by Karen Booth
They wound their way through the crowd. Several people gave her funny looks, but she did her best to hold her head high. Daniel’s presence certainly made it easier. He ushered her outside, where the red carpet photographers were lying in wait. As soon as she was spotted, the flashes started going off. Yet another thing she had not bargained on.
Emma squinted as the bright lights made it hard to see. A black SUV pulled up to the curb and Mindy’s driver rounded the back of the car, waiting for her on the sidewalk.
“That’s my ride,” she said.
Like the perfect gentleman, Daniel escorted her to the waiting car, and Emma climbed into the back seat. As soon as she was inside, she started to remove his jacket.
He held up his hand. “Please. Keep it.”
“No. It’s okay. I know you have to go back in and find someone.” She had to wonder who he was meeting. Surely there were hundreds of women in that room who would love even a moment with Daniel. Still, Emma was immensely grateful for the time she’d had with him, even with the way it was ending.
He slid his hand onto her shoulder and gave a subtle squeeze. Even through the suit fabric, it was wonderful. “I’m the only person who has seen the state of your dress. When you arrive home, I’d like you to be able to retain your dignity.”
She smiled. “That’s so sweet.”
“Oh, I have my reasons. If you keep it, it’ll give me an excuse to see you again.”
Emma’s face flushed so quickly she was surprised she could still sit up straight. “You’re forcing me to hold your jacket hostage?”
He leaned in even closer. Good God, she wanted him to kiss her. She found herself puckering just to extend the invitation. “Part and parcel of being a gentleman.”
The car behind hers honked. She jumped. Daniel grimaced and looked back.
“I should go,” she said, hoping he’d protest.
“I’ll need your number if I’m going to see you again.”
His voice was a bit desperate and that was when the realization hit her—he didn’t recognize her from their building. Looking back at the first thing she’d said to him tonight, she was shocked by her own brazenness. That had been a far bolder gesture than the real Emma would have ever made.
“So you really don’t know who I am? I don’t look the slightest bit familiar to you?”
“I’m so sorry. Should I know who you are?”
She laughed quietly, but it was more born of sad resignation than happiness. He hadn’t noticed the everyday Emma. Not at all. She leaned over and placed a kiss on his cheek. She desperately hoped that wouldn’t be the extent of things between them, but if it was, at least the end could be on her terms. She’d either be bold Emma and go to his apartment, or she’d be her old self and leave the jacket with the doorman and attempt to hide from Daniel forever. First, she needed time for her ego to feel a little less bruised.
She reached for the door handle. “Don’t worry, Daniel. I’ll find you.”
And just like that, the driver pulled away from the curb and sped off into yet another magical big city night. Emma wrapped her arms around herself and sat back in the seat, looking off through the window, wondering what was ahead for her and her slightly-less-mysterious Mr. Brit. Romance? At least a real kiss? Or was tonight as good as it would ever get?
Four
Mindy Eden knew she had to make a change. She nudged Sam Blackwell, trying to wrench him from his peaceful post-sex slumber. Yes, they’d had a white-hot night after they’d skipped the Empire State fashion show, but Sam took chances Mindy wasn’t always comfortable with. In the elevator on the way up to her apartment last night, he’d slipped his hand under her skirt while a couple from her building rode along with them. He’d blocked any view with his jacket strategically draped over his arm, and she’d nearly had an orgasm while he pleasured her. It was fantastic, but it was not right. Mindy didn’t like herself when she was like this, making rash decisions and not caring about consequences.
But Sam did that to her. He made her do stupid, stupid things. All the more reason to make a pre-emptive strike. “Sam. I think you should go.” She shook his shoulder again. He rolled away from her, his breaths quickly becoming soft and even.
Simply saying that she wanted him to go made her remorseful. She didn’t really want him to leave. She wanted him to stay, for real, just spend a day with her. But she’d learned by now that expectations like that were foolish with Sam. He was always on to the next thing, hopping on his private plane and jetting off to another corner of the world. There was always more money to be made, another deal to strike. She worried there might even be other women. How could there not be? With his square jaw, dark eyes and thick tousled hair, he could have any woman he wanted. Never mind the billions he had in the bank. For most women, Sam would be impossible to resist, even if he were penniless. She had no proof he was romancing anyone else. It was more a hunch, a little voice at the back of her head asking one simple question—Why do you trust this guy?
Her sister Sophie certainly didn’t trust him. Neither did Sophie’s fiancé, Jake. Sam had a reputation for being an unscrupulous businessman. He would do anything to succeed. He had a knack for finding other people’s weak spots and taking advantage. In Mindy’s case, her weak spot was her neck. One brush of Sam’s lips and she was putty in his hands. It took very little effort for him to get her into bed. She’d learned that hours after meeting him, five months ago.
Knowing he’d wake up at the prospect of more sex, she slid closer to him, pressing her breasts against his broad back, cupping his firm shoulder with her hand and rubbing his calf with her foot. “Sam. Please wake up,” she whispered against his neck. She tried very hard not to inhale his smell, but she couldn’t resist. She liked it too much.
He rolled to his back, a cocky smile crossing his lips while his eyes remained shut. “I don’t usually perform sex on demand, but in your case, I’ll make an exception.”
“That’s not what I was asking.” Her nipples grew hard at the mere suggestion, heat pooling between her legs. She wanted him. Again.
He reached around and grabbed her bottom, giving it a gentle squeeze. “Then maybe I should ask. I want you, Min. One more time?”
Mindy knew she had to be strong. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. I don’t think we’re a good idea anymore, Sam.”
He opened his eyes, a flash of dark sexiness that was a verifiable shot to the heart. “What’s wrong? Didn’t we have fun last night?”
Mindy sat up in bed and pulled the rumpled sheets against her chest. “We did have fun. But that’s all we ever have and I should be focusing on work. I blew off an important industry event because of you last night. You’re a distraction.”
He propped himself up, his elbow on the pillow. “You need a distraction. You work hard and are in an impossible situation.” Under the covers, he caressed her inner thigh, starting at her knee and moving north, the tips of his fingers dangerously close to her center. He knew exactly how to manipulate her.
Still, she ached for more of his touch. She ached for all of him—body and soul. That was the problem. All he offered was the former, never the latter. “I know how hard I work. I eat stress for breakfast, lunch and dinner.” It was the truth. Before she’d inherited one-third of Eden’s, she already had a wildly successful company of her own, By Min-vitation Only, an online greeting card and invitation design and printing service. Although she’d hired an interim CEO for BMO, she was still involved in the day-to-day, all while performing her duties at Eden’s. She could be stretched only so far.
“I offered to get rid of the obligation you don’t want.”
She shook her head. “And I told you no. Don’t you dare sabotage Eden’s. Sophie and Emma would never forgive me.”
“Why? You’d all lose some money, but you’d also all be out from under the burden of that business. Plus, it’s
a drop in the bucket compared to what you’d be left with. The real value of Eden’s is the building and the land it sits on.”
This was an argument Mindy had wholly embraced six months ago, when Gram died unexpectedly and Mindy knew she and Sophie were set to inherit the business. But the terms of the will were such that the heirs, Mindy, Sophie and Emma, had to run the business together in good faith, for two years. Mindy might be driven to protect her own best interests, but she couldn’t turn her back on her sisters. She couldn’t thumb her nose at her grandmother’s wishes.
“We’ve been through this one hundred times.” She climbed out from under the covers and grabbed her silk robe from a hook on the closet door. “Logic says you’re right, but I have to be a good person. That means working like a dog for two years and hopefully being able to sell my interests in Eden’s to my sisters when that time is up. I might be stuck, but it’s not forever.”
“Why be stuck at all?”
“Because I’m loyal to my family.”
Sam shrugged and threw back the covers. The sight of his naked muscled form made her breath catch in her chest. “You worry too much about what other people will think.”
Again, Sam had a talent for zeroing in on Mindy’s weaknesses. She did worry about what Sophie thought. She wasn’t so sure what to make of Emma. She wasn’t sure she could trust her to do a good job at Eden’s. Mindy and Sophie had known her for only a few months in the context of sisterhood and partnership. Emma had largely been a disappointment. She didn’t have a nose for big business strategy. She certainly didn’t have a nose for fashion.
Mindy’s phone rang with the ring tone she’d assigned to Sophie. “I have to get this. If my sister is calling at seven in the morning, something’s wrong.” She lunged for her cell as it buzzed on the nightstand. “Soph, hey. Two seconds, okay?” She pressed the button to mute the call.
“I’m going to hop in the shower. Join me when you’re done?” Sam casually placed his hand against the jamb of the bathroom doorway, flaunting his unbelievable body. She didn’t need to touch him. She could see how hard he was.
“Give me a minute and I’ll be there.”
“Don’t be long. I need you, Min.”
I need you, too, Sam. Precisely the reason she had to make a change.
* * *
Daniel didn’t wait for his alarm clock the morning after Empire State. He’d hardly slept at all. Visions of sexy, enchanting Emma tormented him. She was a feast for the senses, beautiful, sweet smelling and impossibly soft to the touch. If he could afford to put any time at all into seduction, he might pursue her with everything he had. But there was no room for distractions while he was in New York, and especially not of the female variety. Daniel had a real talent for finding women who at best made his life impossibly complicated, and at worst, broke his heart. His family was counting on him. He had to prove that he could fill the void left behind by William.
Still, it was tough getting Emma out of his head. She’d surprised him at every turn last night. From the moment she so boldly introduced herself, she’d been nothing but refreshingly candid and at ease. She did not put on airs or try to impress him. She hadn’t boasted once of her family lineage or about important people she knew. He still wasn’t sure what to make of her, especially after her parting comment: Don’t worry, Daniel. I’ll find you. How, exactly, would she do that?
The sun was beginning to peek between the drapes and the dogs were beginning to stir. There was no point in pretending he’d get any sleep at all, so he tossed back the covers and dressed for his morning walk with the dogs. With all three on their leashes, he took the elevator down to the lobby and made his way across the street to Central Park. They completed their usual circuit, then Daniel made his last stop at a newsstand a block away. Call him old-fashioned, but he didn’t enjoy reading the news on a computer screen or tablet. He preferred the feel of real paper. He didn’t think twice when reaching for The Times, but the large print of a tabloid made him stop short.
Retail Royalty Romance!
There, beneath the juicy headline, was a picture of himself and Emma as she placed a kiss on his cheek. Shock and heat coursed through him in equal measure as he was confronted with the visual evidence of one of last night’s most memorable moments. He read the headline again. The British press had long referred to the Stone family as retail royalty. He was outed now. His mother was going to lose it.
He wasn’t about to read more out on the street, so he paid for his purchases and rushed back to his building, dogs in tow. Daniel rushed into the waiting elevator and jabbed the button for his floor, willing it to travel faster. He peered at the picture on the front page again. He was leaning into the kiss, his hand at Emma’s waist. Despite the fact that it hadn’t been on the lips, the photograph was nothing less than sexy. Of course it was—she was too stunning for words.
Inside his apartment, he tossed his keys aside and let all three dogs off their leashes. They bolted into the kitchen for water. Daniel took his papers and plunked down on the sleek black leather sofa in the living room. He flipped to the full story inside. It took only a few words for him to learn why Emma had been so flabbergasted that he hadn’t known who she was.
She was one of the Eden heiresses. A beautiful billionaire. He wasn’t the only member of a royal retail family. They both were. Bloody hell.
He studied the other photographs. One was of her on the red carpet, spinning her skirt up in the air like a model, revealing her lithe legs. There was a second one of himself with Emma during the show, apparently snapped by someone with a camera phone. His arm was slung across the back of her chair. Her legs were crossed, that unforgettable dress cut dangerously high up her silky thigh. He saw how focused he was on her as she whispered in his ear. If this was any other woman on the planet, he might not feel so stupid about how distracted he’d been by her. But Emma was trouble. She was an Eden.
How had he managed to not only meet the one woman he had no business spending time with, but also let her run off with his tux jacket? He hadn’t simply waded into treacherous waters with an Eden heiress, he’d found a stretch of shark-infested sea.
His phone buzzed in his pocket. It was certainly his mother. She’d stopped reading the papers after his brother’s accident, especially when the press figured out that William, and Daniel’s former fiancée, Bea, had been having an affair. Their mother had been too embarrassed, and unwilling to believe it. But she had plenty of people at the Stone’s office in London feeding her information. It was now time for damage control. “Hello, Mum.”
“It looks as though you had a good time at Empire State.”
“You’ve seen the papers.”
“Was this a calculated move on your part?”
“It wasn’t, but seems like an awfully good stroke of luck.”
The other end of the line became eerily quiet, so much so that Daniel wondered if the connection had been dropped. “I fail to see how this could possibly be good,” she finally said. “The Eden family is poison.”
“I’m not sure of that. Emma is lovely. And she undoubtedly knows quite a lot about her family’s business.” All of that was the truth, but he was well aware he was covering his own ass.
“So you’re after information?”
He hadn’t known until moments ago that it was an option, but it wasn’t a bad idea, especially if it meant spending time with Emma. “Seems like I ought to try, doesn’t it?”
“Do you think she’d actually trust you? How do you know she won’t lie to you?”
“I don’t. But I’d like to think I’m a good judge of character.”
“One could argue that you’re a bit blind when it comes to women, Daniel.”
He bristled at the suggestion. He hadn’t been blind to the fact that William and Bea had fallen in love behind his back. He’d only been stupid enough to hope his own brother would do the right
thing and back off. “This is just business. Information is power. You know that as well as anyone.”
“And you’ve handed it to the enemy on a silver platter. You’ve blown your cover. Everyone knows you’re in New York scouting locations for Stone’s. There’s no telling what the Eden sisters will do to try to stop us.”
Daniel’s shoulders tightened with every damning detail she launched at him. He knew his predicament. He didn’t need her constant reframing of the problems. “We should have been up front about it from the beginning. If you’re going to compete, better to do it out in the open where everyone can see.”
“This isn’t a competition, Daniel. It’s war.”
He shook his head. How his mother loved to cling to her Eden’s grudge. “It doesn’t matter what you call it. Stone’s will succeed. I promise you that.”
“I’m not sure you’re in a position to make guarantees.”
He wasn’t, but he’d never admit defeat until he’d run out of options. Right now, he had many directions he could take this, and he intended to do exactly that. “Everything is proceeding according to plan.”
She tutted on the other end of the line. “Alright then. But stay out of the papers. At least until we’ve signed a lease.”
“I’ll do my best, but you know how the press is.”
“Yes, dear. I do.”
Daniel hung up the phone, relieved his mother had forgotten about the most pressing task from last night—speaking to Nora Bradford. Daniel had been unable to track her down after seeing Emma off in her car. He couldn’t afford to call her office and leave a message. Someone would figure out what he was up to. He was going to have to find a different way.
He began pacing in his living room. He needed to formulate his next several moves. If anyone asked, he was going to have to hedge his answers about Stone’s opening their first US store in New York. As for Emma, pursuing her even for a fling would do nothing but create problems. But as he thought about her naked back, the channel of her spine and those lacy panties she’d been wearing last night, he couldn’t deny that he wanted her. Perhaps there was some truth in the value of keeping your friends close. And your enemies closer.