Cruel Fortune (Cruel 2)

It did nothing to dispel the nagging bit of fear that said that this was too good to be true. Or that moving here wouldn’t even work. Maybe I couldn’t write in New York City either.

I smothered the thought. It’d do no good, fretting on that. I had moved to New York to write, and write I would.

As soon as I finished unpacking. It was amazing, the amount of stuff I hadn’t accumulated when living out of a suitcase for a year and a half and then hunkering down in my best friend’s guest bedroom for a year. I really had nothing and was lucky that I’d been able to bring what I could to try to fill the small apartment.

But, by that afternoon, I thought I’d done a decent enough job unpacking. Writing would likely have to begin tomorrow since I’d promised Lewis that I would celebrate with him when he got off work. He’d been texting me all day, and I couldn’t deny that I had something like butterflies of anticipation in my stomach.

For the first time ever, the buzzer sounded from the apartment door. I squealed in excitement and rushed to answer it.

I pressed the button and said, “Hello?”

“Natalie, it’s Lewis. Buzz me up.”

“Yay! Doing it now.” I pressed the button and paced in front of the door until I heard a knock.

I wrenched the door open. Lewis Warren stood in the doorway, looking sexy as hell in a white button-up, rolled to his elbows, his peacoat folded over his arm, and a bottle of champagne in his hand.

A wide grin split his face. “Hey, gorgeous.”

“Hey,” I breathed.

I’d been anxious and excited about this meeting all day. Worried that the spark between us hadn’t been real. That he’d see me differently. Or that it wouldn’t really work out now that I was here because I wasn’t Upper East Side…or whatever. That it would start to feel wrong again. Like we shouldn’t be doing this.

But now, standing here with him, all my doubts vanished.

He scooped me up into a hug. “I’m so glad you decided to move. The last three weeks have been torture.”

“I’m glad I moved, too,” I said with a laugh. I stepped back and gestured for him to enter. “Come on in. It’s small, but I’m in love.”

He strode inside and then held up the bottle of champagne. “Housewarming gift.”

“Oh, wow. Thank you.” I stared down at the yellow label with wide eyes before putting it in the empty refrigerator. It was much fancier than the cheap stuff Amy and I celebrated with. “I know what I’m having for dinner now.”

He chuckled as he dropped his black peacoat onto the sofa. “So, this is the place.”

“Yep,” I said, suddenly seeing the tiny place through his eyes. “I know it’s not much, but…”

“Hey.” He held up his hand. “You don’t have to diminish it for me. I was the one who helped you find it, after all. And it’s exactly what you wanted, right?”

I nodded. Because it was the exact apartment I’d been looking for. I’d been amazed when Lewis had stumbled across it. “Absolutely. I mean, look at this exposed brick.” I gestured to the living room wall. “And…and…I live in it all alone. So, no roommates or anything.”

“Pretty spectacular for your first New York City apartment. I think most people have a minimum of five roommates. I had four.”

“What? No way. You’re a Warren.”

“So are my parents and two younger sisters.”

I chuckled. “I wasn’t counting Charlotte and Etta.”

“That means that you clearly haven’t lived with them. They’re hellions.”

“You weren’t much better at that age, were you?”

“Oh, worse, much worse,” he said with a wink.

“Why am I not surprised?”

I could only guess based on what I knew of Penn’s past. I slightly shriveled inwardly at that thought. When I forgot that Penn and Lewis were best friends, it was much easier to be in his presence.

I turned away from Lewis to shrug my jacket on. I didn’t want to ruin our night. We’d both been looking forward to it.

My face was carefully blank as I faced him once more. “Well, what do you say we get out of here?”

Lewis nodded, but I didn’t think that he had missed my uncomfortable moment. He pulled his jacket back on, and then we took the stairs down to the ground level. I shuddered at the frigid temperature. So much colder than it had been in Charleston this morning. I tugged gloves on, preparing for the walk.

But Lewis gestured to a black Mercedes idling in front of my building. “My driver is waiting.”

“Oh, you have a driver.”

He nodded as he opened the back door. “How do you think we got back to your hotel when you were here for your book?”

“You know…I was drunk enough not to have given it a thought.”