Vincent

Once the weekend was over, everyone prepared to leave on my private jet while Diesel and Tatum stayed behind to enjoy the rest of their honeymoon. Scarlet had to get back to work, and the office never stopped for me.

We said our goodbyes at the front of the resort. Tatum and Diesel shared words with everyone else, then came to us last.

“Thank you for coming,” Tatum said. “It’s been such an amazing weekend. I’m sad it’s over.”

“We had a great time.” I stared at my son with more pride than I’d ever felt. Anyone could get married, but to marry someone as phenomenal as Tatum was rare. Diesel didn’t settle for anything less than the best, and I respected him for it. I would never have to worry about him, not when he had such an amazing partner. “I’ll never forget it as long as I live.” I embraced Tatum first, holding her close the way a father would hug his daughter. She was a Hunt now, but I’d already loved her like my own. I knew her father wasn’t there to share this magical day, but I could be what she needed. “I love you, sweetheart.”

She gave me the softest expression I’d ever seen. “I love you too, Vincent.”

“You’re welcome to call me Dad…if you want.” I patted her back before I stepped away.

“Alright…I will.”

I hugged Diesel next. “I love you, son.”

“Love you too, Dad.” He patted my back.

“Make me a grandchild.” I kissed his forehead before I stepped away.

“I’m working on it,” he said with a chuckle. “And I won’t let you down.”

Scarlet and Tatum exchanged a few words and a long hug.

Diesel noticed them absorbed in their conversation, so he nodded to the left. “Let’s talk over here…”

I followed him to the side, my hands resting in my pockets. “Need some honeymoon advice?” I teased.

“No, it’s actually about Scarlet.”

“Oh?”

“She and I talked in the office for a while, and since you guys are serious now…I feel obligated to tell you something.”

“I’m listening.”

He glanced at the women to make sure they weren’t listening before he looked at me again. “We talked in her office about her ex-husband. I can’t say what we talked about, but you should ask her about it the next time the moment is right.”

My heart immediately began to pound. “Son, you’re scaring me.”

“Nothing to be scared of, necessarily. But there’s something I think you should know. So ask her about it. I know I’d want to know.”

I sighed, feeling my jaw clench. I knew her ex was a bad person. She’d made that clear. I just hoped that bad meant he was a cheater or a liar…and not something more sinister. Now that I loved this woman, I’d kill anyone who even looked at her wrong. “Thank you for telling me, Diesel.”

“I got your back, Dad. But be casual about it. Don’t tell her I said anything to you.”

I nodded. “Alright.”

He hugged me again. “Call me if you need anything.”

“I thought I was supposed to say that to you?”

He shrugged. “It’s funny how things change.”

---

Scarlet didn’t sleep over when we returned to New York. We both had work in the morning, and we were exhausted after all the flying after the short weekend. I went to work and listened to people congratulate me on my son’s wedding. Now it was all the media could talk about, the union between two of the richest people in the world.

Now my son bumped me on the Forbes list.

He and Tatum were officially the richest people in the world.

I smiled when I thought about it. Every parent wanted to see their child do better than them. Diesel had achieved the impossible and bypassed me in wealth. I couldn’t be prouder.

I skipped lunch and focused on work because I had too much to do. The hours flew by, and before I knew it, it was past five. I was too tired to work out, so I just went home and hopped in the shower.

Now that my mind wasn’t occupied by numbers and reports, I thought about what Diesel had said to me. Scarlet was hiding something from me, and now that we were serious, she needed to tell me.

I could wait for her to come to me, or I could just ask her about it.

The gentlemanly thing to do would be to wait.

But I didn’t want to wait.

I sat on the couch with a glass of scotch right as she called me.

I answered. “Hello, sweetheart.” Using her first name seemed strange now. I’d made love to this woman in my bed, had come inside her many times. Addressing her in the way everyone else did didn’t seem fitting.

“Hey.” She wasn’t her cheerful self. The single greeting highlighted all of her sadness. “I’m sorry to be so presumptuous, but could I come over? I’m standing in your lobby, and the security guard is staring me down.”

I walked to the elevator and hit the button. “Of course. You’re always welcome.” We hung up, and then she rose in the elevator to my floor. She stepped out in jeans and a black blouse, looking as beautiful as always but with sadness painted across her expression.

She moved into me, rose on her tiptoes, and kissed me.

My arms circled her waist, and I kissed her back, loving the curves of her body. She was a petite woman, perfect to fit inside my powerful arms. I squeezed the fabric of her blouse tightly with my large hands, scrunching it as I enjoyed her soft mouth.

I could kiss her forever.

She pulled away first, her eyes heavier than usual.

“Tell me.” My hand cupped her cheek, and my fingertips rested on her neck.

“The owner of the magazine saw that I was at Diesel’s wedding. She knows we’re serious, and she’s asked me to do some immoral reporting. She wants me to write an explicit narrative about what it’s like being in a relationship with you. And she wants me to dig into Diesel’s relationship with Tatum, especially since Thorn gave her away at the wedding. I told her it was a conflict of interest…she didn’t care. So she gave me an ultimatum. I write the articles or I lose my job. So, I quit.”

I slowly lowered my hand to her shoulder, hit with the weight of her sorrow. Scarlet had run that magazine for quite some time, and she did an outstanding job. To be harassed into doing something she didn’t want to do was completely unprofessional. She loved being the editor of Platform, but she walked away from it…for me.

She was loyal to me.

“Sweetheart, I’m so sorry…”

She bowed her head. “I really loved working there. I dedicated so much of my life to that magazine. I worked late nights without being paid for it, and I went above and beyond. To be reduced to someone that is so easily replaceable…is insulting. I feel like I have more value than being able to report about the Hunts. It’s just work, and I shouldn’t take it so personally…but I do.” She stepped into my chest and rested her face against my body.

I enveloped her in my arms, protecting her against the pain the only way I knew how. “It’ll be alright.”

“I have money in my savings and a few investments, so I’ll be fine until I can find something else. But, honestly, I don’t want to go somewhere else. I believed in that magazine. She made a mistake letting me go.”

“Yes, she did.”

She sighed against my chest and stayed there for a long time. She closed her eyes and used me as a crutch to lean on. “I’m so glad I have you. I was so upset, and now…I feel a lot better.” She breathed into my chest before she pulled away and looked up at me.

My hand moved into her hair, and I pressed my forehead against hers. “You never have to worry about anything as long as you have me.” I could make all her problems go away with the snap of my fingers. I knew exactly what I was going to do to fix this, and I would tell her once it was done.

She smiled. “You’re so sweet to me, Vincent.”

I kissed her softly on the forehead. “How about some dinner?”

Her hands slid up to my biceps. “Honestly, I just want to go to bed…”

It was seven o’clock, so I knew she wasn’t interested in sleeping. She was only interested in me. “Sounds good to me.”

---

I lay behind her and kissed her exposed shoulder. I trailed my lips across her body then to the shell of her ear. “I’d like to meet your daughter.”

“You would?” She looked at me over her shoulder, looking beautiful with smeared makeup and swollen lips.

“Yes.”

“I have to be honest and tell you she’ll probably be difficult.”

“I deal with difficult people every day.”

She chuckled. “I just mean, she’s not sweet like your sons. I don’t want you to be disappointed if she doesn’t approve of you.”

“I’m sure she’ll come around, eventually.”

“She is close with her father, unfortunately…”

Now was my opening. I should probably wait until a better time, but my curiosity was too strong. “Will I be seeing him often?”

“No. I never see him. We spend every event separately, which I don’t mind. For her college graduation, I’ll have to be in the same room with him. But even then, I’ll be in the opposite corner.”

“May I ask why there’s such hostility?” Now the ball was in her court. She could either tell me now or postpone it.

But she’d better tell me now.

A long sigh escaped her lips. “I’m only telling you this because you have a right to know. He used to be jealous and possessive of me. At first, I thought it was romantic. But then he turned violent and angry. The relationship became an abusive one. I tried to leave for a long time until I finally had the courage to run. The first two years were difficult because he kept trying to pin me under his thumb. One night, he broke in to my apartment to get to me. I was ready for him, and I beat him with a baseball bat until half of his ribs were broken. After that…he finally left me alone. We say very little to each other now.”

A flush of pride washed over me when I heard that story. She took matters into her own hands and did what every woman should do. But that pride didn’t last long because depression quickly replaced it. The fact that this man had ever laid a hand on her sent me into a kind of rage I’d never known. The last time I was this angry was when that careless piece of shit hit my wife with his car.

Scarlet didn’t look at me. “I can feel how angry you are…”

I kissed the back of her neck to offset my hostility. “It’s hard not to be.”

“It was a long time ago. I’m fine now. He doesn’t bother me anymore.”

“Doesn’t change the fact that it never should have happened.” I pulled her closer into my chest and kissed the back of her head. “Nothing will ever hurt you again, sweetheart. I can promise you that.” I couldn’t protect my wife after she got into that car, but I would never make the same mistake again.

“You don’t need to protect me, Vincent. That’s not why I need you.”

“Then why do you need me?”

She turned to look at me over her shoulder again. “Because you make me happy.”

---

Three days later, it was done.

The money had been wired into the account, and one of my corporations was on the deed of ownership.

I was the new owner of Platform magazine.

It wasn’t cheap, but I knew it was the best investment I’d ever made.

I couldn’t wait to tell Scarlet when I saw her later. She’d be shocked, of course. She’d probably refuse in the beginning, but I would wear her down.

I wasn’t going to let some corporate asshole make my woman feel like shit.

No one fucked with Vincent Hunt.

My PI walked in the door a few hours later. “I got the information you asked for.” He tossed the folder onto the desk.

I opened it and took a look inside. I had the asshole’s full name, address, bank statements, photo ID, and his personal routine. He owned a bar in Brooklyn and spent his afternoons behind the counter. “This is perfect. Thank you.”

“Anything else, Mr. Hunt? You want me to send someone down there to intimidate him?”

Who could be more intimidating than me? “No. I got it.”

He walked out of my office.

I stared at his name, searing it into my memory.

Colin David.

---

In the middle of the afternoon, the bar was depressing. Mostly old men hung out in the low-lit room. Guys played pool in the back corner, and the sports channel was on every TV.

I spotted him the second I walked inside, immediately regretting wearing my five-thousand-dollar tailored suit into a run-down piss-hole like this. He was in black t-shirt and jeans, sporting dark hair and a somewhat sculpted body. He was good-looking, but his habits hadn’t preserved his age the way Scarlet had. He looked my age even though he had to be a decade years younger.

I approached the bar but didn’t rest my hand on the wood, too dirty for the fabric of my suit. Everything about this shitty joint was disgusting.

Colin walked toward me. “What can I get for you, man?”

“You think I’d drink anything in this dump?”

He obviously hadn’t been expecting me to say that because it took him at least two seconds to even process my words. His eyes narrowed, and his jaw clenched automatically. He probably saw hotheads on a daily basis, but he still couldn’t control his anger. “What did you say, asshole?”

“I said this shithole is a dump,” I said calmly. “And you fit in perfectly.”

He paused as he stared me down, but he didn’t immediately throw a punch or grab a bat under the counter. He must have recognized my face, knowing I was too rich and well-connected for him to throw a punch. He had some form of a brain, apparently. “Get the fuck out of my bar.”

“Not until I introduce myself.”

“I know who you are,” he snapped. “No matter how rich you are, I’ll never want your money. So fuck off.”

“You recognize me, but you have no idea who I am.” I leaned toward him over the bar. “I’m Vincent Hunt, the tenth richest man on this planet. I have the power to throw your tortured body into the river and make sure the police never find it. And even if they did, I have the cash to make them look the other way. I have the power to burn this shithole to the ground and make sure you never see a penny from the insurance company. I have the ability to make your life absolutely insufferable. I can take away all your rights and all your freedoms.” I snapped my fingers. “Just like that.”

He was absolutely still, alternating between anger and fear.

“I’m also the man Scarlet loves.”

He couldn’t stop his face from reacting.

“She’s my woman. And she told me exactly what you did to her. She may have broken your ribs with a bat to scare you off, but I’ll do something a million times worse. If you ever cross her, ever look at her, ever stand within five hundred feet of that woman, I’ll break every individual bone in your body, all the toes, all the fingers, and even your skull. Do you understand me, asshole?”

His hands clutched the counter, and his knuckles turned white because he gripped it so hard. Paralyzed, he knew there was nothing he could do. He knew he was a small fish in a big pond, and I was the biggest shark in the goddamn ocean. He was nothing compared to me. He was just a pathetic excuse for a man who had preyed on someone weaker than him. And we both knew the tables had turned. Now he was the weak one…and I was his worst nightmare.

I held my hand, my thumb and forefinger pressed together. “You don’t want to know what happens when I snap my fingers.” I wouldn’t hold back in my vengeance. If he was anything less than cooperative, I would enjoy his slow torture. “Do you understand me?”

This time, he answered immediately. “Yes.”

“Good.” I finally turned away from the bar, making sure I didn’t touch anything. “Have a good day, Colin. I hope you enjoy being under my thumb for the rest of your life.” I turned my back to him as I walked out the door, unafraid of his retaliation.

Because we both knew he was a little bitch.

---

When I got home, I called Scarlet. “How was your day?”

“I did two cycling classes because I didn’t know what to do with myself. But my thighs are going to look really great in a few weeks.”

They already looked fabulous. “Would you like to come over for dinner?” I used to take her out all the time, but now it seemed like we both preferred the privacy of our homes. Now that everyone was talking about the wedding, I was avoiding cameras even more.

“Always. Just assume that’s my answer.”

I smiled. “Then get over here.”

“Should I pick up anything?”

“No.” Just her bare skin was more than enough.

She arrived fifteen minutes later, taking the elevator with the code I gave her. Now she could come up whenever she wanted. It was practically the same thing as giving her a key to my place. But if she ever needed somewhere to retreat, my penthouse was always open to her.

I greeted her with a kiss by the door and squeezed her petite waist. “I missed you today.”

“I missed you too.”

I would love to come home and see her every day. It was too soon to ask her to move in, but the idea of sharing my space with her didn’t scare me at all. It would be nice to have someone there all the time. It was one of the things I missed most about Isabella. There was always a hot dinner on the table and a warm smile on her lips when I walked in the door. When we were young, our kids would run around creating havoc all over the place, but I loved it.

“What’s for dinner?” she asked.

“My maid cooked up chicken and veggies.”

She grinned. “I’m gonna lose so much weight with you.”

“Not my intention. You’re perfect the way you are.”

“For such an aggressive man, you’re unnaturally sweet.”

“I’m just sweet to you. Trust me, you wouldn’t want to work with me.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right.”

Little did she know, I was about to be her new boss.

We sat down to dinner at the table and talked over our meal. I told her I hadn’t spoken to Diesel that week. He was hidden away from the world on his honeymoon. Brett and I had lunch yesterday, and I saw Jax on a daily basis. She told me about the guy her daughter was still seeing. Their relationship seemed to be getting serious.

“I’m going to start applying to new places this week.” She swirled her wine before she drank it. “One week away from work and I’m already bored out of my mind.” She chuckled then swirled her wine again.

I’d been waiting to tell her the news at a different time, but it looked like this was happening now. “Actually, I have a job offer for you.”

She shook her head and chuckled. “I appreciate that, Vincent. But I really don’t want to work for you. The idea of sleeping with my boss sounds like a bad idea.”

Hopefully, that wasn’t the case in this situation. “I wouldn’t be your boss. You would be the head of the company. I’d just be a private investor.”

She smiled like she thought this was all a joke. “If you’re going to pay to tie me to your headboard, you know I’ll do that for free.”

The idea was immediately arousing. “I bought Platform earlier this week. I made an offer that couldn’t be refused, and now it’s mine. I don’t intend to change anything about the way it’s run. And I want you to resume your position as the editor in chief. Run it the way you always have.”

She dropped her wineglass on the table, and the red contents spilled everywhere.

I threw my napkin on the table and captured the pool before it could spill onto the hardwood floor. I quickly contained it then turned my gaze back to her.

Scarlet was still stunned. “I…I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright. No harm done.”

She slowly found her voice again. “You really did that?”

I nodded.

“You bought my magazine?”

I nodded again. “It’s always good to diversify. I don’t have any assets in fashion publishing.”

“But Vincent… This is… There are no words.”

“You’ll take the job, right?”

She never answered the question. “I can always work somewhere else. There will always be a job out there.”

“Platform isn’t just a job to you. It’s so much more.”

“But that’s not your problem, Vincent. You didn’t need to do that. I’m not dating you so you can throw money at all my problems and make them go away.”

I didn’t throw money at Colin. “You’re the woman I love, Scarlet. I’m sorry, but I’m going to make every little pothole in the road disappear. I’m going to pave the way with a red carpet. Whatever you want, I’m going to make it happen. You will always be surrounded by my power and privilege everywhere you go, even if I’m nowhere in sight. You are now royalty in New York City. I hope you don’t turn down my offer just to make a point. I know you love me for me, not for the things I can do for you. But if you really want me, you’re going to have to learn to accept my generosity.”

She grabbed my glass of wine from across the table and took a long drink. Her eyes slowly faded from shock to conflicted calm. She took another drink, savoring the taste on her tongue.

I continued to stare at her.

“I really love Platform… I don’t want to say no.”

“Then don’t. It’s yours.”

“Vincent…” She pushed the glass back. “I don’t know what to say.”

“You don’t need to say anything. I love you, and I will give you the world every chance I get.”

“I know…but I can’t believe how lucky I am. You could have any woman in the world, but you chose me. I’ve never been really loved by a man. I’ve never been treated with such respect and adoration. It’s unfortunate that I finally found the right man so late in life, but I’m thankful that I found you at all.”

I found her hand and squeezed it. “I’m lucky too. You’ve been so patient with me.”

“Because you were worth waiting for,” she whispered.

I’d been with a lot of women who didn’t mean anything to me. I never wanted to actually care about someone else. I wanted to wait until I was well enough to truly adore someone the way I adored my wife. And now she was here. “You were worth the wait too.”

Her eyes softened. “Of course, I want that job.”

“Then it’s yours. I just want to make some changes.”

“Such as?”

“I want you to model a line of clothes for women your age. And have models your age as well, women who are beautiful without all the plastic surgery. We should make a fashion line that embraces an aging woman with elegance and beauty.”

She smiled. “I think that’s a great idea.”

“Then let’s do it.”

“I’m going to enjoy working with you. You didn’t get to the top without being the smartest man in the world.”

“Actually, I’m not at the top anymore. Diesel is.” I smiled with pride.

“And I know where he learned it from…” She grabbed the cloth napkin on the table and finished cleaning up. “Sorry about this. I’m not a clumsy person. I was just—”

“It’s fine. Really.” I grabbed the napkin and set it to the side. “We’ll clean it up later.”

“You really do let me get away with anything.”

“Pretty much.”

She refilled her wineglass and focused on eating again.

Now that I finished telling her one surprise, I had to move on to the next. She would probably be annoyed by what I did, but I didn’t feel bad about it. Colin needed to know he’d made enemies with the most powerful man in the world. He thought he could take advantage of Scarlet because she was a small woman, but he didn’t anticipate that she would one day stand behind the strongest man in the city. Should have been more careful. “There’s something else I need to tell you. But you aren’t going to be happy about it.”

“That sounds ominous…what is it?”

“I had a little talk with Colin.”

She did a double take, clearly surprised that I even knew his first name. She never told me any of that information.

I set my fork down and waited for her anger to rise.

“You…what?”

“I went by his bar in Brooklyn.”

“And how did you know any of that? I never mentioned it…”

“The second you told me what he did, I had a guy dig into him. Got all the information I needed then confronted him.”

“Oh no…” She dropped her fork. “Vincent…what were you thinking?”

“I just gave him a warning.”

“He hasn’t bothered me in eight years. He’s not an issue anymore.”

“I don’t care if he’s an issue or not.” I couldn’t keep my suave coolness anymore. My anger was frothing like hot milk in an espresso machine. “He tortured you because he thought he could get away with it. Now he’s paying the price. Now he’s made enemies with a bully a hundred times stronger…and I’m gonna make him walk on eggshells for the rest of his life. I threatened to kill him if he ever came near you again.”

She covered her face with her hands. “Vincent…he’s the father of my child.”

“He won’t mention it to her.”

“What if he does?”

No man would admit he was a pussy to his daughter. “Trust me, he won’t.”

“And he hasn’t bothered me in—”

“I don’t give a shit. That fucker will pay for what he did to you. Giving him chronic anxiety is how I attempt to do that—in a nonviolent matter. I would have just paid men to jump him, but out of respect for your daughter, I didn’t.”

“Vincent, if you want my daughter to like you, this isn’t the way to accomplish that.”

I wanted her respect, but I had to put Scarlet first. “You need to tell her what really happened. She has the right to know.”

She quickly looked away. “I can’t do that, Vincent.”

“Yes, you can. You’re letting her believe a lie.”

“I don’t want her to hate her father.”

“She should hate her father and forgive him in her own time. He has to face the consequences of his actions. This isn’t about getting her to like me. This is the right thing to do. Have you ever been worried what he might do to her?”

She shook her head. “He would never hurt her. He’s only like that with women he ‘loves.’”

“She needs to know, Scarlet. You can tell her, or he can tell her.”

“Colin will be the last person to mention it.”

I narrowed my eyes. “He’s a puppet on the string, and I’m the master. If you want him to tell her, I can make it happen. That little bitch is under my thumb now.”

“I don’t know…”

“It would be better coming from him,” I said. “She’ll know it’s the truth, and she might be more likely to forgive him since he brought it up to her on his own terms. He waited ten years to do it…but at least he’s doing it.”

She dragged her hands down her face. “Maybe I shouldn’t have told you…”

I could admit I’d done something irrational, but when it came to Scarlet, I was fiercely protective and aggressive. She’d become one of the most important people in my life, and I had to make sure she was safe. “You did the right thing, Scarlet. If we don’t address this now, there’s no reason why he won’t bother you again.”

“If he did, I’d break his ribs again with a bat,” she threatened.

“And I’d rather you not deal with that all. Your daughter is living a lie, and it’s very important to me that she likes me…or at least accepts me. If she’s still upset because she thinks you gave up on your marriage too easily, I’ll never stand a chance. I know my sons like you, and I want her to like me.”

She stared at me solemnly. “I want her to like you too.”

“And you know that’s very unlikely.”

She gave a nod.

“So how do you want to do this? Do you want him to tell her? Or do you want to do it?”

She considered it for a long time. “I think we should do it together—as a family.”

My eyes narrowed. “I don’t want him anywhere near you.”

“I understand that. But this is a family matter. She’s our daughter, and I want to work through it. She’ll be upset with him, but I want her to know that I want her to forgive him.”

I was stunned by her response. No other woman would feel that way about her ex-husband. The fact that she wanted to preserve their relationship was a testament to her commitment to motherhood. She didn’t care about herself, only her daughter.

It reminded me of Isabella.

“Have you forgiven him?” I asked.

“He’s never apologized.”

“But you want her to forgive him.”

“I don’t have any connection to him. He’s her father…it’s completely different.”

I might not agree with all of that, but I had to respect it. If I’d ever raised a hand to Isabella, I’d have expected all of my sons to defend her and turn their backs on me. I’d have expected them to make me pay for what I did. But we had different philosophies. “How do you want to do this, then?”

“I’ll call him.”

“No, I want to be there. If I’m present, it’ll make this process a lot smoother.”

Scarlet must have known that was the best compromise she would find, because she agreed. “Alright.”

---

We walked into the bar and headed to the counter. Scarlet walked with her hand held in mind, not the least bit afraid coming face-to-face with her former attacker. She knew I was there to protect her, but she also knew she could break his ribs again if she needed to.

Colin spotted me immediately and tensed behind the counter with obvious fear.

That’s right, bitch.

I got to the counter and stared him down.

He didn’t even notice his ex-wife until then. He took his time wiping down the mug he was holding before he finally walked over to us. Both hands rested against the counter, and he stared at us timidly.

I never took my eyes off him.

“Colin.” Scarlet walked up to him, a woman far too classy to be inside this dirty bar.

He stayed silent.

“I think it’s time we told Lizzie what really happened between us.”

He heaved a deep sigh, full of anger and aggression that he couldn’t act on. “And I have to cooperate, otherwise, I’ll get stuffed in a dumpster?”

“Not quite,” she said. “I can tell her on my own, or we can tell her together. You have a choice.”

He bowed his head, his left hand still gripping the rag. “Scar, I—”

“Her name is Scarlet.” He lost any privilege to call her by a nickname.

He didn’t look at me. “We haven’t spoken in…eight years. That’s a long time.”

“Yes,” she said. “And it’s been nice.”

The corner of my mouth rose in a smile.

“I have a girlfriend now,” he said. “We share an apartment together here in Brooklyn. I really like her and want to ask her to marry me.”

“I don’t see what that has to do with this,” she said gently.

“I mention it because…I’ve thought a lot over the past eight years.” His eyes moved to the surface of the bar. “The way I acted…the way I treated you…it was wrong. I hate myself for what I did. I’m a lot different than I used to be. With Mary, I’m different. I wish I could have been that way to you, and I’m sorry I wasn’t. I didn’t know how to control my anger, and…there’s no excuse. I shouldn’t even bother trying to justify my behavior.”

Scarlet was clearly speechless.

“I was in the hospital for a few days because of my broken ribs.” He spoke quietly so the other patrons in the bar couldn’t hear him. “That gave me a lot of time to think. I couldn’t believe I broke in to your apartment and I was waiting for you. I wasn’t even sure what I was trying to do. It was a reality check for me. It made me realize I didn’t want to be that guy… I never want to be that guy again.”

“I appreciate your saying that,” Scarlet whispered.

“Lizzie is my whole world,” he continued. “I don’t want her to hate me for what I did, especially since I’m not that guy anymore. If we tell her…she’ll never forgive me.”

“That’s too damn bad,” I snapped.

Scarlet turned to me and placed her hand on my forearm. “Vincent, please.”

I sighed and shut my mouth.

She turned back to Colin. “She’ll forgive you. She’ll need a few months to let it go, but I know she will. That’s why we should tell her together. I want her to forgive you, and I’ll tell her that myself. I love the relationship you two have. I don’t want you to lose it either.”

He bowed his head and sighed, gripping the counter at the same time. “God, I’m dreading this…”

“I am too,” Scarlet said. “But she thinks I’m the reason we aren’t together. I want her to meet Vincent and give him a chance. Anytime I introduced her to a man I was seeing, she wouldn’t give him the time of day. And I know it’s because of you.”

He nodded.

“And I’m going to spend the rest of my life with Vincent. I need her to like him.”

All the anger I felt immediately disappeared from my body. I turned to her, feeling my heart swell to twice its size. My fingertips felt warm, and my entire body flushed with the comfortable heat. I stared at the side of her face, touched by her words.

“You’re engaged?” Colin whispered.

“No,” Scarlet said. “I don’t know if we’ll ever get married, but he’s the man I love. I want our daughter to love him too. He’s not going anywhere, and I’m certainly not going anywhere either.”

My hand moved to the small of her back, and I rested it there, reacting to her statement in silence.

“So, how do you want to do this?” Scarlet asked. “You want me to tell her?”

“No,” Colin said quietly. “Let’s do it together…and hope for the best.”