“Really? You want me to believe you still love me? After an entire night of blackmailing me into being your companion, threatening my friend’s company with disaster, and now learning that you… that you…” Her body trembled, tears once again flowed, and her voice broke, becoming a mere whisper. “…raped me.”
The floor was once again falling. “No, Claire.” Pleading laced his command. “Don’t even suggest that.” Lifting her chin, he searched her eyes. She’d talked about a dream, but she knew it was real as well as he did. “You agreed to everything. You more than consented: you wanted it as much as I did.” When he released her chin, she didn’t pull away; instead, her cheek settled against his chest as she wobbled in his arms. Tony kissed the top of her head and scooped her up into his arms.
“No, Tony, not tonight.”
“I’m putting you on the sofa. You’re about to fall.”
She nodded against the silk of his shirt. Together, they sat on a large white sofa, facing the tall windows. Claire removed her high heels and curled her legs onto the plush cushions. With his arm around her shoulder she fit perfectly against his side. The scent of her perfume wafted through the silent air. The scene of the Golden Gate Bridge through the windows was stunning. Tony’s mind replayed vistas they’d shared: the beaches of Fiji, the mountains of Tahoe, and even the view from her suite in Iowa. How many hours had they spent silently enjoying the beauty that he never noticed without her?
Tony wanted this to go on forever, to forget their past and the vendetta. He wanted to keep her exactly like this. Didn’t Anthony Rawlings usually get what he wanted? But he knew that it would never be right if it were forced. With a deep sigh, Tony broke the spell. “Are you ready for me to call Eric?”
Her response surprised him. “What I really want are answers.”
“What kind of answers?”
“Truthful ones.” Again, she used his words and repeated demands he’d made of her. When he didn’t respond, Claire pushed on, “You say you still love me. You’re a very intelligent man. Surely, you understand actions speak louder than words.”
He turned to her with surprise. “You said no.”
“I don’t mean sex. I mean actions, like tricking me tonight, and setting me up for your attempted murder.”
He exhaled. The past wouldn’t go away.
Claire continued, “Tell me why.”
“I told you. It was a loophole.”
Her head shook against his shoulder. “I don’t understand your puzzles.”
“You, too, are very intelligent. I don’t believe you’ve spent the past year and a half without suspicions.”
“I truly didn’t understand,” Claire replied. “Until I received that box of information.”
“And what did you conclude from that?”
As she contemplated her answer, her fingers mindlessly played with the small buttons down the center of his silk shirt. The familiarity filled him with a new sense of hope. Finally, she spoke, “Well, it’s hard to answer. You see, I thought you’d sent it, so I thought you were adding insult to injury, you know, rubbing salt in my wounds.”
Damn Catherine! That was the exact opposite of what she’d said. Tony pushed aside his anger and concentrated on Claire. Seeing the delivery from her perspective caused his chest to ache. “You thought I’d do that?”
“What else could I think? You set me up and left me.”
The hope that moments earlier filled the penthouse evaporated; nevertheless, he tried again to help her understand. “There are few people in this world whom I’ve cared about. Few people whose opinion of me I value.” He cupped her chin and looked into her glistening emerald eyes. “I know you have reason to doubt me—hell, reasons—but, Claire, you are one of those people.” She closed her eyes, and he continued speaking, “I need you to understand that I made promises, and I keep my word.”
“You made me a promise, on December eighteenth—”
He interrupted, each word coming slower than the one before, “Two thousand and ten, in our estate, to love you forever—I kept my word.”
His lips found hers. She responded with the same unspoken need, primal and raw. It wasn’t his imagination or a dream; they had the same desires. Then, it ended too soon. Without warning, Claire stood and swayed. Tony reached out to steady her. “Are you all right? What happened?”
Claire picked up her shoes and smoothed her dress. “I’m fine. I want to go now.”
He didn’t argue. In another minute they’d have been where they were in her condominium. Tony didn’t want Claire to associate tonight’s manipulation with sex. The next time they made love—and there would be a next time—she needed to admit her desires. There would be no more dreaming.
His eyes never left her as he called Eric. She looked beautiful, even with her smeared makeup and tousled hair; however, that wasn’t why he couldn’t look away. From her earlier paleness to the bouts with dizziness, Tony was worried. Perhaps he’d pushed her too far. Whatever the issue, he didn’t want her to fall. Once his call was done, he said, “Eric will have the car ready in the private garage in a few minutes.” Seeing the question in her eyes, he added, “If we enter the car in the garage, then we can avoid paparazzi.”
“Oh, good idea, I need to use the restroom, and I’ll be ready to leave.” Claire turned to walk away and then turned back. “We? Tony, I don’t need you to ride with me,” she paused. “I’d prefer you didn’t.”