Sleepless in Manhattan (From Manhattan with Love 1)

Paige swallowed.

Her insides quailed. The theory was one thing, the practice was another.

What if she couldn’t make it work? This time she’d be the one letting her friends down, not Star Events.

“If you’re really going to do this,” Matt said, “you could start by asking for advice.”

Paige shook her head. “Thanks, but I want to do this on my own.”

Jake locked his hands behind his head, watching her from under his lashes. “Paige the pigheaded. Do you want to know how many start-ups I’ve seen fail in the last few years?”

“No. And you were the one who told me to start my own business.”

“I didn’t tell you to go off like a child in a toy shop with no sense of direction. You need to think about what you’re doing. Ask for advice.”

“I have a clear sense of direction.” How could you find someone attractive and want to hit them at the same time? “I’ll ask the advice of people who understand the business, like Eva and Frankie.”

“Yeah, that’s smart. Ask your friends. Because they’re sure to tell you the truth.” Jake drained his beer. “When you’re thinking of setting up a business you don’t want the opinion of your friends. You want people who are going to tell you what’s wrong with your idea so you can fix it. It’s going to be a tough grind and you need to be prepared for that. You need to be challenged. If you can defend yourself, then maybe, maybe, your ideas are robust.”

Paige felt a rush of frustration. Needing space, she turned and walked to the edge of the terrace, away from them all.

Damn, damn.

Why did she always get emotional around him?

And what if she was being too ambitious thinking that she could start up her own business?

What if she failed?

She heard soft prowling footsteps behind her.

“I’m sorry.” Jake’s voice was low. He was standing close enough that she could feel the warmth of his breath against her cheek.

Desire shot through her. For a moment she thought he was going to put his arms around her and she closed her eyes, holding her breath.

He was not going to touch her.

He never touched her. Not anymore.

It was agonizing to find someone so attractive physically when they didn’t feel the same way.

It was rare that they found themselves alone together. Not that they were exactly alone, but for some reason it felt that way as they stood, sheltered by the soft sway of the trees, while conversation drifted on the breeze from the far side of the terrace.

He didn’t touch her. Instead, he stood next to her, staring across the water toward Manhattan.

Paige let her breath out slowly. “Tell me what’s wrong with my idea. I want to know.”

He turned his head to look at her, and the atmosphere on the terrace suddenly felt tight and intimate.

“You need to think hard about your market, your customers and exactly what it is you’re offering. Matt’s right. Your customers are the most important thing. More important than how you structure the company, than what your website looks like, whether you have a video of flying pigs on your splash page. Ask yourself what your customers need, and then ask yourself why they’re going to come to you. If you make your offering too broad, people won’t automatically think of you. Too niche and you could find yourself without business. What value are you going to place on your service?”

She found it hard to focus on business while the velvet stroke of his voice was teasing her senses.

“We can’t afford to narrow what we offer. We’ll take whatever business we can get.”

“Don’t undersell yourself. You’ll be brilliant, Paige.” His words drove the breath from her lungs.

“From insults to compliments. You’re giving me whiplash.”