Rory didn’t want to blush, but she couldn’t help it. The memory of how it felt to be in Zeke’s arms was too strong. Tony stared deep into her eyes and looked as though she had just kicked him in the gut.
“Gawd, Rory. You didn’t let him kiss you?”
Rory wished she could glare back at him with defiance, even deny it. Instead she said, “That’s really none of your business, Tony.”
He whirled away from her and slammed his fist against the wall. “Damn it!” he choked. “I don’t care how rich or powerful the bastard is. I’m going back there and break his face.”
“Don’t be so silly. You will do no such thing. Honestly, Tony, you are worse than my Da ever would have been. Sometimes I think you have been trying to take his place.”
“No, it’s not your father I want to be.’ He was regarding her with that hungry look again, the one that made Rory hurt for him and want to shake him as well.
Please, Tony, don’t. Don’t say anymore, she begged silently. Seeking any kind of distraction, she yanked open the desk drawer and produced a well-worn ledger book. But it was impossible to make sense of any of the rows of neatly inked figures, not with Tony hovering over her desk, his hands jammed into his pockets.
“We have more important things to worry about than Zeke Morrison,” she said. “Like how I am going to pay the rent on this warehouse. I don’t suppose you collected our fee from Mr. Dutton before you came looking for me yesterday?”
“No, I didn’t. Since I was expecting to find you dashed to pieces all over New York, the money somehow slipped my mind. But I guess you can always have another go at that rich friend of yours.” The bitterness in Tony’s voice was as scalding as acid.When she didn’t reply, he demanded, “Are you going to see him again?”
“Who?”
“You know damn well who. That Morrison.”
It would have been so easy to set Tony’s mind at rest, assure him that she never expected to keep company with Zeke again. Hadn’t she already decided as much? Instead she surprised herself by murmuring, “I don’t know.”
“Don’t you ever read the papers, Rory? The World calls him the mysterious millionaire. Everyone wonders where he came from, how he got his money.”
“Not everyone. I never gave it much thought.” Rory tried to sound indifferent, yet she could already feel herself begin to tense, ready to rush to Zeke’s defense, and Tony had not even accused the man of anything yet.
But Tony was working up to it. He braced both hands on the desk and leaned over her, glowering, “You might be interested to hear that Angelo knows this fellow who says that Morrison?—”
“Doesn’t Angelo always know someone? Your brother is a worse busybody than Miss Flanagan.”
“Angelo knows this fellow name of Julio from the old neighborhood,” Tony said, raising his voice to drown her out. “And Julio says there’s nothing mysterious about Morrison. He’s nothing but a bum that used to work down on the docks, an orphan kid who ate out of garbage cans and picked pockets until he was adopted by this widow.”
“How many dockworkers do you know that could earn enough money to live on Fifth Avenue?”
“None that could do it honestly. Julio also said?—”
“Oh, stop it, Tony!” Rory slammed the ledger book closed. “I don’t care what Julio says. And as for you and Angelo, I think you could find better use for your time than to gossip like acouple of old hens. I begin to wonder what I am paying the lot of you for.”
Tony straightened, a bright flush stealing beneath his olive skin. “You don’t have to pay me for nothing anymore ‘cause I quit.”
“Good!”
Spinning on his heel, he stomped toward the door. Their arguments always ended this way.. If she didn’t end up by firing Tony, he would resign. But he always came back; they always patched up their disagreement.
Somehow it felt different this time as the door slammed shut behind Tony. Their quarrels had always been over trivial matters, mostly concerning some aspect of the balloon company. Tony had never left her looking as hurt as he was angry.
She should go after him. She rose from the desk and had started across the room when the door was flung violently open. Tony stood framed on the threshold, his rage fading, but the beseeching look he wore was far worse.
“I’m sorry, Rory. I don’t mean to make you mad at me. You know I wouldn’t be saying all these things if I didn’t care so much about you.”
“I know you do. Why don’t we just forget this whole thing and?—”
Her heart sank with dismay when he caught up her hands in a hard grip. “Rory, I?—”
“Oh, no, Tony, please.” She tried to retreat, but she saw there was no stopping him this time.
“I love you, Rory. I always have.”
