What Matters Most: The Billionaire Bargains, Book 2 (25 page)

Tony looked down at his phone and hit number one on his contact list then typed,
I need the limo.

“Well, I just remembered that I promised them I’d stop in at the club where they’re playing tonight if I was in town. I’m going to take my limo over and hang out for a while. You’re welcome to come if you want.”

A text came back from Will.
I thought you weren’t supposed to use the limo.

Dammit. He shouldn’t have told Will about all of that. The guy remembered everything with exhausting attention to detail. Normally that was a good thing. Less so when Tony was about to break the rules.

Just get me the limo.

Will would do it. But not without a disapproving look or two.

Tony realized he could avoid the disapproving looks if he didn’t take Will along to the club with them, but he’d never do that. He liked his assistant. Will was a good guy and not everything about being at Tony’s beck and call was glamorous, so Tony tried to extend as many perks to Will as possible. Will was a huge Seven Headed Monster fan.

“I’d probably be able to ride along,” Sebastian said.

From anyone else that would have sounded like he was trying to play it cool, but Tony studied him and could tell that Sebastian was interested but not bowled over.

“And I’m starving,” Tony said, grabbing a suitcase and tossing it on the couch. He needed to shower and dress up a bit as well. “I think we’ve got time to hit Marv’s before the club.”

Marv’s wasn’t the most expensive restaurant in town, but it had the best steak and seafood without question.

That got more interest than the band had. Sebastian nodded. “I could go for that. I don’t have any cash though.”

“Oh, no problem. I’ve got you covered.” This was good. Reese would love this. Tony would clean her brother up, feed him and keep him safely at his side until she got home.

Maybe he and Sebastian would become friends. Maybe he could help Reese and Sebastian reconcile. He’d be her hero.

He couldn’t wait to see her face.

Reese wasn’t sure what she’d expected exactly when she stepped through her front door. But she did know that an empty apartment wasn’t it.

Roses maybe. Rose petals strewn over the floor in a trail to the bedroom filled with candles maybe.

A five-course meal maybe.

Her husband. Definitely.

But Tony wasn’t there.

His suitcase was. The monstrosity of a couch that she assumed he’d brought with him was. An empty cookie plate that she recognized as Sylvia’s was.

But Tony was nowhere.

There wasn’t even a note.

Really?

She set her bag down with a thump and reached into her pocket for her phone as she toured her apartment, wondering what else he’d brought along.

A bed.

She stood in her bedroom doorway and stared.

There was a new bed in her room. A gigantic new bed that meant her bed had been pushed against the wall and set on its side.

It took him five rings this time to answer.

“Hi, babe!”

Wherever he was, it was loud. There was clearly music in the background, not to mention a multitude of voices.

“Where are you?”

“We’re at the Wingnut,” he said loudly.

She had no idea what that was. “Is it a club?”

Of course it was a club. She could
hear
that it was a club. And she was talking to Tony Steele.

“A bar. We came down to see the band. Friends of mine.”

Okay, a bar wasn’t that different from a club. A little less glitzy and probably less expensive but otherwise, the same basic idea. And of course he knew the band.

“When will you be…back?” She’d almost said home, but this wasn’t Tony’s home. Exactly. That she wanted it to be gave her pause. Especially when she was on the phone with him while he was at a bar. Would this be a regular thing? Could she really be surprised if it was?

“As soon as I can pull Sebastian away from the cute drummer.”

“Okay, well—”

Had he said
Sebastian
?

“Who?” she asked.

“Sebastian. He’s hilarious by the way.”

“Who?” she asked again, not quite processing everything. Tony had said that as if she did know Sebastian.

“Sebastian,” Tony said louder. “He’s great. We’ve been having a good time.”

She frowned. “Are you talking about my
brother
Sebastian?”

“Yes!” Tony sounded enthused.

No
. Tony and Sebastian would be a dangerous combination. They had a few things in common—a love of the party scene, a charm that could convince almost anyone to do almost anything, and a significant lack of worry about consequences. She could actually see them fitting together like two puzzle pieces—Sebastian being the fun-loving, free-loading sidekick and Tony being the fun-loving, money-is-no-object superhero.

Tony might be an expert poker player, but she was sure that Sebastian had easily sized him up as a guy he wanted to keep close. Sebastian took after their father in the get-the-most-out-of-the-least-effort techniques. And Tony was definitely a means to that end.

Sebastian was a lot of fun. He was definitely funny and always up for anything. Where their mom had searched for a rich man to marry and their sister went for rich married men who wanted a younger mistress to spoil, Sebastian was on the lookout for rich men to be best friends with.

And damned if they didn’t all find those rich men.

“Tony…I need you to come home right now.” What she needed was to get Tony away from Sebastian before her brother sunk his hooks in. That could not end well. Tony was a good guy, free with his favors and money. Sebastian would take advantage of that. And, maybe worse, Sebastian could end up living in Reese’s apartment for weeks.

“I’ll go tell Seb—” he started.

“I’m naked. And I have wine. And a burning need to reenact the phone sex scenario,” she said quickly.

There was a long pause and then Tony said, “I’ll be there in ten minutes.”

She smiled. Once he was here, she’d fill him in on everything, make sure he was aware that her family would be trying to get everything they could from him and that supporting them was not his job just because he was married to her.

Eight minutes later, Tony strode through the door to the apartment. Reese was, indeed, naked—under the robe she’d put on so she wouldn’t get chilly.

Chapter Nine

Tony kicked the door shut and headed straight for her, a sexy smile on his face and a predatory gleam in his eyes. She felt her heart begin to race even as she giggled.

“That was fast.”

“I’m sorry I wasn’t here when you got home.” He stooped and swung her up into his arms, starting for the bedroom.

She gasped and happily wrapped her arms around his neck. “You can make it up to me now.”

“And don’t worry, Sebastian is fine, but we won’t see him until tomorrow sometime.”

Reese tensed. “What do you mean?”

“I know you haven’t seen him for a while and I’m sure that you want to check up on him. He said he’s looking for an apartment but hasn’t been able to find anything that works yet.” Tony let her down in the bedroom. “But sleeping on our couch is, obviously, not a great idea, so I had Will take him to my house.”

Reese didn’t even get to enjoy the slide down the front of Tony’s body. “You what?”

“They have the limo so no one’s driving drunk,” Tony was quick to assure her. “Will’s taking him to my place. He can stay until he can find a place of his own.”

“You gave my brother a ride home from the bar in a limo.” Reese crossed her arms.

“And I introduced him to
Seven Headed Monster
.”

She shook her head. “I don’t know what that means.” But it sounded exactly like what this situation with Tony and Sebastian could turn into—a seven-headed monster.

“It’s a band. The guys are really cool and Sebastian hit it off with their drummer. She’s really cute.”

“And you set him up with a girl.”

“And I fed him dinner.”

“And you gave him a place to live. A really nice place to live.”

Reese wished she hadn’t been quite so quick to get out of her clothes. Wearing only a flimsy robe made her feel even more vulnerable.

Tony grinned. “It’s no problem. I have plenty of room.”

Sure, she was worried about Tony not having enough room for her brother to stay.

She stomped to her dresser and pulled out a pair of yoga pants and, with her back to Tony, slipped them on under the robe before yanking a T-shirt over her head. She was glad that the movers had been scheduled for after she and Jeff got back from their honeymoon so she hadn’t finished packing her apartment.

Reese took a deep breath and turned back to face her husband. “We need to talk about my family.”

Tony raised an eyebrow and took a seat on the end of the bed. For a moment, Reese wondered if he ever got upset or worried or stressed about anything. He’d been intense and determined when talking about not giving her a divorce, but she wasn’t so sure he’d ever been
worried
.

“Did you give my brother any money?” she asked.

Tony nodded.

“How much?”

“Does it matter?” he asked. “Would it be okay if it was ten bucks?”

Not really. “How much?”

“A thousand.”

She groaned. She knew a thousand dollars was nothing for Tony, but damn, the cycle had already started. “You can’t give my brother stuff. Especially money,” she told him.

“Why not?”

“He’s like a stray cat. If you feed him, even a little bit, you’ll never get rid of him,” she said bluntly. “He’s a master manipulator. He’ll figure out how best to get in your good graces—in this case, I’m guessing it will have to do with being your brother-in-law—and he will never fully appreciate what you do for him and he will certainly never reciprocate. He has no way to reciprocate,” she added. “He’s broke and has nothing that you need.”

Tony frowned. “We had a good time. He’s funny. He’s got some great stories.”

Reese rolled her eyes. “Okay, so he was fun to hang out with. It’s not like he’s someone you could talk business to or count on to come change your tire.”

Tony’s frown deepened. “I’ve got people for those things. There’s nothing wrong with just liking a guy.”

“As long as you always want to pick up the tab and put him up in your house and have Will babysit him, then you’re fine,” she said sarcastically.

“He didn’t ask to stay at the house,” Tony said.

“I’m sure there was hinting.”

Tony gave her a direct, cool stare. “I deal with master manipulators every day, Reese. You don’t have to worry about me being suckered into something.”

“So you just need a friend?” she asked. “Though I will say that, based on the friends of yours that I’ve met, you maybe don’t have the best taste in that department.”

Tony’s shoulders tensed. “I’m not some pathetic kid at recess who will be friends with anyone who’s nice to him. Your brother and I spent a couple of hours hanging out. I bought him a steak. I offered to let him crash at my house where I have seven bedrooms—of which only Will’s is being used at the moment—because I have seven bedrooms and only one is being used at the moment!”

She hadn’t seen Tony angry before and the sight actually took her breath away. He was dressed casually in blue jeans and a button-down shirt. His posture was casual as he sat on the edge of the bed, his forearms propped on his thighs, hands and wrists hanging relaxed. But the look in his eyes and the tone of his voice was formidable.

And it gave her a little thrill, if she was honest. He was angry with
her
, which wasn’t ideal, but it was nice to know that he could get angry. Plus, he was hot when he was being all growly.

“It’s not that I’m worried about him using up all the hot water or that you’ll run out of bread or something, Tony,” she said. “It’s almost impossible to get rid of him, for one thing. And the longer he has a friend who will put him up, that’s longer that he doesn’t step up and do something for himself. And he’s just the beginning. Wait until he tells my dad that his new best friend is Tony Steele.”

“Your father is welcome at my house, Reese,” Tony said evenly. “Because I’m married to his
daughter
, not just because his son and I are friends.”

“No!” she protested. “That’s what I mean. You can’t tell them that. You can’t let them in.”

“I’m not going to bar my wife’s father or brother from my home.”

“You’re not listening,” she told him, her frustration growing. “They…ruin everything!”

And they did. They’d ruined her relationship with two bosses—one when she’d gotten Brittney a job and Brittney had then been caught screwing the boss’s son on the first day, and when Reese had gotten Sebastian a job and he’d shown up for three days and then never again. They’d ruined her credit rating when her father had
borrowed
one of her credit cards to buy a car. They’d ruined several birthdays, multiple Christmases, two friendships and a big fundraising event she’d worked for months on with their fighting, drinking, swearing and lying.