Her mouth opened slightly in surprise when she saw the horse-drawn carriage waiting for them. Her eyes glittered. “For us?”

“Anything for you.”

“This is…romantic, Clay.”

He chuckled. “You seem surprised. I told you I wanted this to be about us.”

“You did,” she whispered, as if finally realizing it.

Clay helped her into the carriage and then sat down next to her. He wrapped one arm around her shoulders and then laced their fingers together. She nuzzled into him as they set off to trot around the park at twilight.

“Clay…” she said after a few minutes of silence.

“Mmhmm?”

“This thing with us…it’s real?”

“Very.”

“And…we’re starting over?” she murmured.

“I don’t want to start over. Starting over means we forget everything we went through to get to where we are, and I won’t do that. We had an unconventional relationship for a long time, and it worked for us.”

She tensed under him.

“But that doesn’t mean we didn’t have a relationship at all. You were always important to me and always my girlfriend. It just took our unconventional relationship not working anymore to really show me how much you mean to me.”

“So…we’re not unconventional anymore?”

“Does this look unconventional to you?” he asked, sweeping his hand out at the park before them.

“No,” she said. “I just mean…there aren’t any other girls?” Her eyes widened hesitantly, as if she hated asking it and hated even more how much she feared his answer.

Truly, he just couldn’t believe that she didn’t believe him. He stared at her in surprise and bewilderment. Of course, it made sense for her to question him. She probably wanted it all in writing. And he’d be happy to put it on paper for her.

But his hesitancy was a bad idea. She seemed to have misread where his thoughts had drifted.

“I see…so not that different,” she said, dejected.

“No.” He grasped her chin and made her look up at him again. “There is no one else for either of us.”

“You sure about that? You didn’t seem so sure.”

“I’m sure. I just couldn’t fathom how I’d want anyone else.”

“Well, you wanted someone else all the time before. So, why is now different?” She straightened. “Why should I believe that it’s not going to be a game or a revolving door of women like it was before?”

He blew out harshly and ran a hand back through his hair. “I can tell you over and over that it’s just you and that I don’t want to be with anyone else, but you won’t believe me until you realize it’s not happening. I haven’t been with another woman in months. I stopped sleeping around when I realized that sex wasn’t enough.”

Her mouth popped open, and she quickly tried to hide it. “What do you mean?”

“I mean…what I want is you. I don’t miss the nameless sex. I want the connection that I have with you, and I am no longer satisfied without it.” He brushed her hair off her face and dragged her closer to him once more. “I don’t want what we had before. I want more. I want you.”

“You figured all of that out in a few months?” she asked breathlessly.

“Yes. Didn’t you? You started dating Bad Suit looking for a relationship. The relationship you wanted with me. Have you been satisfied without that connection?”

She shook her head. “No, but I didn’t go looking for it between someone else’s legs.”

Clay rasped a frustrated sigh. “No, you didn’t have to. You already had before we broke up. Come off of your high horse, Andrea. Our relationship spun out of control partly because of your actions. You left me that night, breaking the rules.”

“As if you ever cared for the rules,” she said, crossing her arms.

“You know I did.”

“God,” she groaned. She leaned forward and braced her elbows on her knees, covering her face with her hands. “I don’t want to argue about this. I’m ruining the perfect weekend.”

“You’re not ruining our weekend.” He rubbed gentle circles into her back. “We have issues. We’re going to need to talk about them at some point.”

She peeked up at him through watery eyes. “The day I saw you in the hospital, I wanted to die. You brushed it off so easily that I’d had nothing to do with it, but I completely blamed myself. I shouldn’t have left with Asher. I shouldn’t have been doing any of that shit I was doing, but I was scared that you’d freak out…that we’d shatter. I should have just talked to you.”

“Hey,” he said, pulling her back into his arms. “First, you know that wasn’t your fault. No need to keep beating yourself up about ancient history. Second, you could have talked to me about what you wanted until you were blue in the face, and I wouldn’t have listened. In one ear, out the other. As much as I hated the time apart, we needed that to recover and to figure out what we wanted. I was and am a total ass.” He chuckled. “That hasn’t changed. I just decided I couldn’t be me without you.”

Tears glistened in her eyes, and she nodded. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

The carriage dropped them off in front of the Plaza hotel where Clay had booked one of their more extravagant suites. He helped Andrea out of the carriage and held her all the way upstairs. He knew they had more to talk about, but it would happen over time. He never expected everything to resolved overnight.

They took a private elevator to their suite and entered the incredible space. The decor looked as if they had just stepped into the royal court of Louis XV with gilded frames, chic furniture, a grand piano, and crystal chandeliers. It had a state-of-the-art kitchen and a dining room to seat a dozen.

There were three-bedrooms and three-bath including a library with hand-selected books, an en suite gym, cherry-red wood office, and a white marble bathroom with a two-person walk-in shower and Jacuzzi tub. But the master suite was stunning with a walk-in closet big enough to hold Andrea’s clothes back home and a massive bed that they’d already spent a considerable amount of time in.

Clay took her hand and pulled her toward the balcony. His favorite part. Before them was the most coveted view of Fifth Avenue and Central Park. He could even see the famous Pulitzer Fountain from where he stood. It was one of the most expensive views in the city.