She is confused about the gift. “They are beautiful,” she says sweetly. “You found one with little hedgehog faces.”
“But?” I tease. “Are these the wrong kind?”
“Well, I love them because you picked them out,” she says. “But you know I wear clip-on ties. These are impossible to tie right. I end up wasting so much time. They’re the most time-wasting thing ever.”
“And you lose the sense of uniformity.”
“Yes, exactly,” she says. “And why in the world would you want me to wear a business outfit for dinner at your home?”
“You’ll see,” I say.
She thinks I’ve lost my mind. It’s a thought she often has about me, and I’ll take it. I think we’re all a little bonkers in the end.
That night at my place, in front of a roaring fire as the leaves are falling all over Central Park, I reach over and take her drink from her hand, setting it on the table. Then I reach up and slowly untie her tie.
“This,” I say. “I’ve been wanting to do this ever since I met you,” I say huskily.
“Hmm,” she says, starting to unbutton my shirt.
“No, wait,” I say. “Let me do it.”
She stills. Smiles.
Slowly I draw it away from her prim little collar.
“Am I supposed to look witchy?” she asks.
“No, just regular and serious,” I say, continuing on.
She gives me a prim face that is only a little bit exaggerated, but it’s still hot to pull the butterfly tie free from her collar. It’s sexy as hell, in fact. I hold it up, letting it swing free, and then I toss it over my shoulder.
She gets this mischievous look on her face. She leans in and whispers, “Guys are so weird!”
“Oh, guys are weird? Please,” I say.
And then she comes to me, laughing, and tries to wrestle me to the floor, and I let her.
Epilogue
Seven months later—the following spring.
Noelle
* * *
Malcolm has had workers restoring the lobby to its original glamour all winter. And not just putting tiles back up and restoring the chandeliers to their former glory, but really beautifying the place.
But he’s also had something going on up on the roof for some time. I didn’t realize it—we all thought it was just a place for staging, a place to hold materials for the other parts of the project, but now? It seems it’s something more.
Because it’s one of the first nice spring days in the city, and he’s called for us all to gather on the roof at seven in the evening.
“Have you not gotten anything more out of him than that?” Francine asks, brushing on her mascara.
“Only what you know. Supposedly we can bring dates. Vicky and Henry are coming, too. Theo and Lizzie.”
“They don’t even live here anymore,” Francine says, twisting the cap back on.
I shrug. “Malcolm has been bromancing with Henry ever since Max’s New Year gala. I don’t know where the rest of them figure in. But I kind of think Henry is in on it. I think they did something up there.”
“Got it!” Francine beelines back into her room.
“What’s wrong? What are you doing?” I ask.
Francine comes out in a sassy little white sheath dress with flower sequins. She twirls around. “I smell a rooftop cocktail party coming on.”
I look down at my yoga lounge-around outfit. Francine points into my bedroom. I go in and change into my going-out skirt outfit and we head up.
The elevator lets us off in the weird half-floor at the top of the building that seems to serve very few functions aside from being a storage place that you pass through to go up to the roof. John and some of the other residents are sitting on crates. Apparently the door is locked. Maisey comes over and asks me if I know what’s happening. She’s wearing her daisy pin.
“Total secret—from me, too,” I say. “You’re the tenth person to ask. I thought it was a staging area for the lobby reno.”
More people gather. Finally the door opens, letting bright fresh sunshine into the dim space. “Come on up,” Malcolm calls from the other side.
I’m the first to step up onto the roof.
My jaw drops. There are trellises and seating areas and raised garden beds, ready for planting. There’s a little shelter with outdoor couches where you can sit outside, even when it’s raining.
Jaunty lights zigzag overhead, little white orbs against the royal blue evening sky.
I go over and grab Malcolm’s hand. “What have you done? It’s magical,” I say.
Everybody else has reached the roof by now, squeeing and wandering around.
He shrugs. “Well, once the majority of the units are turned over to owners, this’ll be all of your responsibility. I wanted to leave it in good shape.”
People are crowding around, thanking him, pointing things out to each other. He’s shrugging it off. He’s still not good with thanks. With praise. With affection.
Except from me.
Max and Mia arrive with a catering crew and suddenly it really is a cocktail party. Caterers ferry around trays of sparkling things and finger food.
Jada is filming. An old friend of Malcolm’s named Howie shows up with his wife and twin daughters, all the way from California.
At some point, John and Maisey discover that one of the raised planting beds incorporates four of John’s old coffee can planters. Maisey touches John’s arm. He turns to smile at her. A number of us exchange excited glances.
There are more effusions for Malcolm once people have drinks in them, and I can feel him turning a little bit rigid.
I grab his hand. “Enough!” I announce. “Malcolm’s hitting his kumbaya limit here.” Everybody laughs, even though it’s not really a joke. I pull him to the edge. The sunset is an orange half-orb over jagged building tops.
“This is terrible,” he says. “I have thoroughly ruined my reputation as a villain, and it’s all your fault.”
“Oh, don’t worry, Malcolm. The night’s still young. There’s plenty of time to earn an X for bad behavior. Maybe several Xs.”
He raises a dusky brow. “What did you have in mind?”
I smooth my palm over his silky lapel, thinking about wearing a non-clip-on butterfly tie. “That’s proprietary.”
Thank you for reading!
Hey, friends!!
I hope you enjoyed your time with Noelle and Malcolm and the gang at 341 West 45th Street as much as I did.
* * *
Sooooo what’s next, Annika?
I have a few really fun projects going…I’m not sure which one will become the buzziest bee in my bonnet, but you can be sure I’ll be talking about it on my newsletter. You are cordially invited to join in here:
http://www.annikamartinbooks.com/newletter/
Also by Annika Martin (aka Carolyn Crane)
Romantic Comedy
Most Eligible Billionaire
An enemies-to-lovers standalone
The tiny dog Vicky adopted just inherited a billion dollar company! Which seems like amazing news, except for the part where she has to act as the dog’s spokesperson in board meetings…while sitting across from Henry, the angry yet sexy billionaire CEO…and Henry is NOT amused.
* * *
The Billionaire’s Wake-up-call Girl
An enemies-to-lovers standalone
When my manager orders me to find a new wake-up-call service for our jerky CEO, I think, how hard can it be? Answer: impossible. No wake-up call service on the planet will work with him. So I secretly start making the calls myself. And I might have told him exactly what I think of him…and things are turning dirty…and now he’s scouring Manhattan to find his mystery woman. Nooooooo!
* * *
Breaking the Billionaire’s Rules
An enemies-to-lovers second-chance standalone
Never beg. Never grovel. Nice guys wind up in the friend zone.
I wrote the book on scoring with ho
t women - literally.
I'm the patron saint of players, the Tony Robbins to loveless nerds.
My rules are rock-solid like my abs, and my men's style empire spans the globe.
Then she walks in.
My high school nemesis.
The one who inspired the most important rule of all--Love ruins a man.
* * *
The Billionaire’s Fake Fiancée
An opposites-attract standalone
“I’m no Prince Charming, and the last thing I need is a Cinderella.” ~Surly, grumpy billionaire Rex O’Rourke
* * *
My instructions were simple: get me a fake fiancée who’s not my type at all. Have her on my jet Monday morning, dressed for a yacht vacation. I want somebody believable, but too annoying to tempt me—no emotional entanglements, thank you very much.
Should be easy. Right?
Apparently not, because my people go and hire Tabitha. My hairdresser, the most irritatingly sunshiny woman in the world.
* * *
Return Billionaire to Sender
A grumpy billionaire /opposites-attract standalone
I'm just a shy letter carrier, trying to save our building, but this sexy, beastly billionaire thinks I'm his emotional intelligence coach!
OMG how long can I keep this up?
Maybe just one more session…
Fun, super-dirty romantic comedy (read in order)
The Hostage Bargain (Free standalone)
I was a small town girl trapped in a desperate situation...until three hunky bank robbers took me hostage. True, I'd always dreamed of escaping, but I was thinking Greyhound bus, not getaway vehicle. Then I started asking about their life, and I found out about their rules. These guys have more rules than a grammar class. Except their rules are dirty and way more fun to memorize.
The Wrong Turn / Deeper Game
The Most Wanted
The Hard Way
MM Spies - thrilling, sexy, and bantery!
Enemies like You (standalone) - They're dangerous men. Absolute enemies. And totally hot for each other.
Romantic Suspense standalones
Against the Dark - Playing the fake girlfriend of arrogant secret agent Cole Hawkins? It’s the last thing Angel wants to do. But it’s just a weekend, right?
Off the Edge - She’s running for her life—new name, new country, new hair. And no time for sexy professors with deep, dark secrets. My RITA-winning romantic suspense and love letter to all of you word nerds.
Into the Shadows - He’s a twisted, brutish killer who kisses like a god and won’t trust you if you’re nice to him. Which makes it hard to love him. And he must never, ever discover her secret.
Behind the Mask - What do you do when your twin sister is won in a card game by dangerous cartel members? Trade places, of course!
* * *
All four steamy, thrilling, award-winning Undercover Associates novels collected into one convenient and money-saving edition.
Mafia Princes (Dark, dangerous romance! Read in order)
Dark Mafia Prince - He’s a devil in Armani with a twisted sense of justice. But when he kidnaps his enemy’s daughter, their sizzling connection puts everything at risk.
Wicked Mafia Prince - Viktor is stunned when the pretty assassin he once loved—and killed—appears in Chicago.
Savage Mafia Prince - Baby Brother Kiro is totally freaking SAVAGE. Like, literally. And SO hot!
Criminals & Captives (Dark, dangerous romance standalones)
Prisoner - He seethes with raw power the first time I see him - pure menace and rippling muscles in shackles.
Hostage - The police say he’s obsessed with me. But I’m the one who can’t stop thinking about him.
* * *
Click here to see a complete list of Annika’s books.
All the Annika deets!
I love reading fun, steamy books, doing yoga, taking pictures of my cats, rocking out to 90’s music, taking long baths, consuming See’s chocolate suckers, mooning over heroes’ hands, and helping animals. I also love connecting with readers and reviewers.
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Acknowledgments
Writing a book can sometimes feel like a fun skip in the park…and sometimes it can feel like rolling a super-heavy boulder up a steep cliff. I could never have finished this book without the people on this page—you all dropped down out of the sky, got in with me shoulder to shoulder, and helped me roll that boulder up the hill when I most needed it, and you also skipped with me, and I am so, so, sooooo grateful.
In the general order of their helping…
I want to thank Pippa Grant for thinking up this title (SO much better than the one I had!) A massive thank you to Molly O'Keefe, who helped me make Malcolm and Noelle’s interactions waaaaaay better, like seriously. Thank you so much to Joanna Chambers: your ideas on how to get the psychology right were absolutely golden. Kisses to Toni Anderson because your thoughts on the big blow-up...omg I can’t imagine this book without them! Mad, mad love to my amazing Minneapolis writing group, Elizabeth Jarrett Andrew, Terri Whitman, Marcia Peck, and Mark Powell—you had so many thoughtful insights that enabled me see these characters in stronger relief and inspired me push this story to a bold new level. Deepest gratitude also to Jenn Stark for the wonderfully witty blurb magic and ending ideas…that shall remain proprietary. And to my pal Rachel Grant…you made so many great tweaks, including reminding me to unmask the dryer-lint bandit! LOL. Massive gratitude to Sunny Lee-Goodman for the insights on the corporate coaching profession and some really fun ideas for how to incorporate the info. You rock!! (Any coaching missteps are me taking my own creative license.) Thank you to Sandy Waters for the Forza, to my sister, Sharon Kimmel, for the cheese tray keepsake inspiration, and to Melissa Gaston for all of the amazing hand-holding and advice and graphical genius moves. Major hugs to Michelle Catalano for the future cover, Judy Zweifel for the proofreading, and David Ball for the USPS insights. Thank you also to Courtenay Bennett for the fantastic read-through and so many catches and artful re-wording ideas, to Nina of Valentine PR for the smart guidance and cheerleading, and to Joan Lai for late-breaking catches. Big, wild gratitude also to the Fabulous Gang for being amazing, fun readers, and for giving me my happy place on the internet. Crazy thanks to my awesome ARC gang—It means everything to have you in my corner, pulling for me. Hugs!!
And finally, thank YOU, random reader reading these acknowledgements (pinky shake! I love reading the acknowledgements, too!) I just want to take this moment to thank you for reading my book. It seriously means the world.
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