The Night Before Christian by Joy Avery Page B

something urgent came up.”
    Emory inhaled and
exhaled slowly. “New York?” She bit at the corner of her lip. “Okay.”
    The flight took a
little over an hour. Once they landed, they took a cab to the Horse-drawn
Carriage Company in Central Park South.
    “Our chariot—er,
sleigh—awaits,” said Christian, extending his hand toward a black, white, and
red partially covered carriage. The horse—all white with a red pom-pom atop its
head, and bells draped around its neck—was gorgeous.
    Moments later, they
were nestled beneath a Christmas inspired throw, which did a surprisingly good
job at keeping the icy temp from turning them into popsicles. For the next hour
and a half, they trotted through Times Square, oohed and ahhed at the
breathtaking decorations of the Fifth Avenue shops, enjoyed the display at Rockefeller
Center, and marveled at the sheer beauty of Saint Patrick’s Cathedral.
    “This is nice,” Emory
said, snuggling even closer against him.
    Christian’s teeth
chattered. “Yeah, it is.”
    She laughed. “I never
understood why you put yourself through sleigh rides. You hate the cold.”
    “But I love you. And
the smile that spreads across your face always warms me nicely.”
    Emory stared into his
eyes, then smiled.
    “See, I’m good and
toasty now.”
    “I love you, Christian.”
    When she frowned, he
grew concerned. “What’s wrong?”
    She leaned against him
again, this time resting her head on his shoulder. Something heavy weighed on
her mind.
    “I feel guilty being
here with you, Christian. I keep thinking about Yasmin and how hurt she must
be. Just twenty-four hours ago, you were engaged to be married. Now, you’re
here with me.”
    Christian placed a
finger under her chin and tipped her head so that he could look into her eyes. He
contemplated sharing with her the fact that Yasmin hadn’t wanted to get married
either. Instead, he chose to keep it to himself. He knew Emory. Her first
thought would be that he was only there because of it, which couldn’t be any further
from the truth. He was here with her because this was where he was supposed to
be.
    “Let me shoulder that
guilt. You did nothing wrong. I should have ended things with Yasmin months
ago.”
    “Why didn’t you?”
    He eyed her for a moment,
then turned away. “The night of the miscarriage…” He began again, “The night of
the miscarriage we were supposed to attend a charity event. I was running
behind schedule. Work. I snapped at her for being so impatient.” He sighed. “She
stormed out of the bedroom, lost her footing on the stairs. Emory, I’m the
reason we lost our child.”
    Emory rested her hand
on his cheek. “No, you’re not, Christian. Accidents happen. And that’s exactly
what that was. An unfortunate accident. But it wasn’t your fault.”
    He’d told himself that
a thousand times, but it still didn’t make it any easier. “I’d convinced myself
I could be content with Yasmin, then I walked into your shop... The second I
saw you, I remembered how it felt to be truly happy. I lashed out at you that
day in your shop because I was so angry at myself for still loving you after
two years.”
    Emory tilted her head
and smiled up at him, then puckered her lips for a kiss. He was more than happy
to oblige.
    She snuggled against
him again. “This skyline view is amazing.”
    Being here with her was
amazing. “Are you comfortable? Not too cold?”
    “Perfect,” she said.
    So was he.
    Once they’d finished
their tour with a loop around Central Park, a cab whisked them to The Plaza
Hotel . Not wanting Emory to think he expected anything from her, he opted
for a two-bedroom suite. It was the gentlemanly thing to do. “You can have your
pick of whichever room you’d like,” he said, as Emory moved about the main
room.
    She faced him slowly, a
hint of confusion on her face. “Okay.”
    A second later, she
recovered and flashed a smile. One he deemed forced.
    She pointed. “I…I guess
I’ll take