by Karen Booth
Seven
Jake hadn’t talked to Sophie in two days, and it was eating away at him more and more with every passing minute. He hated the way they’d left things the other day. He didn’t enjoy being the guy who doesn’t trust, but that was exactly who he was. The mere idea of another buyer in the mix, the thought that Sophie might have gone back on her word, had made him so anxious he was practically sick.
That reaction was ingrained, planted in his childhood when the two people he counted on more than anyone, his mother and grandmother, had betrayed him. His mother by making an empty promise to find them a better life and come back for him. His grandmother by never extending a single loving or caring gesture, made all the worse when it was clear that Jake’s mom would never return. Any hope of hugs and I love you were gone by then, replaced by reprimands and a never-ending guilt trip. He was a burden—a mouth to feed and more laundry to wash. He was no longer a boy. He was a creature. He was something to be tolerated, and he felt the shame and betrayal to this day. He’d learned to live with it, but it would always be there.
That was why he doubted his ability to live up to what Sophie wanted, needed and deserved. No matter how much he’d learned to ignore his scars, the aftershocks still turned up. Every time he made a knee-jerk reaction to feeling deceived or misled, he knew it had all started when he was a kid.
Still, he didn’t want to make excuses for himself. His past might have made him skittish when he was younger, but he was thirty-two. He had to get his act together, and there was only one woman he could imagine doing that with—Sophie. If he wanted any chance at having a future that went beyond work, work and more work, he had to make things better with Sophie, even when the news of a second buyer for Eden’s had knocked him back on his heels.
He was going to start with her assistant.
“Sophie Eden’s office. This is Lizzie.”
“Lizzie. Hi. It’s Jake Wheeler.” Jake rose from his desk and closed his office door. Audrey was a fantastic assistant, but she was nosy, and if she learned that his previous attempts to get Sophie’s attention had turned into a romance, he’d never hear the end of it.
“Mr. Wheeler. Ms. Eden is on a call right now.”
“Actually, I need to talk to you for a minute.”
“Ms. Eden has instructed me to put you through if you’re on the line. If you want to wait a moment, I can get her.”
Jake grinned. This was the glimmer of hope he’d needed. Sophie had called off the guards at some point. Maybe not today or yesterday, but she’d still done it. “No, Lizzie, I don’t think you’re listening to me. I need to speak to you.”
“Oh. Okay.” She sounded genuinely surprised.
“Can you tell me when Sophie is leaving for the evening?”
“She’ll be here until the store closes at ten. Possibly later. She works that late every night these days.”
Poor Sophie. She worked longer hours than anyone he knew. “What about dinner? She has to eat.”
“I typically order in for her and she eats at her desk around eight. She’s having sushi tonight.”
“Perfect. Can you tell me where you’re ordering from and I’ll pick it up?”
“I’m sorry, Mr. Wheeler. I’m confused.”
“I just want to surprise her. I have a few things to apologize for.”
As requested, Lizzie shared the information about Sophie’s take-out order. Jake had Audrey pick up a bottle of Krug and put it on ice. He left the office at seven fifteen and arrived at Eden’s, dinner in tow, just as Lizzie was packing up her things at her desk.
“Heading out for the night?” he asked Lizzie, craning his neck to see if he could catch a glimpse of Sophie, but her office door was closed.
“I am. I thought I was going to have to buzz you up. How’d you get past security?”
“I made friends with Duane. He’s a real teddy bear when you get to know him.”
Lizzie laughed. “It’s sweet of you to bring her dinner. She’s been so stressed. It’ll be good for her to have a break.”
“Exactly my thinking.” Jake headed back to Sophie’s office and knocked softly.
“Come in,” she called from inside.
He opened the door, but Sophie was practically impossible to see. A mountain of paperwork sat on her desk. “Hello?”
From behind all that paper, Sophie’s head popped up. “Jake? What are you doing here?”
The second he set eyes on her, a huge grin sprang up on his face. He couldn’t have hid it if he tried. God, he’d missed everything about her—her voice, the sweet smell that filled her office. Her presence and spirit. “Hey there.” He held up the take-out bag and the bottle of champagne. “I brought dinner. And something to help you relax.”
Sophie rounded her desk in a red dress. He was immediately fond of the deep neckline. It showed off her cleavage in a way that left his body buzzing. “I thought you were swamped. I thought you were too busy for socializing.” Suddenly her voice was clipped and cold.
“I was. But now I’m not. And this is my peace offering, too.”
“I wasn’t aware we were at war.”
“Let’s just say I’m not overly proud of the way I acted when the Sam Blackwell news popped up. I’m sorry. Very sorry.”
She drew in a breath so deep her shoulders bunched up around her ears. “I would never lie to you, Jake. If you don’t believe that, I can’t spend time with you.”
He nodded. Sophie was the exact test he needed. Although he was off to a slightly bumpy start, this had been the right thing to do. “I know that. I do.”
“Thank you for saying you’re sorry. I appreciate it.” She reached for the bottle of champagne. “Apology accepted. Now let’s break into this bad boy. I’ve had the worst day. I’ll go find us some glasses.”
Deeply relieved, Jake took off his coat and set out their meal on the coffee table in her office, which sat in front of a long velvety gray sofa. He took the liberty of flipping off the harsh overhead fluorescent lights and instead turning on two floor lamps on either end of the sofa. It gave the room a much softer and admittedly more romantic feel.
Sophie returned with a pair of coffee mugs. “Sorry. This is all I could find. We have real glassware somewhere, but only Lizzie knows where everything is.” She padded over to him and sat.
“You’re barefoot. That’s not really your look.”
Sophie did the honors with the champagne this time. “It isn’t, but flats are surprisingly uncomfortable and my foot still isn’t one hundred percent. Hopefully I’ll be back in heels by tomorrow.” She held up her mug and clinked it with his.
“To good friends who will accept apologies,” he said.
“To good friends who show up with unexpected surprises.”
They each took a sip, neither taking their eyes off the other. If Jake wasn’t mistaken, the electricity was still here between them. The last two days hadn’t cooled things off at all. Still, he knew he’d stupidly wasted that time. He should have been bringing Sophie dinner every night. He should have been bringing her lunch, too.
“I’m honestly surprised you aren’t more annoyed with me than you are.”
“I wasn’t happy with you when I hung up the phone that day, but I thought about it and realized that was silly. You’re a businessman. I’m not going to fault you for wanting to make sure you were getting your fair shake. You’re also busy. I’m busy. These are just facts.” She took a piece of sushi with chopsticks and popped it into her mouth.
“I should have given you the benefit of the doubt. I’m still sorry I jumped to the wrong conclusion.”
Sophie dabbed at her lips with the napkin. “We’ve known each other for too long and we both work too hard to dwell on one conversation that didn’t go great.”
“Judging by your desk, I’d say you’re really working too hard.”
Jake knew he could help her make sense of it. Perhaps not to the degree that an experienced retail consultant might be able to, but he could help. “I might have some insight.”
“You don’t strike me as a big shopper.”
“I’m not. But I did a lot of research when my fellow investors and I decided to approach you and Mindy about purchasing the store. I might be able to help.”
Sophie crossed her arms and sat back against the sofa cushions, her eyes full of skepticism. “Why would you do that? It’s in your best interest if I fail.”
He didn’t have a rational answer to the question. What he wanted to do had no logical purpose in the scheme of his professional life. He was thinking with his heart and a few other body parts right now, not his brain. “I’d like to think it’s in my best interest to make you happy.”
* * *
Sophie stared at Jake for a possibly unreasonable amount of time, while her body was humming from what he’d said. “You want me to be happy?”
“I do. It’s a beautiful thing to see.” He took another slug of champagne from the coffee mug and cleared his throat. “Why don’t you show me what you’re looking at?”
Sophie went to her desk and gathered several binders of spreadsheets—detailed sales records spanning the last five years and projections based on the trends. In general, the news was not good. She brought them over to Jake and they spread them out on the coffee table.
He rolled his shoulders out of his suit jacket and tossed it over a chair. “Guess I’d better get comfortable if we’re going to get to work.” He began to roll up his shirtsleeves. Firm and taut with the perfect amount of dark hair, his forearms were crazy sexy, probably because she knew where they led—to his shoulders. And then to his chest, and eventually every other inch of his extraordinary body. “Do you want me to turn the lights back on? I went for mood lighting for dinner.”
Sophie shook her head and scooted closer to him on the couch, stealing this chance to breathe in his warm scent. “No. I hate those things. This is much better.”
They sat nearly shoulder to shoulder as Sophie walked him through the somewhat grim picture of Eden’s Department Store. Unfortunately, the deeper she dug, the more she realized that Gram had made some poor decisions along the way, like not recognizing the importance of an online presence and putting enough money into a website.
“Everything I’ve read has just confirmed my suspicions,” Jake said. “I’ll be honest. This doesn’t look great. But I have some ideas.”
He then proceeded to dazzle her with about a dozen amazing concepts for changes she could make. Some were short-term fixes; others were long-term strategies. One involved nearly doubling the size of the women’s shoe department and making Eden’s online a true destination for female shoe aficionados everywhere, not just those who could make it to the store in New York.
“I’d be lying if I said that this idea isn’t incredibly appealing to me.”
“You do love your shoes.”
She looked at him and smiled. “Thank you.”
“For this? It’s nothing. Just a few things I happened to notice while doing my due diligence.” He waved it off and placed his arm across the back of the sofa.
Much like the moment at Eden House when they were in the sitting room and he’d taken the same pose, all she could do was think about kissing him. The only difference now was that she had the luxury of being less conflicted over it. “It’s not nothing. There’s a chance you just sank a billion-dollar deal.”
“What’s money when you have friends?” There it was—that extralow rumble of his voice that shook her to her core. In the soft light of the room, his eyes were dark and intense. “You are my friend, aren’t you?” He trailed his hand up and down Sophie’s bare arm, sending ribbons of electricity through her body.
With zero hesitation, she grasped his shoulder and shifted herself up onto her knees. “I’m whatever you want me to be, Jake.” She leaned in, kissing him seductively so there could be no mistaking what she wanted. Him. Now. In her office. Lock the door. Things were about to get serious.
He returned the kiss, reining her into his arms and leaning back. Sophie hitched up her skirt and straddled his lap, resting her arms on his shoulders and digging both hands into his hair. Between her legs, heat blazed and Jake got hard—she felt it all even through layers of clothes. She ground her center against his length, wanting only one reaction from him, another of those sexy groans. When he made that exact noise, she laughed between their lips.
“What’s so funny?” he asked, gathering her hair in his hands and kissing her neck.
“I just love it when you do that.”
“Yeah?” He nuzzled his nose in the tender spot right below her ear. She drew her knees tighter against his hips, gripping his legs with hers.
“Yes. It makes me want you even more.”
“Want to hear some good news? I have a condom in my wallet.”
Sophie hummed in his ear. “Sounds like Christmas came early.” She eased off his lap and let him reach into his pocket while she checked the outer office for employees. Thankfully, no one was around, but for privacy, she locked the door. When she turned around, Jake already had his shirt off and was standing there barefoot in his suit trousers.
Anticipation made her feel like she was flying as she rushed over to him. She stole a quick kiss while unbuttoning his pants and pushing them to the floor. She wrapped her fingers around him, stroking softly while she pressed her chin into his chest and gazed up at him. Full lips, stubble and the most intense eyes she’d ever seen, Jake was too handsome for words. He leaned down and kissed her, drawing down the zipper of her dress.
“I want you, Soph.” His chest was heaving, his voice low and insistent.
“I want you, too.” Not poetry, but it was all that came to mind.
He handed her the condom packet and she opened it, rolling it on him. He pulled her dress forward from her shoulders and it fell to the floor in a poof. Then they were in each other’s arms, pressed tightly against each other, tongues mingling as they kissed and hands roved everywhere. Sophie was so overcome with want and need, she didn’t know which way was up. Jake reached down and grabbed her bottom with both hands, lifting her up until she wrapped her legs around his waist. He plopped her down on the edge of her desk, right where all of those binders had been hours ago. This was going to be way more fun than work.
Jake grabbed one of her legs behind the knee and raised it to his hip. With his other hand, he moved himself inside her. Sophie rolled her neck, taking in the sensations. He was so hot. He was so perfect. She scooted herself to the very edge, grabbing on to him with both legs. Jake took deep thrusts while he lowered his head and drew her nipple into his mouth, rolling it gently between his teeth and giving it a tug. A flash of white zipped through her, leaving tension and heat between her legs. He was already on the brink. The pressure radiated from his hips and she felt it in his firm shoulders when she reached up to pull herself closer.
Her breaths were jagged. She couldn’t draw in enough air. She was right on the edge, but she couldn’t get there. She could feel the outer limits of her destination, but it was just out of reach. “I’m close, Jake. Keep going. Harder.”
He was nothing but sheer determination, his fingers digging into the flesh of her bottom as his hips forcefully met hers. That was all she needed to tumble over the cliff and float off into bliss. She closed her eyes and gripped his shoulders as he reached his own climax, feeling more than merely physically gratified. There was an enormous sense of joy and relief that came with t
his moment. Jake had come back to her.
They both were still struggling for breath, clinging to each other. Sophie had her cheek flat against Jake’s chest, but he lifted her chin with his finger and placed a soft kiss on her lips. “Remind me to visit you at work more often,” he said, a smile spreading across his face.
“I’m glad I moved those binders. Now let’s go sit on the sofa where we can be a bit more comfortable.”
They parted for a moment, Jake cleaning up with some tissues he’d grabbed from the table next to her office door. He pulled on his boxer briefs, but left it at that, which Sophie loved. It was her favorite view.
From the end of the couch, she grabbed a throw blanket she used for late nights at the office. Still naked, she wedged herself between the sofa arm and Jake, draping her legs across his lap and covering them both with the blanket. She wanted to be able to see his face when she talked to him. She needed that connection.
“I’ve always been curious where you got this.” She smoothed her thumb over the scar above his eyebrow, her knuckles resting on his cheek. She’d never asked about it before. Jake was not forthcoming about himself or his past. She’d learned by now that if she did bring up a question like this, he would change the subject. But something about this moment made her want to take the chance anyway.
He grumbled and pulled her closer. “It’s from when I was a kid.” He trailed his fingers up and down her spine. If this was his way of distracting or deflecting, she might have to think of more potentially uncomfortable questions to ask him.
“But what happened?”
“Just an accident. It was nothing.”