“No. No way,” Sophie said. “Absolutely not.”
“What? You can’t tell me who I can bring as a date. I’m a grown woman.”
“Not around Sam you aren’t. And it’s my wedding. I don’t like Sam. My future husband despises him. And frankly, you shouldn’t like him, either. Just think about the things he’s done to interfere with our business.” Sophie gestured to Emma. “Or our own sister, for that matter. He was the one who leaked the story of Emma’s childhood to the tabloids.”
“Which was ultimately a good thing, wasn’t it?” Mindy turned to Emma, pleading with her eyes.
“It was.” Emma looked back and forth between Mindy and Sophie, seeming stuck. “I just wish I would’ve had the chance to do it myself.”
“See? There you go.” Sophie sat back in her chair. “You are not bringing Sam Blackwell to my wedding. If nothing else, he is going to stomp all over your heart, and I am not going to watch that happen again.”
“Ah, but see, that won’t be a problem. We agreed that we’re only attending as friends.”
“Why in the world would you even want to be friends with him? Does he have any friends? Is he capable of it?” Sophie asked.
Mindy had been afraid of that question, but she’d anticipated it. She considered telling Emma and Sophie about the deal for the Mercer Building, but that seemed like news for after the wedding. She didn’t want to give them any more reasons to question his motives. “Whatever you think of him, we were good friends. We understand each other, at least from a business standpoint. And I couldn’t find a date. That’s the very sad reality of my life right now. I know you think Gerald is harmless, but I’d like to keep him at bay.”
Sophie nodded, seeming to think hard about all of this. Emma sat back and wrapped her arms around her middle.
“What, you guys? Just tell me what you’re thinking. I can take it.”
“Even if it all goes fine, even if there are no problems, I worry about you and Sam together, especially in a romantic environment like a wedding,” Sophie said softly.
“It’s true. It’s hard not to get caught up in the romanticism. And you were so sad after the last time you and Sam broke up,” Emma added.
“I broke up with him because I couldn’t be in any way disloyal to you guys. I told him as much. And of course I was sad, but we’ve had five months apart and I think we’re ready to be friends.” Mindy doubted whether that was at all possible, but she had to try, at least to get the Mercer Building.
“I’m worried you’ll fall for him again. Then you’ll be miserable. Again,” Sophie said.
“I won’t.”
“You will.”
“I will not,” Mindy insisted.
“Wanna bet?” Sophie asked.
“I told you I won’t fall for him,” Mindy restated.
“Then bet me. I know you and you hate to lose. So we’ll make a bet and as long as you don’t lose it, you won’t get hurt.” Sophie grabbed the pencil on her desk and began tapping it against a legal pad. “The question is what to bet.”
“I know,” Emma said. “The one thing Mindy doesn’t want, to stay at Eden’s longer than she has to.”
Mindy was struck with horror while Sophie’s expression became one of sheer delight. “Yes. That’s perfect.” Sophie clapped her hands together gleefully. “You promise me there will be no romance between you and Sam, and I will stop pestering you about staying on at Eden’s beyond the deadline next year.”
“And if I lose?” Mindy asked, wary of the whole thing.
“Then you have to stay for one more year. That should give Emma and me enough time to convince you to stay full-time.”
Mindy was starting to feel trapped, a feeling she didn’t handle well. Sophie and Emma had both been making their case for Mindy to sell BMO and stay at Eden’s. But maybe this bet could be a good one. It would keep her from falling under Sam’s spell. The very last thing she wanted was to spend an extra year at Eden’s. The second-to-last thing she wanted was to deal with Sophie’s and Emma’s regular hints about her staying.
“We’re talking a real bet, you two.” Mindy pointed back and forth between Sophie and Emma. “You guys don’t get to say one more thing to me about walking away from BMO if I’m able to keep Sam in the friend zone. Not a peep. No guilt trips. Nothing.”
Emma nodded. “I’m good with it.”
“Me, too,” Sophie said.
“Fine. It’s settled.” Mindy got up from her seat, feeling pretty good about having gotten everything she needed out of a second meeting today. “Oh, and just so you know, I’m planning on bringing Sam to the rehearsal dinner.”
“Seriously?” Sophie asked.
“Yes. Just think of it as one more chance for you to win your bet.” Mindy stopped at the door and turned to Emma. “I almost forgot. Emma, did you have something you wanted to talk about?”
Emma noticeably winced. “I guess my mom and your mom had a phone conversation. It didn’t go well. Your mom hung up on mine.” Jenny Stewart, Emma’s mom, and Jill Eden, Sophie and Mindy’s mom, had a complicated relationship. They were sisters. Who didn’t speak to each other. They’d also each had children by the same man, making Emma not only Sophie and Mindy’s cousin, but their half sister, as well. It was a bizarre situation, to say the least. All three sisters had hoped that the occasion of Sophie’s wedding and the fact that they were all working together now might be a reason for the moms to make amends. Apparently not.
“Is this going to be a problem at the wedding?” Sophie asked. “I don’t think I can handle any more stress.”
Emma shook her head. “I figure I’ll handle my mom and Mindy can handle yours. As long as we keep them apart, it should be fine. There might be some steely silence, but that should be the extent of the drama. I promise we’ll keep everything going smoothly.”
Sophie took a deep breath, her shoulders rising and falling. “Okay, then. Let’s hope this all goes off without a hitch.”
* * *
Sam couldn’t keep Mindy off his mind, even though he had a mountain of work to do. This will be a good thing, he kept saying to himself, although he wasn’t 100 percent sure. Attending Sophie and Jake’s wedding certainly had the potential to put Sam back into a few business and social circles he’d managed to spin himself out of. But he also worried there was something else to it. Every time he read about the upcoming nuptials, it sent him into a downward spiral, thinking about Mindy’s life and wondering what she was doing and—most important—whom she was dating. He’d jumped at the chance to stake his claim on Mindy the instant he realized she didn’t have a date. But there was no claiming Mindy. She was her own person, through and through. Would this wedding just end up being an exercise in public humiliation? Quite possibly. But without risk came no reward. And he knew that his bad relationship with the Eden family had to end. It was keeping him from making all of the money he wanted to make.
Sam jumped when his phone line buzzed.
“Mr. Blackwell. Mindy Eden is on the line for you.” It was almost as if she knew he’d been thinking about her.
“Mindy, hi. Two conversations in one day. I hardly know what to make of this.”
“I won’t keep you long if that’s what you’re worried about.”
“Believe me, I’m not worried.”
“I was calling to give you the details of the rehearsal dinner and the wedding. I tried to reach you on your cell, but