Sleepless in Manhattan (From Manhattan with Love 1)

Jake raised his eyebrows. “He’s an astute businessman, not a dumbass.”

“He fired Matilda. That makes him a dumbass.”

“Shh—” Eva waved her hand to silence them. “Say that again, Matilda, from the moment you dropped your phone in the bath—”

Paige gave a half smile. That sounded so like Matilda.

Frankie looked baffled. “Who takes a phone into the bath? And she wonders why she has so many accidents—”

Paige was watching Eva. She said nothing, simply listened, and then huge fat tears welled up in her eyes.

“Matilda—” her voice was choked “—I—I don’t know what to say.” Tears spilled down her cheeks and Paige felt sick.

It was obviously worse, much worse, than she’d feared.

She held out her hand. “Let me talk to her. Give me the phone, Ev.” She was determined to make it right. She’d give Matilda a job even if it meant living off instant soup for the rest of her life. “Ev!”

“Wait!” Eva held on to the phone, scrubbing her face with her free hand as she listened. “Great. Yeah, that’s right. We set up our own business. Urban Genie. We were going to offer you a job—I know! Incredible. We’ll see you then. It’s going to feel weird. Will you still speak to us?”

Frankie growled again. “It’s going to feel weird when I rip that phone out of her hand. And why wouldn’t Matilda speak to us? It was Cynthia who fired her, not us.”

Eva hung up. “Well! Can you believe that? Amazing.”

“I’m counting to three,” Frankie said pleasantly. “And then you’re dead. You only get one warning.”

“Why did you hang up?” Paige was frustrated. “Why didn’t you tell her we’d give her a job?”

“Because she doesn’t need a job.” Eva looked dazed. “She’s doing fine.”

“She’s found another job? How? What?”

“Her book is being published.”

Paige felt her spirits lift. “That’s great news! I’m so happy for her. But I can’t imagine that’s going to make her enough to live off, at least not for a while. She’s still going to need—”

“She doesn’t need anything.” Eva wiped her eyes again. “You always laugh at me, but this is proof that happy endings can happen in real life as well as in books and movies.”

“So she has a publishing deal—that’s great, but—”

“That’s not all.” Eva sniffed. “It’s the most romantic thing I ever heard. After she spilled the champagne, Cynthia told her to go home, remember? Which was why we couldn’t find her. So she got into the elevator and guess who was in there with her? Chase Adams. But she didn’t know who he was—”

“Only Matilda wouldn’t recognize Chase Adams.”

“I haven’t finished.”

“Then finish, before we all die of old age.”

“This is a real-life fairy tale. I’m not rushing it. She didn’t know who he was, but they had this amazing chemistry going so she went home with him.”

“She went home with a guy she met in the elevator?” Frankie gaped. “Holy crap, she’s as bad as you are. Please tell me that at some point she found out who he was, and then she punched him?”

“They fell in love.” Eva’s eyes filled again. “Sorry, but I’m so happy. It proves that when it’s right, it’s right. You don’t need years together to know.”

“What? Wait a minute.” Paige was confused. “You’re telling us she met Chase Adams, fell in love and—”

“—and now they’re going to live happily ever after.”

Frankie was incredulous. “Does she know he demanded Cynthia fire her?”