by Lexi Greene
“Do me a favour and tell Geoffrey that when you see him.” Her insides squeezed with a different kind of emotion. She pushed Tony back and turned to eat the breakfast he’d made for her.
“I will.” He moved to the other side of the bench and watched as she ate, returning his attention to his own food. “I like your house. It’s an extension of you. Stylish. Everything in its place.” He cut his toast and egg. “We’ll have to go through Dad’s things today. I’m not looking forward to it.”
“It’s a difficult time for you.”
“It is.” He paused, his fork halfway to his mouth. “What is it, O’Connor?”
“I think I may have to resign.”
“Resign? Why? Not on my account. We can work together. I love your competent lawyer-mode. It’s incredibly sexy.”
He smiled and there were those dimples, deep enough to fall into. “You want the promotion.”
“Of course, I do. And you want it, too.” He took a sip of his coffee. “I didn’t have you pegged as a quitter.”
“I’m not sure the cost is worth it.” Her mouth was tinder-dry, and her insides fluttered. She wanted to believe him. She wanted to trust him, but…
“What cost? Work is work. After work is after work.” He lowered his cutlery, his forehead creasing. “I don’t have a problem with that. If you get the promotion, then you earned it. If I get the promotion, then I earned it.”
“It’s not that simple.”
“It should be.”
“You’re right. It should be.” She lifted her coffee, took a sip and eyed him over the rim.
His gaze snapped to her wrist. “What does the PS truly stand for?”
Scarlet glanced down and the ink swam before her eyes. “Pissed and Stupid. That’s why I don’t get drunk. I don’t go to office parties. I thought I’d learned my lesson. But this…”
“We can manage this. I don’t want this to go away. This is the best thing that’s happened to me… ever.” His blue gaze blazed, and he took her hand in his.
“It isn’t right.”
“Oh, trust me. It’s more than right.” He squeezed her hand, then lifted it to his mouth. His kiss was slow and sexy and if she hadn’t seen the photos, she would have fallen for it.
“Thanks for breakfast.” She pulled her hand back and stood. “I need to get ready for work.”
“I had your car towed to the local repair shop. They said you’d already booked it in for today.” He threw her a set of keys. “And I organised a hire car for you. It’s out the front. Would you like me to drop you off or would you rather go in alone?”
“I’d rather go in alone if that’s okay.” She picked up her plate and carried it to the sink. She studied the row of perfectly spaced Ficus trees outside the window and the promise of another sunny day.
“No problem. I’ll take my bike.”
“It’s here?” Her words were out, naked and panicked before she’d had time to smooth the edges. Oh, no. Geoffrey would know he’d stayed the night. Her skin prickled and her breakfast shifted in her stomach…
“What’s wrong, O’Connor? We promised each other honesty. Bald, bad-arse, tough-as-you-like honesty.” His gaze seared. “What’s going on?”
Inside, she oscillated. Trust him. Don’t trust him. Trust him. Don’t trust him.
He lowered his fork and strode over to her, taking her into his arms. She resisted. Part of her resisted. The rest of her melted like butter on hot toast. He held her. Tight. Close. Like he never wanted to let her go. And the tears started. Hot, scalding tears on her cheek, on his shirt. Yesterday’s shirt? It smelt of him. Musky. Sweet. Salty. And she sobbed. Because she wanted to trust him. She wanted to think he couldn’t do this, but what if he could?
He tipped her chin up to study her and his eyes were clear. There was confusion and hurt and vulnerability. She raised herself up on her toes to press her lips to his, to taste, to lose herself in his warmth. His hands ran over her back, bringing her closer, fitting her against his hard ridges and planes. Her body reacted like a flame to a fuse—hungry, hurried and hopeful. Home. He felt like home.
When he pushed her back, his gaze demanded the truth.
“I received an email with photos, compromising photos… of us… in the ocean. It demanded that I resign by ten o’clock today, or the photos would be sent to all of the equity partners.”
Tony reeled away as if she’d slapped him and his eyes flashed blue flame. “What?”
Scarlet took a deep breath and steadied the shaking in her limbs. “I think Geoffrey might be responsible, but I don’t know.”
“When?”
“Yesterday. That’s what triggered my migraine.”
“When were you planning to tell me?” He glared at her. “You weren’t planning to tell me. You were going to resign? You were going to walk away from everything you’ve worked so hard to achieve. Because of a threat? Without telling me why. We had a pact, O’Connor.” Pain shone in his eyes.
He was right. She hadn’t trusted him. He’d been kind and honest and caring. And now, the clear blue depths of his eyes harboured icebergs. Giant, shadowy conglomerates that threatened to fracture the fragile connection that remained between them, frayed and fraught. “I’m sorry. My head was in a spin. Literally. I panicked. I couldn’t think. I still can’t.”
“I’m sorry, too. Show me.”
“Okay.” She walked over to the soft pink wingback chair in her study where she’d dumped her handbag and fished out the USB. With shaking hands, she waited for her laptop to boot up. Her gaze leapt from the white marble fireplace mantle to the silk lilies in their vase, to the dark timber floor and back to her wild reflection in the giant gilt mirror above the mantle. Tony stood behind her, dark and livid like a thundercloud, his jaw tight, his eyes glued to the screen. She logged in, slipped the USB into place and opened the document.
Rigid was too tame a term for the man who stood petrified into cold stone beside her.
Bile rose in her throat as she scrolled through the photos.
The only sounds were the harsh intake and exhale of Tony’s breath, and the dull thud of her own pulse.
“You thought I had something to do with this?”
Scarlet grappled with her thoughts. Honesty. They’d promised honesty. “The thought crossed my mind. I didn’t want to believe it, but with me out of the running, you’d get a free pass at partnership.”
He held her shoulders and turned her towards him, his gaze scathing. “I had nothing to do with this. Nothing. It’s stalking. It’s perverted. It’s wrong at so many levels.”
“I don’t see how I can fight this. I don’t want to show the email to Dan. I couldn’t bear the innuendo. I would lose all credibility. Whatever way this unfolds… I lose. Geoffrey wins. It’s about revenge.”
“And I’m Geoffrey’s brother.” He looked at her with despair in his eyes. “I understand now. Yet you kissed me. You trusted me enough to show me these.”
“Yes.”
“I think I might love you, O’Connor.” His gaze smouldered and her heart expanded until her chest ached.
“I think I could love you, too, Radcliff, but I don’t see how…”
“Phone into work and tell them you’re sick.”
Her eyes widened. “Why.”
“We’re going to see Geoffrey. Together. Before ten o’clock.”
“What if it’s a random stalker? An unhappy client? A disgruntled employee at work?”
“Then it’s a train wreck we can’t stop. I’ll stand by you. We face this together. Both of us are in those photos. Both of us have been violated.” He took her into his arms and held her close. His warmth soaked into her and soothed her frazzled nerves, setting her heart aflame.
“I like you. More than I should.” She pressed her cheek against the soft sateen cotton of his shirt, felt the hard curve of his chest, the rhythmic thud of his heart right there. Solid and safe.
“I like you, too. And we’ll deal with this together.
” He sealed the vow with a kiss that stole her breath.
Given the right set of circumstances, a man was capable of murder. Tony’s hands itched with the need to clench tightly around his brother’s throat and crush his windpipe.
Given the right set of circumstances, blood between brothers could turn bad. The thought of his brother touching Scarlet against her will razed him to ashes. Injustice added to insult added to injury. It wasn’t possible to hate his brother any more than he did right now. He reeled with the bitterness of it.
Given the right set of circumstances, a man could want revenge. Geoffrey was a sad, weak, pathetic human being. But their father was dead. And Geoffrey had taken it hard.
The fury that had whipped his body into a hornet’s nest blew itself out. It was like stumbling in the dark. Their father had been a strong beacon for what was right, what to look out for, when to beware. He’d dictated his brother’s path, even more so than his own. If he felt lost? How did Geoffrey feel? Hurt. Deeply hurt. And his MO was to blame someone else. To take it out on them. Tony’s grip on Scarlet’s hand tightened.
Geoffrey lived in East Melbourne in an expensive townhouse and it was a blessing they’d been caught in traffic along Flinders Street. It had given him time for his anger to ratchet up to an indignant height before blowing itself out. His brother was alone. His wife had left him years ago. His kids hated him. He’d reaped what he’d sown. Lonely wealth.
Tony’s eyes stung with tears. Men don’t cry, Anthony. Men toughen up and get on with the job.
Chapter Eight
Tony stood at Geoffrey’s door with his hand raised. Scarlet stood beside him. But the door flew open before he could knock.
“How could you bring your slut here?” His brother puffed up like a toxic toad, his fists clenched, his forehead pulled into an angry point between his brows.
“She is the woman I’m going to marry one day and if you ever… ever… call her a slut again, or touch her car, or threaten her in any way, I will kill you with my bare hands.”
Geoffrey reeled as if he’d been slapped and stepped back.
“You’re a despicable human being and if you send those photos to Dan, I will never speak to you again. You will never meet our children and the legal community will know what you did. I’ll make sure of it. You will lose the respect of your peers and we’ll sue you for defamation. Stalking. Blackmail.” He pulled out his phone. “I’ll report you to the police. You’ll lose your practicing certificate. Your choice. Now.”
“You always were pathetic.” Geoffrey’s lip curled. “You’re the one who wanted to be partner by thirty and prove that you were better than me. I was just making it easier for you. Two birds. One stone. You should be thanking me.”
“No, Dad wanted me to be partner by thirty. I wanted Dad’s respect. I wanted your respect. Not your devious help to cheat someone I admire. A lot.” A laugh started deep in his gut. “I couldn’t care less about the partnership position and I couldn’t care less about what you think of me because I don’t think much of you. You’re lonely and miserable because of your choices. Your actions. And until you appreciate that, no one can help you. The only person to blame is yourself. Not Scarlet. You’ve been the best possible role model in the worst possible way.”
His brother’s scowl deepened. The sun shone from his bare scalp and his cheeks, ruddy with broken capillaries, flushed a deeper shade of red. His eyes, bloodshot and red-rimmed, squinted against the light. His breath reeked of alcohol and he was in the same clothes he’d worn when he took Tony to the hospital to say goodbye to their father.
“Don’t you see. Dad’s death was a blessing. A reprieve from a disease that would have stolen his dignity—slowly—before it mercilessly took his life. He’s with mum. He’s better off there. That doesn’t make it hurt any less. Nor does it mean I don’t miss him. I do.” Emotion snaked into his throat and Tony swallowed against it. “But it’s selfish not to be relieved for him.”
“You went straight to her.”
“Scarlet made it bearable. Better than seeking solace in a bottle.”
“Geoffrey…” Scarlet’s voice was quiet and kind and strong, and it was like a release valve to his temper. There was more at stake here than his own hurt feelings.
“You’re hurting. I can see that and I’m sorry for your loss.”
Tony squeezed her hand and she lifted her chin.
“But I don’t deserve your animosity. I didn’t deserve it when I was nineteen and I don’t deserve it now. I’m a good lawyer. A good person. I want you to pay for my car repairs and I want your word that those photos will never see the light of day. I want an apology.”
His brother reached out for the door but instead of slamming it shut in their faces, he slumped against it and cried, his big, overweight body racked by sobs, loud and wrenching.
Scarlet stepped forward and rested her hand on his shoulder. Tony’s eyes stung and his throat closed with the pain of seeing the woman he wanted most in his life console the man who’d taken so much from hers.
He moved forward and wrapped his arms around Scarlet, his nose breathing in the sweetness of her silky, smooth hair, his lips lowering to kiss the glossy golden strands before he moved to comfort his brother, their embrace one of mutual loss. Raw and intense. For the first time, he allowed himself the freedom to feel it. To cry. To sob. Not to lessen it. Not to ignore it. Not to dull it with something or someone else.
I’ll miss you, dad. I loved you. Not enough. Not nearly enough. But I loved you. I admired you. I respected you. In the beginning. In the end. If not in the middle.
“I’ll make tea.” Scarlet’s voice came to him from a distance.
He caught her gaze over his brother’s head and nodded. “Thank you.” Geoffrey shook in his arms, his cries high pitched like a child’s. Tony rubbed Geoffrey’s back and he held on like a man drowning. “It’ll be okay. We’ll be okay.”
Scarlet lowered a pot of tea and cups onto the glass coffee table and poured them each a cup. He pulled away from his brother and his heart swelled with her calm efficiency. She settled on the edge of the leather sofa, her legs crossed, her expression controlled.
Geoffrey’s gaze was watery. “I’m sorry, Scarlet. I am. For all of it. For following you both. For taking the photos. For using them against you. For the car.” He looked down, his face reddening. “But it’s too late.”
“What do you mean, it’s too late?” Tony growled.
“I’ve already sent the photos.”
Scarlet nodded and held her tea with a shaking hand, her face pale, her eyes wet.
“You said ten o’clock.” Tony’s eyes narrowed. “You sent them anyway. When? When did you send them?”
“Last night.”
“You wanted to ruin her reputation. To take her down because in your own small mind, that’s what she did to you. This was about revenge?”
“I wanted her to blame you. You were the one with the most to gain. I wanted her to reject you the way she rejected me. I’m not proud of it.”
Tony bit his lip, his mind whirling. How the hell could he fix this? He watched as Scarlet took a sip of her tea, her movements slow. Her gaze clung to the carpeted floor. He was responsible for bringing Geoffrey back into her life and his brother had hurt her again. He feared their relationship was dead in the water. “This was my fault, Scarlet. This was about me. Not about you.”
She lowered her cup to the glass table in front of her seat and her violet eyes stormed. “I’m a woman. I’m held to a different standard of behaviour. This won’t hurt you the way it will hurt me.” She stood and wiped the moisture from her eyes. “I need to go to the office and deal with this.”
“I’ll drive you.” Tony jumped to his feet. He dug into his pocket for the hire car key. “We’ll face Dan together. I don’t expect you to care a whit about me after this, but if you’ll have me, I want you to know I’m in it for the long haul.”
“Wait.” Geoffrey rose from the couch. “
Give me five minutes, Scarlet. I need a shower. I’ll tell Dan what happened and who was responsible. I’ll fix this.”
“You could lose your practicing certificate if he takes it to the authorities,” Tony said.
“I could.” Geoffrey swiped his nose with the back of his hand. “But I was wrong and I’m ashamed of myself. Dad would be ashamed of me, too. I apologise, Scarlet, I do. And I apologise for my behaviour all those years ago. I took advantage of your kindness and your naivety and worse, I blamed you when it all went wrong.”
Scarlet nodded, her back strong. She looked beautiful and dignified and… powerful. Tony salivated. His body heated. His hunger rose. And he saw it there, reflected in her eyes. She felt it, too. This connection. This need. He didn’t see Geoffrey step away, his back curved. He didn’t see the excessive wealth around him. And he didn’t see partnership in his near future, but he saw it in Scarlet’s eyes where their future shone like the sun on a rare, precious flower.
“You’re seduction in a suit, O’Connor.”
“You’re pretty sexy yourself, Radcliff.” She smiled and her face glowed.
“Let’s wait in the garden. The open space is calling to me.”
“I’m kind of partial to it myself,” she said, and her palm slid against his. Who would have thought that holding hands could be so evocative?
“Thank you,” he murmured, his lips close to hers. The scent of gardenias was strong in the warm air. “I’m sorry my dad didn’t get to meet you. He would have liked you.”
“Are you okay? I don’t know how I’d breathe if my dad passed away.”
“I would be there for you. Holding you. Making it bearable. The same way you’re making it bearable for me.” He closed the gap and savoured the feel of her lips against his. Petal soft. And sweet. Deliciously sweet. He settled into the kiss, the heat of it. Deep and long and hypnotic. He didn’t know how he’d breathe without her.
“Thank you.”
He lifted his head and his gaze fell into the violet magic of hers. “For what?”
