by Sarah Morgan
Eva went back to the call, congratulated Matilda on behalf of all of them and discussed some top-of-the-line ideas.
“Hamptons? Beach wedding?” Eva’s expression was dreamy. “It will be perfect.”
It was work, Paige told herself, subduing a stab of envy. Work. Another job, which would get her through another day.
After they finished work, she took a shower, pulled on a bright sundress that she hoped would compensate for her mood, used her new lipstick and joined her friends and her brother on the roof terrace.
The sun was setting over Manhattan, sending streaks of gold across towers of shimmering glass and steel.
Matt had the screen ready.
And tequila.
Paige studied the bottles. “Is that what it takes for a man to get through six hours of pure female emotion?”
“That’s what it takes to get a man through twenty minutes of emotion. There’s more downstairs.” He dropped ice into glasses and poured. “What are we drinking to?”
“It’s romance night.” Frankie took the glass from him. “To fairy tales, happy endings and all that shit.”
Eva rolled her eyes. “It’s not an accident that you’re single.”
“You’re right—it isn’t an accident. I work really hard at it.”
Wondering why she’d agreed to romance night, Paige reached for a glass. “Tonight we’re drinking to friendship. The best thing of all.”
It was her friends who would get her through, as they had every other rough patch in her life.
She heard footsteps on the stairs and saw her brother’s expression change.
He lowered his glass carefully. “Jake—” his tone was level “—we weren’t expecting you.”
“Saturday night is movie night.” Jake strolled out onto the terrace. His dark hair gleamed and his eyes looked tired. “Am I still welcome?”
Paige felt a rush of panic.
She wasn’t ready to do this yet. She needed more time to prepare.
She could feel them all looking at her, waiting to take their cue from her and realized that this was how it was going to be from now on.
It was up to her to make sure it wasn’t awkward.
“Of course you’re welcome.” She produced a smile so wide her face almost cracked. “It’s good to see you. We weren’t sure you’d be able to make it, but we’re glad you did. Sit down. There’s pizza—”
Claws stalked onto the terrace. Without sparing a glance for any of them, she picked the largest, most comfortable cushion and stretched out.
Jake ignored the pizza. “Before we start movie night, I need to talk to you, Paige. I tried calling, but you weren’t picking up.”
“Work has been incredibly busy.”
“That’s good to know, but it doesn’t change the fact I need to talk to you.”
“I think we’ve said everything that needs to be said, Jake. That’s all behind us now. History. Forgotten.” Paige waved a hand. “Sit down. We’ve lined up a trio of romantic movies, so I don’t expect you’ll be staying long.”
She was banking on it.
“You may have said everything you wanted to say, but I haven’t. And it isn’t history, Paige. It’s not forgotten. I’ve thought of nothing else since the moment you left last night, and I’m sure you’re the same.”
“I’m not the same. We need to get started or it will be dawn before we’ve finished all three movies. If you still want to talk at the end, we’ll talk. Matt? Press Play.” There was desperation in her voice, and she felt a rush of relief when Matt did as she asked.
She estimated that Jake would last five minutes. Ten at the most. Would he see something of himself in When Harry Met Sally? Maybe. And if that didn’t send him running, then While You Were Sleeping definitely would.
Either way, by the end of movie night he’d be gone. She was sure of it. And next time they saw each other, she’d be more together.
She sat down on the nearest cushion and fixed her eyes on the screen.
They watched Crazy Stupid Love, and Paige didn’t hear a single word.
All she could think about was Jake sitting close to her, waiting.
Waiting for what?
To give her more reasons why he couldn’t ever love her?
She didn’t want to hear any more reasons.
She wanted the movies to last forever, even if they were making her feel miserably depressed.
Matt opened the tequila. “That’s what girls want? Seriously?” He eyed the screen. “I strip to the waist when I’m working if it’s a hot day and there’s no one around. No one pays any attention. Maybe I need to reenact Dirty Dancing.”
“If you stripped to the waist I can guarantee that someone, somewhere, would have been paying attention. And this is Ryan Gosling.” Eva gestured to the screen. “He could strip to the waist and reenact anything. Or nothing. We’d all still be drooling and think this was the best movie ever.”
Paige knew they were trying to defuse the tension between her and Jake, but she didn’t have the energy to join in. For once she didn’t care what Ryan Gosling was doing.
All she could think about was Jake.
They were halfway through When Harry Met Sally when he stood up.
And took off his shirt.
Matt choked on his tequila and Frankie adjusted her glasses.
“Eat your heart out, Ryan.”
Paige’s mouth dried. His body was ripped, but she already knew that of course because she’d had her hands all over it. “What are you doing?”
“I’m doing whatever it takes to get your attention, and right now it seems that this is what it takes. In those movies you love so much, a guy usually rips off his shirt in the final scene and makes a total fool of himself in public.”
Eva whistled and reached for popcorn. “Great abs. Did you think of auditioning for Magic Mike?”
Paige didn’t say anything. She was focused on Jake. And he was focused on her.
Only on her.
His eyes were steel gray, his gaze intense. “There are things I need to say to you.”
Frankie stood up quickly, dragging a reluctant Eva to her feet and knocking a couple of cushions to the floor in the process. “We’re out of here.”
“Why?” He stopped them. “Whatever I say, Paige will tell you, so you might as well hear it firsthand.”
“Sounds good to me.” Eva sat down again, but Frankie looked horrified.
“If it’s private—”
“There is no such thing as ‘private’ between the three of you. And I don’t have a problem with that. I think it’s great that the three of you have that close bond.” Jake shook his head as Matt stood up. “You might as well stay, too. That way, you can decide if you need to beat me to a pulp or not.”
“This is romantic movie night,” Paige said. “No one beats anyone to a pulp on romantic movie night. And we still have one more movie to go.” She didn’t want to do this. She wasn’t ready for this conversation.
“Is it Sleepless in Manhattan? Do you have that one?”
Paige swallowed. “I think you mean Sleepless in Seattle.”
“No, I don’t. Sleepless in Manhattan is a different story.” His gaze held hers. “Do you want to know how that one ends?”
“I—”
“The guy is an idiot, pretty much like the guys in all these movies you love. He’s slow to work out what he really wants and it takes him a while and he needs a little help from his friends to sort out his priorities.” His tone was commanding and he held out his hand to Paige. “Stand up.”
“What? I don’t think—”
“I said, stand up.”
Eva shivered. “I know it’s not politically correct to say so, but I love a strong man.”
“If you don’t keep quiet I’ll wring your neck,” Frankie muttered. “Then you’ll know strong.”
Paige was trapped by the look in Jake’s eyes. Her heart was pounding. “You want me to run and jump into your arms like they
just did on the screen? Because if you lose your balance I’ll tumble down three floors and land on my butt in Brooklyn. It won’t be pretty.”
“Just this once, could you actually do as you’re told? Is it too much to ask?” He leaned forward and tugged her to her feet. “The first time I saw you, you were sitting in that damn hospital bed trying to hide how scared you were. I decided then you were the bravest person I’d ever met.”
Her heart was hammering. She tried to pull her hand away from his, but his fingers had closed tightly around hers.
“I was scared, so obviously not so brave.”
And she was scared now.
Scared of what he might say. And, more importantly, scared of what he might not say.
“Oh, you were brave. Everyone around you was panicking, and you were pretending you were fine. That it was a walk in the park. I thought you were incredible. I kept telling myself that you were a kid, but I knew you weren’t. We laughed, talked, joked. I brought food into the hospital—”
“Cookies. I remember.”
“We dropped crumbs in your bed. I talked to you in a way I’d never talked to anyone in my life before. Do you know that you are the only person I have ever talked to about my biological mother?” He took a deep breath. “That night you told me you loved me—I was terrified. I had feelings for you, too, but I’d made a promise to Matt and I knew he was right. I would have hurt you.”
“Jake—”
“So I turned you down, and I did it in a way that I hoped would kill those feelings of yours. And after that I tried to make sure you didn’t have those feelings again.”
Matt frowned. “That’s why you were always arguing with her?”
Jake was still looking at Paige. “Twice in your life you’ve told me that you love me, and each time I’ve handled it badly.”
“You were honest.”
“I wasn’t honest. I wasn’t honest with myself, and I wasn’t honest with you. But I’m being honest now. I love you.”
Her breath caught in her throat.
How long had she dreamed of hearing him say those words to her?
“Jake—”
“You already know I do, but maybe you don’t know how much. I still need to show you that, and I will. I’ve been a coward and an idiot, but that ends now.”
She heard someone make a sound. It could have been Eva. It could have been Frankie. It could have been her.
She didn’t know, because Jake was still looking at her, and she’d waited to see that look in his eyes for so long she didn’t want to miss a moment of it.
“You love me?”
“I’ve always loved you, but love for me was the scariest thing that could happen to a person. Love, and you can lose. I didn’t want to lose. I’ve taken plenty of risks in my life, but I’ve never taken a risk with my heart. I told myself that I was protecting you, but mostly I was protecting myself. I told myself love was one risk that wasn’t worth the pain. But when you walked out last night I discovered the pain was there anyway, because I’d lost you. And I discovered that loving you, and being with you is more important than anything. I didn’t think I was ever going to find a woman worth taking that risk for. I was wrong.”
She’d promised herself that whatever he said to her when they finally met up, she’d smile her way through it and make it back to her room before crying.
But she hadn’t expected him to say what he’d just said.
“You’re sure you love me?”
“Very sure.” He gave a lopsided smile. “Truly, Madly, Deeply until I’m Sleepless in Manhattan.”
Emotion filled her. “I’ve told you, that’s not a movie.”
“It should be. It’s a great title. I bought you something.” He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a small bag. “I hope you like it. It’s a shame you weren’t watching Breakfast at Tiffany’s.”
She recognized the distinctive packaging and her heart started to beat a little faster.
She didn’t dare hope—
She’d done that once before and—
She peeped cautiously into the bag and something glittered at the bottom.
“A ring?” Hand shaking, she pulled it out. Why had he left it loose?
“Last time I gave you jewelry in a box you thought it might be a ring and it wasn’t. I saw the disappointment on your face. This time I didn’t want you to be in any doubt about what it was. The box is in my apartment if you want it. Marry me—” his voice was husky “—and I promise to keep you in lipstick for the rest of your life.”
She shifted her gaze from the gleaming diamond to his face. “Marry you?”
“Yes. I love you. You’re the only woman I want. The only woman I’ll ever want. And I’d take any risk to be with you.”
The silence around her was broken only by the distant sound of traffic.
Frankie was silent.
Matt didn’t move.
Even Eva had nothing to say.
Paige swallowed. “Jake—”
“It’s only ever been you, Paige. And I know I’m going to need more than words to convince you, so I designed something to help you make up your mind.” He reached into his other pocket and pulled out his phone. “I made an app for you. It’s called Should Paige Marry Jake. It’s pretty self-explanatory so you, being Geek Girl, probably won’t have any issues with it but I can walk you through it if you like.”
“Are you calling me Geek Girl?” But happiness bubbled up inside her. “You’ve designed a proposal app?”
“No, but now you mention it, it’s an interesting idea because trust me, proposing is a terrifying thing. One knee, both knees, no knees? Shirt on, shirt off. The options are limitless.”
“Definitely shirt off,” Eva breathed, and Paige gave a weak laugh.
“I don’t care if you’re on your knees or naked—the only thing I care about is that you love me.” Emotion overwhelmed her. How did a person go from such misery to such happiness and survive it? “You’re asking me to marry you? Are you sure?”
“Yes, and I want you to be sure, too, so before you answer me you’d better check the app. You said you wanted to make your own choices, so I designed something to help you. This choice is important. You don’t want to make the wrong decision.”
Frankie stood up and leaned over her shoulder, fascinated. “That’s pretty cool. Answer the questions, Paige.”
“You can swipe for yes or no.” Jake showed her. “What’s your favorite drink in the morning. Coffee. Mine, too. See? We’re perfectly matched.”
“Wait a minute—” She swiped one answer, then changed her mind and tried a different answer. And frowned. “Doesn’t matter what answer I give, it’s still telling me we’re perfectly matched.”
Jake gave a sheepish smile. “I wasn’t taking any chances.”
“You fixed it?” Her eyes gleamed. “I thought you were a risk taker.”
“There are some things I’m not prepared to risk, and you’re one of them.”
She knew she’d never forget the look in his eyes right at that moment.
It was all she needed to see.
“I don’t need this to help me make my choice.” She slid the phone back into his pocket and he pulled her closer, his expression serious.
“Before you give me your answer, I should warn you that I’m never going to stop protecting you. I love you and care about you, and protecting you is part of that.” He smoothed her hair back from her face with a gentle hand. “I do promise not to make your choices for you. Whatever you decide, I’ll respect that choice.”
Her vision was misty and she blinked several times to clear it.
She slid the ring onto her finger and looked up at him, knowing that everything she was feeling was in her eyes. “I love you, too. You know I always have. You’re all I’ve ever wanted. And I’ll marry you whether the app says I should or not. And you can protect me, as long as you don’t mind that I’ll be protecting you right back.”
Jake lowered his
head and kissed her.
“Romantic movie night—live,” Matt murmured and Paige pulled away, smiling.
“You promised me a night of happy-ever-afters. It exceeded expectations.”
“It’s not over yet.” Jake pulled her down on the cushions. “We still have one movie to watch, don’t we?”
“While You Were Sleeping.” Paige curled up against him and the ring on her finger twinkled in the moonlight and the reflected light from Manhattan. “Think you’re man enough to handle it?”
“Of course.” Jake pulled her close and glanced at Matt. “Pass the tequila.”
* * * * *
Love has never been a priority for garden designer Frankie—after the fallout from her mother’s endless affairs, she steers well clear of any emotional entanglements. But her friend Matt isn’t so easily put off! He’s the only man she trusts, but can Matt persuade Frankie to trust him with her heart?
Read on for a sneak peek at the second book in Sarah Morgan’s brilliant new trilogy—brimming with the excitement and glamour of New York!
SUNSET IN CENTRAL PARK
Thank You
I recently discovered that I have written seventy-five books for Harlequin. I lost count long ago, and I only found out the number when they gave me a lovely Tiffany key ring in recognition.
I’ve been so lucky in my career and you’d probably think my first and biggest thanks would go to my publisher—and they are AWESOME—but in fact it goes to my readers.
If readers didn’t buy the books, I wouldn’t be able to make writing my career. I could still write, of course, but then it would be my hobby, which wouldn’t be nearly as much fun—and I’d have to get a “proper job,” which definitely wouldn’t be as much fun! Many writers are introverts, but I’m an extrovert, and I love the interaction I have with readers. I have the best Facebook community on the planet and if I’m having a hard day I hang out there for a little while and your comments and encouragement always lift my spirits. So I want to say the biggest thank-you to anyone who has bought one of my books, recommended me to friends, chatted to me on social media—you can find me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and Goodreads—all links on my website. I love hearing about your life, exchanging thoughts on books and reading your emails. I’m touched that some of you feel able to share details of the challenging parts of your life and humbled to know that my books have helped in some small way. I know that when life has been difficult for me, the things that help me are family, friends, my writing and reading.
