“Isabel is dead because she took a swan dive from our building. She jumped because she couldn’t fathom what we’d manipulated her into doing.” He closed his eyes. “And that’s not the half of it. She was twelve weeks pregnant with Dillon’s baby.”
Emma stared, her nude body glowing in the sunlight shafting through the window, creating a halo around her head. “Did you know about the baby?” she asked in a hushed tone. “Please say you didn’t know…”
“No, none of us knew. But that doesn’t absolve us. What we did — what I did — was unforgiveable.” He turned to give her the full measure of his tortured gaze and he said, “That’s what I do, Emma. I destroy people. So when I tell you that I don’t do things without ulterior motives…do yourself a favor and take me at my word.” He scooped his jeans and jerked them on, buttoning the fly, his demeanor changing suddenly, becoming almost businesslike. “I’ve changed my mind about keeping you here. Dillon has uncovered who the man was who beat you and your sister. All we need you to do is go downtown to the police station and identify him. The law will do the rest. The last thing we need is something like this hitting the press. The family is prepared to offer you a generous settlement in exchange for your silence.”
“I don’t want your money.”
“Take the money. For your pain and suffering.”
“Fuck the money.” Her eyes glittered and he had to look away. “I never asked for your money and I’m not taking it now,” she said, wiping at her eyes.
He hated seeing her cry but he had to look out for the family. There was too much at stake. “I would feel better if you took some kind of compensation. I need some assurance that you will keep this to yourself.”
“I guess you’ll just have to trust me.”
“Damn it, Emma, take the Goddamn money. It’s not like you can afford not to,” he said, losing patience. “Don’t be pigheaded just to spite me.”
“I said I don’t want your money.” She slid from the bed and he had to force his gaze from drinking in the sight of her beautiful nude body. Good God, he could stare at her for days and never tire. He squeezed his eyeballs with his thumb and forefinger, knowing he’d have to find a way to deposit the money into her bank account before she’d accept a dime from him. She stalked to him, going toe-to-toe. He had to fight the urge to clasp her to him. “You’re a coward,” she said fiercely. “All this talk about how damaged you are over something that happened in the past is all a bunch of smoke and mirrors so you don’t have to look at the real reason you’re pushing me away. You’re scared shitless of the feelings you have for me. Maybe they’re similar to what you felt with Isabel, or maybe they’re completely new but either way, you’re too chickenshit to just admit you don’t know how to handle the emotion. Yes, it’s scary. Newsflash, you scare the hell out of me! You think I wanted to feel this way about you — of all people! — but I can’t help that my heart wants you. Only you. I’d dance the Macarena to fall in love with anyone but you — and I hate the Mararena! But that’s the way it goes.”
Love? Vince stared, his heart beating so fast he thought it might jump from his chest. “You don’t even know me,” he said.
She agreed with mild exasperation. “You’re right. We’re practically strangers but on some level you know that you and me make sense in a way that defies understanding. I don’t get it either but I’m not questioning it because I’m smart enough to know that this sort of thing happens once in your life and I’m not going to willfully walk away from it without a fight!”
“What is wrong with you?” he cried, shaking her. “I’m no good! Didn’t you hear a word I’ve said?”
She shocked him when she reached up to cup his face tenderly in spite of the angry fire in her eyes. “Get over yourself! Everyone has wounds and some are deeper than others but you can either nurse them or let them heal — it’s your choice. You’ve been nursing that wound for far too long. Isabel — rest her soul — is dead. But I’m standing here with you right now, naked and vulnerable, saying that I want you — fucked up, emotionally-constipated you. Do you hear me? Are you listening for once in your life?”
Vince’s throat closed and he felt like a little kid about to lose it. Without thought he yanked Emma into his arms and held her so tightly he was afraid her head might pop off but he couldn’t let her go. How was it possible that she wasn’t running away from him? If she had the sense God gave a goose she’d go away as fast as her legs could take her but she refused to budge. And he loved her for it. Strong, defiant, and sweet Emma. His Emma. Was it even possible? Holy hell, his head was swimming with as much fear as it was with hope. “I have a terrible temper and I drink too much. I rarely remember birthdays or anniversaries or anything women find important. I’d be a terrible boyfriend and an even worse husband. Why Emma? God, Emma…I want better for you than me.” He captured her mouth, delirious with the need to taste her and he tasted the salt of his own tears. “You deserve so much better than me,” he said against her lips, his voice cracking.
“You big dope,” she said, muffled against his chest. She lifted her head and stared at him with open happiness. “If you spent less time trying to convince others how bad you are, you could actually spend time being true to who you actually are.”
“What if I don’t remember who that person is anymore?”
“Then I will help you remember. I know you’re a good man. I know it because I was fighting the knowledge from the moment I saw you. Something inside me changed when we locked gazes. And I’m so glad.”
And just like that, a dam broke, washing over every broken and jagged piece of his fractured self and he knew he would do anything for this woman. “Emma, I promise you, I’ll spend my life working to be worthy of a woman like you. Every last moment. I swear it.” Her laughter was like a balm to his heart and he swept her into his arms as he kissed her deeply again. She was right. He felt it in his soul that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to wipe the slate clean and start fresh. Emma was offering to him what Shannon and Penny had given his brothers and he’d be a fool to walk away from it. “Marry me,” he said without an ounce of hesitation when yesterday the very idea would’ve been ludicrous. But right now? Perfect. “Make me the luckiest man alive.”