A Victorian New York Romance by Celeste Rane Read Free Book Online Page B

hallway.
    “This way.”
    “Where are
you taking me?” I said playfully.
    He laughed
and said, “I swear, it’s just my office. I know it’s a bit creepy in here cause
it’s a massive place. But trust me.”
    I laughed
too. But I did trust him. For some reason, it felt like we had known each other
forever even though we had only just met. Then we came to a vast staircase. We
climbed two or three flights and finally came to a hallway with people about
and offices. He showed me into his office. As soon as I stepped in I
immediately fell in love with it. The wood was dark and heavy and a massive
bookshelf full of old books covered an entire wall. There was a heavy oak desk
in the middle of it that had piles of papers and specimens in glass jars. It
was a true scientist’s office. He went over to the large windows and said,
    “Come. Have a
look.”
    What other
surprise could this gorgeous man have in store for me? I slowly walked over.
When I got to the window I looked down. From this point you could see almost
all of Central Park. I gasped at the sight.
    “This is your
view? It’s amazing. You are so lucky.”
    “I know. It’s
good right. The whole park lights up at night. I think it could fulfill some of
your Christmas winter wonderland fantasies,” he said as he turned away from the
window.
    I looked at
him. Who was this man? Why was he doing so much to please me or make me happy?
It was more than I expected from any stranger. He must have seen the
questioning look in my eyes, because he caught my gaze and held it.   The chemistry between us was so thick it
filled the room.   I wanted to kiss
him right then and there, but that was absurd. I barely knew this man for
thirty minutes or less. What was happening to me?

CHAPTER TWO

 
    We stood there at the window of his
office. The surroundings were exactly what I wanted New York to be like. I was
in the office of a historic New York building with the vastness of Central Park
below us.
    Bailey leaned in closer to me. His scent
was intoxicating. His voice came down to a whisper and then he said, “Want to
see it?”
    “See what?” I stepped backwards a
little.
    “The museum,” he said as he motioned
back toward the door.
    “Oh, yes of course. I would love too.”
    “I’ll just show you the highlights
because you really could spend days in here.”
    “I would like that, yes please,” I said
enthusiastically.
    For the next two hours, Bailey showed me
around the museum. I was completely captivated by the passion he had in his
voice when he talked about something that was on display. It was obvious that
this was what he loved in life. It was contagious, and I soon found myself
feeling enthusiastic about things I would normally find dull. He had a way of
explaining it in a way that gave me a different perspective. It was eye
opening. I wondered what else he could give me a new perspective on? I thought
to myself. The immediate subject of love jumped into my mind. After suffering
the bad engagement in St. Louis, I thought I could never feel the way I use to
about love. That it is possible. That true unconditional love was possible. I
had invested two years in that relationship, and I thought we were on our way
to being married. It was a shock to find out, he had a completely different
view of things. What was I getting myself into this time? This man was too
gorgeous to be a one-woman sort of man and he already showed me he was a
deviant scoundrel. Or so it seemed. Plus he worked at one of the most
prestigious museums in the world. He was definitely a catch. The amount of
attraction I felt when I met this man only minutes ago on the steps made me
know that much.
    Thinking those thoughts now while being
led around by Bailey, made me stop in my tracks. I just realized that I didn’t
have the immediate sparks with my now ex-lover when I first met him two years
ago. We had sort of just fallen into a relationship gradually. There was
nothing even close to the