by C. J. Anaya
“When I told him what I really wanted to study, the look on his face was terrible…like I’d gutted him. He said he wasn’t about to pay for my education or continue to fund my elaborate lifestyle if I wasn’t going to stick to the plan, insinuating that I spent money carelessly or that I might only care about money rather than my relationship with him.”
Midge swallowed hard, remembering how insulted she’d felt. How could he even hint at her being as shallow and unfeeling as that. “It hurt me. It hurt to think that he assumed I had ever cared about the money or his financial support. I wanted his emotional support. I wanted to believe that he loved me and saw me as an individual with brilliant ideas and goals worth pursuing, but in that moment he proved to me what I’d always feared: if my interests didn’t center around his career and around the world he had built for himself then I wasn’t worth his time or his company. It wasn’t worth it to him.”
Brody nodded.
“Maybe your dad was afraid if you didn’t stay completely involved in his life and his world that he might lose you. Maybe he feared your love was conditional based on his past experiences and not due to any bad behavior on your part. Is it possible you two simply misunderstood each other’s motives, Madelyn?”
She turned her attention to him, surprised by his candid response.
“I suppose it’s possible, but we’ve never really talked about it. Both of us were too stubborn, I think, to see the other’s point of view.”
“Well, maybe it’s time to put that misunderstanding to rest. Talk to him.”
“Maybe.” Midge gave him an appreciative look. “Who needs a therapist when Brody Prescott’s in the vicinity?”
“I think a better question to ask is, who needs to go looking for love in all the wrong places when Brody Prescott is the obvious choice?”
“Well, you are the only man on the show. That limits my options considerably,” she teased.
Brody brought a fist to his heart behaving as if she’d just wounded him.
She gave Brody a playful push. The music changed to another Djavan song and she clapped her hands in excitement.
“Do you know this song?” Brody asked.
Midge nodded as she swayed to the music, allowing Brody to bring her in for a slow dance as he said, “I would love to hear you sing along.”
The song was a favorite of hers, one most Brazilians knew by heart. As the vocalist began to sing, everyone in the crowd joined in.
“What is the song called?”
“Se…. It means, if.” Midge sang along with the crowd, allowing the wonderful music and the voices of the people of Rio to take her back to a time when her life had been less complicated and much more fulfilling. A time when her father could do no wrong, when her heart didn’t belong to a man she feared she could never trust, and a time when her future had appeared so clear and promising.
“Can you tell me what the song is about?”
Midge nodded. “I can loosely translate it for you.” She waited for the song to repeat before she began. “Djavan wrote about a girl who is being very indecisive in regards to her feelings for him. He says: You say that you don’t know if you’re saying no, but you also aren’t certain if you’re saying yes. You know when it is a yes, let it come from the heart.”
“Beautiful,” he said under his breath.
Midge nodded as she continued to translate.
“You know that I only think of you. You say you live to think of me. Could be, but if that’s true you need to let go of the part of you that says no. Free the wildness inside and burn with passion. It won’t hurt you to decide. Just say yes or say no. But you love to say if.”
Midge felt Brody’s eyes burning with intensity as they rested upon her features. The more she translated the song the more she realized how applicable it was in their situation. She was definitely hovering between a yes and a no, but the situation was far more complicated than any song could put into words. If she crossed that threshold and gave her heart to Brody she had to be positive it was a sure thing. All she knew for certain at this point was his obvious attraction and regard for her, but did it go beyond the lights and eyes of the cameras? Were his feelings as serious and enduring as hers?
She tried to cast aside her troubled thoughts as she continued to translate the song.
“I take it seriously, but you continue to pretend it isn’t. You say so many things, I’m afraid to believe. It makes me feel the kind of cold that comes from a southern winter. You want this to be zero-on-zero, but I want one-on-one. I don’t know if you want my warmth and love. Saint George please lend me your dragon. It would be easier to learn Japanese in Braille then for you to decide if our love can be or not.”
Brody chuckled under his breath at that. “Sounds like a man truly frustrated by the indecision of a woman. I can very much relate.”
Midge glanced up at him, spurred on by a spike of anger at his insinuation. “Can you? Because I find that I can very much relate as well. You’re hinting at my being obscure in my feelings for you when this is just a game to you. Am I supposed to give you my heart both on and off the screen when I have no idea if you’re saying yes, no, or if?”
Midge tried to pull herself away, but Brody’s firm grasp reeled her even further toward him. He rested his forehead against hers. “On camera or off camera, I will always be saying yes, Madelyn. Am I going to have to learn Japanese in Braille to have any hope of deciphering what your intentions are now that I’ve laid mine bare? Or can you give me a yes and simply allow me to love you?”
Love. He’d said the word love. Like it was that easy. Faced with this pointed question, Midge didn’t know how to respond or even how to begin to trust in what he offered. His words to her father kept replaying over and over in her mind, completely contradicting what he claimed to feel for her now. The idea of taking that leap into waters unknown and most likely treacherous in nature left her shaking in his arms, terrified to make that call only to drown in the process.
A new song began, more up-tempo in nature, and the moment passed, but Brody kept her close to him, refusing to move along to the beat of anyone else’s drum.
“It was a beautiful song, Madelyn.”
“More beautiful in Portuguese,” she admitted, letting out a soft breath. “Some things weren’t meant to be said in any other way or in any other language.”
“The issue of whether one can love another or not seems to be fairly universal, no matter which country you find yourself in. Do you leap or do you fold?” He regarded her intently as he lifted her fingers to his lips and softly kissed each of them. “Seems to me the solution is also a universal one.”
“Leap?” she whispered.
“It’s the solution I’m hoping for.”
She thought he might pull her in for a kiss, and at that very moment she knew if he did there would be no hesitation on her part. Fortunately, a sharp cry to her right interrupted their charged moment.
“Brody, I didn’t know you came to hang out with us!” Charlene shouted over the din of the music. She grabbed Brody by the hand and pulled him towards her. “I’m just gonna borrow this cutie for a moment, Midge. My turn for a dance.”
Midge smiled in relief, ready to be freed from Brody’s demanding presence, but her heart let out an involuntary pang as she watched Brody hold Charlene in his arms, leading her into a samba.
Cambria sidled up to her, shaking her cute little fanny the whole way. “I think I’ve decided that I’m never leaving Brazil. Not even for Mr. Brody Prescott,” she shouted. She did a few hip bumps with Midge and then grabbed her hands and began dancing with her.
Though Midge appreciated the interruption, she knew that at this point she wasn’t going to be much fun and decided the best thing to do was hail a taxi back to the hotel and let Cambria and Charlene have their time with Brody. She tried to convince herself that her decision wasn’t a ruse for simply running away from him. After communicating her plans with Cambria, she set off down the street and aw
ay from the more crowded areas to search for a taxi.
Within minutes the heavy weight of someone’s stare fell upon her shoulders, tracking her movements. She couldn’t altogether dismiss the sensation as paranoid delusions considering her threatening phone call, the snake, the cut, and her brief stay in the hospital’s utility closet. She stopped and allowed her eyes to peruse the area, not entirely certain of who she was looking for. A quick nudge on her shoulder had her nearly leaping out of her shoes in fright. She turned and found herself facing nothing more threatening than a small, barefooted boy holding out a note for her.
“Uma mensagem para a senhorita,” he said in a scratchy voice.
Midge’s eyebrows narrowed at this, but she accepted the dirty paper and handed him a few reais in the process.
Her eyes widened and then narrowed in anger as she read the brief note written in red ink.
You don’t belong here.
Leave now or you’ll be sorry.
Midge folded the piece of paper into a tight square and then clenched her fist around it nearly grinding her teeth in the process. Did Felicia really believe she would simply cower in a corner and let these threatening messages send her packing? Did Midge want to be here? No. Was she falling in love with Brody? Yes. It made more sense for her to heed the threats and leave since both her body and emotions seemed to be in danger of potential harm, but she was more interested in getting to the bottom of Felicia’s game and protecting Brody from that woman’s dangerous obsession. Angry at the world in general, but also with herself, she grabbed a taxi and headed back to the hotel.
Chapter Nineteen
As Brody prepared himself to enter the hotel’s meeting room and announce the winner of the one-on-one date he couldn’t help but feel a huge amount of frustration that Madelyn hadn’t been the one to win the challenge, and the thing that bothered him most about the entire ordeal was his lack of knowledge where her feelings were concerned. He didn’t know if she’d really given the scavenger hunt everything she had or if she hadn’t cared at all and entered the challenge with absolutely no intention of winning it.
Instead, Felicia had won the damn thing, though he knew she’d cheated. There really was no way that any of the contestants could have finished every single item on the list in time. There were simply too many to fit into one day. After arguing with Knightly that morning over disqualifying Felicia and going on the date with Charlene, who had finished a close second, he was in a seriously frustrated mood.
Knightly had insisted Felicia needed to have her moment. He wanted their time spent together to end in one massive blow-out just like Knightly had hoped it would when he first signed her for the show. So now Brody had the distinguished honor of essentially starting a fight with Felicia by asking the hard questions concerning the measures she took to slur his good name.
Brody really wasn’t interested in the inevitable confrontation and subsequent meltdown he knew Felicia would subject him to.
“We need to allow America to see Felicia as she really is, which will further cement your glowing image in their eyes,” Knightly had instructed.
“I thought we were focusing on Madelyn,” Brody had argued.
“Felicia has been leaking a story to the press about how you’re torn between her and Midge, and that she isn’t getting the right amount of attention required to solidify her claim on you. You need to nip this in the bud now, Brody.”
“Does that mean I get to eliminate her at the end of the week?”
“Of course not. You know Rhodes wants her here to keep an eye on her activities.”
Brody sighed as he reviewed that less than satisfactory conversation in his head before squaring his shoulders and entering the meeting room with immense trepidation.
“Isn’t this wonderful, Brody? A private candlelight dinner on the beach is just the thing we needed to revive that spark between us,” Felicia crooned as she took a small bite of her dinner salad.
Brody couldn’t have felt less turned on by Felicia’s presence than if a long line of Brazilian men had come parading by wearing nothing but Speedos. He nearly gagged just thinking about it.
“Felicia, I did want to continue to clear the air between us. Some of your explanations revolving around your involvement in maligning my image didn’t really hold much water.”
“Why whatever do you mean, Brody dear?” Felicia lifted a leg under the table and strategically rubbed her foot along the inside of his calf muscle. Brody retreated a little with a pained smile fixed upon his features.
“That friend of yours who told you such inflammatory information couldn’t be found anywhere, and after doing some private investigating of my own it would seem that the story was fabricated entirely by you. Now my only question is why? If you care for me as you say you do, then why would you allow my clients and prospective clientele to assume that I would ever tread on my company’s privacy policies?”
Brody knew why, of course, but Knightly insisted upon a full unveiling of who Felicia Davenport really was, and he intended to follow through with the plan no matter how unappealing he found it.
Felicia set down her fork, scrunching up her nose a tad and then allowing her full lips to pout in what he assumed was her alluring attempt at looking sad and repentant.
“I was hurt by the way you brutally turned me down when I invited you into my home for drinks.”
“As I recall, I politely declined your invitation for drinks due to an early morning meeting I couldn’t cancel. I’d hardly call that grounds for slandering my name on tabloids and social media.”
Brody watched as Felicia’s grip on the table perceptibly tightened. Her hand began to turn white due to the amount of effort it took to control her temper.
He waited with anxious anticipation as she did her best to control what he assumed would be one mighty outburst. To his dismay, she took in a deep breath, patted her enormous hair-do into place and then reached across the table, taking his hand in hers. The temptation to recoil in disgust nearly overwhelmed him.
“I suppose I was so devastated to think that someone as wonderful and brilliant as you are wouldn’t want to spend time with me. I behaved poorly and tried to blame my poor actions on other people.”
Brody watched in fascination as her jaw ticked in the corner. It was obvious to him that she wasn’t used to having to explain herself, apologize for anything, or even beg someone for forgiveness. Watching her squirm under the lights and scrutiny of the cameras surrounding them was almost acceptable payback for her vindictive actions so many months ago.
Almost.
He kindly patted her hand like a father might with his child and then pulled it out of her reach. Her eyes flashed in anger, but she deepened her smile and offered him an imploring look.
“It seems a bit extreme to go to such measures in order to get a man to notice you. Are you certain you were truly interested in me or in my money? Some women can become unhinged at the thought of losing such a lucrative meal ticket.”
He was pushing her buttons, baiting her in the hope she might break through that thin exterior of calm and collected poise and unveil the she-devil he knew existed.
Unfortunately, Felicia had much more control than he or Knightly had anticipated. A brittle smile spread across her face as she leaned forward a little more, making certain that the rise and fall of her cleavage was on full display for Brody’s benefit.
He kept his eyes glued to Felicia’s overly made-up face, refusing to give her the idea that he might enjoy sampling her wares.
“Brody, when I look at you I don’t see money at all. I see a good man worth pursuing, someone I can easily see myself falling in love with.”
Damn. So she wasn’t going to take the bait and rise to the occasion. He almost glanced past Felicia and the bright lighting of the set in order to stare at Knightly on the other side and ask him, Now what?
“Well, if that’s the truth, Felicia, then I’m honored that you think so highly of me.”
He lifted his glass of lemonade to her champagne and toasted to her health. It was going to be a very long, very trying date.
Midge paced her hotel suite, waiting impatiently for Brody to return. She’d been miserable at dinner with the other contestants. It didn’t seem prudent or even rational to worry for Brody since her father and several members of the crew were filming his date with Felicia. It was silly to think that the vixen might try to hurt him when her target was clearly Midge. But she was convinced Felicia Davenport was a dangerous woman, threatening her at every turn yet lurking in the shadows behind anonymous phone calls and menacing notes.
Midge stopped short as a new realization came to her. How could she have been so stupid as to never consider it? Felicia hadn’t been on the group date in Honolulu. She wasn’t there to push Midge into the closet and lock the door behind her. She worried her lip between her teeth, wondering if that incident actually had to do with Felicia or if perhaps Felicia was the puppeteer behind all of this. What if she had her own little puppet doing the work and she was pulling the strings?
The thought sent a shiver down her spine. If that were the case, then Midge didn’t have a very clear picture of who her enemies were and even less chance of protecting herself. Her heart nearly leaped out of her chest at the sharp rap at the door. Midge distractedly moved to answer it, but the only thing she found on the other side was a small white box the size of her palm. She bent down to pick it up, looking for something that might hint at who had sent it to her.
On top of the box she found a small card with a floral design on the front. The words Thinking of You were written in a precise hand that looked almost masculine. Surprised that Brody would have a gift delivered to her in the middle of his date with Felicia, she quickly untied the bow at the top and pulled back the lid.
What lurked beneath left her completely immobile. Resting within the white folds of sparkling tissue paper was one of the ugliest spiders she’d ever seen, and certainly the ugliest of this particular species. A Brazilian Wandering Spider was one of the most venomous spiders you could run into anywhere. This one was black as night with strips of silver along the spindly legs and a humongous, grayish-black abdomen. It’s sinister eyes glared up at her from its perch.