by Karen Booth
And then it hit her—what if it wasn’t true? What did Daniel’s assumption say about him? It certainly demanded that she look at last night through a different lens. But she didn’t want to do that. It had been too amazing. She wouldn’t let circumstance color her view of something she’d enjoyed so much.
Her phone buzzed with a text. She flipped it over on the bathroom counter. The message was from Duane, head of store security for Eden’s.
Customers lined up for the dress you wore last night. Have Gregory text me when you arrive.
She did a quick search on her phone. Sure enough, she and Daniel had hit the tabloids again.
An Eden Princess and Her Enemy Prince.
There was that word again, the one she hated so much—enemy. The story focused on the hatred between the families and the businesses, and how unlikely a pair Daniel and Emma were. The reporter surmised it would never last. Emma knew the odds were stacked against them, but she at least wanted her chance. She and Daniel looked nothing but right in the pictures, holding hands on the red carpet, smiling at each other. Daniel was so handsome it made her entire body tingle, especially when she thought about the things they’d done together in bed. That was the happy ending she’d wanted, not the nightmare of the last half hour.
When Emma arrived at Eden’s, there were twice as many photographers outside as last time. Duane had them cordoned off to one side of the store entrance with the sort of metal barricades the city put up for parades. Meanwhile, customers were standing in an orderly line marked off by velvet ropes and brass stanchions—a line that went all the way to the corner of the block and wrapped around the building.
“Wow,” Emma said. “Looks like we’re selling some dresses today.” This was a better reaction than she’d hoped for. The public didn’t care about family feuds. Why should anyone else? If there was any evidence that Mindy and Sophie should be listening to her, this was it.
Her driver, Gregory, glanced back over his shoulder. “Duane wants us to wait until he can escort you to the door.”
“I see him.” Emma opened her own door and all hell broke loose.
The photographers ran out from behind the metal barricade and descended on her. They weren’t asking questions, just setting off flashbulbs in her face, while the people in line shouted her name. Emma! Emma! Duane got to her at the same time Gregory did, and the two men shielded her, rushing her to the door. Gregory dropped back and Duane followed her inside.
“This is crazy.” Emma neatened her hair and headed straight for the elevators. “I want us to sell dresses, but this seems a bit much.”
Duane was breathing hard. “People love a budding romance.”
Romance. Duane was capable of focusing on the positive. Why wasn’t everyone else? “Thank you for dealing with all of that. No big media events for me for a while. Hopefully, things will go back to normal.” She stepped onto the elevator.
Upstairs, the offices were exactly that—normal. It was like any other day. Lizzie was on the phone, writing something down. She gave Emma a quick wave. Down the hall, Mindy’s office door was closed, her light off. She often arrived late, so that was no big surprise. Ever the workaholic, Sophie had her door open and her desk a verifiable mess, but she was on a call, her back turned away. Emma dropped her things in her own office and waited patiently for Sophie to finish.
“Knock, knock.” Emma rapped on the door frame. “Do you have a minute?”
Sophie looked up. “Well, if it isn’t Princess Emma.” She waved the newspaper in the air, then handed it over. “Nora Bradford’s office called. They’re pleased. In fact, they’re agreeing to our terms for the new five-year license. I just need you to work out a few points on the financial side and get them to sign off on everything.”
Emma was welling with pride. This was a big development. “Oh, fantastic. I’m happy to take things over from here.”
“I have to say thank-you. Nora was so happy I think I convinced her to not only design my wedding gown, but the bridesmaids’ dresses, as well.”
“Oh, wow. That’s amazing.”
Sophie stuffed some papers into a folder. “It really is. I’d been unable to pull that off on my own.”
“Nice job with the press, Ems.” Mindy’s voice came from the doorway. For once, it wasn’t full of ire.
“I’m thinking we should get you to host a celebrity pop-up in the store,” Sophie said to Emma.
“Great idea,” Mindy said. “Ooh. Yes. Next week. I don’t think we should wait.”
“You want me to host a pop-up?” Emma had attended only one of these events, where Eden’s asked a notable person in fashion or pop culture to curate a collection of favorite items from the store for an exclusive invite-only shopping night. Only Eden’s biggest spenders would be in attendance.
“Yes, you. Like Mindy said, we should strike while the iron is hot,” Sophie said.
“Uh. Okay. Fine.” Emma officially no longer knew what was going on in her world.
“Speaking of hot, we need to talk about Daniel Stone,” Mindy said. “A date so you can show off a Nora Bradford dress is one thing, but you cannot be dating him for real. He’s going to chew you up and spit you out.”
“She’s right,” Sophie added. “Plus, things will get really awkward once we start discussing strategy to squash Stone’s New York.”
Emma’s stomach sank. Was Daniel right? “Did you guys get Charlotte Locke to drop Daniel as a client?”
“What? What happened?” Sophie asked.
“Daniel was dropped by Charlotte Locke. So now he’s starting from scratch with looking for a location for Stone’s. He thinks we were involved.”
Sophie pursed her lips. “If we were going to interfere, that would have been the logical place to start.”
“So you didn’t do it?”
Sophie pressed her hand to her chest. “Not me. Mindy? Anything you need to tell us?”
Mindy shook her head. “No way. I’m fine with Stone’s moving into New York. If they want to compete with us, let them try. At least it might make things interesting around here.”
Emma rubbed her forehead, playing mental catch-up. She had no idea who had sabotaged Daniel, but it wasn’t her or her sisters. That was all that mattered right now. “Sophie, is there any way you can do me a favor? Can you reach out to Charlotte and see if she’ll reconsider? Just in the interest of good sportsmanship?”
“You want us to help him?” Sophie’s voice was incredulous. “No way. Not a Stone.”
“Just as a sign of goodwill. That we’re willing to fight fair.”
Sophie planted her elbow on the desk and her chin on her hand, looking over at Mindy. “Thoughts?”
“We don’t want the papers thinking we sabotaged him. But we still need to talk about Emma and Daniel.” Mindy cast a stern look at Emma. “Are you going to keep seeing him?”
“I’d like to.”
Mindy closed her eyes and shook her head. The implication was that Emma couldn’t possibly be any stupider. “You do realize there are other men in the city, right?”
“I know. But I like him. A lot. We get along great. We had an amazing night last night.”
“Did you sleep with him?” Sophie asked, her voice reaching a superhigh pitch.
“Have you seen him?” Mindy interjected. “Of course she did.” She turned to Emma, her eyebrows drawing together in concern. “Please tell me you at least had sex with him.”
Heat flushed Emma’s face. Memories of last night flooded her mind, every last one white-hot and unforgettable. “I did.”
“Oh, boy,” Sophie said, making it sound as if Emma was a lost cause.
“It was just one night.” Except that it was so much more. She knew that the instant she’d tried to be dismissive. They’d made a connection last night, one she was inclined to fight for, even with outside forces tryi
ng to push them apart. “If you could just make that phone call, Sophie, that would be great. I’d like to at least be able to tell Daniel that we never set out to screw him over.”
* * *
As soon as Emma left, Sophie called Jake to have him fix the Charlotte Locke situation. “Everything should be back to normal very soon,” Sophie said to Mindy when she hung up the phone.
“I’m worried about Emma.”
“Me, too.” Sophie tapped her fingers on her desk. She did so whenever she was feeling uncertain. She said it helped her focus. Right now, it was making Mindy even more upset. Sophie’s ten-carat Fred Leighton engagement ring glimmered, a reminder that Sophie had the world at her feet right now—her dream job and her dream guy, Jake Wheeler, a man as rich as he was handsome, funny and charming to boot. Come October, they would be married.
And now Emma was taking center stage with splashy headlines dubbing her Princess Emma, while she seemed to be pursuing the impossible—a romance with a member of the Stone family. Meanwhile, Mindy herself was in perpetual limbo, professionally and personally. She spent her days trying to perform her duties at Eden’s while keeping her own company afloat. And as for her guy, Sam was more a pipe dream than a dream come true. Sam was not a man you pinned down. He was always the one doing the pinning.
Mindy crossed her legs, bobbing her foot so forcefully that her Christian Louboutin pump popped free from her heel and dangled on her toes. There was too much pent-up frustration coursing through her body right now. Her mind flew to Sam, the man who had no problem helping her unwind. She desperately wished he was in town. No matter his commitment to business, he always made himself available for a midday tryst. “I realize Emma has done some good things for the store, but I’m sure this Daniel Stone thing is going to blow up in our faces. She’s so impressionable and you know she’s caught up in the excitement of being in the papers. I can totally see her falling for the handsome guy and selling us down the river.”
“I’m worried, too, but what are we supposed to do? We have to believe she’s on our side.”
“Why?”
“She has a fortune tied up in being on our side.”
Mindy shook her head, unconvinced. “She knows what it’s like to have nothing. That scares the crap out of me.”
“Are you listening to yourself? She came from nothing. She’s not going to throw this away. And you agreed with her that there’s no reason for us to interfere with Stone’s. They think they can move in on our home turf and beat us at our game? Let them try.”
“I worry she’s too naive. Daniel will deceive her and we’ll have to pick up the pieces of our business and her heart.”
Sophie pressed her lips together. “I think she’s doing her best in a tough situation. She likes him. She feels she can keep work and fun separate. We have to trust her. We can’t tell a grown woman what to do with her personal life.” On the desk, Sophie’s cell phone buzzed with a text. She turned it over and a goofy smile crossed her lips. “Oh. Jake’s here. We’re going to look at a few possible wedding locations.” She leaped from her chair and opened her office door.
Jake walked in, looking as ridiculously handsome as ever in a killer suit. He came bearing a gift, too—a fragrant bouquet of bright pink flowers. “Hello, gorgeous.” He placed a soft kiss on Sophie’s lips.
“Peonies. You shouldn’t have.”
“I wanted to.”
“They’re beautiful.” Sophie beamed like the smitten bride-to-be. Mindy had always looked forward to the day her sister would get married, but as the oldest, she’d assumed it would be her turn first. “I’ll get these to Lizzie so she can put them in some water.”
Jake grinned as he watched Sophie walk away. “Hey, Mindy.” He strolled over and leaned down, pecking her on the cheek.
“Thank you for straightening out the Charlotte Locke situation.”
“I still don’t know who got to her, but things are back to normal for Daniel Stone. You could have left him flapping in the wind, you know. Someone with pockets that deep will find a new agent.”
“I know. But it’s the principle of the thing. We don’t want it to look like we’d play dirty pool.” Only members of the Stone family employed such low-down, backhanded tactics. The Eden family remained far above the fray. “Plus, we’re trying to keep Emma happy. She and Daniel Stone are quite the item.”
Jake nodded. “So I saw in the tabloids.”
Sophie reappeared in the doorway. “Ready?” she asked Jake.
“Always,” he answered.
“See you later?” Sophie asked Mindy.
“Of course.” She watched as her sister and Jake wandered down the hall. Sometimes, it looked like they were walking on air.
Mindy’s stomach was an anxious tangle right now, and Jake’s mention of not knowing who had prompted Charlotte Locke to make her move was eating at her. Why did she find herself wondering whether it might have been Sam? Probably because he was not an Eden, and if anyone was known for stooping to low levels, it was him. This certainly had the hallmark of a Sam move, but it didn’t make sense. His aim had always been taking down Eden’s, not propping it up. Her only course of action was asking him straight up if he had anything to do with it.
She crossed the hall to her office to grab her prized gray Birkin bag. She had to stop by the By Min-vitation Only office, and with Sophie away for a bit, this was her best window of opportunity. Plus, she preferred that her visits be unannounced. Her interim CEO, Matthew Hawkins, seemed to have a real talent for doing whatever he wanted to do, regardless of any precedent set by Mindy. The last time she’d dropped by, he had them completely reworking one of the production lines. She couldn’t let Hawkins put his stamp on her business. It was still her ship to steer.
“I’m heading over to the BMO office,” she said to Lizzie, breezing past her desk. She pressed the elevator button and studied their irreplaceable receptionist as she juggled a call, signed for a delivery and arranged Sophie’s flowers. As soon as she hung up the phone, Mindy had to ask, “Lizzie, when was the last time you got a raise?”
She blew her spiky bangs from her forehead. “It’s been more than a year. My last performance review was supposed to happen the day after your grandmother passed away. It sort of fell between the cracks.”
Mindy was horrified. “You’re kidding.”
Lizzie shook her head. “It’s totally understandable. We were all in shock when she died, and Sophie was more than a little busy then. It’s not a big deal.”
The elevator arrived and Mindy held it. “First thing I’m doing after I get back from lunch is fixing that. You’re too valuable to be treated like that. I’m so sorry that happened.”
Lizzie smiled, but it was more relief than happiness. “Thank you so much. I’ll see you when you get back, Ms. Eden.”
Out on the street, Mindy donned her Chloé sunglasses and greeted her driver, who opened the Escalade door for her. She pulled out her phone and looked at the time. If she was going to confront Sam, this was the time to do it, away from the microscope of Eden’s. She pulled up his name on speed dial. He answered after only one ring.
“This is a sexy surprise,” he said.
Damn him. Everything about him—his voice, his words—made her weak. He always knew how to make her smile, how to bring her to her knees. “Do you have a minute? I need to ask you a question.”
“I always have a minute for you.”
“Where are you, anyway?”
“London. I have a meeting, then I’m on to Frankfurt and Prague.”
“Big deals in the works?”
“I hope so. I’m investing enough time and money in them. Just some real estate. A possible tech acquisition.” Sam didn’t worry about carving out a niche. It was more about having a nose for profit.
“Speaking of real estate, do you know Charlotte Locke?”
“Of course. I know all three Locke siblings.”
“Do you know anything about Daniel Stone? Because Charlotte was his real estate agent until she dumped him early this morning, and everyone thinks Sophie and I were behind it.”
“Are you calling to share this bit of news, or are you calling because you think I did it? Because I did.”
Her hunch had been correct. Mindy blew out a breath and shook her head. “Great. This puts me in a terrible position. You know that, right?”
“I never want you in a bad position. I only want you in the best possible ones. Preferably ones with a good view.” Everything Sam said somehow led back to sex. When she wasn’t angry with him, she liked it quite a lot.
“I don’t understand why you would do that. You’re the one who’s always scheming for the demise of Eden’s. Why go after our competition?”
“Have you really not figured out what motivates me, Mindy?”
“Aside from money and sex, no. I haven’t figured you out. At all.”
“I want what you want. You told me you felt trapped by Eden’s, so I thought of ways for you to get out. You told me you were committed to succeeding with your sisters, so I did what I had to do to take your competitor out of the way. It’s very simple, Mindy. I just want you happy.”
“I don’t believe you. You always think about yourself first.”
“It’s not my job to convince you. But it’s the truth.”
Her mind was running a million miles a minute. Was that really true? Did he actually care? Most of the time, he seemed so blasé about everything, especially her. It wasn’t like Mindy to make demands, but something told her it was time to put everything on the line. She did not want to keep sitting idly by, letting her heart be subject to the whims of a man she wanted badly. “If you want me happy, you won’t go to Frankfurt or Prague.”