The Ultimate Merger (5 page)

“Where have you been?”

Her charming Brazilian looked like he wanted
to wring her neck.

****

Renaldo pushed his way into the
apartment.

“I told you, I had a family emergency.”

“A family emergency?” he repeated. He took a
look at the ironing board and the little black dress draped across
it and pressed his lips together in a thin line. His head rotated
back to her in her silk robe, smelling freshly showered and wearing
the scent of pink lilies he loved so much. “Looks to me like you
have plans tonight.”

“No,” she said, shaking her head
emphatically. “It’s not what you think. I planned to call you, to
see if I could come see you.”

“Was that before or after your date?”
Jealousy ate at him, grinding in his gut.

“I don’t have a date,” Sabrina said. “How
could you think that?”

“What am I to think?” Renaldo ground out. “I
have not heard anything from you in days, and when I did, it was a
cryptic message that didn’t tell me much. Yet, I show up here, and
you look like you’re getting ready to go out for the night. But I’m
supposed to believe you planned to call me?”

“I was. I know you’re leaving tomorrow.”

She put her hand up to massage the back of
her neck, and the movement made Renaldo take notice of her
appearance. Her eyes held a tiredness in them, and he wondered if
she’d been having difficulty sleeping. He certainly had. At night,
he kept reaching for her, and when his arms came up empty, he woke
up and couldn’t get back to sleep.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“Nothing.”

He walked toward her. “What is this family
emergency you had?”

“There’s nothing you can do.” She looked like
someone who had the weight of the world on her shoulders and didn’t
know how to ditch it.

“Are you in some kind of trouble? Is it your
job?”

“No. I don’t want to talk about it. It’s
personal, and I’ll get over it. You can’t help me, and you’ll be
gone tomorrow anyway.” She passed him on her way to the ironing
board. “I’ll get dressed and we can—”

Renaldo took her by the arm and forced her
around to face him. He tilted her chin up toward him, searching her
face. “Tell me what’s wrong. We’re not leaving until you do.”

****

Sabrina twisted out of his grasp. She’d taken
great pains to keep her past a secret. What was she supposed to
tell him? That she was one of the lucky ones, having grown up in a
community known to be a haven for crime, where drug dealers ruled
the streets and violence kept children indoors?

“Sabrina…?”

His probing gaze held her captive. She wanted
so badly to tell him everything and unburden her soul. But it was
easier to keep her secrets to herself and wear the mask of
independence and strength, while wondering the entire time if she’d
ever be good enough.

She let out a shaky breath, deciding not to
hide from her past this time. “It’s my cousin, my family—everything
about me.”

“You have told me almost nothing about your
family. This is the first time I have ever heard you talk about
them.”

She chewed on her lower lip, still afraid of
being judged.

“What about your family, Sabrina? What are
you not telling me?”

Sabrina lowered her eyes. “I didn’t have the
same childhood you did,” she said. “Not even close. No perfect,
traditional house with two parents and a loving family. I’m not
even sure who my father is. My mother wasn’t sure. My father was
either her boyfriend or her drug dealer.”

Renaldo inhaled sharply.

Sabrina lifted her head. “The reason I never
shared my past with you is because it’s a past I want to forget. I
don’t want to remember the things I saw or what I had to do.”

Concern etched in his face. “What did you
have to do, 
meu amor
?”

The gentleness in his voice scraped away the
final layer of self-defense. She didn’t want to keep everything
inside anymore. It was hard being strong all the time. She wanted
to unburden her soul. The tears swelled and overflowed onto her
cheeks. Sobbing, she fell against the wall and covered her face
with her hands.

Renaldo pulled her close. “Shh.” He guided
her to the sofa and sat down, pulling her onto his lap. In a
soothing whisper, he spoke to her in Portuguese.

She told him everything. About how her mother
raised her and Jewel in a small, one-bedroom apartment. How she had
to go down to the morgue to identify her own mother as a teen. She
told him about Jewel’s addiction, and how it strained their
relationship over the years. In the throes of addiction, Jewel lied
to and stole from Sabrina, so Sabrina learned to keep her money,
credit cards, or anything else of value locked up or away from
her.

She told him about the guilt she continued to
feel because maybe if she’d gotten help for her mother, she
wouldn’t have died. She’d been angry at her mother—even secretly
hated her at times. When she passed away, the bottom had fallen out
of her world, and she wished she had been less judgmental and more
helpful.

“After she died, Jewel and I barely made ends
meet,” she whispered, hanging her head. “We lied, begged. When we
couldn’t get what we needed, we stole it—food, clothes—and moved
around from place to place, sometimes staying with family,
sometimes sleeping wherever we could lay our heads. We did whatever
we had to do to survive.”

“Couldn’t you get help from the state?”

“Yes. But as minors, we didn’t want to end up
in the foster care system and risk getting split up. We had been
through so much together, the thought of getting separated
terrified us. When I won a scholarship to go to college, I thought
our prayers had been answered. I was able to get additional
financial aid, and I wanted to rent a small apartment off campus.
That way Jewel could stay with me and finish high school, and if I
got a part-time job, we could live more comfortably than we had in
years.” Sabrina sighed. “But she met an older man and forgot all
about school and our plans. They moved in together and everything
about her changed after that. He was the worst thing that ever
happened to her.” Tears clouded her vision. “I wish I could have
done something to convince her to leave him.”

Renaldo stroked her hair consolingly. “You
did the best you could.”

She sniffed to keep her nose from running.
“What do you think of me now?”

His hand cupped her cheek. “I think what I
thought the first time I met you. You are a strong woman. I admire
your strength even more now that I know what you’ve been through.
If you thought I would judge you, you’re wrong.” He smiled
ruefully. “You are a better person than I am. Because even after
everything that’s happened between you and your cousin, you still
forgive her. You still protect her.”

“She’s family. We’re all we’ve got. I won’t
turn my back on her. She needs love and forgiveness. It’s not too
late for her, and everyone deserves a second chance.”

“You’ve given her several second chances.” He
fell silent. “I admire you, Sabrina. I admire your ability to
forgive. I have a habit of cutting people off when they hurt me or
make a mistake.”

“If you love someone, you learn to forgive
them,” Sabrina said. “Sometimes losing them hurts more than the
pain they’ve caused you. Believe me, when Jewel acts the way she
does, I know it’s the drugs. When she’s herself, she’s such a good
person—caring and generous to a fault.”

“Like you.” He traced the fullness of her
lips with his thumb.

A tremulous smile graced her lips. “I must
look awful right now.”

“No, you look beautiful. I missed you these
past few days.”

“I missed you, too.”

He gently kissed each eyelid. “I really,
really missed you.” His voice sounded husky and filled with
longing.

She nodded, emotion clogging her throat.

“I love you, Sabrina.” Her gaze flew up to
meet his. He cupped her face in his hands. “I couldn’t stop
thinking about you. I missed talking to you. I missed hearing your
voice.” He swallowed, brushing a palm over her thick hair. “I
thought I was losing my mind. That’s why I had to come see
you.”

“Do you mean it?” It was too good to be true.
Not only did he not care about her past, but he loved her, too?

“Yes.”

She wrapped her arms around his neck and
kissed him hard on the mouth. “I love you, too.”

“Do you mean it?” he teased with a smile,
echoing her question.

“Yes!” She kissed him again. Her body pressed
closer to the hard planes of his, as he cupped her bottom and
prolonged the kiss.

Finally, he lifted his head and whispered,
“How are you with long distance relationships?”

“I’ve never been in one, but we can make it
work, right? I mean, Brazil is far away, but you’ll be back and
forth now, won’t you?”

He nodded. “When I come back, I want to see
you. Every day.” He kissed her. “Every night.” He kissed her again.
“I want to spend every moment I can with you when we’re not
working.”

“I wouldn’t want it any other way,” Sabrina
said. She felt light-headed and drunk with happiness.

“Let’s not go out. Let’s stay here. I leave
tomorrow, and I want to spend as much time alone with you as
possible.”

Sabrina nodded her agreement. She rose from
the sofa. She took Renaldo’s hand and led him into her bedroom.

The next morning, Renaldo reluctantly dragged
himself from Sabrina’s warm bed and soft arms. He dressed in
silence and declined the steaming cup of coffee she offered. He had
no appetite for drink or food.

At the door, they kissed one last time. He
crushed her to him, running his hands up and down her body through
the silk robe, trying to imprint her shape in his mind until he
could see her again. As if he could forget anything about her. He
couldn’t. Not her long legs, the flair of her hips, nor the
cushiony feel of her backside. Not her soft lips, her wild kinky
hair, nor the scent of pink lilies clinging to his clothes.

She represented everything a man could want.
Smart and funny. Strong yet vulnerable. Sexy, and she even laughed
at his jokes. She was curious about his culture and wanted to learn
his language. For the first time in his life, he didn’t look
forward to returning home.

Once he left, he moved on leaden feet down
the hallway, the tightness in his chest expanding the farther he
walked from her door. At the elevator, he punched the button and
stepped into the open cabin. As the doors closed, he thought back
to their conversation. They’d agreed to continue seeing each other
when he came back to the States. It seemed like a good idea, but in
the bright light of day, he realized it wouldn’t be enough.

The elevator stopped and two women entered,
smiled at him, and then resumed their conversation with each
other.

Worry seeped into his bones as the doors
closed. What would she do when he wasn’t here? Would she date other
men? Would she restart her friendship with her “friend” who had
stood her up the night they met?

He thought about his parents’ loving
relationship, which served as a blueprint for the type of marriage
he wanted. In the short time since he’d met Sabrina, he’d felt they
could have the same type of relationship.

There was one more characteristic he admired
in her. She had a strong work ethic, like he did. With her
intelligence and knowledge, she should be making strides at the
firm where she worked. Instead, she continued to be overlooked and
remained unhappy.

An idea popped into Renaldo’s head. It made
perfect sense. He pushed the button for the next floor and exited
the elevator when it stopped. With a newfound burst of energy, he
sprinted up the stairs, back to Sabrina’s apartment.

****

A loud knock on the door startled Sabrina
from her moping. She stood at the kitchen counter, staring down
into a cup of coffee that had grown cold. Frowning, she went to the
door, and for the second time in less than twenty-four hours, she
opened it to let Renaldo in.

“Did you forget something?”

“You.” He walked in and shut the door.

“What do you mean?” Sabrina asked, her heart
rate picking up speed. She didn’t want to jump to conclusions about
what he’d just implied, but he looked so intense.

“On the way down in the elevator, I realized
I don’t want to see you every few months or whenever I can get away
and come back. It’s not enough. The past few days have taught me
that.” He cupped her face in his hands, his dark eyes staring
intently down into hers. “Marry me. Come to Brazil and become my
partner, in my personal life as well as in business. Help me build
my company.”

Sabrina’s mouth fell open. “Marry you?”

He nodded. “Have you been happy over the past
month?”

She nodded.

“Are you certain of your feelings for me?
Certain you love me?”

She nodded. “Yes.”

“Then marry me.”

“But my job—”

“You do not need that job. They don’t
appreciate you. You are an intelligent woman, and I trust your
judgment. In the short time I’ve known you, you have given me good
advice that I put to use when I purchased the Samson Hotel. Think
about it—as partners we could grow the business and be unstoppable.
You handle the finance side, and I will manage the purchase and
renovation of the properties. We could do this.”

“You’re serious?”

“Yes.” He smiled down at her. “Say yes,
because I won’t accept any other answer.
Te amo com todo meu
coração.
”

“What does that mean?” Sabrina asked.

“I love you with all my heart.”

Sabrina’s fingers encircled his wrists. “You
know I love you, too, but I have so much baggage. What about Jewel?
I can’t just abandon her. She needs me.”