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times than he could count, more times than he wanted to remember. Her body would still fit his, and his body still wanted hers.
    “The worst habits are the hardest to break.” Her words were laced with innuendo.
    “As long as they’re broken.”
    Anger flashed in her eyes.
    He glanced past her. His gaze hovered above her head, directed down the street toward the corner where his childhood home sat. “Your Nonna would be heartbroken if they weren’t.”
    “I wouldn’t come home unless I was clean.”
    His gaze landed back onto her. She didn’t shrink from his look. He’d seen her in Texas. He knew how bad she’d been, he’d tried to save her, and she’d run, unwilling to be saved. “That’d be too much for her.”
    Shelly nodded. Her tongue trailed over her full bottom lip. “I’m not the girl you saw in Texas,” she said, as though reading his mind.
    “No,” Anthony shook his head. “I can see that. But you’re also not the girl I used to love, either.” He took a step closer, crowding her, wanting a reaction to his blunt challenge. She didn’t move, didn’t flinch, seemed unfazed by him. “I’ve taken care of your grandmother for a lot of years. Do not hurt her. Are we clear?”
    Again anger flared in her eyes. But this time, it wasn’t a flash. Instead, a hardness remained in her steady gaze. “Don’t threaten me,” Shelly said. “She’s my grandmother.”
    “That’s exactly right. She’s Vinnie’s grandmother too.”
    With the mention of her brother’s name, Shelly’s bravado collapsed. The anger in her eyes turned to pain.
    “I made a promise to him.” Anthony tilted his head. “Actually, we both did. Or did you forget?”
    Shelly shook her head. “I never forgot.” Her gaze locked with his, a sadness in her eyes. “Even when I didn’t want to remember.”
    An ache clutched his heart. Anthony clasped his hands into fists at his sides, for fear he’d grab Shelly and try to kiss away her pain.
    “That night was amazing.” She remembered that night too, the last night they’d seen Vinnie, the night they’d promised to take care of Nonna, to take care of each other. A good night. A sad night. But a night filled with memories to which they both clung.
    “A long time ago.”
    “A lifetime.” Shelly took a deep breath. She pressed her fingertips to her forehead. “I need to go.” She stepped back from him, then turned and bolted up the steps. The front door slammed against the cold air.
    A lifetime ago. A hard unforgiving lifetime.

 
Chapter 4
     
    Anthony spent the next morning touring commercial properties. Two were run-down warehouses on giant lots, while three others were high-rises filled with companies and offices. They were merely a few of the multiple investment properties he intended to buy. After he’d left the last site to drive to his office, his thoughts flew to Shelly. Who was this new Shelly? Was she eternally damaged from her years of addiction? What was she thinking, what did she want? And why did he care?
    Once he’d parked, he took the elevator up to TF. Just outside his office, Anthony handed his coat to Tricia.
    “Your brother is in your office.”
    Anthony quirked his brow. Tricia wouldn’t willingly let Justin into Anthony’s office, especially without Anthony present. Too much bad blood flowed between the brothers since the incident with Max. Trust, which had once been an automatic gift between the four Travati brothers, had been replaced with suspicion and judgment.
    Anthony tugged at his cuffs and entered his office. Justin stood at the wall of windows, facing the New York skyline. A prickly feeling of annoyance hovered in the silence between them. Anthony’s gaze skimmed his desktop. Pristine. Every object remained unmoved, in the exact same place as he had left them the night before. The darkened screen of his computer was still off.
    “I didn’t touch your things,” Justin said, without shifting his eyes from the view. “I would never