Her words made no sense. How could she even pretend that he could stop? “Don’t you understand?” he asked with all sincerity. “I can’t. You know from your prison delivery that I’ve been watching you for a very long time.”

“And I think it’s beyond creepy. Why? Tell me why. You didn’t answer my question before.”

The tension in his jaw severed as the corner of his lips inched upward. “Creepy? I’ve been called many things, but I think that’s the first time someone has called me creepy.”

“To your face,” she retorted.

His grin felt foreign after the tension of the past few hours; nevertheless, it was real. In a matter of seconds, Claire had taken him from fury to fancy. Her ability both amazed and scared him. “Touché. That may be true.”

“I guarantee it. Now, if you’re going to burst into my hotel room, answer my question. I don’t owe you answers if you’re not going to give them to me.”

He looked toward the sofa and back to Claire. “If you’re asking me questions, does that mean you aren’t throwing me out?”

Her arms folded across her chest, and her lips pursed as she contemplated. Finally, she said, “I don’t recall ever having the ability to throw you out of anywhere. Maybe times do change?”

“People change, too,” he murmured as he sat. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. “Are you expecting company?”

“I ordered wine from room service.”

When she peered through the peephole, he smirked, “That must be why you opened the door earlier. You obviously didn’t look the last time.”

“You’re right; it’s a habit I need to work on.”

He exhaled and leaned his head against the plush upholstery. It’d been one long day, and he didn’t see it ending anytime soon. When he looked up, Claire was signing the receipt and handing the waiter a tip. In the past, he’d always been the one to handle everything. Sitting back and watching was odd, yet surprisingly refreshing. Before the waiter left, he opened the bottle. Tony nodded when the waiter looked in his direction. How did the two of them appear to this man? A husband and wife? A couple dating? A man on the verge of insanity and the woman who put him there? For once, Tony didn’t care.

Tony started to stand when Claire’s gaze captured his attention. She was giggling—giggling? He shook his head and asked, “Did you order two glasses?”

Through muffled laughter, she replied, “No, but since they’re here, would you like some Merlot?”

He stepped toward her. “You know, you’re the only person who can have me pissed off one minute and completely dazzled the next. Why are you laughing?”

Claire shook her head. “I don’t know, shock, absurdity? It seems I never know what’s coming. As much as I plan, I’m continually blown away.”

Tony poured wine and spoke without a filter. He’d spent much of the past five hours recalling their past; the wine returned one particular scene to his mind. Handing her a glass, he asked, “Do you remember when we had wine at the Red Wing?”

Claire closed her eyes and nodded. “I do.”

“I’d been watching you for years. I was so nervous that night. I thought I was planning your acquisition.” He looked into his glass. Was it the wine that was making him confess or his need for Claire to understand? Either way, it was liberating.

“If you’re using business metaphors, may I suggest hostile takeover. It’s more appropriate.”

He took a sip of wine and exhaled. “Yes, Claire.” Standing close, he looked solemnly down into her emerald eyes. “And I have apologized for that.” He paused for a moment, silently encouraging himself to go further, to tell her exactly what he was thinking. “What I didn’t know, as we sat talking, despite all my research, was you. I mean, I knew everything about you.” He shook his head reflectively, walked back to the sofa, and sat down. “Yet, I didn’t know you. Truthfully, at first, I had no desire to.”

“Oh, really? Because I recall some pretty up-close-and-personal contact.”

Tony smirked. She wasn’t going to make this easy. “Yes, I wanted that. I didn’t want to know you—the real you. I fought it for months, but you were this light that kept sucking me in. It wasn’t supposed to be that way. We weren’t supposed to happen.”

“What was supposed to happen?”

He shuddered at the fleeting thought of Claire being another name crossed off of their list. Even before he knew the depth of his feelings, Tony knew he never wanted that. “Well, the takeover was supposed to stop you. I never expected anyone to flourish under such circumstances.” She eyed him suspiciously, yet all he saw was the strongest, most beautiful woman he’d ever known. “You didn’t just flourish, you conquered.” He took another drink of his liquid courage, though he’d rather it have been bourbon. “I’ve continually underestimated you, or perhaps I should say, you’ve continually exceeded my expectations. You still do. You’re the only person who has ever derailed me, and more than anyone, you know me, not Anthony Rawlings—me.”

“The real you. Would that be Anton?”

Something in his chest clenched. It wasn’t the anger he’d been feeling earlier; this was painful and solemn. He detested hearing that name from her lips. He exhaled. “I suppose, yes, but not anymore. I had it legally changed. So, you see, I didn’t lie. My legal name is Anthony Rawlings, and it has been for a long time.”