Pandora's Box (previously Worth the Wait, a Zebra print best seller) (12 page)

“I didn’t say that. I want to make him sweat. I mean, Damian isn’t big in the tact department I nearly passed out when he dropped it into the conversation. Why didn’t Erik warn me?”

Shelly’s face dropped. “He was very upset over the argument with his mother. By the time he was ready to talk, he couldn’t get in touch with you. When you didn’t answer the phone all day Sunday he figured you were mad at him; so he decided he’d better come speak to you in person, but you didn’t come home all night”

Charlie smiled. It hadn’t occurred to either of them that she might have gone on a date. She slouched down into the sofa in a most unladylike way and sighed.

“You’re not going to tell me where you were, are you?” Shelly complained. “I thought we were friends.”

She was about to begin when the apartment door came flying open.

Erik breezed into the room and stopped dead when he saw Charlie. “You’re back.”

“You’ve got 20/20 vision,” she mocked. “Take a load off your feet.”

“You seriously need to get a cell phone. “ Erik pulled a director’s chair from the closet and dropped himself into it “Where the hell have you been? I’ve been checking hospitals and morgues.”

“I’m too nasty to die,” Charlie joked.

“Where were you last night?” Erik demanded.

Charlie shrugged. “I don’t answer to you. You wouldn’t want me to be one of those ladies who talks about her love life.”

“Be serious. I was worried.”

“Well, try not to be too shocked. I spent the night in a man’s apartment”

Erik waved his hand dismissively. “I don’t believe you.”

“Was I supposed to bring back a piece of his underwear as proof the way you guys in the dorm do? Maybe a description of the place will do. There is a fireplace in the far corner of the living room that doesn’t work. The wall of glass overlooks Central Park. The doorman’s name was Henry. And the study had a computer system I’d kill to own.”

Erik’s jaw sagged. “You were with Damian all weekend?”

“Did you ever try to get rid of him?” she asked.

“Brother Damian! That’s the last place I would have checked.” he repeated, apparently unable to believe his ears.

Charlie let out a puff of air. “Is there a problem with your hearing? He took me sight-seeing in New York. We rode the ferry. Went to the top of the Empire State Building. We even walked through Chinatown.”

“Mr. Conservative went sight-seeing like a tourist?” Erik mumbled. “Did you enjoy yourself?”

“Most of it. But he did something horrible to me, Erik, and I don’t know if I’ll ever forgive him,” Charlie said, her body shivering from the memory.

Red color crept up along his neck. He looked like a balloon about to pop. “If he did anything to hurt you—”

“He made me eat snails. I’m never letting him choose dinner again.”

Shelly burst out laughing. When her words sank in, Erik laughed, too. “They’re great. Didn’t you love them?”

Charlie let out a gagging sound. “No. It was like eating slimy garlic.”

“It’s funny. I was always worried about my mother. I never really considered how Damian might react to finding out about you. I should talk to him.”

“Please,” Charlie said. “And soon. He feels guilty. He keeps trying to give me things, as if he’s trying to make up for something.”

“Did you ever think he might be interested in you?” Shelly asked.

“Damian and I could never have that kind of a future.”

Not that she hadn’t fantasized about what it would be like to have him in her life. Charlie Simone, the ultimate realist, had actually begun to dream about happily ever after. Foolish move, she chided herself. For her own emotional safety, she should back away.

The deeper she fell for Damian, the more complicated their relationship would become and the more likely she was to get hurt. Monica would never accept her and Charlie didn’t want to put him in a position where he had to choose. In the end, she would lose. Blood was always thicker than water, and blue blood was thicker than most.

CHAPTER
EIGHT

Damian stared out the office window at the majestic Empire State Building. He loosened the tie around his neck. In another two hours he would be leaving on an overseas business trip, and for the first time in a long time, he wanted to send someone else.

Never had a woman twisted his insides the way Charlie had. By the time he had realized she was heading out the door that morning, it was too late to stop her. At least she had had the good sense to take a taxi to the train station. He knew because she had left a note on his wallet, proudly admitting to the theft of ten dollars for that purpose, and an IOU to pay the money back. She had the most annoyingly stubborn pride he’d ever come across.

He understood why Erik had gone through the trouble of setting up a scholarship for her rather than telling the truth from the beginning. She never would have accepted if she had known where the money had come from. Her resentment ran deep.

“Damian. Have you got a minute?”

The voice from the door cut into his thoughts. It wasn’t like Erik to just drop by the office, but Damian wasn’t surprised to see him. He would have worried if he hadn’t heard from his brother. “No classes today?”

“I just finished the last one before exams. Your secretary said you were leaving for Europe and I wanted to talk to you before you left,” Erik entered the office slowly and slipped into the seat across from Damian.

“So . . .” Damian began as he lowered himself into the leather chair behind the desk. “Are you here to find out my intentions toward your sister?”

Erik scowled at him. “This isn’t a joke. The part of me that is your brother feels that I should be telling Charlie what a great guy you are. Then there’s a part of me that’s her brother and I think I should tell her to run for her life.” He leaned forward in the chair. “Am I making any sense at all?”

“Why are you so sure I’m going to hurt her?”

“I don’t think it would be intentional. There are things you don’t know.”

“There’s not much I don’t know, Erik. I ran into Raymond yesterday when I was showing Charlie the offices.”

Erik tensed. “I guess client confidentiality doesn’t apply when you’re paying the bills.”

“He thought you’d already told me since I knew who she was. He’s your lawyer, too. He’s concerned for your welfare.”

“I didn’t want you to know.”

“Know what? That our mother is a selfish woman who never cared about anyone but Peter? I knew that the day I was shipped off to boarding school. I guess I just never wanted to admit it.”

Erik shook his head. “It’s not only that. I don’t want Charlie to know I had her investigated. I wasn’t prying. I just wanted to find her.”

Damian raked his hand through his hair. “And you think I’m going to tell her?”

“That’s not what I meant. You’re not dealing with a child. She can sense your guilt. Don’t try to give her things.”

“Why?”

“You can’t undo the past. If you keep trying, she’s going to know that you are aware of more than she’s told you. Don’t you understand how humiliating that would be for her?”

Damian stood up and stalked around the room. “What am I supposed to do? Just let her go on like she is, living in a one-room cage, shutting out the world? I don’t think I can do that.”

His own feelings of confusion and guilt were echoed in his brother’s words. “If it bothers you, then just imagine how I feel. Do you think I want to let her go on like that? She’s my sister, for God’s sake.”

“She needs help, Erik.”

He exhaled slowly. “And of course you think you know what’s best for her.”

“In this case—”

“Yes, maybe you’re right, Damian, but she can’t deal with it yet. Especially not now.”

“Why not now?”

“Final exams,” Erik reminded him. “Two weeks of hell. I know it’s been awhile but maybe you remember?”

Damian smiled. He remembered all too well what it was like. “Then what are you doing here goofing off? You should be studying, yourself. And stop worrying. I’ll be careful about what I say to her.”

Erik chuckled and rose from the chair. He offered his hand. “Have a good trip. And Damian—”

“Yes?”

Erik tightened his grip. “If you ever keep my sister out again all night, I’m coming after you. I was worried sick. I thought something had happened to her.”

“She’s a twenty-five-year-old woman. If she doesn’t want to check in with her baby brother, that’s her right”

“Yeah. That’s what she said, too.” Erik turned to leave and paused at the door. “And one more thing.”

“What?”

“Your tie is crooked.”

Damian lifted his shoulders. “So what? The world won’t come to an end.”

“You might just be human after all. I was beginning to think you were as starched as your collars.”

“Just what I want, fashion commentary from a man who wears neon pink socks.”

* * * *

With only two more weeks before she began her new job and her rent paid through the end of the following month, Charlie quit her job. Her expenses were limited. Erik and Shelly were studying in her apartment every day and they insisted on bringing the food for the marathon cram sessions.

By Friday night the atmosphere was so tense they wanted to kill each other. Fortunately, some classmates stopped by and for a few hours they laughed and listened to music instead of quizzing each other.

Charlie hadn’t heard from Damian and found she was disappointed. Of course, she was the one who had said they could never have a serious relationship. So why was she angry with him for not calling? That’s what she wanted, wasn’t it?

She gave herself a mental shake. School was more important than her love life. After final exams she could sort out her confused emotions. She would be seeing Damian at work for the next three months.

“Charlie?” Shelly called out.

“Yes.”

Shelly held up the phone receiver in her hand. “Telephone.”

How had she missed the ringing? She took the phone into the bathroom so that she could hear over the loud conversations. “Hello?”

“Why aren’t you at work?” Damian asked.

Her heart leapt. “It’s lovely to hear from you, too. How have I been? Why, fine thank you. And you?”

“I’m sorry. How are you, Charlie?”

“Too late. What do you want?”

She heard his exasperated sigh and bit back a laugh. “Nothing. I wanted to see how the studying was going. I would have stopped by, but I assumed you didn’t need any distractions.”

“That will teach you,” she mocked.

“Teach me what?”

“Next time ask me what I need, instead of assuming.”

“Oh.” He paused. “In that case, I’ll be there in an hour.”

“Damian, it was a joke, Damian? . . . Are you still there? . . . Damian?” She slammed the receiver into the cradle. When would she learn? He was so damned literal.

Who was she kidding? She was thrilled he was coming. Turning to the mirror, she pulled the clip from her hair and ran a brush through it. She applied a soft pink lipstick to her lips and a hint of blush to her cheeks. Satisfied with the results, she returned to the living room.

Erik stared at her for a long moment, then grinned. “Damian’s coming, right?” He grabbed the phone and dialed his brother’s apartment. He apparently got the answering machine and muttered an oath. “I know you’re still there. Pick it up. I know you can hear me. Don’t come empty
-handed. We need some beer, soda, and sandwiches. The good stuff from the New York Deli.”

“Erik,” Charlie scolded.

“He hears me. He’s ignoring me. Lock the door. If we don’t see the bags, he doesn’t get in.” He hung up the phone and placed it down on the table.

“You’re terrible,” Charlie said.

“He shouldn’t have invited himself.”

Charlie tilted her head to one side and peered out from her lashes. “And what if I told you that I invited him.”

Erik looked at his watch. “At ten o’clock? Tsk. Tsk. Should we make ourselves scarce?”

“Are you jealous?” Charlie countered.

“No. Just surprised.”

“We all should be leaving anyway, guys.” Shelly said, making no attempt to hide her matchmaking efforts.

Their friends started clearing out, but Erik remained steadfast in his seat “Not until I’ve eaten. Romeo and Juliet will have to wait a few minutes.”

“It’s more like Kate and Petruchio,” Charlie corrected.

He chuckled. “True. You are a shrew, although I’m not sure Damian will ever tame you.”

Charlie smacked him over the head with a pillow, but that only made him laugh harder. As she started to straighten her apartment, she wondered if there might not be something to the sibling bond theory after all. Despite the fact that they hadn’t met until last year, sometimes Erik seemed to know her better than she knew herself.