by Amelia Wilde
The first clue is an elaborately painted script of her name. It’s worked into a painting designed to surround a mirror. It looks like some kind of fairytale doorway around the outside of the glass, and at the top, there’s her name, as if it had been chiseled there in the painted stone.
The second clue is that her scent has settled into the carpet. It’s a pure, clean scent that reminds me of roses.
There’s almost nothing left in the room—no books or papers or other things, just a four-poster bed and a small matching desk—but I can’t help wishing she was with me now so I could ask her...anything, really.
Her big windows overlook the sprawling lawn in the back of the property, and when I glance down into the backyard, I see her for the first time since we got here.
She’s standing at the edge of a flower bed, looking out to where the property slopes down into a wooded area. Her arms are crossed over her chest, her hip cocked to one side, and she’s totally still—all except for her head. She looks left, then right again, just watching. Or taking it in—I don’t know which. But if things are really as bad as she says, this entire property might be gone soon after the things inside are.
That’s when it hits me. No matter how much I want Ruby, it’s unlikely that I’m ever going to get her. She loves this place. She’s breathing it in right now with what I’d expect is a mixture of pain and love, because it’s never going to be hers. Her inheritance is about to be yanked out from under her.
And I’m going to be the one to do it.
Chapter 11
Ruby
I don’t know what the hell I was thinking.
I don’t know what the hell I was doing, letting Levi talk to me like that in his car. I don’t know why I ever agreed to ride in his car in the first place.
By the time we pulled up to the house, I’d made a damn fool of myself. And now he’s in there with an appraising look in his gray eyes that makes my skin crawl.
The moment he walked through the door, I could practically see the prices moving rapid-fire through his brain, on everything. It made me remember why I hated him in the first place, and I can’t fathom why I’ve been fantasizing about him since then.
Because he’s super fucking hot.
The thought is a foul one, and I try to push it out of my mind. I fail. It’s true—he is unbelievably gorgeous, like nobody I’ve ever seen, but waking up in the middle of the night and rushing off to retrieve a card I never should have thought twice about is clearly affecting my ability to make good choices. There are any number of people in New York City who could have arranged this entire affair without resorting to being a relentless flirt. Totally unprofessional. Totally unacceptable.
I stand in the yard for as long as I can, breathing in the freshly cut grass. This time of day is my favorite at my parents’ house. Everything is still and serene, and it’s like something out of a storybook.
One day, this house was going to be mine. When I was small, I thought of the property in back as my kingdom. And I know it’s stupid and selfish to be distraught about this—my brother barely escaped that accident with his life. I shouldn’t be hung up on the fact that I won’t one day inherit my childhood home. I shouldn’t have taken it for granted, anyway. Nobody I knew in college—well, very few people—had come from families where something on this scale was an option.
I take one last deep breath. If I stand out here much longer, I’m going to get a sunburn, and then I’ll look like even more of an idiot.
Levi is standing at the back door when I turn around, looking at me. I give him a tight-lipped smile, but the sight of him—which was so intoxicating this morning—turns my stomach.
I go across the grass, and then across the flagstone tiles that make up the wide patio. My parents haven’t put out the awning yet. I’m not sure why—since they’re going to end up selling the house, potential buyers should be able to see it at its best—but maybe they have plans I don’t know about.
“Do you have everything you need?”
A smile flickers across Levi’s face, but when he speaks, it’s all business. “I was able to make an initial assessment, yes.”
I stop several steps away from him, putting a clear distance between us. Any closer, and I might fall into the trap of thinking that a man like Levi could ever become a cornerstone of my life. At the very least, I have to keep him far enough away that I won’t be consumed by the heat generated from every one of his flawless muscles, that tight waist, the powerful arms, the powerful hands...
Focus.
“What did you decide?”
He levels his silvery gaze at me. “You were right. My initial offer was insulting.”
I smile at him again. I was right to kick him to the curb when he showed up acting like a cocky bastard. I just can’t let myself forget that he is that cocky bastard, even if he seems far more harmless while he’s sitting across from me eating pancakes. Of course, he’ll never be harmless. He’s the kind of man who will make you want to straddle him on the nearest bed, and then he’ll take you for all you’re worth.
“Go on.”
“Three hundred thousand.”
That’s a far better offer, but I narrow my eyes. “That’s all?”
He shakes his head. “No. That’s what I’m willing to pay out now. I expect to find pieces that exceed that value while I’m liquidating the property. If and when I do, I’ll add them to the collection and find buyers that will pay prices you’ll be pleased with.”
I narrow my eyes. “That’s not how this works.”
“Isn’t it?”
“No.” Shame curdles in my gut. It was easier to face this in the city, when it wasn’t right in front of me, but now that I’m standing here again... “How it works is that you pay, and I have to take what you can give me. I can’t stand the thought of having people parade through the house again. It makes me sick enough that you’re here.”
The words rush out of me faster than I can stop them, but Levi doesn’t flinch. He just looks at me, his expression neutral. “I can understand that.” He takes in a breath and lets it out again, his shoulders rising and falling underneath his hoodie. Damn it, I want to take that thing off of him. I should have conducted this conversation from the other end of the patio. “But you’re wrong about...it’s a small thing, really.”
Jesus. He is relentless with reminding me how much I don’t want him to be here right now, and it’s almost too much for my mind to handle. I want him, and I want him gone. Can both those things even be true at once?
I guess so.
“What am I wrong about? Please, enlighten me.”
“That’s how it would work if I were here as a buyer for an estate sale. That’s not what I’m offering. That’s off the table.”
My heart drops straight to the flagstones. “What is on the table, then?” It’s a bold question, and I know it, given what I’ve just said to Levi.
“I’m not offering to run an estate sale, or buy out what’s left of the previous sale. I’m offering three hundred thousand against the eventual sale of the pieces here. An estate sale? No.” He scoffs at the thought. “I’m offering to conduct an auction.”
Chapter 12
Levi
Ruby’s eyes go wide, and the pink in her cheeks deepens to red. “An auction?”
“Yes.”
“I thought you were just—a collector. A buyer.”
“With a showroom and a building?” I crack a smile just to see what she’ll do. She’s still too surprised to do anything other than stare at me. “No, I do a lot more than just collect. I have an auction space in my building, and a showroom for individual pieces I have for sale. I don’t curate everything into the auctions.”
Ruby furrows her brow, looking down at the tile beneath our feet. It’s warm, the heat collected from the previous days radiating upward, and while she’s thinking I extend her the courtesy of looking around. As I suspected, there’s a pool at the far end of the patio. I’d love to stretch ou
t on a lounge chair right now and watch the light reflect off the waves. It would be far more relaxing than waiting to see what Ruby’s next move is.
The look on her face when she turned around and came back toward the house was pinched and tight, with none of the heat from in the town car. I don’t know what the hell happened. Maybe she’s embarrassed about what she said, and she thinks the only way to keep this professional is to walk it back by acting cold.
“The other company—the man I met with never recommended an auction.”
“That man is not very good at his job. And unless you were ready to contact Sotheby’s, which I suspect you probably weren’t, there was no reason for anyone to suggest it to you. It’s far more work to host an auction.”
“Then why are you offering to do it?” She looks back into my eyes, her expression overflowing with suspicion. “Why would you want to spend your time on something you’ll make less money from?”
“How do you know I’ll make less money?”
“Won’t you make more if I just—” She smiles, a bitter laugh on her lips. “If I just accept your offer and give you everything?”
Do I tell her the truth? My heart hammers against my chest as the seconds tick by. I could make up some convoluted story about how it’s possible that because of the aggressive marketing I’ll do for an auction, I may earn more from the seller’s commission, but if she finds the time and the courage to research this further, she’ll know it’s a lie.
It’s just that it doesn’t make any fucking sense for me to offer this. And I know it.
“Yes.”
Ruby’s mouth drops open an inch. “Then why?”
The reasons that rush through my mind have nothing to do with making the kind of profit I normally aim for—that I’ve been spending the last near-decade of my life aiming for.
Again, the truth tumbles out. “Because of the way you looked when I offered you a hundred thousand yesterday.”
Her eyes flash with anger. Shit. “Because you feel sorry for me?”
“I don’t feel sorry for you.”
“Then what the fuck?” The red spots high on Ruby’s cheeks darken even more.
“Does it really matter?” I step closer to her, a single step, and she sucks in her breath. “Does it really matter why I’m offering to do this for you? Isn’t it more important that your parents get the money that they need?”
Her jaw works. “Of course it is.”
“Then why put up a fight?”
“Because...” She looks to the side, bites her lip. When her eyes meet mine again, they’re shining with a layer of tears that she refuses to let fall. “I can’t stand it. I can’t stand the thought of you going through everything here that was supposed to be mine. I especially can’t stand the thought of you doing all this extra work because I—because you pitied me yesterday. Or you thought I was gullible enough to take that offer. Or—” Something changes in her expression. “Are you doing this because it’s a splashier way to make money? Is that it? You just want to take revenge on me for not letting you walk away with everything yesterday?”
I have to shove down the growing irritation in my chest. Ruby is obviously tired. She’s obviously upset. “I don’t need the money.”
She narrows her eyes at me. “You don’t?”
“No. It doesn’t make a damn bit of difference, at least in this instance, whether I buy it all or help you by arranging an auction. Not to me.”
Ruby presses her lips together. “Why not?”
“Ruby, I have all the money I could ever need. My father was a multi-billionaire. I might have undersold his role in the banking industry before, but trust me when I say that he was highly successful. When I turned twenty-one, he gave me the startup money for any business that I wanted, with the caveat that I paid it back to him, with interest. I could have paid him back tens of times by now.”
I don’t say it. If I’m right about the look on her face, I don’t have to. Of course I’m a billionaire in my own right.
She’s silent, her eyes wide, so I keep going. “You need the money, even if you hate it—and even if you hate me for being the one to get it for you.” I straighten my back. “Anyway, I’m not doing this without some strings attached.”
“What strings?” Her voice is soft, disbelieving.
“I’m going to need access to this property for the next several weeks.”
“Why?”
It comes to me in a flash, the idea fully formed. It’s not conventional at all. The awful truth is that even though Ruby has completely changed her attitude since we got in the car, I still want her badly enough that I’m willing to do just about anything to stay by her side. Even if that means dragging this out—just a little bit. Even if this means an upfront payment I would never offer anyone else. Even if this means taking all of this into my own hands—something I haven’t done since I founded the business.
“Because I’m going to handle your family’s estate personally. I’m going to go through this entire house by hand, selecting the items for the auction.”
“What is wrong with you?” Ruby asks the question with a bewildered look on her face. “If this is just—if you don’t need the money, I don’t understand why you would…”
I can’t resist any longer. I just can’t. I step forward and raise both of my hands to her face, tilting her chin up so that she has to look into my eyes. “I haven’t told you what the catch is yet.”
Her breaths are shallow, and under my touch her skin is warm, verging on hot. “What’s the catch?”
“I’m going to need your help.” Her lips part, just a little, but she doesn’t push my hands away. “I need you to be here with me, at least some of the time.”
It’s underhanded as hell, and I know it. I have the seed of an idea in the back of my mind, but the real reason I want her with me is because I can’t get enough of her. And more time together will give me more chances to show her that I’m not the scumbag she seems to think I am. Although....maybe I am, because I’m about to twist the knife.
“That’s the deal,” I say into the silence. “Take it or leave it. But I’m not coming back a third time to bail you out.”
There’s a pause, but it’s not very long.
“Okay.” She gives a little nod. “Okay. I agree.”
“Good.” I drop my hands from her face and turn back toward the house. “We’ll start on Wednesday, as soon as you’re done with work.”
Chapter 13
Ruby
The physical therapist lifts one of Henry’s arms, then the other, his partner working to stabilize my brother so he can sit upright for his exercises. Sweat beads on Henry’s forehead, and the way he’s gritting his teeth makes my heart ache. The only silver lining in his accident was the fact that he lived through it...and the fact that he might have a shot at regaining full function of his body one day. But the doctors still don’t know if the spinal injury will linger for the rest of his life.
The issues with insurance haven’t made anything easier. I’d have taken him to task for letting his policy lapse if I’d known.
“I have some good news.”
My mother sits in one of the chairs beside me, but when I speak she gestures for me to get up. “Let’s go get something in the cafeteria.”
She leads the way down the hallway, into the elevator, and down to the first floor atrium. They’ve set it up so that, if it weren’t for the doctors and nurses populating the tables among family members, you could almost believe you were in a regular pizza restaurant.
“Where’s Dad?” I ask her the question while we wait in line.
She flicks her eyes toward the ceiling. This is code for sitting in our darkened apartment. The business went under, and so did he. Nobody wants to make any deals with him. Not now, anyway, and he’s become obsessed with digging us out through starting another business. It’s not going to happen. Not when he looks wild-eyed and crazed whenever he comes out of the corner he now calls his office.
My mother orders a medium cheese and pepperoni, then takes a seat across from me, two Diet Cokes in hand. She passes one across to me and settles in. “What’s the news?”
More than a little guilt twists at my heart when I meet her dark eyes, which look tired. Tired and worn. There’s a hint of hope in her gaze and I swallow hard. I can’t let her down. I can’t let any of them down.
“I guess I’ll tell you the bad news first.”
She smiles a little. “Tell me.”
“The estate sale didn’t go well.”
Mom shakes her head, but her face doesn’t fall like I expected. “What’s the good news?”
“The good news is that I’ve found a different arrangement. At the estate sale, we had a visit from a man named Levi Blake.” I’m sitting in a pizza cafe with my mother, but his name on my tongue sends an electric bolt of delight down my spine. It’s ridiculous—beyond ridiculous—because in every other way I can’t stand him. I can’t stand him, except when he’s inches away, hands around my face instead of digging through my family’s possessions.
The name registers, and my mom’s eyebrows shoot so far up they nearly get lost in her hairline. “Levi Blake?”
“Yes, Levi Blake.”
“Levi Blake strolled into the estate sale, and you didn’t sell everything to him?”
“No, he—”
“Good for you.” My mom nods firmly, a gleam in her eyes.
I stare at her. “Good for me? I thought you’d be—” I laugh out loud. “I thought you’d be so pissed.”
She makes a face. “Not in the least. The Blakes are not considerate people.”
“How do you know them?”
Mom waves a hand in the air. “Your father used to belong to a club.”
From the impression I got, the Blakes are far wealthier than even we used to be. How much money did my dad lose, exactly? The question burns in my chest, but I’m sure as hell not going to ask it now. “Okay.” I steel myself. “Okay.”