Page 138 of City of Sin (Men of Manhattan 1)

"Of course. We had her totally fooled, right? Was she surprised you were the new boss?"

"I don't think it even crossed her mind."

"You know, you're really not so bad, Mason. I had you all wrong."

"You didn't. But Bee changed me."

"Ugh. I hate Valentine's Day. All of that romantic crap. It makes me want to throw up."

I laughed, but my laughter stopped when Bee stepped out of her bedroom. She really did take my breath away. She was wearing the red dress I had bought her for the Silver Gala. Hopefully tonight would end the way I had planned, unlike the last time she had worn it. She had curled her hair and it draped over her bare shoulders. Her smile seemed to have a direct effect on my groin. I was used to having her a few times a day. It had been way, way too long.

"You look beautiful."

Her cheeks blushed in that way that made my chest feel tight. I welcomed the feeling now. It was the feeling that kept me going now.

"You look very handsome," she said and smiled up at me.

"Vomiting over here!" Kendra yelled from the living room.

I grabbed Bee's jacket and her hand and pulled her out of the apartment. "Come on. There's something we need to do together."

"What is it?"

"A New York City Valentine's Day tradition. Despite what you said before, you do belong here. New York is better off with a girl like you. So I'm going to make sure you become an official New Yorker tonight."

"An official New Yorker?"

"Mhm." We stepped out onto the street. It had started to snow. Bee's fingers tightened around my hand. I loved how her hand fit perfectly in mine.

"Is that for us?" She was staring at the horse drawn carriage in front of us.

"The first thing is a late night carriage ride through Central Park." I grabbed her hand as she stepped up into the carriage. I scooted in next to her and pulled the blanket onto our lap. "Have you ever been in one of these?"

"No."

I put my arm across her shoulders. "It's super touristy, but it's kind of a stepping stone toward being an official New Yorker too."

"Is that so?"

I pulled her in even closer as the horses started to trot forward. "Yeah. And honestly, I've never been on one of these either. I've been posing as a true New Yorker this whole time."

Bee laughed. "So why haven't you been on one before?"

"I've never had anyone I wanted to go on one with." I smiled down at her.

"You have all the right lines, Mason Caldwell."

"Does that mean you want to be my girlfriend again? I'm pretty sure we had the shortest relationship in the history of relationships."

"Yeah, I didn't even get to tell anyone that you were my boyfriend. I like saying that."

"I've been referring to you as my girlfriend for awhile now. I don't know why I didn't just talk to you about it. I've been kind of a mess."

"You've been distracted."

"Maybe." I ran my hand up and down her arm. "Speaking of telling people, I talked to my parents while you were M.I.A."

"You did?" She pulled back slightly. "About your argument, or about us, or what?"

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