Trust Me

deal with you,” he said slowly. “If you’ll leave off the melodrama for the next couple of hours and try some logical thinking instead of playacting, I’ll stop taking every opportunity to point out just how guilty you look.”
    Tony scowled. “Why would you want to help me?”
    “I told you, I’m doing this for Desdemona, not you.”
    Tony flexed his hands. “I don’t know what the hell she sees in you.”
    “You know what they say, love is blind.” Stark was ridiculously pleased by that thought.
    “Yeah, well, she never had any trouble with her eyesight before you came along. In fact, she lived like a nun.”
    “A cloistered existence, would you say?”
    “Yeah. Exactly. I can’t figure it out.” Tony slammed the arm of his chair with his palm. “You’re all wrong for her. It’s so damn obvious. Why can’t she see that?”
    Stark gave up trying to work. He swung around in his chair and studied Tony’s sullen expression. “Why don’t you try facing reality, Wainwright? She was bound to fall for someone, someday.”
    “Why did it have to be you?”
    “You know what I think? I think you’d be acting like this regardless of whom she decided to marry. Did you really believe that you could keep her locked away in cold storage forever?”
    “I’m not trying to keep her in cold storage.” Tony propelled himself back out of the chair and stalked to the window. “I’m just trying to protect her.”
    “She’s not a little girl anymore.”
    “I know that, but she’s so damn sweet and kind, and I don’t want anything to happen to her.” Tony whirled around, his eyes glittering with violent emotion. “Don’t you understand? I’m her brother. I’ve always taken care of her. I saved her life once.”
    “So I’ve been told,” Stark said very quietly. “That’s one of the reasons I’m trying to help you now. I owe you that much.”
    “You don’t owe me a damn thing, you bastard. I don’t want your gratitude. I want you to leave Desdemona alone.”
    “I can’t do that.”
    “You’re no good for her, don’t you see? She needs someone from the Wainwright world. The theater world. Someone who understands her. Someone who can talk her language. Someone who will fit in with the family.”
    “Someone like you?”
    Tony looked blank. “Me? And Desdemona? Are you crazy? I’m her brother.”
    “Stepbrother.”
    Tony shrugged. “I’ve always been her big brother as far as she and I are concerned. The guy who saved her life. But I can’t stand by and watch her throw herself away on some jerk who won’t appreciate her.”
    “What makes you think I don’t appreciate her?”
    “How could you?” Tony gave him a look of patent disgust. “There’s no poetry in your soul, man.”
    “Maybe Desdemona sees a little deeper than you do.”
    “Bullshit. There’s nothing more to see. Are you going to tell me that behind your nerd pack beats the heart of a creative, sensitive artist? That you’re wired with emotions instead of microchips? Don’t waste your breath.”
    Stark sat unmoving. “You’re not trying to protect her, are you? Just the opposite. You need her to protect you from the truth.”
    Tony’s mouth thinned. “What truth?”
    “The truth of your own failures. Look at your track record, Wainwright. You’re a failed actor, a failed theater financial manager – “
    Tony looked as though he’d taken a body blow. “You know about that?”
    “I know that you were implicated in an embezzlement case, yes.”
    “I didn’t embezzle a damn cent.”
    Stark paid no attention to the hot defense. “Most recently you’re a failed soap opera star. The only thing you ever did right was save Desdemona’s life. And that’s why you can’t let her go, isn’t it?”
    Tony stared at him. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
    “You need her, don’t you? You need her around so that you can have some tangible proof that you’re not a total and complete screwup. You did do something right once upon a time, and she’s the only evidence you’ve got of that momentous occasion.”
    Tony froze. “I did save her life, damn you.”
    “Yes. You did. And she’s been paying you back ever since, hasn’t she?”
    “You don’t understand. How could you? You’re not part of the family.”
    “Maybe that’s why I do understand. The whole thing is very clear when you’re on the outside looking in.” Stark turned back to the computer.
    Silence descended on the study. Stark