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Was she angry at him for some reason? God knew why. He was the one who should be angry. She’d left him in the lurch a year ago. In an act of pure charity, he’d allowed her to quit her job. It had been the act of a saint. He’d barely managed to patch up the hole she’d left in his office.
“You’d better have a very trustworthy babysitter in Rio,” she growled, refusing the offer of champagne.
He finished off the crystal flute. “Maria Silva.”
She blinked. “Your housekeeper?”
“She was my nanny when I was young.”
“You were young?” Laura said sardonically.
Gabriel’s throat closed. Against his will, memories of his happy childhood washed over him, of playing with his older brother, of the wrestling and fighting, of his nanny’s voice soothing them. Only a year apart in age, Gabriel had competed with Guilherme constantly, always seeking to best him in their parents’ eyes. He’d started some stupid battles. Leading up to the night of the accident…
Turning away, he finished harshly, “I’d trust Maria with my life.”
Laura no longer looked angry. Now she looked bemused, staring at him with her large, limpid turquoise eyes. She started to ask a question, then was distracted when the flight attendant suggested she buckle in the baby’s carrier before takeoff.
Gabriel watched her smiling down at her son, murmuring soft words of love as she tucked a baby blanket into his pudgy hand. The little one yawned again.
A strange feeling went through Gabriel.
He’d won. He’d convinced her. They would make it back to Rio in time. His plan would work. He should be feeling triumphant.
Instead, he felt…on edge.
Why? It couldn’t be the money he’d promised her. A million dollars was nothing. He would have paid ten times that to win back his father’s company. He would have given every penny he possessed, every share of stock in Santos Enterprises, the contracts, the office building in Manhattan, the ships in Rotterdam. Everything down to the last stick of furniture.
So it wasn’t the money. But as the jet took off, leaving New Hampshire behind, he looked out the window. Something bothered him, and he didn’t know what it was. Was it that he’d let Laura see his desperation?
No, he thought, setting his jaw. She knew how much his father’s company meant to him. And anyway, allowing his vulnerability to show had helped achieve his goal.
It was something else. His gaze settled on the drowsing baby’s dark hair, his plump cheeks.
It was the baby. The baby unsettled him.
Gabriel’s jaw set as he realized what the edgy feeling was. What it had to be.
Anger.
He couldn’t believe that Laura had fallen into another man’s bed so swiftly. When she’d quit her job and walked out of his life last year, he’d let her go for one reason only—for her own good. He’d come to care for her. And he knew he couldn’t give her what she wanted. A husband. Children. A job that didn’t consume her every waking hour. When, the morning after he’d seduced her, she’d suddenly said she was quitting and going back to her family, he’d given Laura her chance at happiness. He’d let her go.
But instead of following her dreams, she’d apparently jumped into a brief, meaningless affair with some man she didn’t even care about. She’d settled for poverty and the life of a single mother. She’d allowed her child to be born without a father. Without a name.
Cold rage slowly built inside him.
He’d let her go for nothing.
Gabriel looked at her, now leaning back in her white leather seat with her eyes closed, one hand still on her baby in the seat beside her. She was even more beautiful than he remembered. Even in that unflattering, pale pink satin dress, with that horrible hot pink lipstick, her natural beauty shone through. With all its deceptive innocence.
Against his will, his eyes traced the generous curves beneath her gown. Her breasts were bigger since she’d become a mother, her hips wider. And suddenly he couldn’t stop wondering what her body would look like beneath that dress. What it would feel like against him in bed.
Erotic memories flashed through him of the first time he’d kissed her, when he’d swept his laptop to the floor in his ruthless need to have her. Taking her against his desk, he’d lost data that had cost thousands of dollars.
He hadn’t cared. It had been worth it.
He’d wanted Laura Parker from the moment she’d walked into his office, looking uncertain in her country clothes and wearing big, ugly glasses. He’d seen at once that she had a kind, innocent heart, coupled with the fearless bluntness he needed in an executive assistant. He’d wanted her, but for five years, he’d held himself in check. He needed her too badly in his office, needed her expertise to keep Santos Enterprises—and his life—running like a well-oiled machine. And he knew an old-fashioned woman like Laura Parker would never settle for what a man like Gabriel could offer—money, glamour, an emotionless affair. So he hadn’t allowed himself to touch her. Not even to flirt with her.
Until…
Last year, during a helicopter flight from Açoazul’s steel factory to the north of the city, Gabriel had looked up from a report to discover his pilot had flown them right over the sharp stretch of road where his family had died nearly twenty years before.
Gabriel had said nothing to the pilot. He’d told himself he felt nothing. Then he’d gone back to the office. It was late, and all his other employees were gone. He’d seen Laura Parker alone at his desk, filing papers in her prim collared shirt and tweed skirt, and something inside him had snapped. Five years of frustrated need had exploded and he’d seized her. Her blue eyes had widened behind her sleek, black-framed glasses as, without a word, he’d ruthlessly kissed her.
That night, he’d discovered two things that shocked him.
First: Miss Parker was a virgin. Second: beneath her demure exterior, she’d burned him to ashes with her passionate fire.
He’d made love to her roughly against the desk. He’d been more gentle the second time, after they’d taken the elevator up to his penthouse and he’d kissed her for hours, lying across his big bed. The night had been…amazing. More than amazing. It had been the most incredible sexual experience of his life.
Now, looking at her, a cold knot tightened in Gabriel’s chest. He’d given that up, and she’d just thrown herself away. She’d let some unworthy man touch her. Get her pregnant with his child.
Gabriel’s hands tightened into fists. Perhaps it was hypocritical to feel so betrayed, since he’d enjoyed many women the past year since she’d deserted him. But enjoy was not the right word. All Gabriel had done was prove to himself, over and over, that no other woman could satisfy him as Laura had.
Turning away, he set his jaw. He’d get control of Açoazul SA and then send Laura and her baby back to New Hampshire. He’d thought he might ask her to stay in Rio after the deal was done, but now that was impossible. As much as he missed her in the office—as much as he missed her in his bed—he couldn’t take her back now. Not now that she had a child.
He couldn’t let himself feel, not even for a moment, as if he were part of a family.
“You look tired,” he heard Laura say quietly.
He turned to her, and their eyes locked in the semi-darkness of the jet. “I’m fine.”
“You don’t seem fine.”
“A lot has changed.” He looked from her to the sleeping baby. He wanted to ask her again who the baby’s father was. He wanted to ask how long she’d waited before she’d jumped into bed with a stranger. A week? A day? What had the man done to seduce her? Bought her some cheap flowers and wine? Given her cheap promises?
What had it taken for the man to convince Laura to surrender the life she’d yearned for, and accept instead just the crumbs of her childhood dreams?
“Gabriel?”
He looked up to find her anxious eyes watching him.
“What?”
“What will happen after we arrive in Rio?”
He leaned back in his seat, folding his arms. “Oliveira is hosting an afternoon pool party at his beachside mansion on the Costa do Sul. Adriana will be there.”
Laura bit her lip, looking nervous. “Pool party? Like with a swimsuit?”
“And after that,” he continued ruthlessly, “you will attend the Fantasy Ball with me.”
“Fantasy, huh?” Her full lips twisted. “I hope Brazilian shopping malls sell magic fairy dust, ‘cause that’s the only thing that will convince anyone I can compete with Adriana da Costa.”
“The first person you must convince is yourself,” he said harshly. “Your lack of confidence is not attractive. No one will believe I’d be in love with a woman who disappears in the background like a wallflower.”
He had the hollow satisfaction of seeing the light in her beautiful face fade. “I just meant…”
“We made a deal. I am paying you well. For the next twenty-four hours, Laura, you will be the woman I need you to be. You belong to me.”
Her eyes narrowed with anger and resentment, and as she turned away, some part of him was glad he’d hurt her. He heard the soft snuffle of the baby’s breath, and it was like a razor against his throat.
He’d once been comforted by the thought of Laura back at home with her family, following her dreams. Now she’d taken that from him. She’d betrayed him.
And he hated her for that.
CHAPTER FOUR
AS they descended through the clouds toward Rio de Janeiro, Laura stared out the porthole window at the city shining like a jewel on the sea. She folded her arms with a huff of breath, still furious.
You belong to me.
Her hands gripped her seat belt. Looking past Robby’s baby seat, where he was thankfully sleeping again after a fairly rough night, Laura glanced at Gabriel on the opposite side of the jet. She allowed herself a grim smile.
Poor Robby had been crying half the flight. Gabriel must have been gnashing his teeth to be trapped in his private jet with a baby. Karma, she thought with a degree of satisfaction. Folding her arms, she turned back to the window to see the beautiful, exotic city as they descended through the clouds.
It had been difficult for her to leave her mother and sisters in the middle of Becky’s reception. But instead of being angry, her mother and sisters had seemed pleased. They’d hugged her goodbye for the quick weekend trip. “You were so happy working for him once,” her mother had whispered. “This will be a new start for you and Robby. I can feel it. It’s fate.”
Fate.
Laura had barely gotten on this jet before he’d insulted her. Now, he glared at her as if she were a stranger. No, worse than a stranger. He stared at her as if she were scum beneath his feet.
As the jet finally landed at the private airport, her hands gripped the leather armrest. She would never again feel guilty about keeping their baby a secret from Gabriel. After this, she would never let herself feel anything for him. She would do her job, pretend to be his adoring mistress—ha!—then collect the check and forget his existence. She would.
As the door of the private jet opened, Robby woke up with one of his adorable baby smiles. His toothless grin and happy cooing were worth any amount of sleepless nights, she thought.
“We’re just here for one night, Robby,” she told her baby, kissing his forehead as she unbuckled his seat. “Just a quick night here and we’ll go straight back home.”
“Did he sleep well?” Gabriel said sardonically behind her.
She gave him a pleasant answering smile. “Did you?”
As they stepped out of the jet, Rio’s sultry heat hit her at once. She went down the steps, blinking in the blinding sunlight and breathing in the scents of tropical flowers, exotic spice and tangy salt from the sea. Lush, white-hot Brazil was the other side of the world from the frigid February weather she’d left behind her.
Looking across the tarmac, Laura saw a waiting white limousine and snorted. The other side of the world? This was a different world entirely!
“Bom dia, Miss Parker,” the driver said, tipping his hat as he opened the door. “I am glad to see you again. And what’s this?” He tickled beneath Robby’s chin. “We have a new passenger!”
“Obrigada, Carlos,” Laura said, smiling. “This is my son, Robby.”
“Is the penthouse ready?” Gabriel growled behind them.
The driver nodded. “Sim, senhor. Maria, she has organized everything.”
“Good.”
Laura climbed into the backseat and tucked Robby into the waiting baby seat, ignoring Gabriel climbing in beside him. Carlos started the engine and pulled the limo off the tarmac, going south.
As they traveled through the city, now crowded with tourists for the celebration of Carnaval, Laura stared out bleakly at the festive decorations. Gabriel didn’t speak and neither did she. The silence seemed like agony as the car inched through the traffic. As they finally approached the back of Gabriel’s building, Laura heard loud thumping music, drums, people singing and cheering.
“This is as close as I can get, senhor,” Carlos said apologetically. “The avenida is closed to cars today.”
“Está bom”. Setting his jaw, Gabriel opened the door himself and got out of the limo.
Laura looked out her window in awe. Ahead of them, she saw the street blocked and people gathering on Ipanema Beach for one of the largest, wildest street festivals in Rio. She looked up at Gabriel’s tall building above them. He had bought it two years ago, as a foothold in Rio while he wrestled his father’s company back from Felipe Oliveira. The ground floors held restaurants and retail space. The middle floors held the South American offices of Santos Enterprises, still officially headquartered in New York. The top two floors of the building were apartments for his bodyguards, household staff and Maria. The penthouse was, of course, for Gabriel—and, the last time she’d been here, for Laura. She swallowed. She’d never thought she’d be back here.
Especially not with a secret. A baby. The car door wrenched open. She looked up, expecting Carlos, but it was Gabriel. To her shock, the expression on his handsome face was suddenly tender and adoring. His eyes shone with passion and desire.
“At last you are home, querida,” Gabriel murmured. He held out his hand. “Home where you belong. It nearly killed me when you left. I never stopped loving you, Laura.”
She gasped.
Suddenly she could no longer feel the hot sun blazing overhead or the fresh breeze off the sea. Loud music, horns and drumming and singing from Ipanema Beach all faded into the background. Her heart thrummed wildly in her throat.
Gabriel’s black eyes sizzled as he looked down at her, catching up her soul, collecting her like a butterfly in a net.
Then he dropped his hand with a sardonic laugh. “Just practicing.”
Setting her jaw, she glared at him. “A million dollars is almost not enough to deal with this,” she muttered. His lip twisted. “Too late to renegotiate.”
“Go to hell.”
“Is that any way to speak in front of your baby?”
Turning back into the car, Laura unbuckled Robby. Her son cooed happily, reaching up his chubby arms for her embrace, and she was happy she had one person in Brazil who actually loved her. Leaving the baby carrier in the limo, she scooped him out of his seat. He giggled, clinging to her wrinkled satin bridesmaid’s dress.
Laura felt tired, grungy, dirty. After her poor night’s sleep on the jet, after traveling halfway around the world, and most of all, after the constant friction of having Gabriel near her, Laura’s emotions were too close to the surface. The flash of his dark eyes, the slightest touch of his hand, the merest word of kindness from his sensual lips, still made her tremble and melt.
He was poison for her, she thought grimly. Poison wrapped in honeyed words and hot desire.
She held her baby close and walked around Gabriel with as much dignity as she possessed, her shoulders straight. Her pink high heels—picked out from a thrift shop by Becky for five dollars—clattered against the marble floor as Laura walked through the back entrance and past the security guards toward the private elevator.
Gabriel followed her without a word. The elevator doors closed behind them, and she breathed in his scent. She felt his warmth beside her. She didn’t look at him. His tall, powerful body was so close and she felt every inch.
The last time they’d been together in this elevator, they’d been on the way to the penthouse, after they’d just made love downstairs on the desk in his office. It had been her first time. He’d been shocked she was a virgin, even apologetic. He’d kissed her so tenderly in this very elevator, taking her back up to the penthouse with whispered promises that this time would be different, that he’d make it good for her, that he’d make her weep with joy. And he had.
The elevator dinged at the same instant Robby struggled in her arms with a plaintive whine. Looking down, Laura saw he was peeking behind her at Gabriel, reaching out his plump arms. Gabriel didn’t move to take the baby, or even smile. Of course he wouldn’t. Why would he take the slightest interest in his own child? She knew she was being unreasonable, but she still felt angry. Exhaling, Laura walked into the penthouse.
His modern, masculine, clutter-free apartment had two bedrooms, a study, a dining room and main room off the kitchen. The whole place had clean lines, white walls and high ceilings, and a stark decor. A wall of windows two stories high showcased the breathtaking view of the pool and terrace, with Ipanema Beach and the Atlantic visible beyond.
