“Tell you what, Blue Eyes,” she’d drawled in that lazy, seductive voice that had never failed to turn him on. “If my team wins, then I get to be on top tonight. And if your boys somehow manage to steal the victory, then I’ll let you be on top.”

He’d chuckled, pulling her into his arms and nuzzling her neck. “So in other words, no matter what team wins tonight, I can’t lose.”

Elle gave a brief shake of her elegantly coiffed head. “Especially not of American sports. I do enjoy watching tennis and golf, and occasionally European football. But otherwise it’s not really my thing.”

“Okay,” he conceded, taking pity on her. “So no Knicks game. We could catch a movie instead, I suppose.” He kept his fingers crossed that she wouldn’t suggest seeing one of the foreign or art house films she loved. He already knew she despised the type of action/adventure or suspense movies that he favored – the very sort that Lauren had adored.

‘Jesus,’ he thought angrily. ‘Why does everything always come full circle back to her?’

Fortunately, Elle suggested a comedy that they could both agree on, and they arranged a time to meet for a quick dinner beforehand.

She had an appointment after lunch, and so they bid each other farewell outside of the restaurant. Ben ignored the hopeful look in her eye, knowing that she’d eagerly welcome a kiss on the cheek or a hug good-bye, and merely gave her hand a light squeeze instead.

As he walked briskly back to his office, turning up his jacket collar against the chilly autumn air, Ben resolved to make sure he continued to treat Elle strictly as a friend. The last thing he wanted to do was give her any sort of encouragement, to lead her on in any way – even unintentionally. He had to make sure she was always aware that their friendship would never progress beyond this point. At least not as long as a feisty little seductress continued to hold his heart captive.

***

February

Ben followed Elle through the spacious, high-ceilinged rooms of the brownstone gingerly, half-afraid he’d knock over one of the undoubtedly priceless sculptures, vases, or figurines that seemed to cover every marble-topped table in the place. And even though Elle had assured him that he didn’t need to leave his boots at the front door, he was still doubtful on that score as she continued to give him the grand tour.

He’d never been inside her home until now, though he’d shared cab rides with her before and had seen the exterior of the place. He should have expected Elle’s home – technically, her parents’ home – to be as posh and elegant as the woman herself, but nothing could have truly prepared him for the intimidating grandeur of the house. Everything here shrieked money, lots of it – the plush carpets, gilt-framed artwork, a mixture of modern and antique furnishings.

He followed her into the huge, gleaming kitchen – all white cabinets, white granite counters, and professional grade stainless steel appliances.

“This is really something,” he told her in awe. “You must like to cook a lot with a kitchen this size.”

Elle smiled sheepishly. “You’d like to think so, wouldn’t you? The truth of the matter, though, is that I can boil water for tea but not much else. I grew up with servants, never had to worry about cooking or cleaning or doing the laundry. And my parents employ a housekeeper here for me as well. She leaves ready to cook meals for me so that I don’t have to eat out all the time. Do you like to cook, Ben?”

“Some. Though it’s been a challenge to get creative when all you have to work with is a two-burner hot plate and a microwave,” he admitted.

She beamed. “Well, you’d have all the space in the world if you decide to move in. This kitchen has every gadget, appliance, and convenience you’d ever need.”

“Yeah, I can see that.”

Ben intentionally remained non-committal as he continued to follow Elle on the tour of the multi-level house. The ground floor included the living room, formal dining room, a library/office, the huge eat-in kitchen, and a pantry that was bigger than his entire apartment.

The second floor consisted of two separate suites, almost like self-contained apartments. Each suite included a bedroom with a walk-in closet, a spacious bathroom, and a sitting area/office. The third floor, which was used exclusively by Elle’s parents when they visited New York every couple of months, had an identical layout to the second.

In addition, there was an attached garage and a rooftop garden that offered up incredible views of Manhattan. Ben couldn’t even begin to calculate how much a property of this size would be valued at, especially given its prime location within the city.

“So what do you think?” Elle asked eagerly as they returned to the living room. “I mean, I’ve never seen your place but I have to imagine this is at least a step or two up from that.”

“A step or two?” Ben shook his head in bemusement. “More like a few hundred miles. Or a whole world apart. I honestly don’t think this could work, Elle. I appreciate the offer but I’m just not sure I’d ever fit in a place like this.”

Elle shook her raven head in denial. “You don’t have to “fit in” anywhere, Ben. I mean, you’d just be my roommate, free to come and go as you please. And given how much time you spend on the road for work, you’d hardly even be here.”

When Elle’s roommate Delia had decided to accept a job in Paris, Elle had eagerly offered the empty suite of rooms to Ben. She’d been quick to clarify that their relationship would continue to remain strictly platonic, that they would be nothing more than roommates and good friends.

Ben’s initial instinct had been to gently refuse her kind offer, not entirely convinced that Elle truly meant what she said. But when she told him he wouldn’t be expected to pay rent, merely his share of the utilities and his own groceries, he’d agreed to at least look at the place. The thriftiness that had been instilled in him from youth by his blue-collar family was tempted by the possibility of being able to save some money while making a considerable upgrade to his living conditions at the same time.

Now that he’d had the grand tour, however, all of his doubts returned full force. Despite the obvious beauty and grandeur of the house, it all left Ben feeling more than a little cold. And the place certainly didn’t call to him, didn’t feel the least bit like a home. Not at all like the way he’d felt the first time he’d walked inside the cabin in Big Sur.

There was really no comparison between this elegant Manhattan brownstone and the rugged, laidback oceanfront cabin. Even the much larger and more formal McKinnon home in Carmel Highlands was far more casual and welcoming than the Kimbrough residence. And while Ben had easily been able to envision himself living in either of the coastal homes, the same couldn’t be said of the intimidating city dwelling.

He hesitated before telling her, “I just don’t know, Elle. I’ve never lived in a place like this before, you know?”

She laughed softly. “It’s just a house, Ben. And you’d have your own things around you, after all. I mean, Delia did leave a few pieces behind but we could store them in the garage. Though the computer workstation she left in her office might be something you’d like to use.”

Ben looked around the very formal room they were standing in, afraid that if he made one wrong move some priceless collectible would tumble to the floor. “I suppose the suite is more or less like a separate apartment,” he mused, as though to himself. “And I guess you’ve got a point that I’d only be here half the time at best.”

“I hardly ever saw Delia,” offered Elle, obviously pulling out all the stops to convince him. “Most of the time I didn’t even remember I had a roommate. And when my parents were here, Delia pretty much stayed in her rooms.”