Tick Tock

Chapter 93

"UM?" I said when she came back.

"I forgot to tell you. Karen's not coming," Emily said as she put a glass of champagne in my hand.

She sat down in a chair above the sparkling city lights and took a sip of her bubbly.

"In fact, she never was coming," she said. "I made it up."

"Why?" I said.

"Several reasons," Emily said, staring at me as she crossed her long legs.

She was wearing high heels, I noticed. Very high, very black, peep-toed ones.

"I'll tell you all of them as we eat, Mike," she said as she lifted the lid of her tray.

"You should see your face," Emily said as I sat.

"I'd rather see yours," I said, shaking my head.

I devoured the dinner. I couldn't decide which was better, the perfectly cooked baby lamb chops smothered in lemon, parsley, and rosemary, or the white truffle-garlic mashed potatoes. The champagne we washed everything down with was cold crisp Veuve Clicquot. After the third glass out in the night air, I could feel bubbles dancing in my bloodstream.

Emily popped the other bottle and filled our glasses again.

"I'm still waiting for those reasons, Agent Parker," I said, smiling at her. "Why am I here? What the heck are you doing? What the heck are we doing?"

She set down the wet bottle carefully on the linen.

"Okay. First," she said. "Happy birthday."

"But it's not my birthday," I said.

"I know," she said, taking a little bow. "It's mine. My thirty-fifth, to be exact."

"No!" I said, reaching over and giving her a hug. "Happy birthday! Why didn't you tell me?"

A huge, beaming smile crossed her face as she gazed out at the city. In the dim glow of the building lights, her face took on an amber cast, as if she were made of gold.

"Ever since I got divorced, Mike," she said, still looking away, "I've dated some pretty great guys. But every time I feel myself getting close, I start thinking about this guy I know. This New York cop who, no matter how wise he is with his mouth, just can't quite disguise the sadness in his pale blue eyes, the light in them that's so bright yet somehow so sad."

In the warm breeze, the candle flame flickered between us and she looked at me full on. Her beauty was always striking, but never more than at that moment. Seeing her face and smile were like looking at a gift I'd given up on getting.

"For my present, I wanted you all alone, Mike, for a couple of hours," she said, standing and lifting the bottle off the table. "No kids. No cases."

Her free hand found mine, and she tugged me up out of the chair and guided me into the room. She set the bottle down, closed the door, and pulled the curtain, and then she was in my arms.

"Just you," she said, kissing me.

We kissed for a while, standing. I could feel the goose bumps on her arms as I touched her. She shivered when I laid my palm on her bare back.

"I want you, Mike," she whispered a few wonderful minutes later. She took my hand again, this time tugging me toward her bedroom.

"I always have," she said.

We kissed on her bed for a while, and then she broke off suddenly and headed for the bathroom.

"Get the champagne from the other room," she said. "I'll be right back."

I went out and took the champagne off the coffee table. I was turning back to the bedroom when I stopped. Suddenly I couldn't do it. I didn't even know why. Pascal said that the heart has reasons that reason itself knows nothing about.

I placed the bottle back down on the coffee table. Instead of opening the bedroom door, I crossed the room to the hotel room door and left.

I looked back up at Emily's terrace one time as I walked out onto the street. Then I just shook my head and headed uptown, searching for my car.