Recluse (Wolfes of Manhattan 2)

“Why give them away? Why not sell them?”

“Are you insinuating that I have to get money for something for it to have worth?” I was deliberately pushing his buttons, and I knew it. I couldn’t help smiling.

“Of course not. But if you can make money from your passion, you don’t have to work.”

“Most artists never achieve the fame you have.”

“I’m hardly famous.”

“People pay for your work, don’t they?”

“They do. Some more than others.”

“So maybe you’re not famous, but you make a living.”

Did he? I had no idea. He could be living off a trust fund, for all I knew. None of my business anyway.

“No,” he said.

“No? No what?”

“I know what you’re thinking. It’s what everyone thinks. The answer is no. I don’t live off Wolfe money. My painting pays my bills. Though Wolfe money did buy this place. But I don’t live off it day to day.”

“That’s nice.”

“Nice?”

“I mean, nice that you don’t need to depend on your painting.”

“But I do. I just told you. My father hated that I wasn’t interested in the business. He tried to lure me into it at every turn. He bought me this apartment after I refused to live in the Wolfe building, and then he nearly had a stroke when he saw what I’d done to the master suite.”

“Why didn’t you tell him to shove the apartment up his ass?”

He laughed then. I was growing pretty darned fond of his laugh.

“You may think my man bun is stupid, silver, but I assure you I am not. Would you turn it down if your parents bought you a place?”

“It’s a moot point. My mother can’t afford to buy me a place.” My father could, but that was another story.

“It’s hypothetical. What if she could? Would you turn it down?”

“It’s a tough question.”

“Why?”

“Because I pride myself on my accomplishments. No one has ever given me anything, Roy. I didn’t go to college because I didn’t want to take loans. Instead, I took paralegal courses at a community college, and the job with Lacey is my first.”

“You’re evading the question,” he said. “Don’t try to make me feel less worthy because I allowed my father to pay for my home.”

“Why are we fighting about this? Is it really that important?”

“It is to me.”

“Why?”

“Because you’re making me feel…” He shook his head with a sigh. “Never mind. It doesn’t matter.”

Then I knew.

He was feeling inadequate. Inadequate because he’d taken money from his father. Money that now belonged to him—as long as Rock stayed at his position as CEO of the company.

Did that bother Roy? That Derek had chosen Rock instead of him? They were both wayward sons. Roy hadn’t left town, but he was no more involved at Wolfe Enterprises than Rock had been.

Maybe that was why…

I shook my head. I was making things up now.

“All right, Roy. If my mother bought me a home, I’d probably take it. I’m not an idiot. It’s just that the concept is so foreign to me. It’s unreal.”

“I’m sorry,” he said.

“Why? I never wished for a different life.”

“No. I mean I’m sorry I pushed it. It’s not important. I let my father buy this place. He was trying to bribe me into giving up art. I knew I’d never do that, so I kind of took this place under false pretenses. That made me feel a little better about it.”

Such an interesting person.

I’d uncovered a lot about him in the short time we’d been acquainted.

But there was so much more there. So much more I wanted to know.

Would he let me in?10Roy“I want you in my bed,” I said.

She smiled. “I know. You’ve told me. But—”

I quieted her with a gesture. “Not tonight. I know you have to be in early tomorrow, and it’s already nearly one a.m. Tomorrow. Come here for dinner. I’ll have a surprise for you.”

“Roy…”

“You don’t have to sleep with me,” I said. “That’s not what this is about.”

“But you just said—”

“I know what I said. It’s the damned truth. I want you in my bed more than I’ve ever wanted another woman. It’s crazy, but it’s true. But I want something else too.”

Something I’d never be able to make happen. I wanted to share my whole self with her, but that would never happen. Even if it could, it was still too soon. I didn’t know her well enough to trust her.

Yet.

I wanted to trust this woman. I wanted to trust her with everything.

Maybe someday…

But probably not. Still, I could come close. Closer than I had with anyone else.

I could give her something, as well. Something she wanted, something she needed, something she coveted and didn’t even realize it.

“Tomorrow,” I said.

“But what about…tonight? I mean, it’s late, and—”

“I’ll take you home, silver. I’d never let you leave here alone this late. It’s a good neighborhood, but this is still New York.”