A Christmas Temptation. Karen Booth

I’m guessing you know why I’m calling.” Jake rocked forward and back in his chair, watching out the window of his tenth-floor office in the luxury steel-and-glass tower of 7 Bryant Park. He had stunning views of the New York Public Library and other midtown Manhattan landmarks, but the one he enjoyed most was that of the building’s namesake. Down on the street, a temporary Christmas market was set up with vendors, music and ice skating. The holiday disruption had been overtaking the normally peaceful green space every December in recent years. Jake couldn’t wait for January, when it would all be gone.

      “I do. And I’m very sorry, but Ms. Eden is not available right now.”

      “Can you at least tell me when she’ll be back in the office?”

      “She’s here all the time, Mr. Wheeler. But her schedule is packed and always changing, as I’m sure you can understand. It’s December. She runs one of the largest department stores in Manhattan. It’s a very busy time.”

      “Of course.” Jake tapped his pen on his desk. “Did she get the fruit basket I sent?”

      “She did. And she was generous enough to share it with the staff. Everyone has enjoyed it greatly. Thank you.”

      Jake wasn’t sure what more he could do to get her to return his phone calls, and he certainly couldn’t arrive at a conclusion about why she was avoiding him. Their last interaction, years ago, at business school graduation, had been nothing but pleasant and cordial. They’d both agreed to let their shared history remain where it belonged—in the past.

      “But she’s not there right now?” He purposely added a heavy tone of suspicion to the question. It was the end of the workday. If Sophie was too busy to pick up the phone, she had to still be at the office.

      “I’m sorry, but she’s not available right now. No.”

      Jake wasn’t sure what that meant, but he knew he was getting the runaround. “Fine. I’d like to leave a message. Again. My name is Jake Wheeler, and my number is—”

      “Ms. Eden has your number.”

      Jake choked back a frustrated grumble. “Please remind her that it’s very important. I need to speak to her.”

      “She knows, sir. I’ve delivered each one of your messages personally.” Judging by the tone in her voice, Sophie’s assistant was losing her patience. That much they had in common.

      “Great. Thank you.” Jake hung up the phone, more frustrated now than ever. He had to get Sophie to talk to him. He had to meet with her. Jake was a member of an exclusive investment group called the War Chest. It was run by financier Jacob Lin, and they tackled only the biggest of big deals—ones that required several sets of deep pockets. Jake had suggested Eden’s when Sophie’s grandmother had died. The other War Chest members, hoteliers Sawyer and Noah Locke and real-estate broker Michael Kelly, along with Jacob, had all voted yes on the idea. Jake assured them with a great deal of confidence that he had an inside track with Sophie. Of course, until a month ago, he’d thought he did have an inside track. He and Sophie were best friends in business school. For a brief but memorable twenty-four hours, they’d been more.

      “Audrey?” he called out into the void of his office.

      In seconds flat, Jake’s assistant snapped to attention in his office doorway. Audrey was fastidious, hyperorganized and very opinionated. “Sir, I really think it’s too late for coffee. You’ll get edgy, and caffeine is disruptive to sleep patterns.”

      “I don’t need coffee. I’m wondering if you have any ideas on convincing a woman to call you back.”

      “Jewelry. Flowers. Chocolate. A profession of love.”

      Jake shook his head. “Not like that. I know that. I mean, in a professional setting.”

      “So nothing romantic?”

      Jake didn’t have to think about that one. He and Sophie were better off sticking to business. Of that much, he was sure. “Not intentionally romantic, but Ms. Eden does appreciate the finer things in life if that helps.”

      Audrey nodded. “Ah, yes. Your unromantic fruit-basket recipient.”

      “Precisely.”

      “And that didn’t go over well? Who doesn’t love a fruit basket?”

      “I have no idea.”

      “Flowers?”

      “Isn’t that a cliché?”

      “Not if you buy a ridiculous amount of her favorites and show up with them in person.”

      Jake raised both eyebrows at his assistant.

      “That’s what my husband did when he proposed.”

      “I’m not proposing marriage.”

      “But you are trying to talk a woman into selling her business when it’s been only a few weeks since the family matriarch passed away. You might want to go big.”

      “Excellent point.”

      “Any idea what her favorite flower is?”

      Jake had a recollection of a dinner at a professor’s house and Sophie commenting about the centerpiece. “The ones that look like roses, but aren’t actually roses. I think it starts with a p.”

      “Peonies?”

      “Yes. That’s it. Pink would be good.”

      “I’m on it.”

      “Thanks, Audrey.” Jake sat back in his chair and turned his sights to the city again. The sky was dark, snow flurries starting to fall. Could it be as simple as flowers? Jake doubted it highly. Nothing was ever simple with Sophie. But he needed to mix things up or he would lose ground. He knew for a fact that other investors and developers were courting her and her sister. His pitch would work so much better in person, especially if he could get Sophie alone. She’d always dropped the tougher parts of her veneer when it was just the two of them.

      Visions of Sophie flashed in his head—her lush red hair, her full lips, the way her brown eyes flickered with gold when she smiled. Each thought of her was more beautiful than the last. They’d been drawn to each other from the moment they met at a business school mixer. She laughed at his jokes and flirted like crazy with him, touching his arm and flashing her gorgeous eyes. They shared an immediate chemistry that was off the charts. In any other scenario, Jake would have taken her home that very first night.

      But he made a point of keeping their relationship platonic, even when there had been days where that required superhuman strength. He wanted her. There was no question about that. But he knew how brutal those two years of school were going to be. He couldn’t afford to have a fellow classmate royally pissed at him for seducing her and then calling things off before they got serious, which was what Jake did every time. The panic when a woman started to get close to him was real. There was no erasing the part of his history that made him feel that way.

      Still, the night they both gave in to their attraction had been magical. He couldn’t deny that. Two years of waiting and wondering and resisting can make giving in that much more delicious. They’d been studying at the library for hours, preparing for one of their final exams. Exhausted, Jake had asked Sophie if she wanted to go get a beer. She then realized how late it was, and in a panic asked Jake back to her apartment.

      “My roommate is out of town and I’m supposed to feed her cat. The poor thing is probably starving. Come to my place. Okay?”

      “Yeah. Sure. I just can’t study anymore.”

      When they got to Sophie’s, after the cat had been fed, they sat on the couch and had a drink. To this day, he could remember the moment when he’d decided to finally kiss her. She’d put her gorgeous red hair in a pile on top of her head, and she’d laughed at one of his goofy jokes, quite possibly a little too hard, and her hair slumped to the side. She’d pulled at the tie, and