It had been two weeks after Nadine's marriage announcement when Anthony decided he would go behind Christy's back and contact her childhood nanny, Litzy. He was going to talk to her about Christy and the depression that seemed to be overwhelming her. He wanted to ask Litzy if she would consider moving back to the Naples area. But first, he would need to know as much about her as possible before deciding on the best means to lure her back to South Florida. He'd tasked X with having Grizz's man, Axel, gather as much information as he could on Litzy Ramirez. Axel not only managed the car theft operation, but he had connections that provided detailed background checks.

In the meantime, Anthony knew he couldn't entice Christy with anything monetary, but he could do the next best thing. He could keep her busy to take her mind off Nadine's upcoming move. It wasn't hard. Even though the management of her estate and trust fund was solid, having Vivian declared legally dead caused some complications and he'd accompanied Christy to more meetings with attorneys than he’d cared to. Soon, Christy would be called on to manage the dealerships, or at least make decisions as to who she would want to oversee them. Anthony thought the janitor could've done a better job than Van had been doing. Still, he was surprised when she suggested Valerie, Bobbi's longtime friend and original administrative assistant.

"I'm sure there are people better qualified for the job, Christy," he told her. "And isn't she Bobbi's age? Wasn't she visiting retirement communities when you called last year trying to find Van?"

"She certainly could retire, but she's not Bobbi's age," Christy told him. "My grandmother was in her forties when she opened her first dealership. She hired Valerie right out of high school—she was more than twenty years younger than Bobbi. Who better to manage the dealerships than someone who knows my family inside and out? Someone who’d been at Bobbi's side since the beginning?"

Anthony nodded, seeing some wisdom in her suggestion. Changing the subject, he burst out with a suggestion of his own. "I think it's time to clear out your apartment."

It hadn't gone unnoticed that other than her clothes and a shoebox of mementos, Christy had brought nothing of hers to his house. He was secretly grateful because he couldn't see her white furniture fitting anywhere in his ranch house.

"Why do I need to clean it out?" she asked.

"I know it's probably nothing to you, but I don't see why you should waste your rent on an apartment you don't use." He paused before adding, "You could bring some or all of your furniture here." He practically choked out the last words and she smiled.

"I don't want anything from my apartment, Anthony. Besides, looking back now, all that white was so depressing."

"You mean you don't prefer white?" he asked. He was certain that his dark and masculine tastes grated on her sense of style.

"I never preferred white. It just made decorating simple." She looked up at him with a sad smile. "After Abby died and Litzy moved away, my life was void of color until Nadine showed up.” She looked down shyly before adding, “And until you came along, Anthony."

He smiled back at her. He was glad that she found her way back to color and that he had something to do with it. Especially since some of her vibrant artwork gave his home a warm and cozy feeling. He smiled inwardly, trying to recall a time he had ever used, let alone thought of, the word “cozy.” Probably never.

"So, how about we clean out your apartment, plug that small leak and leave it open for someone else to rent?"

"It's not a priority and I don't need to plug a leak. I don't pay rent," she told him, brushing him off.

"What does your landlady—what was her name, Evelyn? What does she think about you not paying rent?" he asked.

"She's not my landlord. She's the complex manager. I own the development."

"Of course you do," he answered wryly.

Another three weeks passed during which time Nadine was married in a quiet and simple ceremony. Christy begged her to let the children and Nana come stay with her and Anthony while the couple enjoyed a quick honeymoon, but as much as Nadine wanted to give Christy that time with her sons, they had opted to use the time for their move instead.

She'd been moping around the house when Anthony convinced her to take a ride with him to Alexander's condominium. X had finally received some background on Litzy and to provide a distraction for Christy, Anthony persuaded her to ride along.

“What do you need to pick up?” she asked, but her tone told him she didn’t really care.

“Paperwork,” he answered, knowing she wouldn’t pry further.

They parked their Harley next to Alexander's and strode hand in hand to the stairwell, choosing exercise over the elevator to his fourth-floor condo. Once inside, Christy stepped out onto the balcony and leaned on the railing. The ocean breeze felt good on her warm skin and she thought about how dishonest she'd been with Anthony. Maybe it was time for her to end this charade. Maybe it was time for them to have a child, to have a legal and binding marriage that would be recognized as such by the state of Florida. She had no right to be doing what she was doing behind his back. Yes, I do, her conscience chided. I should have some say-so in my own life. And if he knew my reason behind it, he would be thanking me.

She turned around and watched the man she was so in love with take a brown envelope from Alexander. Anthony didn't open it but tucked it inside his leather jacket. A sharp rap at the door startled all three of them.

Christy opened the glass slider and listened as two men identified themselves as police officers. After ascertaining who Alexander was, Christy heard the shorter of the two men say, "Alexander David Wright, you are under arrest for murder."

Alexander didn't resist as the other man spun him around and placed him in handcuffs.

"You will be extradited back to Pennsylvania where you will be tried in a court of law. You have the right to remain silent..."