On some level, the better part of her life always had been at risk, whether because of the drugs she nearly overdosed on in her youth or because she was saddled with her father’s enemies now as an adult. She needed to pick herself up, go to the hotel and get back to work. Three weeks ago they started to refurbish it. She needed to be there and be part of it. She needed to oversee the work that was being done and offer her input. This was her baby and she had to attend to it.
And so she did.
After a shower and changing into a pair of jeans and a sweater, she went downstairs into the kitchen, where Mario was preparing himself breakfast. It was snowing outside and he had a fire going in the sitting room just off the kitchen. He looked over at her when she came in.
“Good morning,” he said.
She put her arms around him and kissed him. “Making anything good?”
“The kitchen might need to be gutted, but the stove works. Here. I made you an omelet.” He slid it onto a white plate as she sat at the granite bar and smiled at him.
“You made that omelet for yourself.”
“So what? I’ll make another. Juice?”
She nodded.
“Coffee?”
“If I can have the entire pot.”
“You can have whatever you want. What’s on your agenda today?”
She leaned back as he poured her coffee into her favorite mug and felt a groundswell of relief and gratitude when she said, “Something different.”
He put the omelet in front of her. He was playing it cool and she loved him for it. “What’s that?”
She picked up her fork and dug in. “I think I need to get out,” she said. “One more day here and I’ll likely have mold on me.” She pointed down at her omelet. “This, by the way, is delicious.”
“It’s the cheese.”
“Whatever it is, it’s fantastic.”
He cracked two eggs and started beating them in a bowl. “So, what’ll you do? I’m doing my soup kitchen runs today. Want to join me? I could use a hand unloading the food.”
Ever since she’d known him, the one thing he’d never given up was helping those less fortunate than himself. He’d taught her plenty about that. There wasn’t a soup kitchen in New York that hadn’t benefitted because of his efforts. “Actually, if you don’t mind, I think I’ll go to work,” she said.
He sprinkled cheese into the bowl with some peppers and onions and she could sense that he was suppressing a smile. “Work, huh? You ready for that?”
“I’m ready,” she said. “In fact, I think I’m beyond ready. I’ve been pretty self-indulgent lately. It’s time for that to end.”
Just hearing the words spoken aloud thrilled her as much as it unnerved her. She was no fool. She knew what she was facing. She knew the expectations and the burden that would come her way when the press found out she was back on site and working to turn her hotel into something unforgettable. She also knew the comparisons that would be made between her and her father, and her and Celina. Was this Redman as talented as that Redman? Did Leana have what her sister had? What her father had?
She didn’t know. But in spite of all the pitfalls and all the things that could go wrong over the next year, there was one thing she couldn’t deny, and that was the rush of excitement and adrenalin that shot through her senses now and made her feel as alive as the first time she met and fell in love with Mario.
She could do this.
She could feel Harold in her heart, Mario at her back and even Celina, on some ethereal level, cheering her on.
It was time for her to make a name for herself--and not just by writing a check.
# # #
Thank you for purchasing and reading “FROM MANHATTAN WITH LOVE.” I hope you enjoyed it. Look for PARK AVENUE, the fourth in the FIFTH AVENUE series, in 2012.
Look for a new series, beginning with “A Rush to Violence,” on June 8, 2012. “A Rush to Murder” and “A Rush to Vengeance” will follow in 2013.
Look for “From Manhattan with Revenge,” the sequel to “From Manhattan with Love,” in July 2012.
Please contact me at ChristopherSmithBooks for any comments or suggestions.
Please join my fan page on Facebook here.
Thank you again.
Christopher
Other Books by Christopher Smith
“Fifth Avenue”: (Kindle US) (Kindle UK)
“Running of the Bulls”: (Kindle US) (Kindle UK)
“From Manhattan with Love” (Kindle US) (Kindle UK)
“The Fifth Avenue Series Box Set” (Kindle US) (Kindle UK)
The Bullied series:
“Bullied”: (US Kindle) (UK Kindle)
“Revenge”: (US Kindle) (UK Kindle)
“Witch”: (US Kindle) (UK Kindle)
“War”: (US Kindle) (UK Kindle)
“The Complete Bullied Series (Kindle US) (Kindle UK)
About the Author
Christopher Smith is the international best-selling author of "Fifth Avenue," its sequels "Running of the Bulls” and “From Manhattan with Love,” as well as the best-sellers "Bullied," "Revenge," "Witch" and "War," all four of which deal with the subject of bullying.
For fourteen years, Smith was the film critic for a major newspaper in the Northeast. For eight years, he appeared weekly on NBC affiliates, and two years nationally on the E! network. He has written over 4,000 reviews and he has been named Best Critic for 2010 by the MPA. He has published three previous books in his Netflix "Queued" series, which are compilations of hundreds of his film reviews. He lives in Maine.
© 2011 by Christopher Smith. All rights reserved.
This book and the two book excerpts are a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. All rights reserved. No part of this publication can be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without permission in writing from the author or publisher.
Edition: November 2011
Table of Contents
From Manhattan with Love
About the Series
Contact Christopher
Other Books by Christopher Smith
About the Author
From Manhattan with Love: A Novella (The Fifth Avenue Series) Page 7
