Page 7 of City of Sin (Men of Manhattan 1)

He's seeing someone else? My chest hurt. I took another sip of wine. I wasn't sure why I was surprised. He had moved on while he was still engaged to me. But the more time passed, the more I thought about the good things and not the bad. I missed him. I missed what we used to be. He had promised me that he'd never leave me.

"So, what is this Mason guy like?" My voice sounded small. I wanted to move on too. I wanted to be able to heal.

"He's super handsome," Carter said and laughed.

Marie rolled her eyes. "He's fun. I think he's exactly the kind of guy you should be dating right now."

"So he's gross?"

"No. He just knows how to have a good time. He's always the life of the party. Like I said before, he's charming."

"Is he friends with Patrick too?"

"Not that I know of." Marie looked at Carter.

"I don't think they've ever met," Carter said.

"Okay. I'll do it."

Chapter 3

Bee

I jumped onto my bed and pulled the covers up to my chin. My apartment was cold. Everything was cold. I was homesick. The only reason I had come here was Patrick. And now that he was gone, I wasn't sure what I was doing. I couldn't afford to continue living here on a secretary's salary. The apartment had seemed warm and full of life when Patrick had been here with me. But now it was easy to see it for what it really was. It was rundown and the heater was on the fritz.

I didn't want to pitch my ideas during the staff meeting tomorrow. And I didn't want to go on a blind date with some random guy. I was so sick of this city. Nothing good had happened to me here. New York had taken everything from me. All I wanted to do was go home.

Before I could change my mind, I picked up my cell phone, scrolled through my contact list, and pressed the call button. The phone rang.

"Hi, sweetie! How's the big city treating you?"

"Hi, Mom." My voice caught slightly.

"Sweetie, what's wrong?"

"I just want to come home." I pulled my knees to my chest.

"Oh, Bee." Her voice was soothing.

I couldn't help it. I started to cry. It was so nice to hear her voice. "Mom. I hate it here. What am I doing?"

"What happened? I thought you liked your new job? And what about all the new friends you said you made? You seemed so happy last time we talked."

"No." I always tried to pretend everything was okay around my mother. I didn't want her to have to worry about me. But I needed her right now. "I'm stuck. I don't think I'll ever move up in the company."

"Sweetie, you've never been scared of hard work. What's really wrong?"

"Everything. I don't belong here. I never wanted to come to this city in the first place. I followed Patrick here blindly. I lost myself in him. What the hell was I thinking?"

"You were in love. You weren't thinking."

I laughed and wiped away the tears under my eyes. "God, I feel like such an idiot."

"You know you can always come home. But don't let Patrick be the reason that you're running away from the city."

"I just feel so defeated. I don't know why it still hurts so much."

"I know. You remind me so much of myself, Bee. We both love so hard that we forget to take care of our own hearts."

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