way because it wasn’t London. There was nothing tying him to this luxury high-rise or this impossibly busy metropolis. The sooner he found a location for Stone’s, got the store opened and staffed, the sooner he could head back to England and whatever future he could manage to build.
* * *
For the fifth time in as many days, Emma Stewart stared into the mirror, scrutinizing herself and her attire. Was this dress chic enough for the Empire State fashion show tonight? It was flattering. Tasteful and tailored. The gray midweight crepe fabric had a beautiful drape. Plus, she had on somewhat daring shoes—black Manolo Blahnik pumps that her half sister Sophie had instructed her to buy. The ensemble was befitting a woman with an executive position at Eden’s department store. But would it make the cut in a room full of designers, celebrities, fashion editors and models? That, she did not know.
Emma took a final skeptical turn in front of the mirror, gathered her long brown hair and reached back to unzip the dress. It was just going to have to do. The fact of the matter was she was comfortable wearing gray. She might someday be a bolder, sexier version of Emma Stewart, but not today. She wasn’t ready. It didn’t matter that she now had a net worth of over a billion dollars, owned a swank apartment overlooking Central Park, and was CFO of the largest department store in the city. Three months ago, Emma’s checking account held thirty-four bucks, she was renting a tired one-bedroom apartment in New Jersey, had a fleet-footed brown mouse for an uninvited roommate, and was a junior CPA at a tiny accounting firm. She wouldn’t be at ease in a dress that might make her the center of attention, mostly because she’d never been the center of anything.
She tucked the dress inside a garment bag in order to take it to work. She and her half sisters, Mindy and Sophie, were not only attending Empire State, they were going to get ready together, at Eden’s. Sophie had arranged for a hair stylist and makeup artist, which was perfect, since Emma had time for neither this morning. She was going to be late if she didn’t get out the door. Putting her hair up in a ponytail, she bothered only with sunscreen, a light coat of mascara and lip balm, and dressed in her usual work attire—black trousers and a silk blouse. To mix things up, the blouse was royal-blue. She also decided to stick with the sky-high pumps she planned to wear that night. Twice daring counted for something, right?
Out in the hall, she waited for the elevator, mentally running through the workday ahead. She’d been at Eden’s for three months now, and the days weren’t getting any easier. It was a bizarre situation to begin with—in late December, Emma had been called to the reading of Victoria Eden’s will. Emma had known Victoria Eden only as her cousins’ grandmother, and the owner of Eden’s, the largest department store in the city. Turned out that Victoria Eden was also Emma’s grandma. Emma’s mom had had an affair twenty-seven years ago with her sister’s husband. Everyone kept it a secret, especially from Emma. But Victoria Eden blew the top off this powder keg when she left one-third of her empire to the third granddaughter nobody knew about—Emma. The other two-thirds of the store went to Sophie and Mindy Eden, women Emma had always believed were her cousins. In truth, they were her half sisters. Emma still wasn’t sure what to make of that. She’d grown up an only child. She’d always wanted siblings, but this was a lot to grapple with at once.
Finally, the elevator dinged. Emma glanced down at her pumps as the door slid open, but then her sights landed on someone else’s shoes. A man’s shiny black wingtips to be exact, leading to charcoal dress pants on ridiculously long legs. The hem of a suit coat led to a trim waist, under which was a crisp white shirt over a broad chest and shoulders, all topped off with a tousled head of thick brown hair swept back from the forehead of a man she’d never before had the good fortune to run into.
Icy blue eyes connected with hers. The man didn’t say a word. He merely cleared his throat and pressed his hand against the elevator door as it threatened to close.
Emma hopped on board while a flush of heat washed over her. “I’m sorry. Morning. On my way to work. Too much on my mind.” She added a casual laugh for good measure.
The towering man said nothing in response, folding his hands in front of him and staring straight ahead at the doors.
“Are you on your way to work, too?” she asked.
The man glanced over at her and nodded. “Yes.”
Ooh. A British accent. “Have you lived in the building long?” She’d been in the building for nearly two months now and had made friends with almost none of her neighbors. Not that she hadn’t tried. She brought pumpkin muffins to the couple who moved in down the hall from her. They seemed...bemused. Emma realized her tragic mistake as soon as the wife said, “How sweet. Homemade and everything.” She should have brought something from Dean & Deluca or Zabar’s at the very least. Next time, it’d be chocolate truffles and a bottle of champagne. Emma was capable of faking her way through this world if she simply put a little thought into it.
The man shook his head. “No.” He raked his fingers through his hair.
Emma had another four or five questions queued up in her head, one of which was whether she could smell him some more. His cologne was intriguing—warm and woodsy. Unfortunately, the doors slid open and he stepped aside. “Please,” he said. If he was that good with single-syllable words, Emma could only imagine what might happen to her if he chose to utter an entire sentence in her presence.
Emma scurried off the elevator to the right and the main lobby, but the British mystery man strode left through the entrance to the parking garage. She looked longingly as he disappeared from view. Maybe she could get her driver to meet her in there next time. She might be missing out on a whole slew of handsome men.
Or perhaps she should just get to work and stop thinking about handsome men. Eden’s was her entire future, one she’d never dreamed she could have. There was no room for distractions now.
After twenty minutes of stop-and-go Manhattan rush-hour traffic, Emma’s driver dropped her at Eden’s. Lizzie, the receptionist in the administrative offices, hardly let her step off the elevator before speaking. “Mindy and Sophie are waiting for you in Sophie’s office. They want to talk about Empire State.”
Emma forced a smile. “Thanks. I’ll head in.” Simply hearing the name of the big charity fashion show made her nervous again. Their grandmother had apparently attended the event every year. Tonight would be the debut of the three sisters, Mindy, Sophie and Emma, as the new faces of Eden’s department store.
“Emma. Good morning.” Sophie sprang up from her desk, swung her long, strawberry blond hair over her shoulder and gave Emma a hug. She was wearing a gorgeous navy blue dress and killer red heels. Sophie was the epitome of put-together, and quite frankly, everything Emma hoped to be someday.
“Hey, Em,” Mindy offered, unsubtly eyeing Emma from head to toe. Mindy was wearing a plum-colored pencil skirt and short peplum jacket. She didn’t have a wardrobe as funky as Sophie, but she always looked impeccable. “I see we went with black pants again.”
“I was in a rush. I just grabbed what I knew would look good.” Emma stood next to Sophie’s desk rather than sitting. She didn’t want to be here for long.
“Is that your dress for tonight?” Mindy asked, pointing to the garment bag Emma was still toting.
“Oh. Uh. Yes.”
“Sophie and I would like to see it, please. No more keeping it a secret.”
Emma walked over to Sophie’s coat tree and hung up the dress, unzipping it from its bag. She pressed her lips together tightly, preparing herself for what these two might say. Anything was fair game.
