“You hate that, don’t you?” He swirled his glass, held it to the light, took a slow, careful sip and closed his eyes ecstatically. “Ah, que magnífico!”
“No, I don’t hate that. I just don’t always see the point.” She took a larger swallow, strangely tempted to tell him the truth, that she’d grown up in a mega-mansion in Greens Farms, Connecticut, sullen and rebellious, loathing her parents’ worship of the almighty dollar. And look at her now, kneeling at the same altar. “Except this stuff. If I had your money I’d buy this, too.”
“Take a bottle with you when you go.” He gestured to the glass-fronted cherry cabinet.
“Really?” She tipped her head. “So what, you’re my sugar daddy now?”
“Sandra.” He concentrated hard on her face. “You drive me crazy. I hope you know that.”
“Sexually?”
“Sure. Sure.” He nodded enthusiastically. “But also because I can’t tell when you’re kidding. It keeps me off balance.”
“Ah.” His admission surprised her. “You need to feel safe with a woman.”
“I usually do.” He winked at her. “But I don’t need to right now. You’re exciting.”
“Well.” Sandra lifted her chin, feeling a bit breathless. “Good to hear.”
“Why, you want to excite me?”
“Absolutely. And for the record, I was kidding about you being my sugar daddy. If you want to spend money on me, all you have to do is...” She took a slow sip of tequila. “Marry me.”
Erik laughed at that, as she hoped he would. A warm laugh. A nice one. She joined him because it felt so good to laugh with someone. And because she was starting to like him more and more, as she unearthed bits of him that were worth more than the rich guy who lived to get laid.
“Money is great, but the cliché is true, it don’t buy happiness. Not the kind that lasts, anyway. I can get a high from a cool new toy, a new computer, a new phone, being the first to own brand-new technology. Or from a new woman, or a trip to somewhere I’ve never been. But when I get tired of the toy, the woman moves on or I return home, I’m back where I started.” His features darkened. “That’s what Allie was about. A shot at a life with real value—something lasting and important. I’m tired of being a rich playboy.”
Sandra lifted a cynical eyebrow. “Then give it up.”
“Not that tired.”
“Right.” She understood more than he knew. Easy to complain about money when you had plenty. “The gift you love to hate.”
“I know. It’s hard to understand when you’re...” He stopped abruptly.
“Lower class?” She put her hand on his to stop his protest. “I do understand, Erik. But Allie isn’t going to make your life perfect.”
“I thought she’d be really good for me. I still do.”
“How?”
“She’s smart and interesting. She has depth. Plus she’s classy and beautiful and isn’t after my money.”
“So wait.” Sandra pretended confusion. “You don’t want a woman with enough brains to value money?”
He guffawed at that, bringing to his face a boyish energy that was really appealing. She was developing a serious tipsy crush. “I like you, Sandra. You’re smart. And practical.”
“Ooh.” She feigned dismay to hide her pleasure. “I’ve been called many things, but smart and practical? Not so much.”
“You’re sexy, too. I am insanely hot for you.”
“And Allie?” Sandra pinned him with her best schoolteacher look. “Are you insanely hot for her?”
He glanced down at his glass. “She’s a beautiful woman. I definitely want her.”
“That’s not what I asked, Erik.”
“Okay.” He met her eyes defiantly. “Yes, I am hot for her.”
“Uh-huh.”
He leaned forward until their faces were about six inches apart. His eyes were a really intense blue with long dark lashes, longer than his brother’s. “Crazy hot for her.”
“You know what’s happening out there right now, with her and Jonas?”
Erik’s face twisted. He drew back. “Yeah.”
Sandra jabbed at him triumphantly with her index finger. “That’s the only reason you think you’re crazy hot for her right now.”
“Not true.”
She let that slide. They both knew it was. “Before this, have you ever wanted a woman who didn’t want you?”
“No.”
“But you wanted to marry this one.” She paused to let him mull that over. “Did it ever occur to you that going after a woman who constantly rejects you keeps you safe from having to commit to this life you say you want?”
His eyes narrowed. He poured himself more tequila and topped off her glass. “Anyone ever tell you you’re a major pain in the ass?”
“Only when I’m right.”
“What about you? Still no tears over Jonas going at it with Allie?”
He was on the offensive now. Good to see. She’d get bored of a weak man. “None.”
“Yeah? You weren’t in love with him?”
“Nope.” She took a bigger swallow than she needed. “Like him a lot, though.”
“How about the men before him? Ever been in love?”
She narrowed her eyes. “What are you getting at?”
“Why aren’t you married?”
“Don’t want to be.”
“How do you know you’re not scared of it? Going after shallow relationships to keep from really falling?”
Sick anger burned through her, anger she was old enough to recognize as coming from his having hit a nerve dead-on. Little shit. He’d pay for that. She drained her tequila, got up, went around the counter to the sink, filled the glass with water and drank it empty, taking her time until she was calm again. “Let go of Allie, Erik. Your brother has her.”
“It’s preordained. Jonas gets everything. He always has.”