Even if he sounded sincere she still didn’t know if she believed him. And she regretted coming here. She should have just ignored the contract, ignored everything. Especially since it seemed clear that he must know about her parents, about her mother. It made her feel vulnerable in a way she hadn’t in a long time. “I don’t want it.”
“It’s yours. My father hurt a lot of people.” There was a strained note in his voice, but she didn’t know him well enough to be sure. “I know the house doesn’t make up for anything, but I can’t keep it. Not now. It’s been on a rental program for years since it’s on the beach. It has high ratings and does well in the summers so if you do the same thing with it you’ll make a nice yearly income from it. I can recommend a property management company to run it if you’d like.”
No. This was not happening. The world didn’t work this way.
Unable to find her voice she abruptly stood. She didn’t want the house, didn’t want anything from him and it pissed her off that he thought giving her the property would somehow make up for what his father had done.
And yet, part of her felt conflicted. He was supposed to be a monster just like his father, and now she didn’t know what to think. She turned, ready to run out of there, when his hand lightly clasped her wrist.
She turned back to him but wouldn’t meet his gaze. Instead she stared at his broad, muscled chest. Now she was glad he was taller than her so she didn’t have to look into his eyes. And she hated that she noticed how attractive he was.
“Please take it,” he murmured. “Sell it, do whatever you want. But take it.” There was a sort of desperation in his voice, as if he meant every word.
He just wanted her to take it so his conscience could be eased. And that wasn’t going to happen. “That house…is the last place I remember being happy with my parents.” Her voice broke on the last word and to her horror she started crying.
No! This was even worse than crying at work. Breaking down in front of the man she’d thought was a monster for so long, a man who was supposedly giving her such a huge gift with no expectations—she tried to rein in her tears, but when he made a distressed sound and awkwardly patted her on the back in a half-hug she couldn’t stop herself no matter how hard she tried.
Almost against her will she found herself leaning into the very man she’d always thought of as her enemy.
Chapter 5
Viktor had never felt more at a loss in his life. He had no experience with crying women. He didn’t know if she wanted any comfort and he didn’t want to risk her shoving him away if he pulled her into his arms. Even if the thought of holding her close was something he’d been fantasizing about. No matter how stupid. So he awkwardly patted her back. If she was his he’d do more than this—he’d pull her into his arms, wipe away her tears and bring her pleasure, make her forget why she was in pain.
“Do you want to sit?” he murmured. Maybe he never should have sent that contract over. Maybe he should have contacted her first. But he hadn’t thought she would want to see him or talk to him. Not after their last meeting. He’d just wanted to make things as right as he could. Upsetting her was the last thing he wanted to do, but clearly he’d made a mistake.
She nodded and swiped away her tears before collapsing on the edge of the booth seat.
Instead of sitting across from her he grabbed a chair from a nearby table and sat in front of her.
Her pretty brown eyes widened slightly but at least she wasn’t crying anymore. There was still some dampness on her cheeks and he wanted to wipe it away, to touch her soft skin, take her pain away. But he didn’t.
In his periphery he saw his brother reenter the restaurant. When he met Abram’s gaze his brother tapped his watch. Viktor shook his head. He didn’t care about his upcoming meeting. This was more important.
His brother’s expression darkened but Viktor turned away from him and focused on Dominique. “The last thing I wanted to do was upset you,” he said quietly.
“I think I believe you.” She gave him a half-smile he felt all the way to his core. “I’m sorry I thought you were just like your father.”
“It’s a fair assumption.” One most people made. For the most part people weren’t wrong, at least not when it came to business. He was ruthless. He just wasn’t a gangster and he didn’t get off on hurting women. Unlike his father. “I’m sorry about your parents.”
At his words her expression shuttered but he could see pain in her eyes. She couldn’t hide that. And he wished his father was still alive so he could kill him all over again for what he’d done. “You know what he did to my mother?”