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Incapable of loving anyone.
“I didn’t take him,” I said steadily. “He left. It was his choice.”
“Twenty-four hours, Andrea. Think about it. What will my boy do when I cut his money off? Turn to you for support? He’ll be ashamed. Resentful. He’s used to much more. Neither of you will find work if I say you won’t.”
Reaching over Will’s motionless body, I twisted the rod on the window blinds, opening the slats partway to stare out at the buildings of New York. My heart thudded so loudly, I was afraid it would wake Will up.
“No one has that much power.” I kept my voice low. “Not even you.”
Richard only laughed. “My son is weak. His interest in you won’t last. You’re too easy for him now. Without the life he knows, he’ll hate you before the week is out. And he won’t be kind. Kindness doesn’t run in our veins. I advise you to send him back.”
Richard’s words were poison. They weren’t true; couldn’t be. Yet they pricked at me, drawing blood.
“If you believe all that,” I said thickly, “you really don’t know either of us.”
“You’re a feisty one.” My uncle’s voice was maddeningly calm. “I can see why Will insisted on having you.”
Fury, sudden and hot, loosened my tongue. “And I can see why you’re calling. You’re scared. You’re afraid your son really isn’t coming back. Whatever grand plans you have for the Randolph empire, he won’t carry them out. There’s something between him and me that you don’t understand. He can be happy. Whole. That bothers you, doesn’t it? It’s out of your control. It’s not something you can ever own. And you don’t own me, or Will.”
The sheets rustled. I hadn’t realized Will had woken. He sat up in bed, staring at me, light slanting onto his face.
Richard’s voice was tight with anger. “You’ll both come crawling back to me, ready to do anything I want. I look forward to that day.”
Will’s face darkened. “My father?”
I nodded.
He held out his hand. Slowly, I gave him the phone.
“Don’t ever call Andie again,” he said coldly. “Or I swear, I will end you.”
I heard laughter on the other end, so humorless that it chilled my spine. Words from Richard, booming through the phone. You’ll never make it without me. Every door will be closed to you. And finally, No pussy is worth our family fortune, son. Not even your cousin’s. You’re going to have to choose.
Will hung up. He reached for me, and it wasn’t until he wrapped his arms around me that I realized I was trembling.
“Sweet girl. What did he say to you?”
“Just some vague threats,” I mumbled.
“No. My father doesn’t deal in vague threats. He’s very specific.” Will stroked my hair, his voice gentle but firm. “I need you to tell me, Andie.”
The words stuck in my throat. I touched his hollowed cheekbones.
“Be honest with me.” He sounded more commanding, sharper with tension. “It’s the only way.”
“He said I have twenty-four hours to send you back to him and Rose if I want to keep my job,” I said in a rush. “Like you’re a package to be delivered. He said if you stay, you’ll hate me, because I’m — too easy for you now.”
Will winced. “The dirty bastard,” he muttered. “He thinks he can hurt you, manipulate you— force you.” His fists clenched on my pillow as his body went rigid. “I’ll never let him do that. You know it’s all lies, don’t you? What he said, how I feel about you.”
I put my hand on Will’s chest. His heart was racing. When his palm pressed over my own heart, above my breast, it thumped just as fast.
“I know,” I said, taking a deep breath. “But Will, you left everything behind so fast. I basically asked you to run away with me.”
His chest heaved. “You know how long I’ve been waiting for that?”
I stared into his clear green eyes. Then I deliberately moved closer, until our bare bodies were sandwiched together, our hands over each other’s hearts.
“Eight years?”
