“All I’m asking is that you answer a couple of questions.” His tone was still easy. “Maybe a drink would help you. What would you like?”
Tugging uncomfortably at her skirt, she sighed. “Sebastian started gambling in college.”
“And he quit?”
Pursing her lips, she crossed her arms in defiance. “Two years ago, I made him promise to quit.”
“Why?”
“Because gambling is bad.”
“Maria, talk to me. Please,” he coaxed her softly.
What was the point? They weren’t there to talk about her dysfunction with her brother’s past. They were there to talk business, but she could tell that he wasn’t going to budge. “All of his friends were much richer than we were, and at first, it was his way of trying to keep up. Then, I realized that they didn’t keep him around because they liked him. They did it because he amused them. A few years after I’d started the charity, he started hitting up donors on his own to get money from them to pay off his debts. It didn’t work, and his bookie put him in the hospital. I lit a fire under his friends to cover the debt and told them that if they ever tried to take him gambling again, I’d take the whole situation public. Sebastian was nobody, but they all had reputations to protect.”
“I can see why you hate rich people,” he muttered.
“Okay, well now that we’ve established that, can we get back to the matter at hand?” The waiter stopped by to take her drink order, but she waved him away.
“I lied to you, Maria. I didn’t bring you here to talk about the donation that I promised you.”
There it was. The truth. Wiping the palms of her hands on her skirt, she swallowed hard. “I understand why you’re withholding the money, but bringing me here to tell me that is cruel.”
He reached out to grab her hand before she could stand up and leave. “Maria. The million dollars is yours. You can do whatever you want with it, and I’m not saying that because I don’t care about the money. I’m saying it because I trust that you’ll make the right decisions.”
Stunned, she stared at him. “You are giving me the money? Then, why did you bring me here?”
“You have to know that I care about you.” His hold on her hand turned soft as he caressed her skin with his thumb. “I felt something from the moment I saw you running for that bus. That’s why I bribed the driver to stop for you.”
Maria stared at him before a huge smile broke out over her face. “You paid the driver to stop?”
“I did. Of course, that was before I knew your feelings about money. I’ve always used my wealth to impress women, but you are not easily swayed. I like that about you.”
“No, you don’t.”
“I do. Because I know that, any feelings you have for me are because of me and not my money.” Taking a sip from his drink, he rubbed his finger along the condensation on the glass. “In fact, I suspect I’d have had a much easier chance with you if I didn’t have money.”
Closing her eyes, she pulled her hand away from him and fidgeted. “I saw you on the television at that trial. Why didn’t you tell me that you actually had something serious to do? I gave you a lot of grief.”
“I should have told you but not because I didn’t want your grief. Kivi was a personal matter that I needed to clean up. Once upon a time, we were friends, and he used that connection to swindle friends out of their money. He didn’t care if he was taking thousands from the rich or an entire life savings from the middle class. I got him arrested, but when I heard that he stood a chance of walking away without paying for what he did, I knew that I had to do something. Unfortunately, my father had ordered me to stay clear of Kivi. He was afraid that our reputation might hurt us in the end. I disagreed.”
“Jarik, I’m so sorry. That’s definitely not something you should have shared with me. That’s personal.”
“And that’s why I should have told you. I hated that you didn’t open up
to me, but I didn’t open up to you either. Maria, I will put all of my money in a trust fund for a hundred charities for you. I don’t care about my money, I care about you. If you’ll have me without the money, I’ll do whatever it takes to make that happen.”
He was going to give up his money? For her? “I don’t actually know what to say. I know I haven’t given you the impression that I’m ready for a relationship or that I’m even any good at one. I said some horrible things to you.”
“Maria, I already know that you love me.”
“What? You do? Wait. I do?”
“I do.” He smiled and reached for her. “On that beach, you said ‘I can’t.’ Do you remember that?”
Of course, she remembered it. It played in her mind like a broken record. “I said a lot of things on that beach,” she said with a small smile. “But yes, I know what you’re talking about.”
“Did you want to finish that sentence?”