Precious Surprises. Andrea Laurence

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       Seven

      Emma anxiously stepped out of her cab outside the Wall Street Heliport. Before she headed inside, she made certain to adjust her jumpsuit and ensure everything was in place. It was all fine. She looked amazing in the jumpsuit, something she never would’ve believed until she looked in the mirror at the store and noticed her jaw had dropped along with Harper’s.

      She took a deep breath, swung her uncharacteristically loose brunette waves over her shoulder and headed inside. Looking around the small waiting room, she didn’t see Jonah anywhere at first. Only a few of the seats were taken, mostly with families awaiting helicopter tours around Manhattan. Then she noticed a tall, slim man in a dark gray suit at the window with his back to her. Could it be?

      As though he sensed her arrival, the man turned around to look at her, and she was surprised to see it was Jonah standing there. He was wearing a royal blue dress shirt, almost the same shade as her jumpsuit, but it was unbuttoned at the collar, with no tie in sight. Even then, the effect was amazing. The suit coat highlighted his broad shoulders and the narrow hips she remembered cradling between her thighs. The blue of the shirt made his eyes an even deeper shade, like the darkest waters of the ocean.

      Standing there with his hands casually stuffed into his pants pockets, he looked every inch the powerful CEO of a software empire. And yet, he had been right about it being an unnecessary accessory. He didn’t need an expensive suit to command the attention of every person in the room. The crisp lines and exquisite tailoring on his body were just the delicious icing on the man cake that made her heart race in her chest and her resolve weaken.

      Emma had to remind herself that although this felt like a date, it wasn’t really. He didn’t know who she was and she couldn’t be certain of his motives for asking her out. Besides, being blackmailed into dinner was not a date. And yet she couldn’t help preening as he took his turn looking her over from head to toe. She went with it, ignoring everyone else in the waiting area and giving him a little spin to showcase the bare back and the fit that clung to her curves. If he was a little uncomfortable all night, all the better.

      His pleased smirk convinced her it was the right choice of outfit for the evening. When he was finished admiring her, she approached the window and closed the gap between them. “Good evening, Mr. Flynn.”

      “Tonight, of all nights,” he insisted, “it’s Jonah. You can call me Mr. Flynn at work tomorrow if you insist.”

      “I suppose that depends on how tonight goes,” she added with a smile, and then turned to look at the helicopters waiting just outside. “So when will our ride be ready?”

      “It’s ready now.” Jonah turned to the desk and gestured to the man at the counter. The attendant buzzed them out and Jonah pushed open the door that led to the helipad. “Just waiting on you.”

      Stepping outside, she was glad it was a calm day, not too windy. Emma had been in a helicopter twice with her parents. Sometimes her father needed to be able to get back from the Hamptons for a work emergency faster than a car or train would allow. It had never been her favorite mode of travel, but the unsteady movement didn’t bother her, thankfully. Even so, she was sucking on a ginger candy to soothe her stomach just in case. She would not be remembered by Jonah as the woman who puked in the helicopter.

      As they approached the sleek black helicopter, the pilot waved to them. He and Jonah helped her up inside and once she was buckled in, Jonah climbed in beside her and shut the door.

      “Where are we going to dinner?” she asked as the blades started to spin overhead.

      “It’s a surprise.”

      “Of course it is,” Emma muttered, but her voice was drowned out by the sound of the helicopter.

      Jonah offered her a headset to wear and she accepted it. It muffled the engine sounds and allowed her to speak to the others without shouting. She didn’t have much to say at first. It was a clear day and she was too busy admiring her city. New York by helicopter was a truly amazing sight. You could get up close to the architectural wonders, unlike taking a plane, and without getting bogged down by the traffic and the noise of being on the ground.

      She thought they might be heading toward Long Island, but then the helicopter turned and headed farther north. They could be heading to Boston, perhaps. Or Martha’s Vineyard. It was high season there.

      “Stop trying to guess,” Jonah said to her through the headsets. “I can see it all over your face. You’re not going to be right and it will make you crazy trying to figure it out. Just relax and enjoy the flight.”

      Emma smirked and flopped back against her seat. She supposed he was right. Instead of looking for clues, she glanced out the window to take in the view. When she turned back to Jonah a few minutes later, she noticed he was intently watching her instead of the landscape speeding by.

      “I suppose the view bores you when you’ve seen it repeatedly.”

      “Not at all,” he said. “I’ve just got something more intriguing to look at this time.”

      Emma gasped softly, but didn’t know what to say. Instinctively, she held her breath as he leaned close to her and put his arm around her shoulder. She started to worry that he would be able to see down her top from this angle, but it was hard to focus on that when she could smell his cologne and feel the warm press of his leg against hers.

      “Thank you for agreeing to have dinner with me.”

      “You didn’t really give me a choice,” she replied, mostly in jest.

      Jonah only shrugged. “I know. And I apologize for that. I guess I just wasn’t sure what to do when you kept turning me down.”

      “Taking the hint was always an option.”

      “Yes.” He laughed. “And I would have if your eyes were sending the same message as your mouth. But I could see you were conflicted, so I thought I’d give you a little push in the right direction.”

      “Threatening to get me fired is not a little push. That’s blackmail.”

      Jonah winced. “Agreed. It was a drastic step on my part. But I wouldn’t have called your boss, for the record. I was bluffing.”

      Emma crossed her arms over her chest, realizing too late that it gave him a tantalizing view of her cleavage. His blue eyes flickered down for only a moment before returning to hers. She was surprised by his restraint.

      “Even if you’re mad at me, СКАЧАТЬ