Reckless Night in Rio

chapter NINE




WITH a gasp, Laura pulled back her hand and slapped his face.

‘How dare you!’ she cried.

The sound of the slap echoed in the bedroom. He stared at her incredulously, his hand on his cheek. Then his eyes narrowed. ‘Why are you pretending it’s not exactly what you want?’

Laura sucked in her breath, feeling overwhelmed by need for what she could not—could not—allow herself to have. ‘Even if I want you, Gabriel, I know you’re no good for me. It nearly killed me last year after our night together when you kicked me out of your life—’

‘Kicked you out of my life?’ he demanded. ‘You’re the one who left!’

‘You didn’t try to talk me out of it. You didn’t even ask me to stay!’

‘I was trying to do what was best for you,’ he said. ‘I knew you wanted a husband, children. You needed a boss who didn’t demand your life and soul. You needed a man who could love you as I cannot. So I gave you up, when it was the last thing I wanted! And what did you do?’ He glowered. ‘You let yourself get pregnant by some cold bastard who cannot even be bothered to pay child support or visit his son!’

Tears streamed down her face as she shook her head. ‘Why do you keep torturing me about my pregnancy?’

‘Because it means I sacrificed you for nothing!’

‘Sacrificed?’ she cried.

He grabbed her shoulders. ‘Don’t you know how much I’ve wanted you, all this time?’ His eyes searched hers fiercely. ‘Do you know how I’ve dreamed of you? In my office. In my bed!’ His fingers tightened painfully on her shoulders. ‘If I’d known you would settle for so little, I would never have let you go!’

Panting with anger, they stared at each other in the shadowy bedroom, the only sound the violent rasping of their breath. His eyes were dark and furious with denied desire. His gaze fell to her lips.

‘Laura…’ he whispered.

She jumped when she heard Robby suddenly crying on the other side of the wall. All the shouting and the banging must have woken him.

‘I’m not that virgin secretary anymore,’ she murmured, ‘free to make whatever stupid choices I want. I’m a mother now. My baby comes first.’ Setting her jaw, she pulled away from Gabriel. Stopping at the door, she looked back at him. ‘I gave in to passion once before,’ she said quietly. ‘And it nearly killed me.’

Leaving him, she went to her own bedroom and locked the door behind her before she gathered her crying baby in her arms. Robby’s plaintive wail instantly stopped as she cuddled him close. She breathed in the sweet smell of his hair.

She heard a low knock on the door.

‘Laura.’ Gabriel’s voice was muffled.

‘Go away.’

‘I want to talk to you.’

‘No.’

Silence fell on the other side of the door and she thought he’d left. She sat down in the rocking chair and held Robby in the darkness of the shuttered bedroom. Then Robby started to squirm and complain. Clearly, his nap was over and he was ready to play.

Setting her baby down on the carpet, with a pillow beside him in case he suddenly forgot how to sit and toppled over, she looked through the shopping bags that Mrs. Tavares had sent and selected some dark jeans and a white tank top. Pulling them on over a new bra and panties, Laura lifted her son onto her hip and quietly unlocked her door. Holding her breath, she peeked out into the hallway.

Gabriel stood leaning against the wall, waiting for her in jeans and a black T-shirt. His eyes were dark, almost ominous.

‘Planning to sneak out?’

She took a deep breath, then tossed her head defiantly. ‘I’m taking my son for a walk.’

‘You need to get ready for the gala.’

‘It will just have to wait.’

He stared at her, then set his jaw. ‘Fine. Then I’ll come with you.’

‘Come with me?’ she repeated incredulously.

He moved toward her quick as a flash, scooping Robby from her arms.

‘Hey!’ she cried.

Gabriel looked down at the baby, who was staring up at him with a transfixed expression. A shadow of a smile passed over Gabriel’s handsome face. Turning, he opened the front closet and pulled out a folded stroller, an expensive brand that she would never have purchased on her own. Still holding the baby with one powerful arm, Gabriel opened the stroller with his other, in one easy gesture.

Her jaw fell. ‘How did you know how to do that?’

He shrugged.

She tried again. ‘Have you ever been around a baby before?’

He looked away. ‘It’s madness outside. You are my guests. I will keep you safe.’

‘To protect us from a festival on Ipanema Beach? We’re just going for a walk!’

‘Funny. So am I.’

‘You’re being ridiculous.’

Putting Robby into the stroller, he clicked the baby’s seat belt, then without a word, pressed the elevator button. The doors opened and he pushed the stroller onto it. Looking at her, Gabriel waited.

Exhaling, she followed him onto the elevator. The doors closed, leaving the two of them with only a baby stroller between them.

‘Why are you doing this?’ she said through her teeth.

‘For my own selfish reasons, no doubt,’ he said dryly. ‘That is why I do everything, is it not?’

‘Yes, it is.’ She bit out the words, then looked at him. ‘Why? Is there a chance Felipe or Adriana might see us?’

‘There is always a chance,’ he said. ‘It’s not impossible.’

The elevator doors opened, and she grabbed the handle of the stroller and pushed it through the lobby. Gabriel held the door open for her and they were out on the street.

Since she’d last been outside, the avenida had become even more crowded, filled with people celebrating Carnaval. Music was blaring, tubas and drums, as people sang and danced in the street with their friends, some of them wearing extremely provocative costumes as they gulped down caipirinhas, the famous Brazilian cocktail of lime and distilled sugarcane.

Laura and Gabriel walked down the beach to a slightly quieter area and found an empty spot past a big yellow umbrella. She saw families splashing in the surf with their children, as nearby, groups of young people drank together beneath the sun as they waited for the nighttime party to really begin, the women wearing tiny thong bikinis, the men in skintight shorts.

Laura took Robby out of the stroller, and when she looked around, Gabriel was gone. She placed her baby in her lap and Robby reached to take a handful of sand in his fist. She saw Gabriel across the beach, talking to a barraqueiro. A moment later, he was walking back across the beach toward her. He held up a plastic shovel and pail.

‘I thought Robby would like to play,’ he said gruffly.

‘Thank you,’ she said, shocked at his thoughtfulness.

He smiled, and the warmth of his suddenly boyish face as he held out the pail and shovel to Robby nearly made her gasp. As the baby happily took the shovel, Gabriel stretched out beside them and showed him how to dig in the sand.

Laura stared at him in amazement.

First he’d known how to handle the stroller. Then he’d thought of buying toys for their baby. He claimed he disliked children, so why was he acting like this?

Robby responded to his father’s tutelage by first trying to chew on the shovel, then to eat the sand. Gabriel laughed, and with infinite patience, again showed him how to dig. Soon he had the baby in his lap. Robby was very curious about sand and kept dumping it on them both, then laughing uproariously. Soon deep male laughter joined with the baby squeals, and for Laura it was the sound of joy. She looked at Gabriel’s handsome face, watching him as he smiled down at the child he did not know was his, and her heart filled her throat.

How could he not realize that Robby was his son?

‘He likes you,’ she whispered. ‘And you seem to know how to take care of a baby.’

Gabriel’s dark eyes met hers. Then his expression abruptly became cold. He handed Robby back to her, causing the baby to give a little whine of protest. ‘No, I really don’t.’

All around them, she was dimly aware of the noise of the street party, of half-naked Cariocas tanning themselves beneath the sun, of people laughing and singing and making music all around them.

It wasn’t too late for her to tell Gabriel the truth. She could tell him now. By the way, Gabriel, I never took any other man as my lover. You were so careful to use protection, but guess what? You’re Robby’s father.

How would he take that news?

He wouldn’t be glad. Even in her most fantastic dreams she knew that. He’d told her a million times, in every possible way, that he didn’t want a wife or children. Even today, when he’d asked her to be his mistress for real, he’d said he’d be willing to ‘overlook’ her child. That he’d allow her baby to live in the downstairs apartment so he wouldn’t be forced to endure his presence.

And worse. If there was one thing Gabriel resented almost as much as the thought of having a family, it was someone lying to his face. If he found out that Laura had lied to him for over a year, he would never forgive her. He would take responsibility for the child they’d created—yes—and he’d try to get some kind of custody. But he would not love their son. And he would hate her.

Tomorrow, she repeated to herself desperately. They would go home to their little farmhouse in the great north woods, safe and sound. She’d never have to see Gabriel again.

But that reassurance was wearing thin. Every moment she spent with Gabriel, seeing him with their son, she found herself wishing she could believe the dream. Wishing he could love them.

The truth about Robby hovered on her lips. But the rational part of her brain stayed in control, keeping her from blurting it out. If she told him the truth, only bad things could happen. And she’d no longer be in control of Robby’s future.

Gabriel glanced at his watch. The sun had started to lower in the sky over the green Dois Irmãos mountain rising sharply to the west. ‘We should go. Your stylist is waiting at the penthouse.’

‘Stylist?’

He rose to his feet. ‘For the gala.’

He held out his hand, and Laura hesitated. A wistful sigh came from her lips. The brief happiness of feeling like a family was over. ‘All right.’

She allowed him to pull her to her feet. Tucking a yawning, messy, sand-covered Robby back into the stroller, she followed Gabriel across the beach toward home. By now the avenue was so crowded that Gabriel had to physically clear a path for the stroller.

When they safely reached the opposite side of the street, he looked at her. ‘I’m looking forward to seeing your dress tonight.’ He gave her a sensual smile. ‘And seeing it off you.’

He was so sure of himself it infuriated her. But as his dark eyes caught hers, her feet tripped on the sidewalk. He caught the stroller, grabbing her arm. Then, leaning forward, he kissed her.

‘Nothing will stop me from having you,’ he whispered in her ear. ‘Tonight.’

With an intake of breath, she felt butterflies of longing and sharp bee stings of need all over her body. Tightening her hands on the handle, she pushed the stroller as fast as she could toward the building. She told herself that the sexy, tender, strong man she’d just seen on the beach, playing with their baby son, was a mirage. She couldn’t let herself be fooled by his act. Gabriel was always ruthlessly charming when he wanted something. And right now, he wanted her.

Gabriel Santos always won by any means necessary. Both in business and his romantic conquests. But once he’d had what he wanted, once he’d possessed her in his bed, he would be done with her. He would no longer be willing to tolerate the fact that she had a child. He would toss her out, or drive her out. He would replace her.

She licked her lips as he caught up with her. ‘What’s going to happen tonight?’

His sensual mouth curved. ‘You already know.’

She looked at his face. There was a five o’clock shadow on the hard edges of his jaw, giving his handsome face a barbaric appearance. ‘Felipe Oliveira is no fool. He’s suspicious. What if after tonight, he still doesn’t believe that you love me?’

‘He will.’

‘And if he doesn’t?’

Gabriel’s dark eyes glinted with amusement. ‘Then I have a plan.’