the gallery today. Are you an out-of-state friend of Nick’s?” Irene inquired haughtily.

“Actually, I guess you could say so,” I replied. “A very far state across the waters called Australia.”

Her posture relaxed. Maybe she wouldn’t consider me such a big threat if she knew that I lived so far away. Nick grinned at my silly response.

“Oh! Well
, I’m delighted to meet you. I am sure you are looking forward to going home soon? It's freezing in New York this time of year.” Her smile didn’t reach her eyes.

“Even more reason to snuggle closer,”
Nick said as he placed an arm around my waist and drew me back into his chest, his breath warm on my neck.

“Oh
, Nick, darling, do be careful, you still have two weeks at MoMA and you know there are so many germs flying around at this time of year. You don’t want to be catching the flu or some other disease right now.” She looked directly at me as she smiled sweetly at Nick.

“You could always audition for a role as the wick
ed witch in
Wicked
if Uncle Nick took sick,” Sarah said amiably, as if she meant it as a compliment. Irene scrunched her eyes as she stared at the two girls, unspoken words on the tip of her tongue.

Ju
st then the bell rang for the second act. Nick smiled politely, excusing us quickly and steered me back to our seats, his hand possessively in the small of my back. I had never been so eager to get back to the second act of a show.

With his shoulder brushing against mine as he leaned
toward me, it was hard to concentrate on the show itself. My body could not help but respond to the closeness of his. Acutely aware of every inch of him, I inhaled deeply to calm myself and also to get a whiff of his distinct scent.

Nick
shifted in his chair and placed his arm casually around the back of my chair, seemingly absent-mindedly running his fingers up and down my arm. That was it; from then on I had difficulty focusing on anything but the hard lean body beside me. I so badly wanted to rest my head on his shoulder, but years of restraint kept me in check.

As we pushed to our feet at the end
of the performance, a dashing gentleman came toward us. “Nick, old chap, it's been a really long time.” His English accent rose distinctly above the crowd. After a round of backslapping, he turned toward me, cocking his eyebrow. “And who is this exquisite creature?” he asked as he reached for my hand.

Nick s
neered. “Hey, buddy, hands off. Natalie is a friend from Down Under.” I chuckled at the way he used the slang name for Australia. “Natalie, meet Jonathan, my cousin and college roommate, who now travels between New York and London for business.”

“And, I am delighted to add, occasionally to Sydney and Melbourne in Australia,”
Jonathan added as his lips skimmed my fingers. “So, old chap, I may bump into Natalie Down Under on my next trip,” he said as his gaze roamed my body and rested a few seconds too long on my breasts.

The young ladies nudged each other at his suggestive remark, their keen eyes missing nothing. I felt a flush creep up my neck, not sure how to handle this one. I didn’t want to offend
Nick’s cousin, but he didn’t hide his intentions very well.

“Natalie may never return to Australia, she is so taken with New York,”
Nick said stiffly, tension rolling off his body.

“Is that so? That would be a real pity if you weren’t available
when I came to visit. Nick and I are like brothers, we share everything.”

A strained look passed over
Nick’s face as he studied the slightly taller man. “No, Jonathan, we are cousins, not brothers. Big difference. And we are not in college any more. There are some things we will
never share again
. Is that clear?” His fists balled by his sides, his chest rising in challenge.

“Like crystal. Sorry
, cousin,” Jonathan said, backing down. There was clearly something going on between the two men, unspoken anger beneath the surface.

“We were just leaving. Come
, ladies.” Nick held out his arms, letting Sarah and Olivia hook on to one side and holding his other arm out to me. “How does cheesecake and coffee at
Juniors
sound to you?”

“It's not
fair; you have three ladies tonight…why not share the love around?” Jonathan wailed behind us. Agitated, Nick’s arm tensed into rock solid muscle, its power coiled beneath my touch. His jaw twitched and sweat beaded his brow. In that moment, I realized that Nick was trying his best to keep it together, to walk away with his dignity intact, ignoring his cousin’s taunting.

“You know you’re too old to handle three ladies in one night
. You’re not the stud you used to be… I can help you with that, we can share them, three ladies, two guys,” Jonathan goaded.

A
ll hell broke loose. Nick swung around and with a swift upper cut, crashed his fist into Jonathan’s face and another blow into his stomach. Jonathan folded over, then stumbled backwards, blood trickling from his nose, shock in his eyes.

“
I should have done that
years
ago. And tonight I warned you, but you chose to ignore that and instead insulted these ladies. Stay away from us or you will regret ever being born. This is not college… and what happened there… I will never allow you to get away with that kind of appalling behavior again. Next time you make such lewd remarks, I will break every bone in your scrawny body.” Nick wiped his hands on his slacks, leaving traces of blood behind, his face contorted in anger, his eyes dark and stormy.

“Are you OK, Uncle
Nick?” Sarah asked in a high-pitched voice as Nick reached us in three long strides. “Black sheep of the family. Caused a lot of trouble for Uncle Nick,” she said quickly in Nick’s defense as Olivia and I had watched the entire scenario in horror, along with several other patrons, including Irene.

“My apologies, ladies. I promise I’ll make it up to you,”
Nick offered as he ushered us out of the building and into the waiting limo. “Juniors,” he barked at the chauffeur as we pulled away from the curb.

Nick
leaned back into the leather seat and closed his eyes. He leaned slightly toward me so that our shoulders were touching. I could feel the tension in his body, yet had no desire to move away from him. It was reassuring to have him so close to me; I inhaled his scent, a heady mix that smelled vaguely familiar. Peppermint, sage, sandalwood and… Nick.

A
fter a minute or two, he opened his eyes. Nick had managed to compose himself, calmness and balance radiating from him. With an earnest look on his face, he turned to me. “I’m really sorry if that spoiled your night. I should’ve had better control over my emotions.” He paused for a beat, then continued, his voice tightly reigned. “I’ll understand if you don’t want to be friends any more, but please give me another chance to prove myself worthy to you.”

He wanted a chance to be worthy of me?

Tears prickled behind my eyes, and I blinked rapidly in an effort to hide them. I leaned over and took his big hands in mine, gently rubbing over his bruised knuckles.

“Can we just get
Juniors
to go and have it back at our hotel room? I'm sure we can order coffee from room service. And I can clean up your hands,” I offered; certain he was not ready to be in public again so soon.

His eyes widened for a fraction of a second before his lips curled into lopsided smile.

“Thank you, you’re an
angel
,” he rasped as he reached out to gently tuck an errant strand of hair behind my ear, his tension eased, caressing ever so lightly over the shell of my ear, lingering for a few delicious moments.