What Matters Most: The Billionaire Bargains, Book 2 (21 page)

Tony processed the information as they gave it. His sweet, sexy wife had some baggage. This was interesting. It was probably stuff that would come up during the development of a relationship. Say around date six or so. Clearly, they hadn’t had time to delve into everything in their backgrounds. “And let me guess,” Tony said. “She worries about him and her sister and tries to fix everything.”

Like she was trying to fix him. She was trying to make him better, showing him the real world and all. She was generous and kind and—

Connie snorted first, but Vincent laughed out loud and Holly just shook her head.

“You really don’t know her at all, do you, man?” Vincent asked.

Okay, he was missing something. “What do you mean?”

“Reese is a total ballbuster,” the big man told him.

“Wh—” Tony started.

“What he means,” Holly said, “is that Reese doesn’t let people slide and she doesn’t believe in taking care of people.”

Tony frowned. Reese was a ballbuster? He kind of liked kind and generous better.

“She has tried to help Brittney and Sebastian over and over,” Sylvia said. “She loves them and she wants them to take care of themselves. But she doesn’t take care of them. She doesn’t give handouts and she doesn’t bail people out.”

“I don’t understand,” Tony finally said. “She seems so sweet.”

“But feisty,” Vincent pointed out. “You said it yourself. She’s all about hard work and making yourself better and making a difference.”

“Don’t get me wrong,” Holly said. “Reese is absolutely the first person I call if I’m in trouble.”

“Because she’ll help you,” Tony said. He really liked the image of compassionate, empathetic Reese. He wanted to be married to a sweet do-gooder. He hadn’t spent a lot of time with people he would describe that way.

The only person he really knew that he would call compassionate and empathetic was his sister-in-law, Jaden. She would do anything for the people she loved and she put her whole self into the things she did. She was a great person. But she was definitely a ballbuster.

And Tony had been envisioning Reese just like that but…sweeter. There was that word again.

“She’ll tell me how to help myself,” Holly said. “For example, if I had a flat tire and called her, she wouldn’t come get me, but she’d talk me through how to change it over the phone or look up the numbers for tow trucks for me.”

“We’re all perfect examples, actually,” Vincent said. “I’m her nanny.” He pointed at Holly. “I take care of the kids and she cooks for me.”

Tony looked from the kids to the big guy. “You’re the nanny? Because of Reese?”

“I was working only part time and having trouble making ends meet,” he said. “She had invited all of us over for dessert and we all got to talking and she somehow led us down that path without us even realizing it. Pretty soon, Holly and I were talking about how we could help each other out. I take the daycare burden and cost away from her, she takes the cooking burden and grocery cost away from me.”

“And are you…involved?” Tony asked, wondering if his wife was a subtle matchmaker.

They both laughed. “No, we just help each other out,” Holly said.

“We all help each other out,” Sylvia said. “Holly works long shifts, so Connie and I clean her place, do the laundry and dishes and things, and she takes us to doctor’s appointments and keeps our car clean and maintained and things like that.”

“And they come to our school programs sometimes,” one of the girls piped up from the little table where they were finishing their dinner.

Sylvia smiled. “We’re adopted grandmothers. We go to the school programs even when Holly can make it.”

“And we take those kids to church with us too,” Connie said. She shook her head. “And give them chores when they misbehave.”

“They make us watch
Little House on the Prairie
,” the younger girl said, wrinkling her nose. “They make us watch lots of old shows.”

“Those shows are good for you,” Connie told her.

“But we all like
Frozen
,” the older girl said with a smile.

Connie even smiled at that. “We definitely do.”

Tony had no idea what
Frozen
was, but it was clear that the relationship between the older ladies and the young kids was one of mutual affection. Obviously, laundry and car repairs were not the only things these people were exchanging. They were friends. Because of Reese.

“Reese helped us all find solutions to some of our problems, but she didn’t do it for us,” Holly said. “She’s got this way of making you want to work it out for yourself and make her proud.”

That
Tony could relate to. He wanted to be someone Reese wanted to be with, someone worthy of her. And now that was sounding a little more challenging than he’d thought it would be. Terrific. He didn’t really do challenges. If a business negotiation was getting complicated, he walked away. If a poker game was going south, he knew when to fold. There were always other deals and other games. He was not at risk for going gray early or developing an ulcer, that was for sure.

But he couldn’t do that with Reese. Because there wouldn’t be another one of her coming along. Ever.

“And what happens if you don’t live up to her expectations?” he asked. “Like when her brother disappears and then shows up again? She’s pretty forgiving?”

Not that he had intentions of not living up to her expectations, but…well, if she
wasn’t
sweet and accommodating and forgiving, then he might be in a little trouble.

They all chuckled again.

Not a good sign.

“No,” Vincent said. “I wouldn’t say that she’s forgiving, exactly. She’s tough and she doesn’t have a lot of tolerance for bullshit.”

Yeah, Tony was in trouble.

“But,” Sylvia interjected, “she’s also the first one any of us go to for advice. She’s upfront and honest and smart.”

“And she’s really good at reading people too,” Holly said, studying him. “She’s picked up on things about all of us that surprise us at times.”

Tony felt relieved at that, actually. If she was good at reading people, maybe she already knew that he was mostly full of shit. He didn’t have many tells and was pretty good at covering that, but he had a feeling that if anyone could get past his defenses, it would be Reese.

“She’s also the first one to tell you that you did something great,” Vincent said. “She’s the first one to give encouragement and it means a lot from her because you know you can trust it.”

“There’s no bullshit with her,” Connie agreed. “You get what you see.”

And that made him feel good again. If that was true, then Reese really was crazy about him. He got to her. He could tell. She might want to walk away and chalk him up as a drunken Vegas fling, but it wasn’t that easy for her.

He could work with that.

Holly’s phone rang and she glanced at it and then indicated she was going to take the call in the hallway.

The moving guys were finally finished bringing his stuff in and Tony signed off on the bottom of their paperwork, tipped them and shut the door behind them.

“So she’s kind of a hardass about people working hard and taking responsibility for themselves,” Tony said, moving back into the kitchen area.

“And I think you could be really good for her,” Sylvia said.

Tony liked her best of all of Reese’s neighbors and friends. “How so?”

“You’ve got a lot of money and you ooze charm,” Syl said. “You need to sweep her off her feet.”

Okay, now they were talking. “I like this so far,” Tony told her. “Go on.”

“Reese has this pauper thing going,” Sylvia said.

“Pauper thing?” he repeated.

“Oh, yeah, that’s a good description,” Vincent said. “She’s very conservative with money. She works hard, gives a lot of it away and never splurges.”

“It’s annoying as hell,” Connie said.

Tony looked at her, amused. “Annoying?”

“Be nice, Connie,” Sylvia said.

“That girl can make you feel bad about supersizing your soda,” Connie said. “It’s ridiculous.”

“She has a problem with the unequal distribution of wealth in the US,” Vincent explained.

Ah. Well, that would be interesting dinner conversation some night, Tony was sure.

“But she also believes in working for what you have,” Sylvia said, defending Reese. “She doesn’t believe in handouts or favors at all.”

Vincent nodded his agreement.

“Well, she never has any fun,” Connie said. “And it’s annoying. She’s young and healthy and vibrant. She should be going out and having a good time and enjoying her life. She needs stories to tell when she’s old.”

“Like your stories?” Vincent asked with a grin. “These two have some doozies,” he said to Tony.

“We do,” Connie said with a touch of pride. “And I wouldn’t trade any of them for a million dollars in the bank.”

“Well, with Tony, Reese can have stories
and
a million dollars in the bank,” Sylvia said, smiling at him fondly. “You’re just what Reese needs. You can give her security but also a good time.”

Yep, Sylvia was definitely his favorite. He was just what Reese needed.

It was almost pathetic how much he loved that.

“You told him about my family?” Reese asked Holly over the phone. She couldn’t believe it. Holly, Vincent, Syl and Connie were at her place telling Tony all about her. This was way worse than if he’d thrown a party.

“He’s soaking it all up,” Holly said. “It’s like he’s never been more interested in anything in his life.”

That made Reese feel…funny. It was a combination of dread and giddiness. Tony was really interested in her? Interested in her beyond how to make her beg in bed and what her favorite drink was? That was nice, she supposed, considering they were
married
and all.

“I don’t know what to do with him,” Reese confided to her friend.

Holly and her kids had lived down the hall from Reese for two years. The women had gotten along right away and Reese loved Holly’s kids. Her neighbors on the third floor were like a little adopted family. They’d all been there for the wedding debacle, with the exception of Holly, who’d had to work. Reese had wanted to make the other woman a bridesmaid, but she’d known it would be a burden on Holly to miss work for not only the wedding, but for the engagement party and the bridal shower and the bridesmaids’ brunch and the bachelorette party and the rehearsal dinner…and frankly, all of the hoopla that had surrounded the engagement and wedding. Reese would have asked her mother to cover Holly’s dress, shoes, jewelry and hair, but Holly would have hated that. And Holly would have insisted on getting her gifts for everything. It had been hard, but she’d talked to Holly about it and Holly had been relieved to pass on the bridesmaid gig.

“What to do with him?” Holly asked. “Honey, I can definitely give you some ideas in that area.”

Reese laughed. She couldn’t believe she was still sitting in Salt Lake City. She would have loved to be there to see Tony with her friends. And vice versa. “I don’t mean like that.” She had many, many ideas about things to do with Tony.

“Well, I can sum up what you should do with him in one word—and I mean this in the bedroom and out,” Holly said. “Enjoy.”

Reese sighed. Holly knew her better than that. “It’s not that easy.”

“Why not? The man is hot, rich and crazy about you. Easy.”

“I don’t really do things easy.”

Easy made her nervous. Easy made her…edgy. Things that mattered required work. She knew that. She’d seen it over and over again in her life and in the lives of others. Things that came easy were hard to trust. And they didn’t tend to stick around for long.

“You don’t,” Holly agreed. “And that’s why I’ve decided that Tony Steele is exactly what you need. You need to cut loose, have fun and do things just because they feel good. There have been other men in your life who would have helped you do those things if you had let them, but I don’t think there’s ever been a guy who could
make you
do those things. Until now.”

Reese opened her mouth to ask Holly what she was talking about, but she shut it without saying a word. Because she knew what Holly was talking about. There had been other guys who would have been a good time if Reese had let them, but she’d pushed them away. And they’d gone. People who left easily were better off gone in her experience. The guys she’d been serious about—including her recently ex-fiancé—were less fun-loving and more responsible. Of course, now she knew the serious, determined vibe about Jeff was because he’d needed to marry her to please his father. Still, that sense of purpose about him had been appealing.

Tony Steele was a crazy, tempting combination of all of those things—fun-loving but focused. He took his fun seriously.

She’d tried pushing him away. And he was now living in her apartment and eating mac and cheese with her rag-tag adopted family.