by Sarah Morgan
“Have you ever seen Paige cry?”
Jake’s fingers tightened on the pencil.
Yeah, he’d seen her cry.
He’d been the one to make her cry.
But Matt didn’t know anything about that.
“I’ve seen Eva cry.”
“Eva cries at sad movies and pretty sunsets,” Matt drawled, “but she didn’t miss a single day at work after her grandmother died. She dragged herself out of bed every day, put on her makeup and went to work even though she was devastated. That girl is tough.” There was a pause. “Look, if there is crying, I’ll deal with it.”
Jake thought about his date for the night. Then he thought about Paige. Paige, who he tried really hard only ever to think of as his best friend’s little sister.
Little sister. Little. Little.
If he repeated that word often enough, hopefully his brain might eventually believe it.
He could refuse, but then he wouldn’t be able to help her and he had every intention of helping. The situation was complicated by the fact that he knew Paige wouldn’t want to be helped. She hated being protected or smothered. She didn’t want to be the focus of other people’s anxieties.
He understood that. He understood her.
Which was why he was determined to structure his help in a way that was acceptable to her.
And the first thing he had to do was move her past the shock stage, into the action stage.
“I’ll be there.”
His Friday night of mindless physical entertainment evaporated into the ether.
Instead of spending the night with a stunning blonde he’d be behaving in a brotherly fashion toward a woman he made a point of avoiding whenever he could. Why did he avoid her?
Because Paige Walker wasn’t little. She was all grown-up.
And his feelings toward her were far from brotherly.
“Thanks.” Matt sounded relieved. “And Jake—?”
“What?”
“Be nice.”
“I’m always nice.”
“Not to Paige. I know you two don’t really get along that well anymore.” Matt sounded tired again. “Normally that doesn’t worry me because—well, you know why. There was a time when I thought she might be in love with you.”
She’d been crazily in love with him.
She’d told him as much, in a breathless hopeful voice, her eyes full of happy endings.
And she’d been naked at the time.
There was a sharp crack, and Jake glanced down and saw that he’d broken the pencil in half.
“You don’t have anything to worry about. Paige definitely isn’t in love with me now.”
He might not have been able to fix her heart, but he’d fixed that.
He’d been careful to kill any soft feelings she might have had for him a long time ago. Now the only emotion she ever felt in his presence was extreme irritation. It was an art form, winding her up. There were days when he even pretended he enjoyed it.
He kept her annoyed.
Kept her irritated.
Kept her safe.
“That’s good to know because you are the kind of trouble my sister doesn’t need in her life. You promised not to lay a finger on her. Remember?”
“Yeah. I remember.” That promise had handcuffed him for a decade. That, and the knowledge that Paige wouldn’t be able to handle the realities of a relationship with him.
“Hey, you’re my closest friend. You’re like a brother to me, but we both know you’d be bad news for my sister. Not that you’d be interested. We both know she isn’t your type.”
“That’s right.” Jake kept his voice monotone. “Not my type.”
“Do me a favor? Tonight I need you to find your sensitive side. Don’t poke at her or take bites out of her. Be kind. Can you do that?”
Kind.
He yanked open the drawer on his desk and took out a new pencil. “Sure I can do that.”
He’d be kind for five minutes.
Then he’d make up for it by driving her crazy.
He’d do that for Paige because he cared about her and he’d do it for Matt, because he was the closest thing Jake had to a brother.
And he’d do it for himself because love, in his opinion, was the biggest lottery on earth and the only risk he wasn’t prepared to take.
CHAPTER TWO
When life closes a door, you can always break in through a window.
—Eva
“YOU NEED TO burn your lucky shirt.” Paige stood on the roof terrace of their Brooklyn brownstone, staring blindly through softly waving grasses toward the glittering high-rises of Downtown Manhattan. The shady garden provided a lush, fragrant oasis in a city dominated by steel and glass.
Her brother, a landscape designer, had seen the potential others hadn’t and purchased the run-down brownstone for a fraction of its market value. He’d proceeded to turn it into three apartments, each with its own charm. But the jewel in the crown was the roof. Matt had magically transformed the weathered, unused space into a calming haven. Tall conifers surrounded the bluestone deck, sheltering custom-built wooden planters overstuffed with juniper, crepe myrtle and roses. It was invisible from the streets below and unimaginable to any one of the thousands of tourists trying to breathe in the crush of Times Square. It wasn’t until she’d moved to the city that Paige had discovered New York’s secret rooftop world, a myriad of elevated gardens topping the towering buildings like the decoration on a wedding cake.
In the summer they all met up here after work, sprawled on the loungers and deep cushions and drank and talked. Saturday was movie night and they invited friends over and watched on an improvised screen while the world passed by far beneath them.
It was Paige’s favorite place.
Candles flickered in mason jars and the air was scented with lavender and jasmine. It was a peaceful summer scene that felt a million miles from the urban madness of Manhattan. Being up here almost always soothed her.
Not today.
Unemployed.
The word filled her head, leaving no room for anything else.
In front of them, the table was loaded with delicious-looking dishes. Chickpeas roasted in spices, raw vegetables dressed in good olive oil and herbs. When she was stressed, Eva cooked, and she’d been cooking all afternoon. The fridge was full of food.
No one was eating.
“I threw the shirt away.” Eva’s voice was thickened. “I probably shouldn’t have because heaven knows when I’ll be able to afford to buy a new one. I don’t know why I feel so miserable. I didn’t even like the job that much, not like you. I only did it for the money, and because you were both there and I love working with you. It wasn’t my dream or anything. My dream is to turn my cookery blog into something big that people actually read. But this was your dream and you must be so upset.”
Paige stared across the rooftops, trying to sort her feelings into order and label them. Everything felt out of control. “I’m fine.” She accessed the smile with the ease of someone who had faked it a thousand times before. “You don’t have to worry about me.”
Frankie was on her knees tending the planters. She watered, snipped, deadheaded, trimmed and said nothing.
Paige knew what that meant.
When Frankie was upset or angry, she raged.
When she was scared, she was quiet.
Tonight she was quiet.
Because of her upbringing, the ability to support herself was everything to Frankie.
Paige felt the same way, but for different reasons.
Claws, her brother’s rescue cat, sprang from nowhere, and Eva spilled her drink.
“Why does she always do that? The animal is deranged.” She stood up and Paige passed her a napkin.
“I know. That cat is the reason most of my clothes are covered in marks.” She reached for the cat but Claws stalked off with a flick of her tail, disdaining physical affection. “Why didn’t my brother rescue a cute puppy?”
; “Because cute puppies need attention and Claws is the ‘The Cat that Walked by Himself.’” Frankie quoted Kipling and Claws rewarded her by taking a detour and rubbing briefly against her leg. “I’m in favor.”
“If she stopped scratching and jumping on people she wouldn’t be the cat who walked by itself. She’d have friends.” Eva mopped at her dress. “I thought animals were supposed to be able to sense when someone is traumatized and offer comfort.” Her voice wobbled. “Tonight was all about celebrating Paige’s promotion and now none of us have jobs. I don’t feel so good. How can you both be so calm?”
Paige watched Claws stretch out on the terrace next to Frankie. “I’m a little angry.” And a lot scared, but she wasn’t admitting that to anyone. “I’m angry with Cynthia because she made huge promises and, it turns out, told a few lies. And I’m angry with myself because I was stupid enough to trust that they meant what they said. If I’d sensed something, maybe we wouldn’t be in this position.”
Eva reached for another napkin. “It isn’t stupid to trust your employer.”
“It’s stupid to trust anyone.” Frankie reached out to stroke Claws and the cat gave a warning hiss.
Paige shook her head. “Sorry. My brother is the only one she trusts, despite the fact I feed her when he’s out. There’s no justice.”
Eva poured dressing onto a salad she’d made. “I don’t know why I’m cooking when none of us are eating. It’s my stress reliever. Fuck Cynthia. Fuck all of them.”
Frankie raised her eyebrows. “I’ve never heard you swear before.”
“I’ve never lost my job before. It’s a first, although this experience definitely wasn’t on my bucket list.” Eva tossed the salad violently, losing a few leaves in the process. They gleamed under the soft light of the terrace, glossy with oil. “At least I won’t have to tell Grams. You know the worst thing? Not working with you two anymore.” Tears glistened in her eyes and Paige was by her side in seconds.
The job was important to her, but her friends, these friends she’d known almost all her life, were more important.
“It’s going to be okay.” She said it fiercely, as if by injecting the words with enough passion they might come true. “We’ll find something.”
“We looked.” Eva’s voice was muffled against her shoulder. “There’s nothing.”
Frankie stood up and walked across to them both. “So we’ll keep looking.” She rubbed Eva’s shoulder and Eva sniffed.
“Is this a group hug? I know things are bad when Frankie hugs me.”
“It was more of a pat than a hug,” Frankie muttered. “And don’t get used to it. Brief lapse on my part. You know I’m about as tactile as Claws. But I feel the same way you do. I don’t care about Star Events. I do care that we won’t be working together anymore.”
Paige felt a rush of anger and helplessness and mingled in there was guilt.
She was the team leader. She should have known. Was there something she’d missed?
She kept going over and over it in her head. “It doesn’t make sense to me that Chase Adams pulled his business because Matilda dropped a tray of champagne.”
“Do you think Matilda knows she was responsible?” Eva sounded worried. “Do you think that’s why she’s not answering her phone? I hope she isn’t feeling guilty.”
“We’ll keep calling. That’s all we can do, Ev. And if we find another job, we’ll try and get her hired. When,” Paige corrected herself quickly. “I mean when we get another job.” Being positive had never felt so exhausting.
She’d been keeping up the fake smile all afternoon as she’d tried to boost their spirits. People lost their jobs all the time, and companies hired all the time. They had skills. They needed to persevere. She’d parroted the words and tried to believe them. And as for her ambitions to run her own company one day, maybe it would be good to get experience elsewhere for a while. The dream was on hold. It wasn’t dead.
She reasoned, rationalized and tried to come to terms with it but an afternoon trawling job websites with Eva and Frankie had slowly drained away her brief moment of optimism, until finally they’d given up and retreated to the roof garden.
Now she felt a rush of frustration. Sitting up here was getting her nowhere.
Eva sat down on one of the chairs, but Paige stayed standing up, staring blindly at the planters spilling over with spring color. She should call some of the businesses they’d run events for. See if they were hiring.
The sound of male voices and the clinking of glass disturbed her thoughts and Paige turned her head and saw her brother appear at the top of the steps.
She immediately conjured up her “I’m perfectly fine” smile. Her smile lasted as long as it took her to spot the glossy dark hair and powerful shoulders of the man behind him.
No, no, no.
She was feeling weak and exposed, and the last person she wanted to be around in that vulnerable state was Jake Romano.
In a world where men were encouraged to get in touch with their feminine side, Jake was unapologetically male. Today, unusually, he was wearing a suit but his shirt was open at the neck and there was no sign of a tie. Even the perfectly tailored cloth did nothing to disguise the width of those shoulders or the raw, restrained power of his body. He was the sort of man you wouldn’t want to meet in a dark alley on a dark night. Unless you were a woman.
Paige looked away, grateful for the moonlight and flickering candles that created concealing shadows amongst patches of pooled light. Jake knew her better than anyone. Too well.
He’d been the object of all her teenage fantasies and the source of her disillusionment. There was nothing so raw as rejection when you were a teenager, and Jake had been responsible for what would surely have classified as the cruelest rejection ever.
If it had been left to her, she would have made sure she never crossed his path again, but unfortunately that wasn’t an option.
Like it or not, Jake was entwined in their lives.
“There is no celebration. We’ve been laid off. Not only is there no promotion, I’m now officially unemployed.” There was a knot of panic in her stomach. She could hide her emotions, but she couldn’t hide the facts. At some point she’d have to tell her parents, and her mother would worry.
She’d already caused her mother more than enough worry.
Despite the fact she’d been healthy for years, her family still treated Paige like fine china and because of their tendency to worry she did everything she could to make sure she gave them nothing to worry about. They protected her and she protected them right back.
“I saw it on the business news.” Matt put the champagne on the table and pulled her in for a hug. “You should have answered your phone.”
The strength and familiarity of his hug was comforting and she stood in his arms, tense as a bow. “I’m fine.”
“Yeah, right.” His laugh was lacking in humor. “Don’t do that.”
“Do what?”
“Tell me that you’re fine when you’re not.” He closed his hands over her shoulders and eased her away from him so that he could look at her. “Why didn’t you call?”
“I was busy looking for another job. I wanted to have good news, not bad.”
He’d always been there for her. One of her earliest memories was of Matt picking her up when she’d fallen on her face in the sand. He’d brushed off the sand, scooped her up and carried her to the sea to make her laugh.
The only reason her parents had agreed to let her go to college in New York was because they’d trusted Matt to watch over her. At first he’d taken that responsibility a little too seriously and they’d had a few fights.
Gradually they’d learned to compromise, but he still had a tendency to ride to her rescue.
Some men were born protectors and Matt was one of those.
His fingers were firm on her shoulder. “I’m here to cushion the bad news. That’s what big brothers are for. Do you want me to go and punch your boss?”
&n
bsp; “No, but if I met Chase Adams I’d punch him myself.” She was horrified by how close she was to tears.
“What does Chase Adams have to do with this?” Jake shrugged off his jacket and sprawled on the nearest chair. He reminded her of a lion or a tiger, always able to make himself comfortable regardless of his surroundings.
“He’s the reason Matilda was fired and why we’ve all been laid off. With no warning.” Paige pulled away from Matt and gave them the briefest of details. “Who does that? Who fires a kind, good person for one mistake?”
“Are you sure of your facts?” Jake picked up a plate. “Because that doesn’t sound like Chase.” His eyes were gray and they made her think of mountain mists and wood smoke.
“You know him?”
“We both know him.” Matt sat down and Claws immediately leaped onto his lap. “I did some work on one of his properties and I agree with Jake. That doesn’t sound like him.”
Jake examined a bowl of chopped raw vegetables and pulled a face. “Don’t you guys have anything unhealthy to eat? Greasy burger? Fries?”
“I could rustle you up an arsenic dip,” Eva said sweetly, and Paige scowled at Jake.
“We’ve lost our jobs and you’re thinking of your stomach?”
“I’m a man.” Jake ignored the raw vegetables and added some olives and garlic bread to his plate. “There are two body parts that dominate my mind for most of the day, my stomach and my—”
“You’re not funny.”
“And you’re uptight. You need to loosen up.”
His words stung. “Well, forgive me for caring that I lost my job.” She rubbed her hands over her arms. “I trusted that company with my future and they betrayed that trust. I worked hard, I exceeded all my targets and yet they do this. I thought I had some control over my future and it turns out I had none.”
After Cynthia had delivered the news, she’d gone in search of Frankie and Eva and found them in the same position as her.
* * *
IN THEIR BROWNSTONE, Frankie rented the garden apartment, Paige and Eva shared the first floor, and Matt had the top two floors. It was the perfect arrangement, except she knew from the stiff set of Frankie’s shoulders she was worried about how long she’d be able to afford the rent, even at the friendly rate Matt charged. They were all well aware that it was her brother’s generosity that allowed them to live in this part of Brooklyn. Other people her age were living in the equivalent of a shoe box. But living somewhere else would have meant more parental anxiety so she’d accepted his generosity and vowed to pay him back.