“We were fools to think an honorable man would agree to marry and divorce me in a heartbeat, Jake.”
“You call Estero honorable? What kind of a son of a bitch would demand you climb into his bed?”
Lucas dropped Cat’s hand. “Be careful what you say, Ramirez.”
“It isn’t like that,” Cat said quickly. “He won’t ask me to do anything I don’t want to do.”
“He’s a liar,” Jake growled. “He wants to take you to bed. All the rest is window-dressing.”
Lucas stepped in front of Catarina. “You will not speak to Catarina that way.”
“I’ll speak to her any way I like.”
“Keep this up,” Lucas said softly, “and I’m going to ask you to step outside.”
Catarina knew she would never forget Jake’s smile as long as she lived.
“Why step outside?” he said, and swung a hard right that sent Lucas crumpling to the floor.
Cat didn’t want to leave.
Not with him.
What she wanted was to sit on the floor beside Lucas and cradle his head in her lap even after he’d opened his eyes.
Jake wasn’t having any of it.
Estero would live. His jaw would be black and blue and maybe a little swollen; his pride was definitely wounded, but he’d be fine. Jake hung around just long enough to be sure. Then he apologized to Lucas—not for punching him, but for taking a swing without warning him first.
Lucas rubbed his jaw, looked at Cat, gave Jake a strange, tight smile and said he understood.
“Well, I don’t,” Cat said furiously. “He hits you for no good reason, you’re lying in a heap, and you tell him you understand?”
Jake muttered something and told her to stand up and get moving. When she didn’t, he grabbed her hand, tugged her to her feet and propelled her out of the library, past stunned faces, onto the street and into a cab.
She wouldn’t look at him, wouldn’t talk to him, but that was okay. He didn’t have anything he wanted to say to her, either. Actually, he was so hot with rage he figured it was better if he kept quiet.
What kind of woman was she, that she’d go from his bed to Estero’s? How could he have thought he loved her? That he had thought it, if only for a little while, proved how screwed up this whole crazy thing had become.
Well, he knew how to solve that problem.
Let her marry Lucas. What did it matter to him? She wanted Lucas, she could have him. The minute they were home he’d tell her that.
Except he didn’t get the chance. They got into his apartment, she rounded on him like a tigress.
“How could you have done this, Jake Ramirez? Damn it, how could you?”
Jake stalked past her, stripping off his coat and jacket, tossing them wherever they fell, and switched on the light in the kitchen. What he wanted was another stiff belt of whiskey, but that seemed unwise. He decided to settle for a mug of the morning’s coffee, reheated in the microwave.
“You ruined everything,” Cat said as she stormed after him. “Nobody will marry me now. Lucas will tell every last Brazilian in the city what you did and that’ll be that.”
“Stop worrying,” Jake said coldly. The nuker pinged; he took out the mug of coffee and took a long, bitter swallow. “I’ll call Estero in the morning, tell him I made a mistake—that he can have you under whatever terms you like.”
“You couldn’t listen, could you? Couldn’t wait long enough to let me talk!”
“Did you hear what I just said? I’ll phone Estero in—”
Cat flung her purse at him. It hit the mug and hot coffee spilled over his hand. Jake hissed and dumped the mug on the counter.
“Did I burn you? Good. I’m delighted.”
That was what she said, even as she grabbed Jake’s hand and glared at it. It didn’t look burned, but if it were, so what? Boiling in oil was what he deserved. Still, she wasn’t heartless. Only Jake could lay claim to that, she thought grimly, and tugged him toward the refrigerator.
“What are you doing?”
“What does it look like I’m doing?” she snapped, depressing the lever on the ice-dispenser in the door. “I’m getting ice for your hand. Not that you deserve it. I just don’t want inflicting an injury on you on my conscience.”
“I don’t need ice, and you didn’t injure me.”
Cubes dropped into her hand. She dumped them into Jake’s palm and closed his fingers around them.
“No?”
“No. My hand hurt already, from…It hurt, that’s all.”
“It hurt because you had to play macho maniac and hit poor Lucas in the jaw.”
“Poor Lucas will survive—and that’s enough ice. You want to freeze my fingers off?”
“I want to kill you,” Cat said succinctly. She let go of his hand, slapped her hands on her hips and faced him. “If only you’d listened, Ramirez, you’d have known that you had things wrong.”
“The only thing I had wrong was letting myself think I was in l—”
He stopped, horrified at what he’d almost said—at the terrible truth of what he’d almost said. Because even now, damn it all, even now he still loved her.
“When you let yourself think you were in what?” Cat said, staring at him.
Jake turned away. “I let myself think I was—I was in a position to help you. Well, I can’t. Not the way I intended, anyway. But that’s okay. You helped yourself tonight. I told you, I’ll call Estero, tell him he can do what he wants—Hey!”
Cat landed a fist like a hammer-blow between his shoulders. Jake swung toward her.
“Don’t push your luck,” he said. “The mood I’m in—”
“The mood you’re in? You fool! Do you ever think that the great Joaquim Ramirez can be wrong?”
“Don’t call me that.”
“Why not? It’s your name, isn’t it?”
“My name is—”
“I know your name,” she huffed. “The question is, what do you know? For instance, do you know that maybe, just maybe, you misinterpreted what you saw and what Lucas said?”
“Oh, right. It was such an easy scene to misinterpret,” Jake snarled, lowering his head until they were eye to eye. “You in Lucas’s arms. Him drooling at the thought of you agreeing to sleep with—” She swung at him again. Jake grabbed her arm and jerked it behind her back. “Hit me again,” he warned, “and you’ll regret it.”
Tears of anguish and of fury—at Jake for misjudging her, but mostly at herself for the foolishness of her own stupid heart—rose in Cat’s eyes.
“What I regret,” she said, “is falling in love with you!”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah!”
“Well, let me tell you something, senhorita, I—” Jake blinked. “What did you say?”
“I said,” Cat replied, twisting against his hand, “you were dead wrong about Lucas.”
“That’s not what you said.”
“Never mind what I said!” Cat blew a curl off her forehead. “We’re talking about Lucas, and how you managed to jump to conclusions the size of Sugar Loaf Mountain!”
“I know what I saw. I know what Lucas said. I know what you agreed to do.”
“You don’t know a thing,” Cat huffed. “Damnit, Jake! Let go of me!”
“Not until you tell me why I shouldn’t trust my ears and eyes.”
“I would, but you’re probably too thick-skulled to believe me.”
“Try me.”
“Lucas asked me why I was husband-hunting, to use your charming phrase. I told him about my inheritance, and that I had to find a suitable Brazilian husband and marry to gain it.”
“And?”
“And he said he’d been thinking things over, that perhaps it was time he found a wife. He said he’d be honored if I’d agree to be that woman. So I told him the rest. How I wanted to marry and then file for divorce. How I—I didn’t want the intimacy of marriage.”
“I’ll bet he just loved that.”
“I said,” Catarina
continued, her eyes narrowing, “that you would give him that land in Maui if he agreed to my terms.”
“And?”
“And, he said he didn’t want the land, he wanted me.”
“At least he’s not a complete fool,” Jake snapped. “So, what next? You just said, ‘Okay, fine. I’ll sleep with you’?”
He could feel the tremor of anger that rippled through her. “You’re a horrible man. Has anyone ever told you that?”
“Only you, baby.”
“Perhaps it’s because I’m the only one who knows the real Joaquim Ramirez.”
“I said—”
“Don’t call you that. I know. I just don’t understand the reason.”
Jake’s jaw tightened. “I’ll tell you the reason. It’s because the name reminds me of who I really am. A rich man’s bastard.”
Cat’s eyes widened. “Oh, Jake—”
“That’s why I had to agree to find you a husband.” His hand fell away from her. “All my life I thought the man who sired me died a hero, died before he could come back and marry my mother. A few weeks ago I found out the truth. He abandoned her. Left her to have me, raise me, alone.”
“Jake—”
“I also learned that he spawned two other bastards,” he said bitterly. “Do you understand, Cat? I have brothers out there somewhere, but the only way my father’s lawyer will give me their names is if I complete this—this travesty of a guardianship and find a husband for you.” His hands closed on her shoulders and he hauled her to her toes. “How could I have known I’d fall in love with you? How in hell could I possibly have known that?”
She stared at him. “What?”
“I said I love you, damn it! I love you more than I ever dreamed a man could love a woman—and what good has it done? You slept with me. Now you’ve agreed to sleep with Lucas—”
Cat’s hand whipped through the air. She hit Jake hard enough to make his head snap back.
“I hate you,” she sobbed. “Hate you, hate you…”
Jake caught her in his arms and crushed her mouth beneath his. When she struggled, he clasped her face, tunneled his fingers into her hair and held her captive to his kiss.
“Hate you,” she sighed, when he lifted his mouth just long enough to change the angle of the kiss, and then she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back.
A long time later, he leaned his forehead against hers.
“Say the words, sweetheart,” he whispered.
“I love you,” Cat said softly. “I love you with all my heart.”
Jake shuddered with relief. Then he drew her close, held her tightly against him and knew that he would never, ever let her go.
“All I agreed to do with Lucas was live under his roof for six months,” Cat said. “He was sure I’d change my mind about the divorce once I got to know him.” She drew back a little, enough so she could see Jake’s face. “I told him he was wrong and he said he’d take his chances. That was his demand, Jake. Mine was that we’d live together as friends. There would be no sex. Lucas said he’d abide by that. He gave his word of honor.”
His word of honor. Jake knew that Lucas would be bound by it.
He’d been wrong. About Cat. About Lucas. About everything but what really mattered.
His love for Catarina.
Jake cleared his throat. “Cat?” He tilted her face to his. “In all this time you’ve never asked me how much money you’re going to inherit.” He paused. “It’s twenty-five million dollars, sweetheart.”
Her eyes widened. “So much? I never dreamed—”
“That’ll buy a lot of independence.” He hesitated. All this had only just come to him. Would she agree to it? For the first time in his adult life Jake Ramirez was scared. “Cat. I love you.”
Her eyes glittered with tears. “And I love you.”
“I want you to be my wife.”
There were no more beautiful words in the world than those—but they broke Catarina’s heart.
“Oh, Jake, I can’t. I can’t! If I do—”
“If you do, you’ll lose that money.” His mouth was dry. “I understand. But you won’t lose your independence, honey. I’ll see to that. I’ll support you as a good husband should—and I’ll make you a gift of the same amount your parents left you. You can put it into a bank account under your own name. I’ll have no access to it, no rights, no…What?”
“Jake, my love.” Tears streamed down Cat’s cheeks. “I’d give up the money in a heartbeat. Don’t you know that? I’d give up the world to spend the rest of my life with you…But I can’t.”
“What do you mean, you can’t? You just said—”
“If I don’t marry according to the dictates of my parents’ will, you won’t be able to fulfill the conditions of your father’s will! You’ll never know the names of your brothers. And—and I love you too much to do that to you.”
She started to turn away. Jake wouldn’t let her. He clasped her hands, brought them to his chest so she could feel the beat of his heart.
“Listen to me, Catarina.”
“There’s nothing you can say that will—”
“I lived thirty years without knowing these men existed. I’ll regret not finding out who they are, sure.” His hands tightened on hers. “But I can’t imagine what my life would be like without you.”
How could she lie to him when his eyes were locked to hers?
“It would be empty,” she whispered, “as mine will be without you.”
“Cat, I love you. I adore you. If you think I’m going to let you walk away, you’re wrong.”
“I can’t do this to you, Jake. I told you, I love you too much to—”
He kissed her. Slowly. Tenderly. When finally he lifted his head her mouth was trembling.
“I love you,” he said again. “Besides,” he added softly, “the key to this mess isn’t in your hands. It’s in mine.”
“What do you mean? If I marry the right man—”
“Yeah, but you won’t. If you won’t marry me, I won’t let you marry anyone else. You need my approval for the guy you pick, remember?”
Did she? Or could she marry anyone as long as he met the standards of the will? Jake didn’t remember and didn’t care. What he’d just said sounded good and he wasn’t about to back away from it.
“You understand, Cat?” he said sternly. “It’s me or nobody. You want us to end up two stubborn people, going through life alone? It’s up to you.”
Her future, his, a lifetime of love and joy stretched ahead. They were the richest gifts a man could give a woman, and Jake was offering them to her.
“Are you sure?”
Jake drew her against him and kissed her again. This time when he lifted his head her eyes were soft.
“Oh, Jake. I love you so much.”
“Enough to marry me?”
“Yes. Yes. Yes…”
Jake gathered her close, kissed her until the world was spinning beneath their feet.
“I’m not going to give you the chance to change your mind,” he whispered, rocking her in his arms.
She looked up so he could see her smile. “I have no intention of changing my mind, senhor. You forget how stubborn I can be.”
“In that case I won’t insist on our wedding taking place tomorrow.” Jake laughed at the expression on her face. “Next week will be fine. That’ll give me time to introduce you to my mother, and for Belle to take you shopping for a wedding gown.”
“Your mother might want to come, too.”
“Yeah,” he said gruffly. “Come to think of it, she might. You’ll like her, sweetheart. She’s a strong woman, the same as you.” He kissed the tip of her nose. “You have any special place in mind for the ceremony?”
“Yes. Right here, Jake. In your home.”
“In our home.”
She smiled. “If we’re lucky, it might snow.”
“Perfect.”
Cat lifted her mouth to his. “I adore you, Joaquim.”
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Somehow, the name sounded right on her lips.
“You’d better,” he said gruffly. “I don’t know what I’d do if you didn’t.”
They stayed locked in each other’s arms for long moments. Then Jake drew back.
“I should call Estes.”
“What…? Oh. The lawyer.” Cat’s smile dimmed. “Jake? Are you sure? You can still change—”
“I’m sure,” he said firmly. “I’ll never change my mind, honey. I promise you that.”
It was almost as if Estes had been waiting for the call, because he answered on the first ring.
“Senhor Estes,” Jake said quietly, “this is Jake Ramirez. Yes. I’m fine, thank you. Yes, Senhorita Mendes is also fine.” He drew Cat closer. “Senhor,, we have some news for you. I’ve found a husband for the senhorita. Yes, she’s happy about it. Of course—if you like.” He held the phone to Cat’s ear. “He wants to talk to you.”
“Hello, Senhor Estes. Sim, eu sou muito bem, obrigado. Sim, eu sou muito feliz.” She listened, then smiled up at Jake. “He wants you again.”
Jake put the phone to his ear. “Senhor Estes. I have more news, but you won’t be pleased to hear it. You see, the husband I’ve found for Catarina is me.” His eyes met Cat’s. “I love her,” he said simply, “and she loves me. We understand the ramifications, that she’s forfeiting her inheritance and I’m forfeiting the right to know who my half-brothers are, but—”
Cat, watching her lover’s face, was baffled by what she saw. Jake’s brows shot toward the ceiling, his mouth dropped open, then curved until his grin stretched from ear to ear.
“What?” she whispered.
He started to laugh.
“What?” she said, but louder.
“Yes,” Jake said. “Yes, of course. I can’t believe I didn’t…Yes. Sim, Senhor Estes. Sim. Goodbye for now. And thank you. Thank you very much.”
“Sim?” Cat repeated, starting at him. “Since when do you speak Portuguese? And what’s so fun—?”
Her words became a squeal as Jake swung her up into his arms and spun in a circle.
“Jake? What’s going on?”
“A miracle,” he said, and kissed her.
“What miracle? For goodness’ sakes, tell me what’s happening!”
“Senhorita Mendes.” Jake laughed out loud. “It turns out you’re going to marry a suitable Brazilian husband after all.”
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