Millionaire's Woman

Robbie was by the table, piling carnitas onto his plate. “I knew he was the one for you, Ellie. As soon as he punched me, I knew.”

She might punch her cousin too if he didn’t shut up. In desperation, she looked around for Garek.

He was dancing with Alyssa. Alyssa, all knees and elbows and braces, looked as though she was in seventh heaven—or maybe even eighth or ninth. Garek laughed at something the girl said, then, as if he felt her gaze on him, looked across the room straight at Ellie.

Their eyes met. He flashed a smile at her, then returned his attention to Alyssa, whirling her away in the dance.

Ellie inhaled sharply. She felt dizzy. She felt sick. In that split second, she knew the truth, the truth she’d been trying to deny.

She loved him.

In spite of everything, she loved Garek Wisnewski.

“Ilike your family,” he said as he drove her home later that evening. “You’re lucky to have a family like that.”

“Yes, I know,” she said. She did know it. But why did he have to recognize it, too? A ruthless businessman like him shouldn’t have been able to see beyond the cramped house and poor clothes to the love and joy her family had. But obviously he had.

She stared out the window at the houses zipping by. She never should have agreed to keep going out with him. She was a thousand times a fool. But how could she have known her heart would be so treacherous?

He was arrogant and ruthless and bad-tempered. She’d thought she couldn’t possibly fall in love with someone like that. But during the last few weeks she’d realized that his callous facade wasn’t a true indication of his character. Rather, it was a form of protection. Against being hurt.

And he had been hurt. Not necessarily in large, traumatic ways, but in small, thoughtless ones. Not very many people had been kind to Garek Wisnewski. Whenever he talked about his parents, his sister or his ex-fiancée, there was a blankness to his expression. At first, she’d thought he just didn’t care. But in the last few weeks, as he let his guard down more and more, she could sometimes see the pain in his eyes, the bewilderment. Sometimes she just wanted to put her arms around him and hold him as tightly as she possibly could.

He would be horrified if he knew what she was thinking. He would scoff at the idea that anyone had hurt him. In that respect he was a lot like his niece—both of them seemed determined to squash any and all emotions. Ellie suspected that to do so had become such a habit that they were now finding it difficult to recognize, let alone express their feelings. She doubted Garek would ever willingly talk about his feelings. Certainly he would never admit to something so sappy as love. He would never make himself so vulnerable.

Which meant that she was completely vulnerable.

They arrived at her apartment and he

walked her to her door. “Thanks again for inviting me,” he said, the dim porch light illuminating his face as he smiled down at her. “I’ll pick you up tomorrow at noon.”

“I…I can’t see you tomorrow,” she said, some sense of self-preservation belatedly kicking in.

He frowned. “Why not?” he asked bluntly, as incapable as ever of accepting a refusal graciously.

“Um, when I was talking to my uncle, he said he’s shorthanded at the restaurant tomorrow and I told him I’d help out,” she lied.

Garek’s frown deepened. “Can’t your uncle find someone else?”

“Everyone else is busy.”

“That’s not acceptable.”

She stiffened. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, I don’t want you working at the Taco Palace,” he snapped.

“You don’t want me to?” she snapped right back. “You have no right to tell me what to do.”

“I’m your employer. I don’t want you showing up at the gallery on Monday too exhausted to work.”

“Oh, I should have known. You’re worried about business. Heaven forbid I should botch a sale because I yawned in a customer’s face. It’s obvious you’ll never change. I don’t know why I ever thought you could.” She crossed her arms across her chest, trying to protect herself against the wind. “Just go away.”

“No. I want to talk to you.”

“Well, I don’t want to hear whatever it is you have to say.”

His face was pale, his voice grim. “That’s too bad, because you’re going to have to listen.”