more things change, the more they stay the same.” Even though he’d been nothing but surly to her, she hugged him and Eric hugged her back. “I hope she does well working in the office,” Mom said when she leaned back. “She always was a bright, beautiful girl and a true friend to you.”
He scowled at his mother. He hated it when she was right. Everything had changed. Sofia had grown up into a gorgeous woman who’d loved and lost.
But for all that, Sofia was still bright and beautiful and no matter what she said, they were still friends.
Because some things never changed.
* * *
Eric wasn’t in the office much. The weather was perfect, so most afternoons he was aboard the Jennerosity, speeding away from Chicago and out onto the lake. He could breathe out there, far away from prying eyes and the sounds and smells of the city. He had no trouble being the social playboy people expected one of the “Top Five Billionaire Bachelors of Chicago” to be, but he needed time to recharge.
A few times, he’d been on the verge of asking Sofia to come with him—hand on the doorknob, question on his lips. But how would that look, giving his brand-new office manager the afternoon off, just to take her boating? Bad, that’s how it’d look. So he didn’t.
Of course he worked, too. He made a quick trip down to St. Louis to get a look at the property alone. He thought he knew how the city would sell the development’s benefits but he liked to check out every potential site unannounced, without anyone else offering their opinions. The property centered around the indoor football stadium that had been recently vacated when St. Louis lost its football team. Without crowds pouring in for weekend home games, whole blocks seemed to be boarded up. Much to Eric’s advantage, an attempt to bring in a pro soccer team had recently failed. The city was no doubt growing desperate.
All of which meant he didn’t see Sofia for several days. Which was fine. She didn’t need him to babysit her. She’d made it plenty clear during their last conversation that the only relationship they could have going forward was a professional one.
That didn’t mean he didn’t think about her constantly. It took real work to make sure his thoughts stayed away from her body in a bikini and focused on her job performance. Heather reported that Sofia was naturally organized and seemed to be picking up the office systems quickly. “Thank God,” she added, tapping her fingers on the desk nervously. “This final project for school is killing me, but she’s taken over enough that I actually got a few hours of sleep last night.”
Meryl and Steve had much the same report. Sofia was highly organized, detailed and neat. She asked good questions when she hit a stumbling block. “She’s a little quiet,” Meryl noted, “but you get the sense she’s listening to everything.”
“We don’t need her to be loud,” Steve countered. “That’s my job.”
Eric rolled his eyes and left his employees to squabble. There was a reason the two of them had their own office removed from everyone else. The Nortons deeply loved each other and they worked well together but their verbal gymnastics could wear on even the mellowest of cube workers.
Eric stood in his office, staring at the lake. Of course Sofia was an organized quick study. He remembered all those times she’d been in the house while he’d had friends over. She’d always hovered on the edge of the conversation until she’d been sure she was welcome to join in. She hadn’t been quiet when it’d been just the two of them but for Sofia, at least, two had been company and three was always a crowd.
Were her children like her, quiet and watchful? Or were they handfuls?
He remembered so many things he hadn’t thought about in such a long time. The sailboat, the kiss. Teaching her to swim, with her mother watching nervously from the kitchen window. He’d picked out a birthday present for her with his own money, a Barbie with dark hair, just like hers.
But she wasn’t that girl, not anymore. Back then, she’d been a kid—and so had he. Now she was a woman and he wanted to get to know her again.
Without being aware of leaving his office, he found himself standing in front of her desk, located on the opposite side of the floor from his.
“Hi,” he said, pointedly not staring at her.
Startled, she looked up at him, her dark eyes bright. She looked amazing, he realized, his breath catching in his throat. Her color was good and her breath came easily and everything about her radiated calm. In no way, shape or form did she look like she was struggling with the burdens of the job.
But that wasn’t what had him unable to tear his gaze away. Somehow, she was even prettier than the last time he’d seen her. Today, she had on a wine-colored jacket over a patterned shirt and her hair was pulled back at the temples, the mass of dark waves spilling down her back. God, how he wanted to peel that jacket and shirt off her and sink his fingers into that silken hair and wind it around his fist so he could angle her head to the side and scrape his teeth over the delicate skin of her—
“Hi,” she said, snapping him out of his insanity.
He couldn’t respond for a moment as he fought to regain control of his body. Finally, he managed to croak out, “How’s it going?”
She notched an eyebrow. “Fine. Haven’t seen you for several days.” He heard the challenge in her voice. She knew he’d been avoiding her.
But he hadn’t been. Not intentionally. “Business waits for no man. I hear you’re settling in.”
“So far, so good.” Her voice was perky and confident, but then she looked down at her desk. “Everyone’s been really nice.”
He almost heard a...so far at the end of that sentence. “But?”
A blush darkened her cheeks. “We’re going to St. Louis next week, right?” She worried her lower lip with her teeth.
He almost leaned over to brush his thumb across her lip and soothe the worry away. Somehow, he just managed not to but his hand shook with the effort. She wore a shade of lipstick so deep a red it was almost brown. It looked great on her but God help him, he’d love to mess it up.
Then what she’d said penetrated his thoughts. She was worried about the trip. Was it the thought of traveling—or was it the thought of traveling with him? “Nervous about leaving your babies?” He leaned over and picked up the framed photo she’d put on her desk. This was a formal shot and, if he had to guess, he’d say it was for the twins’ one-year birthday.
God, they were cute. Eddy, dressed in a tiny tie that was hilarious on him, was standing with his hands on a small stool. Addy, wearing a dress that almost swallowed her whole and bows on itty-bitty ponytails, sat on a blanket next to the stool. Both kids were grinning wildly and Addy was clapping. They looked...perfect. Something in his chest tightened as he stared at the picture.
He said a silent prayer for their father. What a damn shame that the man hadn’t lived long enough to love his perfect family. If Eric had a wife like Sofia and kids like these babies, he wouldn’t have done anything stupid like die. He’d spend the rest of his life making sure this family was happy and whole. He’d give them every opportunity he’d ever had and more.
His mind spun out a—well, a fantasy. Working with Sofia, then going home with her at the end of the day, doing all those things he’d watched Marcus do with his wife and son—messy dinners and playing in the park. Then, when the kids went to bed at night, Eric would pull Sofia into his arms and into bed, where he’d spend the better part of the night—and the next morning—getting lost in the pleasures of her body.
It was almost perfect, that little fantasy of his. But he couldn’t just step into Sofia’s life like that. He did not sleep with employees. Hell, he shouldn’t even be fantasizing about them.
Belatedly, he realized Sofia hadn’t answered his question. He glanced up and caught her staring at him staring at her picture. Trying to act casual, he set it back on the desk. “I’d