Free Pandora's Box (previously Worth the Wait, a Zebra print best seller) by Kat Attalla Page B

too.”
    “Do I have to deal with you?”
    “Only when it comes time to sign the commission checks. I’m away quite often on business. It’s not a regular insurance company. We’re a reinsurance company. We deal with big corporations, underwriting their very large policies.”
    “I guess that blows any chance of getting a break on car insurance. I’ll have to pass on the red Ferrari.”
    “I understand from Erik that you couldn’t afford new clutches every month.”
    Charlie shrugged and took a bite of her eggs. Remembering her attempt at learning how to drive a stick shift, she smiled. “My baby brother has a big mouth.”
    “You’re very fond of Erik.”
    “Erik is the only person I’ve ever loved. Although I nearly killed him when he introduced himself. I was so angry when I found out he was . . .” She cut off her sentence and gave her attention to her food.
    “Was what?”
    “Nothing.” Foolishly, she was relaxing and letting too much slip. She took another bite of her food and let out sighs of approval. “The eggs are delicious.”
    “I’m going to find out anyway. Eventually, I’m going to know about my little brother’s big sister.”
    “Then he should tell you.”
    “I’d like you to tell me.”
    Charlie swallowed hard. She wasn’t sure how much Erik wanted him to know. “He pays my tuition. While I was attending Ohio State, I got offered a scholarship here. I thought it was strange since I hadn’t applied for one, but the dean told me that it wasn’t unusual because of my grades, so I accepted.”
    “I wondered what he cashed those bonds for, but I didn’t ask.”
    “How did you know he took the money? He said he didn’t tell anyone.”
    “It showed up at income tax time.”
    “I’m going to pay him back,” she said quickly and a bit too defensively.
    “That’s not my business. It’s Erik’s money. That’s between you and him.”
    “I don’t want you to think that I—”
    He cut her off. “I don’t think anything, Charlie. You’re entitled to it.”
    “No, I’m not. Peter Lawson never acknowledged me as his daughter and I don’t consider him my father. You were more his child than I ever was.”
    “I’m sorry.”
    Charlie shoved the plate away. “I’m not blaming you. I’m angry. With my mother. With your mother. Peter Lawson. You name ’em, I’m angry with ’em.”
    “You can’t go around being mad at the world. I know you have good reason, but you’ll only make yourself sick.”
    She paused and gave his words serious thought. “What do I replace it with? It’s the only thing I feel. If I take away the anger, then I feel nothing at all.”
    “You replace it with trust.”
    Charlie almost laughed. She had learned the hard way that it wasn’t worth the cost. “I don’t trust anybody but myself.”
    Damian cupped her chin between his thumb and forefinger and tilted her head back. A single tear slid down her lovely face. Such beauty filled with so much pain. “It’s no way to live, Charlie.”
    “It’s a way to survive.”
    “Is that all you want?”
    “It’s all I get.” Her soft words were uttered with heartbreaking acceptance.
    She deserved so much more. What she had been through never should have happened. He wanted to give her the life she should have had all along. If only he could reach beyond the emotional barriers she had erected and free the guarded heart inside. “You’re wrong. You can have it all.”
    “People like you get it all, Damian. And you never appreciate it when you have it.”
    “I don’t agree.”
    “What do you want that you don’t already have? Statistically, your life isn’t even half over and there’s nothing left you haven’t done. How much higher can you go in your company? You’ve traveled all over the world. Your car is something most people only dream of. What’s left?”
    His suggestive grin sent a hot flush through her entire body. “I could name one thing right off the top of my head, but I