Sinful Temptation (13 page)

“Child, please.” Grinning, Talia flopped back onto the pillow. “You’d be lucky to fit one of your cellulite-riddled thunder thighs inside anything of mine.” They both laughed, probably because they’d worn the same size in everything since they were teenagers. “I don’t know why you think you’re going to find something in there,” Talia continued. “You know I don’t have any black or white clothes. You’ll have to go with a color. Doesn’t that make your skin break out in hives?”

“I told you. I want something colorful tonight. Aaron’s taking me to Masa. He knows how much I love Japanese.”

Right, Talia thought sourly, glad Glo couldn’t see her roll her eyes. Aaron the married man was taking Gloria to a Manhattan restaurant.

Sure.

And the director of the Louvre was on the phone right now, offering to devote a section near the
Mona Lisa
to Talia’s work.

It was really hard, but she bit back her words of warning and kept her mouth shut. Why risk getting her head bitten off again? It wasn’t as if Gloria welcomed the truth, no matter how obvious it was. God alone knew no good had ever come from telling Gloria her honest opinion about the wonderful Aaron, so why would today be any different?

“And can you make me up?” Gloria called. “You do the liquid eyeliner so much better than I do.”

“Sure,” Talia said.

If she heard the lack of enthusiasm in her voice, Gloria gave no sign of it as she peered around the door again, holding up Talia’s red vintage wrap dress. “What about this one? Do you think Aaron will like it?”

Oh, who the hell cared what that lying and cheating SOB liked or didn’t like?

Talia stared into her sister’s face, which was so eager and hopeful it was like watching a puppy in the second before it got kicked, and tried to dial back her frustration and confusion. Gloria was smart, funny and beautiful. What had happened to make her self-esteem so low that she was grateful for whatever crumbs a married man might drop her way?

Why wouldn’t—or couldn’t—she see the light?

On the other hand who was Talia to wonder about any woman’s ability to see the light? It wasn’t as if she was batting a thousand with her stellar selection of first Paul and then Tony, now, was it?

“That one’ll make your butt look huge, Glo,” Talia reassured her. “He’ll love it.”

“Perfect. Now for some shoes—”

Chesley’s head came up off her paws and she cocked her ears. She jumped off the chair and trotted through the apartment and to the front door, just as the bell rang.

“Do you want me to—” Gloria began.

“I’ll get it.”

“Great. I’m going to change.”

Gloria went to work unbuttoning her blouse and shut the closet door, leaving Talia to haul her tired butt off the bed and follow the dog, who was now sitting on her haunches and looking back at her with a lot of
hurry up
in her eyes. If there was any question about what she wanted, she gave a low
woof
and a follow-up whine as she pointed her snout at the knob.

“Will you hold your horses?” Talia muttered. “Give me a chance to check the peephole—oh, my God.”

It was Tony.

Chapter 9

“H
ey.” Tony hovered in the doorway, clearly testing the waters and deciding what sort of reception he was likely to get before he came any closer.

Meanwhile, Chesley, a very poor judge of character, trotted over to him and nudged his hand for the obligatory ear scratch. Stupid dog. Didn’t she know he’d let them down? Didn’t she know a severe punishment was in order for the torture he’d put them through this past week?

Evidently not.

“Hey,” Talia said.

“Can I, ah—can I come in?”

She shrugged and let him pass. Since her jackhammering heart was now lodged in her throat, it seemed like a good idea to keep words to a minimum.

“Sure.”

She led him into the living room. At a gesture from her, he sat on one end of the sofa. She sat on the other. She waited. Nothing happened.

“How are you?” he asked after several of the most excruciating seconds of her life.

“I’m great. How are you?”

“Great.”

They were both liars. She hadn’t slept since Monday’s painful parting scene, and it was all she could do to keep from drooping with exhaustion. He, in turn, looked like shit, with those haunted hollows under his eyes again, deeper than ever, and several days of bristle darkening his chin.

If he hadn’t slept, either, it was no less than he deserved. Not that she was bitter or anything.

“I’m sorry,” he told her.

“Don’t be.” Though she thought she had her anger under control, there was an unfortunate bite in her voice that she couldn’t seem to dial back.

“I think I have plenty to be sorry about.”

“Don’t worry about it. It’s all good.”

Desperate for something to do with her hands, Talia began straightening her coffee-table books. Though she wasn’t looking directly at him, she was able to see that his shoulders stiffened and his head shifted, as though he wanted to cock his ear and make sure he was hearing correctly.

“It’s all good?”

“Absolutely.” Her skittering nerves collided with her innate tendency to babble, and that, along with her desperate need to change the subject, made for an unfortunate combination. “Did you check out the mural yesterday? I really think Odysseus is coming along, don’t you? I want him to look fierce and focused, and I’m also trying to bring out a little bit of his fear, but I’m just not sure—”

“Don’t we have more important things to talk about than the mural?”

The growing incredulity in his tone went a long way toward soothing her hurt feelings. Not that she was ready to get past them yet.

“The mural is the only thing we have to talk about, Tony.”

A low growl was the only warning before Tony lashed out, grabbing hold of her wrist and lowering it away from the books. Ignoring her sharp cry of surprise, he got in her face, his eyes a blaze of brown with gold sparks.

“I think we need to talk about our relationship. Where we go from here.”

“There is no relationship. You made that pretty clear the other day. And if it wasn’t clear when you walked out, it’s been clear in the days since. You didn’t call or text,” she reminded him. “Either of those would’ve been appropriate, don’t you think?”

“That was a bombshell you dropped on me. I told you I needed a minute to process it.”

She snatched her hand free. “You had your time.”

“I was scared, Talia. I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

It was all she could do not to snort. Clearly Paul had passed along the whole
Dump Talia
script to Tony, who was now reciting it almost word for word. It was hysterically funny, and she would’ve laughed if her broken heart hadn’t had her in such a stranglehold.

“
You
were scared? Wow. Thanks for explaining that to me. Because I’m the one with cancer, and I don’t know anything about fear. I’m sure
my
fear is nothing compared to
your
fear. Thanks for putting things in perspective for me.”

He got up, paced away and came back, running his hands over the top of his head and then dropping them to his sides where his fists flexed with obvious frustration. Opened and closed…opened and closed…until his knuckles whitened and she could see the imprint of his nails in his palms.

“Let me ask you a question.” There was a rough edge to him now, as though he was clinging to his civility by the slimmest of spiderwebs. “Why did you stop writing to me?”

A new feeling began to prickle along her spine: dread. “That’s a pretty random question, don’t you think?”

“No, I don’t think. Why did you stop?”

She hesitated, thinking hard for a simple explanation, which refused to materialize. “I—I was with Paul, and I’d just gotten my diagnosis, and I…I—”

“You were scared,” he said flatly. “You were starting to feel something for me, and I was a soldier in a war zone and that scared you. You didn’t want to get too wrapped up in me if I was going to go off and get myself killed, did you?”

The terrible certainty of truth settled over her, not that she was ready to admit it now or ever. “No,” she said too quickly. “That’s not true—”

Tony moved up again, positioning himself back in her face. He didn’t touch her, but that terrible look in his eyes—part understanding, part recrimination—trapped her just as his hand on her wrist had.

“You weren’t worried about what would happen to me? You weren’t scared to care too much?”

This time, when she opened her mouth, the denial wasn’t so quick to come. “I— Of course not.”

“Bullshit.”

Another one of those periods of painful silence passed, during which it felt like they were both digging trenches and preparing to settle in for a long and bloody battle. No big deal, right? Battles were fine. God knew she was used to them. What she couldn’t deal with was the sudden hot flare of hope burning inside her, as though peace could be an option. As though they might find a way to be together after all.

“What do you want, Tony?”

He shrugged. “That’s easy. I want us to get past our mutual bullshit and fear. And I want you.”

She shook her head automatically, but the hope had gained a toehold inside her and it didn’t feel as though it was going away anytime soon.

“We’re a bad fit. We’ve both got too many issues. I don’t see how things can work.”

Something in his expression softened, and his eyes crinkled at the edges with the kind of absolute understanding that always made her unravel.

“I’m going to tell you the truth. Even though it makes me look like the world’s biggest coward, I’m going to tell you. Okay?”

No. It was not okay. They did not need to head down this path.

“Yeah. Okay.”

That hint of a smile faded away, leaving only naked intensity and a man who was having a terrible struggle opening his mouth and getting the words out. She watched, disbelieving, as his nostrils flared and his chin quivered before he pressed his lips together and focused in on all his emotions.

“I’ve been scared before. Once or twice.”

Talia waited, straining to hear him over the heady beat of her heart inside her ears.

“I’ve never been scared like I was when you told me you had cancer.” He swiped a hand under his eyes and nose, whooshing out a harsh breath. “I shut down. It would be easier to go back and spend another year in Afghanistan than to manage my fear of something happening to you, Talia. I’d do anything for you to not have to go through any pain or suffering.” He paused, his Adam’s apple bobbing. “I don’t know how good I can be in a crisis.”

Unbidden, Gloria’s words came back to Talia.

I’d trade places and be sick for you if I could.

And she stared at Tony, her heart melting.

“I don’t plan to die, Tony.”

“That’s good, because I don’t plan to live without you.”

Well, that was something, wasn’t it? Was it safe to feel hopeful now, or should she make him swear a blood oath?

“I need someone I can count on,” she warned him.

“So do I.” He let out a shaky laugh. “Because, in case you haven’t noticed, I’ve still got a few post-traumatic stress issues I’m working through.”

Staring at him, she felt the wild urge to laugh and cry, all at the same time.

“Oh, well. PTSD. Is that all?”

Another shaky laugh.

“So… Where does this leave us?” she wondered.

“Funny you should ask.” Reaching out a hand, he reeled her up and into his arms. “I think it’s time for us to get to know each other better and find out.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.” He lowered his head, taking his time moving in for a kiss. “I’m thinking we can get something to eat, and then maybe—”

A sound like a muffled screech startled them, and they looked around in time to see the bedroom door fly open and bang the wall with a thud.

Gloria looked like a trillion bucks in the hot-red dress, except that her face was twisted up with either anger or pain as she marched in and stopped dead when she saw Tony.

“Great.” Her voice cracking, she hit him with a glower so dangerous it could probably cause the sun to cool. “It’s you.”

“Gloria,” he murmured. “Always a pleasure.”

“What brings you here?” Gloria, who always acted like she owned the place, even if she was standing in the middle of the White House, put her hands on her hips and hiked up her chin until even Talia wanted to take a swing at her. “Have you come to finish breaking my sister’s heart?”

“Ah, Gloria.” Talia stepped between the two of them before someone threw a punch. “What’s wrong? I thought you were leaving for your date.”

Gloria choked on something that was either an ugly laugh or a sob. “No, you didn’t. You knew he’d stand me up again.” Holding up her phone, which evidently had a text on it, Gloria waved it in Talia’s face. “Well, now’s your chance to rub my face in it. His wife invited friends over for dinner, so he can’t get away. What a surprise.”

“Ah…” Tony’s eyes were now the size of bowling balls. Backing up a step or two and showing every sign of wanting to sprint from the room, he jerked his thumb toward the kitchen. “Why don’t I wait in the—”

Gloria turned on him. “Oh, no, you don’t. I’ve got something to say to you.”

Oh, hell, no. The last thing she needed was her sister venting all her anger and heartbreak on Tony. True, he’d survived war and torture, but that was nothing compared to Gloria when she let loose with her nasty temper.

“Gloria,”
Talia spat.

Tony silenced her with a raised hand. “It’s okay. I’m anxious to hear whatever Gloria has to say to me.”

“I really doubt that,” Talia muttered.

They ignored her.

“Go ahead,” Tony told Gloria. “I’m listening.”

Gloria’s lips peeled back in a feral smile. “If you make my sister cry,” she said sweetly, “I’m going to cut your balls off with my gardening shears.”

Wow. Glo really had a way with people, didn’t she?

Tony didn’t seem to mind. Unsmiling, he held Gloria’s gaze. “Understood.”

Gloria, who’d clearly been gunning for a fight, had not gotten her wish, and her face crumpled accordingly. To her credit, though, she recovered quickly and stiffened her spine. “Good.”

O-kay, then.

Well, it was great that the two most important people in her life had reached an accord of some sort, but Talia was worried about Gloria. Tears were collecting in her eyes, and she looked so forlorn that Talia really didn’t want her to be alone tonight.

Talia opened her mouth, but Tony, bless his heart, beat her to the punch. “Hey, ah, Gloria. If you’re not going to, you know, rip my tongue out or anything, why don’t you have dinner with us? We’re about to—”

This unexpected kindness seemed to take Gloria by surprise. She made another of those choked sounds, and this time there was no question—it was a sob. Gloria stifled it, slapping her hand over her mouth. Talia and Tony exchanged worried looks. After a couple of seconds, Gloria pulled it together enough to drop her hand and flash a smile that was watery but genuine.

“No, thanks,” she said. “You two enjoy your date, okay?”

With that, she scurried out of the apartment and down the hallway, but not before they heard the muffled sound of her wail.

“I’ll be right back.”

Tony watched Talia dash out behind her sister—who was clearly wound pretty tight, wasn’t she?—and stood there for a minute, wondering what the hell he should do now. He could help Talia chase Gloria down, of course, but that idea had zero appeal. What would he say if they caught her? Tell her not to worry because the cheating punk would surely leave his wife soon? Yeah…no. Tony did not, as a general rule, engage in emotional displays, and any feelings he had these days should be channeled into keeping his fledgling relationship with Talia on track. Lord knew he had his hands full with that; anything else was above his pay grade.

No. Best to stay here inside the apartment.

As if to second this decision, Chesley ambled over and sat next to him, her tail thumping on the floor. When he was a little too slow on the uptake, the dog nudged his hand with her head, and he scratched her ear. A few seconds of this mutual affection sanded away the rough edges of the tension he’d been feeling. That was the funny thing about dogs, he decided; while you were taking care of them, they took care of you.