Find Me in Manhattan (Finding #3) Read Online Free PDF Page B

the night and the roses he brought me were also nice touches to the evening. I didn’t know how a graduate student afforded all of that, but I had a sneaking suspicion that Jameson came from a wealthy family. His shoes cost more than my rent, but for some reason, he lived in graduate student housing. I wasn’t sure what to make of that. Maybe it was more convenient. Who knew? And who cared?
    We walked around the park for a while, which seemed like no time at all when I was enjoying his company so much. “So, you grew up here?” I asked from the ledge of the fountain that he was guiding me along. It was a picture-perfect movie moment. The whole night was, really.
    “I did. My parents were corporate climbers,” he offered, confirming my suspicion of a wealthy background. “My father is an investor, given the opportunity to make wise investments over the years. My mom is an attorney. She was the one who helped my father broker his first deal. Slowly but surely they climbed to the top. They have a penthouse on fifth that was their dream location. I think they felt like they were successful the day they were able to buy such a place.”
    “It must be nice.”
    “It’s home to me,” he shrugged humbly, “but I rarely have time to spend there.” Something dark passed over his face, and we continued to walk in silence for a bit. It wasn’t uncomfortable except for the fact that I sensed a mood change. Why would discussing his parents put him in such a place? I wondered if maybe they had a strained relationship but didn’t feel I should push him by asking. I didn’t want to ruin such a wonderful night.
    He reined in the darkness and squeezed my hand, turning to me with a smile. “Tell me about Alabama.”
    “Mama and Daddy own a farm there. Mama is a city girl. She wore pearls more than tennis shoes until she met Daddy. Daddy grew up on a farm and had exactly one passion until he met Mama.”
    “What was that?”
    “Yielding the largest crop.”
    Jameson laughed. Well, I thought he did. He didn’t make a sound, just threw his head back in a wide smile that might have been the widest one I had seen yet.
    “He met Mama, and she became his number one. They married, and he dragged her out to the farm where they had a set of twins, me and my brother, and continued to grow hay and cotton.”
    “Does he yield the largest crop?”
    “Not yet.” I grinned, thinking of Daddy. “Where would the fun be if he reached his goal so young? Or so he says.”
    “I thought they called them plantations in the South.”
    “Some people do, I guess. No need to dress it up with a fancy name, though. I grew up on Grant Farm. That’s what it’s been called for the last hundred years or so.”
    “Sounds like a world away from here.”
    I pointed to the ground. “Through the looking glass, I tell you.” He almost laughed again and hugged me to him.
    I knew it sounded cheesy, but simple affection stole my heart every darn time. He also seemed genuinely interested in everything I had to say. It was the perfect first date that ended with the sweetest goodnight kiss on my doorstep.
    The next week Jameson and I had to work together. It was difficult to concentrate while I was mentally begging him to kiss me again, to smile at me the way he had when we walked through the park, but he did neither of those things. He was all business all week.
    Just when I was about to give up, he asked me out again. In a frantic move, I agreed immediately with a slight breath of relief making my response sound embarrassingly desperate. I was over my desperation and embarrassment by the time he took me to the Guggenheim.
    Our third date was at a real New York City club. For someone so seemingly uptight, he could bump and grind with the best of them. I felt the thump, thump of my heart with every boom, boom of the music, and I just knew I was dangerously close to falling for this charming, gorgeous, and unequivocally intelligent man.
    I curled up in bed