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She knew everything about him. She’d seen his every expression…except this one. He was tortured. Okay, something had happened. Maybe it wasn’t his fault. “Talk to me.” She’d at least give him a chance. “Explain.”
He tipped his head back and shouted, “Fuck.”
Fear unlike anything she’d ever known snaked up her spine and wrapped around her throat. What had he done? “We’re supposed to walk down the aisle in eight minutes. Make it okay for me to do that.”
He whipped around. “What are you talking about? Of course, we’re getting married. Baby, I’m going to fix this. You just have to give me a few days. I swear, I’ll put everything back. But we’re leaving town tonight, and I had to settle some debts.”
“Debts? Since when do you have debts?”
“Look, things didn’t go the way I’d planned. I had a sure thing, and…” He shook his head like he couldn’t believe his misfortune. “I don’t know how it went so wrong. But you have to trust me. I’ve always paid you back, and I’ll do it again.”
Again?“Wait.” Her mind fought to hold on to something in this conversation that made sense, but she couldn’t get any traction. He might as well have been speaking a foreign language. “You’ve done this before?”
“Yeah. But see, you didn’t even notice because I’ve always put the money back.”
She gazed into his familiar brown eyes, but for the first time, she was looking at a stranger. “Are you telling me that you logged on to my laptop and hacked into my account…to pay your debts?” She took a step back. “Who are you?”
“Don’t be like that. I—”
“No. Don’t tell me what to be. I’ve known you most of my life, and the Ian I grew up with would never drain my parents’ bank account.”
“It’s not like that. I would never steal from you guys. It’s temporary. I swear. I’m going to fix everything after the ceremony.”
“You’re talking to me like I’m irrationally angry at you for not taking out the garbage. We’re talking about theft. You get that, right?” He didn’t, though. She could clearly see that. “You stole from myparents. They went to your basketball games. They went to your graduations. My dad bakes a cake for you on Founder’s Day because of some inside joke. They’ve treated you like a son, and you hacked into their bank account?”
“I know. I’m sorry. I feel like shit. But I swear to God, I’ll put every penny back. I just need a little time.”
“How?” But she already knew the answer. “The only way you can pay back a hundred and sixty-five thousand dollars is by gambling.” The sum was so enormous, she grew worried for him. “Ian, do you have a problem?”
He jammed a hand into the pocket of his suit pants and lowered his gaze to the worn rug. His chest rose as he inhaled deeply. “No. It’s fun, and I’ve made a lot of money.”
“And lost it.” A sharp pain hit behind her eye and turned into a throb. “All of it.”
“I’m sorry, baby. I am.”
“That’s it? That’s all you’ve got—you’re sorry? You’ve been using my savings account as your own personal playground, and you don’t seem to understand just how wrong it is. You’re only sorry because you got caught.” The pain behind her eye escalated, and she rubbed her temple. “God, how am I just finding out about this?” Because it was a savings account that she never touched.
“You know I’ve always bet on games.”
“Yes, for fun. When you had money to burn. How did it blow up tothis?”
“Because I want us to have a good future. I want to be able to buy a house and raise our kids.”
“Bullshit. My savings was more than enough for us to buy a house. Besides, we’llearnthe money we need. We both work.”
“Come on. Neither of us is going to get rich off our jobs. With the economy the way it’s going, I can’t meet my quotas at work. I could get fired. They’ve already announced that layoffs are coming over the next year.”
“Stop. Just stop trying to justify stealing from me.” The shock had worn off, and now she just wanted facts. “How did you do it? How did you get into my parents’ account?”
“Your passwords are saved, so when your mom’s making dinner or everyone’s outside…” He hunched a shoulder.
“Ian.” She was unbearably disappointed. The neckline of her dress clutched her throat, and she wanted to rip the buttons off. But she couldn’t, of course. It had been in her family for generations. She would’ve been the fourth Donato to wear it. “You’re like a son to them. They trusted you enough to leave their laptops open when you’re around, and you betrayed them.”
“Shit. I had a big loss, and I had to pay them back. If you don’t—”
“Jesus, Ian.Them?Who did you borrow from? The mafia?”
“No, no. It’s nothing like that. But you have to understand. I work in finance. If anyone finds out about my gambling, I’ll lose my job—I’m inwealth management. No one would ever hire me again.”
