“Right,” Matt cut in. ”You and my brother in New York. You and him at your grand gallery opening. An opening I could have given you a year ago when I had mine. You refused me. But not my brother. Why?”
“He surprised me. I had no idea what was going on.”
“Or you would have refused it from him also?”
Yes, she would have. The fear had almost destroyed the whole opening and only by a meager strand of willpower had she managed to pull herself together. She would have put a stop to it if she’d known. For sure.
But she felt safe with Marc. His security team helped, yet it was more than that. It was the man himself. So indomitable. So commanding. So protective.
Maybe she wouldn’t have stopped it after all. Maybe she would have let him give her the dream—
“No answer,” her buddy grumbled. “You can't possibly be with him. Not my brother.”
“Why not?” Her temper began to simmer. “I'm not good enough for your brother?”
He gave her a look of pure astonishment. “Hell, no. He's not good enough for you.”
“Don't talk about him like that.”
“Oh, no.” He stared at her in horror. “Don't tell me the Great Man has fooled you into—”
“I’m not a fool.” I’m not. I’m not.
“Darcy.” His hands grabbed her shoulders in a tight, desperate grip and almost lifted her off her feet. “The guy is going to eat you up and spit you out. You don't know who you're dealing with.”
“How can you talk about your brother like that?” She looked at his grim face with bewilderment. “I thought, deep down, you really loved him.”
“I did.” A muscle in his jaw clenched. “I do. But not for you.”
“Why not?”
“Dio.” He peered at her, his eyes narrowing at what he saw on her face. “You’ve slept with him, haven't you?”
“I…I…”
Dropping her back down on her numb feet, he groaned. “I can't believe it.”
Why did she feel ashamed of something that meant everything to her? She tried to find an answer, some way of telling Matt of the changes inside her, but she was stymied by his visible anger and frustration. She honestly thought maybe, possibly, he'd be happy when he found out about Marc and her together.
“Of all the guys.” His serious gaze latched on to hers. “You had to go and pick him?”
“He's w-wonderful. At first it was tough. Now, though, now—”
“Darcy.” Matt looked at her with pity. “He goes through women like tissue paper. To him, women are to be used and discarded.”
“I know. Still—”
“I think he hates women.” He swung his arm in a tense slash. “He has only one use for them. That's all.”
“Not now.” She held on to her dream with a tight grip. “Not with me.”
“Dammit.” His shoulders slumped. “I'm going to have to kill him.”
A choked, horrified laugh came from her. “Don't be barmy.”
“How in the hell did you two hook up?”
She certainly wasn't going to respond to this question. Then his desire to kill his older brother would become even more pronounced.
Matt glared at her, gaze grim. “I'm starting to get a clue here. Suddenly, I get told to take myself off to Italy.”
She stared back at him, watching as the wheels in his brain ground towards the truth.
He continued. “And less than three weeks later, I find out my best bud has developed an unexpected attachment to my ruthless brother.”
“I went to see him.” She wouldn’t let Matt think the worst of his brother. Marc needed his brother, and his brother’s love, even if he didn’t know it yet. “I was the one who initiated the contact. Not him.”
“I see.” His eyes narrowed. “And what? It was love and kisses from the moment you met?”
“Something like that.”
“Uh-huh.” Rank disbelief colored his disgusted dismissal of her claim.
“I wanted him to stop your marriage.” Her hands fluttered in the air as she tried to make him understand. “I still want him to stop forcing you into this marriage.”
“Let me guess,” he sneered. “My big brother said what he always says when it doesn't suit his plan. No.”
“So far.” She clasped her hands in front of her. “I kind of got distracted.”
His laugh was harsh. “Yeah. I bet. He is good at distracting women.”
“But I'm working on it.”
“Never mind about that.” All at once, the edge of his mouth lifted in a crooked grin. “I don't want you to stop the marriage.”