family, Charles had neglected her. Ignored her. Prioritized every concern over and above his relationship with his wife. And when Cynthia, in her loneliness and frustration, had started spending more time away from home, trying to find friends and activities to fill the void left by her husband’s absence, Charles had turned into a possessive monster, constantly jealous and utterly convinced she was cheating on him.
It had all culminated in the fight that had led Charles to kick Judd and his mother out of the house. And that was the last Judd had seen of his father. There had been no phone calls. No letters. No visits. Charles had clearly washed his hands of both of them for the past twenty-five years.
And now, this was Judd’s chance to pay him back in kind for all the pain he and his mother had suffered. With the controlling interest in the company, Charles was placing the weapons right into his hands. Everything his mother had told him about the past had shown Charles up for a man who’d always put his business before his family. Judd knew exactly where to strike to cause the most pain, to exact the deepest satisfaction.
He needed time to think, to consolidate the plans burgeoning in his mind, but he had no doubt that he’d shortly be accepting his father’s offer. No doubt at all.
He looked over at Anna—his eyes raking over her and taking in the lustrous length of her hair, her exquisite beauty, her enticing feminine curves. She was all woman from the top of her head to the tips of her toes. Even now, as angry as he was, she still had the capacity to excite him, to incite within him the desire to possess her in every manner of the word.
A tug of regret pulled deep inside. His mother’s warning had done little to dim his attraction to Anna, but the letter had cast a whole new light on things. Maybe her reluctance to deliver it to him had its basis in something other than what she’d admitted. Maybe she was worried about what his entry back into his father’s life would do to affect her position there and what she stood to gain from Charles Wilson after his death. Charles had chosen her as his ambassador in his attempt at reunion, so he obviously trusted her implicitly. By her own admission she said she and the old man were close—that she cared for him deeply. How close, exactly? Were they lovers, as his mother suspected? If that was true, it would no doubt give him a double-edged sense of satisfaction when he eventually seduced her.
But as with everything else, it would wait until the time was perfectly right. For now, he wanted her away from The Masters’ and somewhere else, where she could do no harm.
He gestured to the food before them.
“Are you going to eat that?”
She shook her head. “I couldn’t, not now.”
“Let’s go, then.”
“Back to the vineyard?”
“To get your things, yes, and then to take you into the city.”
“The city?”
“To a hotel. It may surprise you, but funnily enough, I don’t want you around my family right now. My mother’s been through quite enough over the years without adding the insult of your presence.”
She flinched beneath his words, her face paling even more.
“Fine,” she replied tightly. “When will you let me know your decision about Charles?”
“In good time. You aren’t due to return to Auckland for another few days, is that correct?”
“Yes, on Friday morning.”
“I’ll let you know by then.”
Anna paced the terrace of her hotel room, her cell phone to her ear.
“I’m sorry, Charles. I screwed up. I should have just done what you told me to do.”
Charles was surprisingly philosophical.
“What’s done is done. It’s certainly no worse or better than what’s gone on before this. Let’s just hope he comes to his senses and comes home before it’s too late.”
Before it’s too late. Her heart squeezed. It wasn’t like Charles to be melodramatic. She knew he was deteriorating, but had he kept something from her? Was his health worse than even she suspected?
“I still can’t believe you’re prepared to go to those lengths to bring him home.”
“It’s his birthright, Anna. You know that as much as I do.”
“But what about Nicole? Have you talked to her about this yet?”
“I wasn’t going to say anything to her until he’s back and we know for certain he’s mine. Until then, it’s a moot point. And you’re not to say a word, either. You promised me, Anna.”
She sighed. “Yes, I know. I won’t say a word, but keeping the truth away from her is only going to hurt all of us.”
“Let me be the judge of that.”
“And the house, Charles. Why the house, too? You’re talking about taking Nicole’s home right out from under her feet.”
“Yours, too,” he reminded her with a surprisingly curt note in his voice. “But I will have to trust him to do the right thing and to continue to provide the two of you with a roof over your heads. If I don’t do that, if I don’t prove to him that I’m prepared to accept him fully, it will never work. Besides, he grew up with the Masters—I know how they feel about the house. Judd is already running their company, so offering him mine might not be enough of a draw. But no one else can give him that house.”
“What makes you so sure you have to take such drastic steps?”
“Because that’s what it would take to lure me back if someone had done the same thing to me.”
If Nicole ever spoke to her again after this it would be a miracle. Anna felt a chill run the length of her spine. She stepped inside her hotel room and slid the glass door closed, but even so, she continued to feel cold. What Charles was doing was wrong, she knew it to the soles of her feet. But it was too late now. The offer had been made. She could only hope against hope that Judd would be man enough to turn it down. That he’d accept his father for who he was without the added enticement of half of Wilson Wines and the home that Charles had built for Cynthia all those years ago.
“So you’re not going to give her any prior warning. You’re just going to present her with a brother and say this is how it’s going to be from now on?”
“They are my children, it’s my company and my home, so this is my decision. Don’t overstep your boundaries, Anna.”
His words stung.
“Of course,” she said in reply, even as other more impassioned words filled her mind.
“He said he’ll give you his decision by Friday?”
“Yes, he did.”
“Let’s hope it’s the right one. Let me know as soon as you’ve spoken to him.”
“I will.”
“Good. I’ll look forward to it.”
His business done, the call was over, leaving Anna alone to stare at the darkening hills in the distance and to wonder just how all of this was going to end.
“I told you I was right.” Cynthia’s eyes gleamed triumphantly.
Judd merely nodded. He’d spent the latter part of the afternoon locked in his office, looking at his schedule and seeing where, and to whom, he could apportion his workload. It was one advantage of having several cousins all working within the same family business, he conceded. There were plenty of people just as invested as he was in making sure The Masters’ continued to run smoothly. Between his cousins and the well-trained staff