Then she’d started yelling, things that were carved into his skull to this day. Sadistically awful things, like he destroyed companies to make him feel as powerful as his father.
One ego brutally murdered. Granted, it had needed killing. But for a couple weeks, he’d refused to relive what she’d said. Why should he? Emma hadn’t really known anything about him. She couldn’t understand the pressure he’d been under or the hell his father put him through. She’d been his ticket out of the war with Maxim Bracco, and another casualty had meant nothing to him. Especially a casualty who had a fiercely loyal clientele, a perfect life and a respectable business to run.
She’d made a fool out of him, and since that’s what he’d singled her out to do in the first place, it shouldn’t have hurt quite so much. Somehow those moments where he’d believed he could defeat his father and win Emma had never completely gone away, despite the nuking. And her judgment of him hadn’t been exactly accurate, but she’d been right enough that two years later he still judged himself by it.
Anthony took a deep breath and let it out. Sometimes it floored him to remember the way he’d been. He couldn’t even conceive of that mind-set anymore and he’d spent most of the last year trying to make up for his former life, donating time, money and brain power to the people he’d hurt.
Emma had been a problem, though. He’d had no idea what to do about her. Eventually the guilt goaded him into picking up the phone and the rest was history. Charles had been a godsend. When he’d called about that material auction, it seemed like the perfect solution: a way to make amends without having to see her again.
Face it, pal, he told himself. You’re scared of her. And if that auction comes back to haunt you, you’ll have no one to blame but yourself.
Which reminded him of rule number two: Never take yourself too seriously. Also laughable. Between Jim and Emma, there wasn’t a slug’s chance in a salt mine he’d be allowed to regrow the ego.
And in light of the reunion with Emma, Anthony wouldn’t even touch his third rule: No women for a while. Now that he’d seen her again, his sacred, final law was dead as a doornail. He might be afraid of her, but she owned him.
Reaching the top of the staircase, Anthony hesitated, finding himself in an office that hadn’t existed two years ago. It wasn’t really a surprise that the business was invading her living space, nor that it was right next door to her bedroom.
Don’t peek. Get your mind right before you go any farther.
Pressing fingertips to his forehead and grimacing, Anthony tried not to look. But he couldn’t help himself. He peeked into her bedroom, and all he could see was that evil black dress.
It took more than one deep breath to clear the image from his mind. The war is over, he told himself. You don’t have to be like your father anymore. You can’t. You learned the hard way. Now be a real man and face the music.
Keeping his eyes out of her bedroom, Anthony moved on down the hall to knock on the bathroom door. “Emma, let me in.”
“Go away.”
“I’m not going away. In fact, I’m pretty certain you’ll have houseguests for the foreseeable future.”
There was no response.
“Are you gonna make me stand out here all day? What if one of your employees comes upstairs?”
That did it. “The door is open, Einstein.”
Anthony drew one more deep breath and turned the knob. Stepping inside to find her slumped on a brocade bench, he said, “My mother did teach me some manners, you know.”
The jade eyes turned on him and for a moment Anthony hardly recognized her. She seemed shrunken. Vulnerable. And white as paper. He’d never seen her this way and he abruptly realized why Brady was so concerned about Emma.
Not until that moment had he ever realized how much he relied on Emma Toliver being evil. It was easier to justify what he’d done to her when he thought of her as a witch.
Blowing out a breath, Anthony leaned against the door and stuck his hands in his pockets. He needed to get her talking, so he said the only thing that came to mind. “Did Jim upset you?”
“I’d rather not talk about it.”
“Neither would I, but tell me anyway.”
Emma bit her bottom lip, an action Anthony remembered well. She always did that when trying to control her temper. After a pause, she said, “He told me what happened to you.”
“Jim has a tendency to be blunt. I’m sure the truth isn’t half as bad as what he told you.”
“It doesn’t get much worse than nearly dying, Anthony.”
“No, you’re right. It doesn’t. But you can see for yourself I’m fine. No harm done other than the obvious.”
“How can you be so…”
Emma trailed off and fiddled with the big diamond on her right hand. Feeling relatively safe—safe enough to let his guard down a bit—he soothed, “I’ve had more time to deal with this than you have. Believe me, a week ago I wasn’t quite so flippant.”
Keeping her eyes on the gem, Emma nodded. “You’re moving in?”
“I believe so. We’ve been hopping from one hotel to the next because they’re still installing a security system at my house. Here, everything is contained under one roof, needs-wise.”
“Yes, everything of mine. What happens if you need to work?”
“I don’t work. My former life as a lecherous, corporate-raiding swine was very profitable.”
He’d given her the perfect opportunity for sarcasm, but she didn’t take it. Instead, she said, “How’s your mother? She must have been terrified.”
“She was, but Mom’s resilient. So far she’s doing all right. And she’s got Geoff. My stepfather, in case you didn’t know.”
The platinum head nodded, but Emma still wouldn’t look at him. “Do you like him?”
“Yes. I didn’t always. We’ve gotten to know each other better, though, and that helps.”
“I suppose saving your life helped, too.”
Anthony grunted out a laugh. “Yeah, that helped, too.”
He wondered about this gentle probing she was conducting. Asking after his mother was the last thing he would have expected. But he could handle this. In fact, it would almost seem restful if the subject wasn’t so dire.
He shouldn’t have relaxed. The next probe was not gentle.
“You said ‘former life.’ Are you asking me to believe you’re no longer a lecherous, corporate-raiding swine?”
“I’m not asking you to believe anything.”
Emma finally looked up, and to his relief there was color in her cheeks. Not
