by Karen Booth
“You sure you’ll be able to pull the trip together so quickly?”
He had to show up on Monday afternoon to sign the lease. He had to have the chance to break the news to her before he made that one crucial move. “If you can make it work, I will make it happen.”
She drew a finger down the center of his chest. “I’ll make it work.”
Ten
The morning after Emma’s pop-up, Mindy opened the door of her apartment to pick up her daily copy of the newspaper. It didn’t stay in her hands for long. She read the headline and it promptly slipped from her fingers and fell to the floor. “Oh no.” The ugly words practically screamed at her from the front page.
Eden Family Hid Heiress: Princess Emma a dirty secret.
Her heart started pounding, her mind racing. The press had found out. They knew what Mindy and Sophie had wanted so badly to keep hidden, Sophie especially. This was enough to take down more than the store. It could destroy the entire Eden family. The affair that produced Emma would be all anyone would ever remember about their father. The fact that he and Gram had paid Emma’s mother hush money for years? That would be their shared legacy. Not Eden’s department store. The story would always be tainted by sex and money, the only things anyone seemed interested in these days, anyway.
Mindy bent down and picked up the paper, closing her front door and forcing herself to read. She knew every bit of the tale, and most of what the story said was true, although there was certainly conjecture. She didn’t know for sure that Emma had ever lived in a mouse-infested house. Mindy supposed she should have asked. She should have spent some time getting to know Emma a bit better. For the moment, she had to figure out where the press had gotten this story in the first place. How had anyone known to dig? Emma was supposed to be the media’s princess. Now she’d been reduced to a dirty secret.
Mindy marched into the kitchen and quickly made coffee. Today was going to require a lot of caffeine. This story could very well mean that her own business could be ruined. Gone in the blink of an eye. In the age of tabloid firing squads and internet witch hunts, she knew exactly how damaging a story like this could be.
Coffee made, she rushed back to her room, two mugs in hand. Sam was sound asleep in her bed. She set down his cup and, holding the other, sat on the edge of the mattress. She hoped her movements might wake him, but Sam slept like the dead. Maybe it was the sex. He did have a real talent for wearing her out. And he always wanted it. Always.
She drew in a deep breath and studied him. With his eyes closed in peaceful slumber, he was remarkably nice to look at. Long and muscled, with touchable, jet-black hair that held a slight wave. He was her beautiful problem. She wanted him more than almost anything, but time and again, he’d proved how adept he was at disrupting everything. If he wanted to make trouble, he did. With aplomb. Something about that newspaper article was telling her that he’d done it again.
“Sam. Wake up.”
He rolled to his back and his bracing blue eyes popped open. This was already a good sign. He was usually impossible to rouse without the promise of sex. “Let me guess. There’s a story in the newspaper.”
She smacked his arm. “So you are behind this.” She tossed the publication across the bed and it landed in the center of his chest.
He lifted his head and ruffled the pages, squinting to read. “Oh, wow. That’s quite a headline, isn’t it?”
“It’s horrible. How am I going to explain to Sophie and Emma that you were behind this?” Mindy didn’t fear her sisters’ ire so much, as she’d been trying to convince them that Sam wasn’t a bad guy. This would do more than set back her efforts. It might be the final nail in the coffin. It might be confirmation that she needed to cut Sam loose. For real this time. No second chances. Or third or fourth.
“So don’t explain it. It’s not your job to prevent this from happening. Sophie and Emma bear just as much of the brunt of this secret as you do. Just tell them there must be a leak in the store.”
“There isn’t a leak. Sophie will never believe that. She trusts everyone implicitly. Besides, no one knows about this. Just me, Sophie and Emma.”
“That’s not entirely true. You told me some of it and I heard the rest from Daniel Stone.”
A strange mix of shock and vindication rushed through Mindy’s veins. She and Sophie had been so sure that Emma’s involvement with Daniel would backfire on them all. Sure, Sam had fired the shots, but it appeared that Daniel had given him ammunition. “I can’t believe she told him. She was under strict orders to keep her mouth shut.”
“Orders? Is Emma not an equal partner? It seems to me like you and Sophie spend an awful lot of time telling her what to do.” Sam rolled to his side and propped his head up with his hand. His splendid naked chest was on full display, the sheet dipping temptingly low, beneath the trail of hair under his belly button. For a moment, Mindy forgot what they were talking about.
“She doesn’t always know what she’s doing. She’s new to this whole world. She knows nothing about running a business. If we don’t guide her, it’ll be a disaster.”
“I’m not sure that’s true, either. She seems to have a natural affinity for enticing the press. That’s not an easy thing to accomplish.”
Mindy crossed her arms. “Will you stop reminding me how amazing Princess Emma is? Whose side are you on, anyway?”
A cocky smile crossed his lips. “I knew you were jealous. That’s why I leaked the story. I thought it would make you happy to have her knocked down a few pegs. I can guarantee there will be no more princess stories. It’ll all be about poor, sad Emma.”
Was Mindy jealous? Was that her problem? Was that why she’d been so hesitant to trust Emma and her choices? “She’s still my sister. I don’t want her dragged through the mud. Nor do I want my entire family and our name becoming a disgrace.”
“You sure you feel that way about her?”
Mindy couldn’t have said that for certain in January, when Emma was new at the store and new to the family, back when Mindy and Sophie were still reeling from learning they had to share the four-billion-dollar inheritance three ways rather than two. But seeing her on the cover of the paper this morning, all Mindy could think was how this was going to shake Emma’s confidence, just when she should be on top of the world. It wasn’t fair. Mindy knew what it was like to be on top and have things go upside down. That’s what had happened to her when she’d been forced by their grandmother’s will to work for Eden’s and set aside her own company.
“Part of me wants to protect her. Of course. Sophie and I both feel that way. We’re still getting to know her, though. It’s a ridiculous situation.”
“One you can thank your father and grandmother for.”
Mindy pressed her lips together tightly. “I know. They messed up. Big time.” Any realizations she was coming to right now about Emma were quickly being overshadowed by the larger looming problem. Sam needed to go. She was sleeping with a man who made a lot of assumptions and was in no way scared to act on impulse. He kept thinking he would make her happy, and all he did was make her situation worse.
“Sam. I don’t think we can be together anymore. I don’t think it’s going to work. Sophie doesn’t like you. Emma might never speak to you after she finds out what you did. And I can’t help it. My family is important to me. They might drive me crazy sometimes, but I can’t alienate them for a guy.”
“Is that what I am to you? Just some guy?” Sam tore back the sheet and climbed out of bed. “I put multiple business trips on hold so I could be with you. I went to that silly event at the store, and listened to you come home every night and complain about your sisters. Do you not understand that I don’t do that for just anyone?”
“I’m supposed to be impressed that you’d be willing to hang around for two weeks?” Mindy could never have a future with Sam if he was going to treat her like an inconven
ience. The things she’d asked of him were perfectly reasonable. She wouldn’t be told any different. She stood and tightened the tie on her robe. “You need to go.”
“You tell me to go and I’m not coming back. Ever.”
Mindy absorbed every word he said, knowing exactly how determined he would be to keep his promise. There would be no going back. She bit on her lower lip before mustering the strength to push him all the way out of her life. “I know. My sisters need me more than I need you.” Even she was surprised by how harsh her words were.
“Have it your way, Min. Good luck with your dysfunctional family.”
She walked out of the room, waiting until she got into the hall to let the tears stream down her face. Mindy didn’t cry often, but this hurt. Sam Blackwell had an inexplicable hold on her heart. He was going to be impossible to forget.
* * *
Daniel woke to the sound of Emma’s cell phone ringing in the other room.
“Emma. Darling.” Half-awake, he pressed a kiss to her bare shoulder. “Your phone’s ringing. Shall I get it for you?”
She pried one eye open. “What time is it?”
“A bit after seven.”
“It has to be Mindy. She’s the only one who calls me this early.” The ringing stopped. “Oh, good. She gave up.” Emma scooted closer to Daniel and nudged his chest with her nose. “I’m not ready to get out of this bed.”
From the foot of the bed, Jolly yipped. “Someone’s not happy we’re snuggling without her.” Daniel was about to evict Jolly from the room when Emma’s phone rang again.
“Ugh.” She threw back the covers and grabbed a T-shirt of Daniel’s, which was slung over the back of a chair. “I’d better see what she wants.”
Daniel took this as his cue that their day had begun. He climbed out of bed and dressed in another of his T-shirts and a pair of track pants. The instant he stepped out into the hall, he heard the distress in Emma’s voice.
“Oh my God. Are you serious?”
Daniel rushed to her side, placing his hand at the small of her back. When Emma turned to him, her forehead was wrinkled with worry, her eyes tormented.
“What’s wrong?” he whispered.
“Okay. I’ll be in as soon as I can,” she said into the phone. “We’ll meet at nine?” She nodded. “Yes. Bye.” Emma pressed the end button and pinched the bridge of her nose with two fingers, her eyes clamped shut.
“What’s going on?” he asked.
“There’s a story in the paper this morning.”
“About last night?”
She shook her head. All color had drained from her face. “About me. My past. Everything my father and grandmother did to hide me from the world. The lies. The money. Everything.”
Daniel’s stomach lurched. If he was responsible for this, he’d never forgive himself. “Do they know who fed this information to the press?”
“That was actually Sophie calling, not Mindy. She said Mindy confessed it was Sam. He’s had it in his head for months that if he messes things up for the store, it’ll get Mindy out from under the obligation.”
Daniel had to come clean. He couldn’t drop this bomb on her in Bermuda. He already had a big enough one waiting. He hated having any at all. “I talked to Sam last night. I slipped about New Jersey. I don’t think he knew.”
Emma’s eyes became as large as saucers. “No. Daniel. Mindy and Sophie can’t know that I told you anything. I never should have said anything. I was supposed to keep it a secret.”
“He was trying to say that it didn’t matter that you’ve had a hard life, because you inherited so much money. I had to defend you. I’m so sorry.”
Emma walked away from him, pacing the living room, bare feet padding across the hardwood floors. “Sophie has been saying for months that she doesn’t trust Sam. I can’t believe Mindy said anything. She’s always harping on me to keep my mouth closed.” She pressed the home button on her phone and the screen came to life. “I have to see what the paper says. It’s just going to make me upset, but I need to know.”
Daniel reached out for her arm. “Do you want me to read it first?”
“If I’m going to be an embarrassment to the store and my family, I’d like to know exactly what I’m up against.” She scanned the screen.
Daniel read over her shoulder. That headline. A dirty secret. A sob left Emma’s lips and she sank down onto the couch.
“Let me see.” He took her phone from her. Despite everything, the first photo brought a smile to his face—of him and Emma in front of Eden’s last night. She was radiant as always, but the affection that had grown between them was plain as day. As fake as the tabloids could be, that picture was real. His mother was going to see that picture. She would know he hadn’t shared the full scope of his relationship with Emma.
“Well?” she asked.
“It’s everything you told me. But you didn’t tell me that your mom home-schooled you to keep you away from people. You didn’t tell me that she hid the money from you.”
Emma buried her head in her hands. “Oh, God. That’s in there?”
He put his arm around her shoulders, desperately wanting to comfort her. “This is why I hate the press.”
“I want to hate them, but they’re telling the truth.”
“I’m still sorry this happened. And I’m sorry your mother lied to you all those years. No one should ever be treated like that.”
She lifted her head, staring off into space. “I don’t blame her. I don’t. Of course she didn’t trust my dad. He bribed her to keep their child a secret. So that’s why she hid the money. She was so worried that he would stop paying and somehow manage to ruin her if she dared to speak out.”
No wonder Emma had once had so little trust of men. Her father, the most important man in her life, had acted so horribly toward her and her mother. “I’m so sorry. But you have an amazing life now and a wonderful job and more than enough money to live off.” And there’s us.
Emma looked at him, shaking her head. “My amazing life is never going to be the same. Every time I go to a party or work or even just walk through the lobby of our building, everyone’s going to know the smallest details about the worst things that have ever happened to me. They’ll know that I don’t really come from wealth and power and influence. I’m just a girl who grew up with nothing and stumbled into an inheritance. I hardly know what I’m doing at work most of the time. Sophie and Mindy know it, too.”
Daniel pulled her into his arms. He’d never had to worry about the things she had, and he wished he could take her pain away. “If anyone thinks any less of you because of this, they don’t deserve to know you or have you in their life. There are plenty of people who don’t care about the money or the designer dresses or the fancy parties. You don’t have anything to live up to, Emma. You’re perfect just the way you are.”
“You didn’t notice me at all until I was wearing a ten-thousand-dollar designer dress and so much makeup I could hardly hold my head up.”
Daniel wasn’t making anything better. She wasn’t wrong on that point. “And I feel like an ass for it. I know I apologized then, but I’ll apologize again. I’m sorry. I came to New York for business and nothing else.” Just thinking about his state of mind when he’d arrived made him realize just how much Emma had changed him. He didn’t recognize the man he was about to describe. “I was trying to find a way to live up to my brother’s memory, and now I’m sitting here telling you that trying to live up to anyone else’s expectations is pointless. I understand that you don’t want to disappoint your family, but you can’t forget that in a lot of ways, your family let you down.”
A tear leaked out of her eye, followed by another. She tried to blink them away, and she looked up at the ceiling as if she could hold it all in. “I just want to find a place where I belong. A place where I can be me.”
He wrapped her up in his arms, rocking her back and forth and pressing his lips to the top of her head. “You can belong with me. I always want you to just be you.”
“No fancy designer gowns?”
He kissed her temple. “I’m fine with whatever you want to wear. Or not wear. Totally up to you.”
She laughed quietly, resting her head on his shoulder. “Thank you. That makes me feel a little better. I don’t know what I would do without you.”
“I feel the same way.” With those words, Daniel knew that this trip to Bermuda tomorrow had to be more than just the sharing of a few uncomfortable truths. He couldn’t let Emma slip away. He loved her. “I’d say the timing of our trip tomorrow couldn’t be any better.”
“Yes. I need a vacation now more than anything.” She sat back and wiped the tears from her eyes. “Thank you for talking me off the ledge. Thank you for everything.”
“Of course.”
“Unfortunately, I need to get into the office so my sisters and I can have it out.”
“You can blame it all on me.”
“Something tells me that’s not how it went down.”
“Everything will be okay. It will all work out. I promise.” He knew he had no business making assurances like that, but he would have done anything to make it all okay.
She sighed heavily, her shoulders dropping. “Maybe. Hopefully. What are you going to do today?”
“Work. Run an errand or two.”
“Stay out of trouble.”
“I will.” He smiled, hoping it wasn’t considered trouble to go shopping for a ring.
* * *
Emma called Duane and let him know ahead of time that she was on her way to Eden’s. He got rid of any photographers by having Lizzie feed them a fake tip on her way into the building, stopping and whispering that she’d seen Emma down the block at Starbucks.