A Christmas Temptation

by Karen Booth

  “Too good.” She shook her head. It just didn’t seem real. “All I can think about is that day I met you and how you just seemed like such a golden boy to me. You were so handsome and sexy and oozing with confidence. It was mesmerizing.”

  “And largely an act.” His gaze connected with hers again. “Well, not the handsome and sexy part. That part I come by honestly.”

  She laughed. “And the funny, self-deprecating, deflecting part. Don’t forget that.”

  He smiled, which she loved seeing. It was such a bittersweet moment. “Never.”

  “Your scar. It’s not from skateboarding, is it?”

  He shook his head. “No. It’s not. I forgot to take out the trash one day and my grandmother pushed me. I fell headfirst into the edge of a door.”

  Sophie gasped. Tears shimmered in her eyes at the thought of a young Jake at this woman’s mercy. “I am so incredibly sorry.”

  “I don’t want you to feel sorry for me, Soph. Please don’t. Of all the things I want from you, pity isn’t one of them.”

  Sophie desperately wanted to know what those other things were, but that was a question for another time. “It’s not pity. I promise. But it hurts me to hear that those things happened to you. I hate it.”

  He shrugged. “It’s just the way things played out. The reality is that those experiences are part of me, like anything else. And you know, I might not have become so successful without having that for motivation. I didn’t want that life for myself. I worked my butt off in school and I moved as far away as I possibly could, as soon as I could, which is what brought me to the East Coast. If I hadn’t done that, I might not have met you. My life would be very different now.”

  “That’s such a nice way to think about it. I’m sorry I ever thought of you as a pessimist.”

  He shook his head. “Well, I am sort of a pessimist. Maybe fifty percent. I’m confident some things will work out. Just not everything. I can’t be like you. I can’t be all sunshine and rainbows.”

  Sophie could’ve denied it, but Jake never would have let her get away with it. “That’s all Gram’s influence. She always gravitated toward the light. I just try to follow that philosophy. If something makes you happy, if it makes you feel good, you should pursue it. Don’t hold back.”

  A sweet smile spread across Jake’s face. “Maybe that’s why I’m so drawn to you. You’re the light.” He tucked a tendril of her hair back inside her hat. “I’m falling for you, Sophie.”

  “You are?” Sophie’s heart jumped up into her throat. This was a revelation for which she had not prepared. She had a good handle on her own feelings, but not nearly enough of a good sense of Jake’s. He always played everything so close to the vest. Not today, apparently.

  He nodded. “I am. Hard. You make me happy. Happier than I’ve been in a long time. And you make me feel good.” He pulled her closer, gazing down at her. “Will you let me make you feel good?”

  Heat blazed in her cheeks and chest. Would his effect on her ever lessen? Or would it only continue to grow? She couldn’t imagine what that would be like, but she wanted it more than anything. “You have a very special talent for making me feel good.”

  “Tonight, that’s all I want to do.”

  Nine

  Life with Jake had become a whirlwind. Ever since the night in her office, and especially since the Holiday Market, they’d been inseparable. There had been countless dinners and late-night rendezvous, visits to each other’s offices and hours of talking in bed, in the dark, holding each other tight. With every passing minute together, Sophie fell a little further for him. The only question was whether he was traveling on the same path.

  The reading of Gram’s will today was going to complicate things. There was no question about that. A considerable chunk of Sophie’s future would be laid out before her. The rest of it was all in Jake’s hands. If he didn’t want her, if he didn’t feel the way she did, she wasn’t sure she could muster much enthusiasm for anything, not even claiming her birthright, Eden’s. They were going to have to revisit the discussion with Jake—the one she’d put on hold. It killed her to know that she was going to ultimately end up disappointing him. She didn’t see another way. He would not get his big deal. He had to know that on some level. If he didn’t, he was fooling himself. She just had to hope that, in the end, he would see that what they had between them was worth more than any money that might be made.

  “Good morning,” she whispered, curling into his naked chest and breathing in his smell. Like the last several nights, they had stayed over at his sumptuous penthouse apartment. Her place was really nice, but his was spectacular, high atop a skyscraper with the most stunning views of the city.

  “Good morning, yourself,” Jake mumbled, smoothing his hand around her bare hip and pulling her closer. “What time do we have to be at the lawyer’s office?”

  “Nine sharp. You know, you don’t have to come with me if you don’t want to. There could be drama with my mom. She and Gram never really got along, and I know for a fact that there were accounts that were supposed to go to my dad when Gram passed away. They never worked out what would happen with that money after my dad died. I’m worried my mom is counting on that money to survive.”

  “If you want me there, I want to be there for you. Plus, I’d like the chance to see Mindy and your mom. I’m sure I’ll be fine with whatever family drama happens to come up.”

  Sophie smiled and kissed him on the nose. “Good. Because I do want you there. I always want you by my side.” She stopped herself from saying the words that were waiting on her lips—everything about not wanting him to walk away from her today. How she hoped that he would eventually find a way to go from falling for her to actually loving her. Because the truth was that Sophie loved him. She absolutely loved him. She’d loved him eight years ago, and she loved him even more now. As to when she could share that confession, she had no idea when that day would come. She couldn’t bring herself to say it if she wasn’t reasonably sure it would be returned.

  “I’ll put coffee on if you want to get into the shower,” Jake said, glossing over the weight of what she’d just said about always wanting him by her side. It felt like confirmation that they were still operating with two separate sets of rules.

  “Great.” Sophie watched as he traipsed out of the room in only his pajama pants. She might as well soak up every beautiful view she could.

  She showered and dressed in a chic but subdued black dress with a princess-seamed bodice and a full skirt. Today’s shoes were anything but quiet, though—pale-pink-and-black patent-leather spectator pumps, courtesy of Mr. Blahnik’s divine skills. Gram had always commented on them. That felt important today.

  “Ready?” Jake asked as he walked into the kitchen still tying his tie.

  “Yes. Come here.” Sophie straightened the Windsor knot and neatened his collar. Jake was always put together, but even the most polished man needed help when he didn’t have the benefit of a mirror. She watched as he pulled on his jacket and fastened the top button. “You look very handsome today.” He really did. His charcoal-gray suit brought out his mesmerizing green eyes.

  “You look spectacular. But you probably already know that.”

  “I promise you I will never tire of hearing it.”

  Hand in hand, they made their way down to the elevator and then to the garage, where Jake’s driver was waiting for them. It was about twenty blocks downtown and a few avenues west to Gram’s attorney’s office, so it was a good thirty-minute trip in morning traffic. Sophie had considered softening the eventual blow of her decision to keep Eden’s while they were in the car, but Jake got a phone call as soon as they got settled in the back seat. She calmed herself by taking his hand and clutching it firmly. She couldn’t let him get away. Not again. She would just have to help him see that they were in love, and that was the most important thing.

&n
bsp; When they pulled up outside the lawyer’s office, Mindy was climbing out of a black stretch SUV. This was not her normal mode of transportation. Her car was much smaller and more modest. She’d often said she hated those big ostentatious cars. They felt snobbish to her.

  “Did you get a ride from someone?” Sophie asked when they met on the sidewalk. Jake had stepped inside the building vestibule, finishing up his phone call. Sophie tried to catch a glimpse of who was in the back seat, but the door had been closed too quickly for her to see.

  “Oh. Just a friend.” Mindy avoided eye contact, tugging at her red wool coat. Her normally tidy hair, a much darker shade of red than Sophie’s, was anything but neat and polished this morning. Something was definitely up.

  “What kind of friend?”

  Mindy narrowed her stare, practically shooting daggers from her eyes. “Just a friend, okay? I don’t want to talk about it.”

  Sophie kept quiet, but she couldn’t help but notice how the skin around Mindy’s mouth was red and her lipstick was only about half on. “Okay. I’m sorry.”

  Mindy stood a little straighter and cleared her throat. “You and I need to talk. Before we go in for the reading.”

  Sophie did not like that biting edge of her sister’s voice. It sounded like bad news wrapped up in doom. She also didn’t like being ordered around by Mindy. It was insulting. “Is something wrong?”

  “I don’t want to talk about it out on the street, okay?”

  “Well, you could use a trip to the ladies’ room to reapply your lipstick and fix your hair. Whatever you were doing with that friend you don’t want to talk about has taken its toll.” Sophie hustled inside and over to Jake, who put his hand over the phone receiver. “Mindy and I need to talk. I’ll see you upstairs? It’s Suite 401.”

  “Got it. I’ll be done in two minutes.”

  “Sophie. Come on,” Mindy said.

  “I’m coming.” She and Mindy rode the elevator to the fourth floor in silence. This building was filled to the brim with lawyers’ offices and as old-school as it got, with speckled polished stone floors and glass mail chutes that were still being used on the rare occasion that someone needed to mail a letter.

  The ladies’ room was right off the elevator. Sophie led the way inside. Mindy checked under the stalls as the door swooshed shut. Sophie felt like they were in a spy movie.

  When she’d completed her survey, Mindy turned to her. “We agreed that we wouldn’t make any decisions until the will is read. So now that we’re about to find out what we already know, I need to tell you that I’ve made a decision and you might not like it.”

  Great. Sophie’s shoulders wanted to drop, but she wouldn’t let them. She wouldn’t let her sister beat her down like this. “Just tell me, Mindy. I’m tired of you holding everything over my head.”

  Mindy’s jaw tensed. “Fine. Tomorrow, you’re going to get a letter from my lawyer saying that you have six months to buy me out of my half of Eden’s.”

  Sophie couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She blinked again and again as if that would wash away the horror of it. “So that’s it. No discussion. You’re just going to have your lawyer settle this between us? You’re my sister. I can’t believe you would do this.”

  “You gave me no choice. You refused to listen to what I want and need for myself.”

  Sophie was filled with such disgust right now she could hardly see straight. “I swear, you are the most selfish person I have ever met. Our grandmother died and I’m doing everything I can to keep her dream alive, and you’re fighting me every step of the way.”

  Mindy stepped closer. Her eyes were so angry it was as if they were on fire. “Are you listening to yourself? It was her dream, Sophie. And you feel a sense of obligation to see that through, but I don’t. It might have been her dream, but it’s not mine. My company is my dream. It’s my vision. And I’m not going to take all of the hard work I’ve done to reach my goals and throw it away. I won’t do it.”

  Sophie felt as though she couldn’t breathe. Jake had warned her this might happen. He’d even told her to prepare herself for it, but she’d never believed that Mindy would be cold-blooded enough to do it. “So we’re not going to work together. And I have to figure out how to buy you out of your stake in the business? We’re talking two billion dollars for half of the current valuation, Mindy. Billion with a b. I don’t have that kind of cash lying around. And I can’t even begin to think where I’m going to get it.”

  “Then let me sell my half to Jake.”

  Sophie had thought about that once or twice, but she knew that wasn’t what he was after. He and his partners wanted to buy the property so they could see Eden’s to what they felt was its rightful demise. They wanted the building and the land. They envisioned condos and big-chain retail and fancy restaurants. They would never go in on what they all saw as a failing business. And Sophie wasn’t willing to give up. Not yet.

  “I don’t think that’s going to work.”

  “Why not? Trouble in paradise?” Mindy stepped up to the mirror and reapplied her lipstick, not acknowledging the fact that she truly did look disheveled.

  “It’s complicated.”

  “That’s a Facebook status, not an answer.”

  Sophie simply stared at her sister’s reflection in the mirror. Some days it felt as though they would never get along. It frustrated the hell out of her. Not being able to count on Mindy only made Sophie realize that, aside from the loyal staff at Eden’s, people who were paid to be on her side, Jake was the only person in her life who was truly supporting her. That had always been Gram’s role, and he’d filled it. For that reason, she had to find him right now.

  “Where are you going?” Mindy asked.

  “To find Jake.”

  * * *

  Jake was waiting in the hall outside the conference room where the will was to be read. A peculiar edginess was in the air, which caught him off guard. He hadn’t expected to feel nervous today. This was Sophie’s day, and although it would be momentous, it was supposed to be very straightforward. Everyone knew what was in Victoria Eden’s will, at least as it pertained to Eden’s Department Store.

  Still, Sophie and Mindy had been in the bathroom for a while now. He’d listened for the sound of arguing but hadn’t heard a thing. That was a relief. By all accounts, there had already been more than enough tension between those two. When Sophie finally came strolling down the hall, he smiled at her, hoping that things would be okay between them after this was all over. He was fairly certain she wasn’t going to be willing to sell him the Eden’s property. They hadn’t discussed it, but nothing about her dedication or hardworking attitude had changed. That meant that it would fall on him to break the news to his fellow investors. It wouldn’t be easy. They might kick him out of the group. That would mean an entire stream of exclusive business opportunities, gone.

  “They’re ready for us,” he said, kissing Sophie on the cheek. “Everything okay with Mindy?”

  “Nothing two billion dollars can’t fix,” she quipped.

  “You’re kidding, right?”

  She shook her head. “Afraid not.”

  A woman in a black suit stepped out of the conference room. “If we could get everyone situated inside, we’d like to start.”

  Sophie and Jake filed in behind her. Sophie came to a dead stop and grabbed his arm as soon as she stepped into the conference room.

  “What?” Jake asked. “You okay?”

  “My cousin Emma is here,” she whispered, pulling Jake farther into the room, but into a corner away from the other people who had gathered. “So is my aunt Jill.”

  “So? I thought the whole reason the reading was delayed was because they had to wait for the beneficiaries to be here.”

  She squeezed his arm even harder and her eyes flashed with confusion. “But Emma is on the other side of the
family. Her mom and my mom are sisters. Gram was my paternal grandmother. I didn’t even know Gram knew Jill or Emma.”

  A team of lawyers was assembling at the head of the table. “Please. Everyone. Find a seat. We’re going to start in a moment,” the woman in the black suit said.

  “I’m sure it’s fine. Probably one of those things where they met her through your parents and she wanted to give them something to remember her by.”

  Sophie scanned Jake’s face, her eyes darting back and forth. He could see the gears turning as she tried to make sense of what he was saying. “Okay. You’re right. I’m sure it’s nothing.”

  He took this moment of relative quiet to pull her closer. He drew the back of his hand across the smooth skin of her cheek. “It will all be okay. I promise.”

  He had to say something to reassure her. He couldn’t stand to see her upset, even when his own stomach was churning. Talk about being torn—he wasn’t sure how he would feel once the will had been read and Sophie, this beautiful woman he couldn’t get out of his system, had inherited the massive Eden’s business and property. Every moment with Sophie was only pulling him closer to her.

  “We’ll go ahead and get started. I’m Leslie Adams and I’m lead counsel for the Eden estate,” the woman said again. “If everyone could take a seat at the table, that would be great.”

  Sophie and Jake stepped forward and each pulled out a rolling chair. He sat on Sophie’s left, and to Sophie’s right, her mother, Jenny, took a seat. Mindy walked in and took the seat next to Jake, mumbling a quiet hello. Several of Sophie’s grandmother’s cousins were next, followed by Emma, the mysterious cousin, and Jill, the aunt. Jake could feel the tension in the air again, especially between Sophie and Mindy’s mom and her sister. They didn’t even look at each other.

  Ms. Adams cleared her throat loudly, and that was enough to garner everyone’s attention. “This will be a straightforward proceeding. The decedent, Victoria Jane Eden, asked that her last will and testament be read aloud to her family.” She then launched into the legal preamble to the will, followed by a laundry list of antiques and jewelry, all of which went to various family members. None of it seemed to warrant much of a response from those in attendance, but perhaps that was because everyone was waiting for the big-ticket items.