by Jennie Lucas
“I guess the real question,” he said slowly, “is why did you get involved?”
“As I said, I wanted your full attention—”
“Mrs. Cabrera.” Shaking his head, he gave her a grin. “How dumb do you think I am?”
She stared at him, unblinking. Then she said slowly, “My father died when I was five, the same age as your son. I have almost no memories of him.” She looked away. “I hate it when families are separated.”
“I see,” Tobias said quietly. He paused. “Was there some reason you came looking for me earlier?”
Sitting here, in this elegant, luxurious beach house, her earlier fears about the stranger on the beach seemed paranoid. “I just wondered if you’d heard from my husband since he left. Because...because I haven’t. He hasn’t answered any of my calls.” At his astonished expression, she said quickly, “I just want to know Rodrigo is okay.”
Tobias stared at her, then held out his phone. “Try calling him with this.”
Lola’s eyes went wide. She looked up at him. “Are you sure?”
He shrugged.
“He might fire you,” she said.
“He can try.” Tobias gave a crooked grin. “But I’m backing you, Mrs. Cabrera.”
“Thank you,” she whispered.
He turned away. Lola stared down at the bodyguard’s phone in her hand. Slowly, she typed in Rodrigo’s name. His number came up.
Taking a deep breath, she hit the dial button.
* * *
An hour after Rodrigo’s private jet landed in Los Angeles, he walked into his office building downtown, feeling exhausted in a way that had nothing to do with his hectic business travel to his bustling film studio in Mexico City or his newly acquired television network in Buenos Aires.
For the last week, he’d barely slept. Even when he had, peace had evaded him. And he knew why.
Because of her.
He’d taken Lola as his wife. Taken her to his bed. He now had her securely under his control, and at a distance. He hadn’t answered any of her messages or calls. He got reports on her welfare, and that of his son, from his bodyguards. He’d thought that would create the emotional distance he needed.
So why did Rodrigo still feel so vulnerable?
Why did he dream of Lola every night, in sensual dreams that were even worse than before?
Why did he wake up gasping for her like a suffocating man struggling desperately for breath?
He didn’t have control of her, damn it. He didn’t even have control of himself. It was why he’d left. Why he hadn’t wanted to let himself be near her. Why he couldn’t bear to look at her or hear her voice.
Lola made him want. She made him feel.
And feeling anything for a woman always led to loss. Women were liars. Deceivers. They couldn’t be trusted, except to cause pain.
Keeping his distance was the only way this marriage would work. The only way to give his child a stable family and home.
But even being thousands of miles away hadn’t created the distance he’d wanted. He had to find another solution. Because Lola was right. He hadn’t dragged her to the altar just to abandon her and neglect his child.
Being away from his tiny son for a week had been intolerable. And Rodrigo knew Lola. She wouldn’t put up with this silent treatment forever. Honestly, he was surprised she hadn’t already tried to revolt.
Setting his jaw, he strode into his private office and tossed his briefcase carelessly on his gleaming dark wood desk. Turning, he looked out the windows overlooking the skyscrapers and haze of downtown Los Angeles.
Sleeping with Lola hadn’t gotten her out of his system. For the last week, as he’d made deals, the image of her soft and rosy in bed, the memory of her body against his own, had fogged his brain in a hum of desire. He wanted her. In bed. On his desk. Against the wall. He wanted to possess her until they were both utterly satiated, however long that took. Even if it took forever.
But how could he make love to her, without being tempted to care?
“You’re back!” Turning, he saw his executive assistant, Marnie McAdam, standing in the doorway. “Here are your messages, Mr. Cabrera.” Setting down a small pile on his desk, she cleared her throat. “The International Studio Guild wants to know if you’re bringing your wife to Madrid.”
Rodrigo had the sudden vision of appearing with Lola on his arm, in all her rapturous beauty, when he accepted the award in Madrid next week for CEO of the Year. He’d be envied for his wife, even more than the prestigious award. And afterward, he’d take her to his bed and...
He shivered inside.
“I haven’t thought about it,” he said shortly.
“You need a date. It’s a social event.” Marnie tilted her head, looking at him owlishly through her glasses. “If she can’t come, I could do it. Not as a date or anything,” she added hastily, “but, you know, just to help out.”
Rodrigo frowned at his assistant. Bring her to the ceremony? What was Marnie talking about?
Then he saw her pale, determined expression and relaxed. Marnie wasn’t flirting with him, gracias a Dios. She was merely trying to solve a logistical problem on his behalf, like any good secretary would. “Thank you,” he said smoothly, “but such a sacrifice on your part won’t be necessary.”
“It would be no problem, truly—”
“I know you don’t care to travel. I’ll deal with it.”
Yes, by bringing Lola to Madrid, his body suggested slyly.
Perhaps he was taking it all too seriously, Rodrigo thought suddenly. Perhaps the emotional reaction he’d had last week had been a one-time thing, caused by his year of wanting her.
He blinked.
Sí, it was possible. In which case, the only way to prevent it from happening again was to take Lola to bed and binge on her until he was cured, like someone who, after drinking whiskey until he’s sick, can never bear to taste it again.
Yes. The more that he thought of this—
His phone rang from his pocket. Looking down, he saw the call was from one of his bodyguards, Tobias.
“That’ll be all for now, Marnie.” He nodded at her. As she closed the door behind her, he answered his phone. “Is my wife becoming a problem?”
“I’m your problem now.”
Her low voice made electricity skitter through his body, even as his spine snapped straight.
“Lola.” He breathed deeply. “How did you get this phone?”
“I had no choice, did I? You’re clearly not interested in taking my calls.”
Rodrigo exhaled, and kept his voice a cold, deliberate drawl. “I’ve been traveling for business—”
“When I married you, Rodrigo, I meant it to be forever. But forever’s not going to be like this.”
And the phone went dead in his hands.
CHAPTER FIVE
WHEN RODRIGO ARRIVED at the beach house, Lola was ready for a fight.
She’d already packed her clothes and the baby’s. Because she knew an ultimatum always came at a price—of possibly being forced to go through with the threat.
But she hadn’t married him to be abandoned. If Rodrigo didn’t intend to actually fulfill his promise to be a good father to their baby, then Lola was taking Jett back to New York, to be around people who actually cared about them. Marriage required two people, not just one.
When Rodrigo burst through the door, he strode into the great room, darkly handsome and a little terrifying. Lola faced him defiantly, holding their baby in her arms.
As usual, he was dressed entirely in black, even in sunny California. Unlike Lola, who now wore a T-shirt and shorts suitable for the weather, Rodrigo never changed, no matter where he was or what country he was in. He expected the world to conform to him, not the other way around.
Sometimes she’d liked that about him,
that he was steadfast and strong, like an oak in a world full of weeds. Today wasn’t one of those times.
“Nice of you to visit,” Lola said coldly. “I thought maybe you’d forgotten you were married. Maybe you do need a ring.”
He dropped his briefcase with a bang on the floor, causing their baby to jump with surprise in her arms. “I was traveling. For business.”
She juggled Jett on her hip. “You got here fast, at least.”
“I arrived in LA this morning. I was at the office when you called.”
It surprised her how much that hurt. “You went there first? Instead of home?”
“Business comes first. You know that.”
“Over family?”
“You were fine. You had Tobias and Lester and Mrs. Lee.”
Lola glared at him. “You’re seriously not this stupid.”
He looked at her incredulously. “Stupid?”
“Is this your idea of marriage, of family, to just dump us and disappear? Because it’s not what I signed up for.”
Rodrigo looked irritated. “It’s only been a week.”
“Our first week. Our honeymoon.”
“Don’t be ridiculous, Lola.” His dark eyes glittered. “We’re not in love. Our marriage isn’t based on romance.”
“It should at least be based on respect. We have to look out for each other.” She lifted her chin. “Otherwise, what’s the point?”
Rodrigo scowled, then turned away, staring out the wide windows toward the infinite blue water of the Pacific.
Lola took a deep breath. “Look, if you want out of this marriage—”
“I don’t,” he said, cutting her off.
“Are you sure?” She set her jaw. “Because I’ve packed my bags. If you’re just going to ignore me, I’m taking Jett back to New York. To be with friends.”
Rodrigo slowly reached out to stroke Jett’s hair. Then his dark eyes met hers. “You’re right. I never should have left.”
She sucked in her breath. She hadn’t realized until that moment how tense she’d been. She hadn’t expected Rodrigo to admit fault. He never had before.
“I’ll never abandon you like that again, Lola,” he said quietly. “I give you my word.”
Lola felt a strange sensation in her chest. She’d been so ready for the worst. She cleared her throat. “Oh. Well, good.” Her voice was a little hoarse. “We’re supposed to be a family.”
“I want that, too.”
They stared at each other for a long moment. Then she turned away.
“Jett’s started to get a tooth, did you see?” Lola pointed at his mouth. The baby, now four and a half months old, was cuddled against her hip, babbling happily to himself as he tried to chew on his pudgy hand. “That’s why he’s drooling. Yesterday, he rolled over for the first time. And he’s gained another pound. His pediatrician says he’s doing great.”
“Look at you, pequeño,” Rodrigo said, putting his hand on the baby’s back. As he moved, his fingertips briefly brushed the bare skin of Lola’s arm. Electricity went through her.
“You missed so much,” she whispered. “I wrote to my sisters.”
“Yes. You sent the gift?”
“Yes.”
“You said how much it cost,” he said dryly. “You didn’t say what it was. A new house?”
The corners of her lips lifted. “I promised to pay for the entirety of their college educations. Medical school, law school, anything they want, at any university in the world.”
His eyes widened. Then he smiled. “Very nice.”
“And I passed my GED.” In spite of her best efforts, hurt filled her voice. “I sent you a message. I wanted you to be proud of me.”
“I was proud. I knew you could do it.”
“But you ignored me!”
“I told Marnie to arrange flowers. Didn’t she send them?”
Her eyes narrowed. “No. She didn’t.”
His jaw, dark with a five o’clock shadow, tightened. “You need to get over your irrational hatred for her, Lola.”
Her eyes went wide. “Irrational!”
“She thought I had the right to know about your past. Both as your employer and as your lover.”
“She’s a smug know-it-all!” Lola thought of all the times Marnie had put her down for her lack of education, implying she wasn’t smart enough for her job. “She wasn’t doing it for your sake. She was trying to get rid of me!”
His expression shuttered. “Stop blaming her for your own bad choices. She’s not the one with half-naked pictures, or who tried to sell herself at eighteen to be a star.”
“I never tried to sell myself!” Lola cried, her hands tightening on her baby, who was fidgeting in her arms.
Rodrigo looked at her incredulously. “I saw the pictures. Why won’t you admit the rest?”
Pain burst through her. She turned away, trembling. Carefully, she set Jett down in his baby play gym, leaving him to batt happily at colorful dangling toys. Taking a deep breath, she counted to ten. Then she faced Rodrigo.
“I didn’t try to sell myself to be a star,” she said in a low voice. “I was just desperate for money.”
He snorted. “If you think that sounds better—”
“Just shut up a minute, will you!”
He fell silent. Her hands clenched at her sides.
“I told you my sisters and I were split up into foster care...” Her voice trailed off as she remembered how, at fifteen, with her mother dead and her stepfather gone, the social workers had pulled her from her half sisters, then only five and three. The little girls had cried and screamed, clinging to Lola, begging her not to let them go. Their screams haunted Lola for the next three years.
“Yes?” he said.
She shook her head. “I promised I’d get them back as soon as I could, so we could be a family again. The day I turned eighteen, I dropped out of high school and moved to LA hoping to make enough money. My plan was to be a movie star. I failed.”
“Most actors do fail,” he said matter-of-factly.
“I know that now.” She flashed him a tremulous smile. “Plus, you know what a bad liar I am. I couldn’t act my way out of a paper bag. I’d always been told I was pretty, but Los Angeles is full of pretty girls. Then I met a man who said he was an agent, and could make me a star. I let him take pictures of me in lingerie. He said they were test shots.”
Folding his arms, Rodrigo was silent, watching her. Not meeting his eyes, Lola forced herself to continue.
“He sent me to a hotel suite, supposedly to meet with a producer. But the man didn’t even bother letting me read for the part.” Her cheeks went hot. “He tried to rip off my clothes and hold me down on the bed.”
Rodrigo growled. Looking up, she saw waves of fury visible around him, from his tight shoulders and hard eyes.
“I kicked him in the groin and ran from the hotel room. He shouted after me that I’d never work in Hollywood again.” She looked down at the floor. “And I didn’t.”
Rodrigo came toward her. “I’m sorry.”
She swallowed hard, imagining she saw pity in his eyes. “Marnie must have spoken with my old agent to get the photographs. But she got the story wrong. I never tried to seduce anyone for a role.” She gave a low laugh, wiping her eyes. “In fact, the whole experience was so awful I avoided being alone with men for years. Until—” She lifted her gaze.
His dark eyes burned through her. “Until me?”
She lowered her head. “Later, I almost wished I’d just given the man what he wanted. Because by the time I earned enough as a secretary, it was too late.”
“Too late?”
Lola turned away, toward the great room’s windows. For a moment, she stared out past the terrace and slender palm trees toward the white sand and blue ocean. “Too late to get my famil
y back.”
Her heart hurt as she remembered how, after she’d finally earned enough to get her own apartment without roommates, she’d rushed to visit her sisters, to tell them they could all finally be together. She’d been nearly weeping with joy and relief.
But she found Kelsey and Johanna, now nine and six, pedaling gleaming new bikes on a perfect street in front of a new two-story house in the LA suburbs, as their golden retriever bounded in the sunshine.
“What happened?” Rodrigo said.
“They didn’t remember me,” Lola said in a low voice. “When I told them I’d be taking them to come live with me, they started crying and clung to their foster mother. The woman started yelling at me. And I found out—”
“Found out?”
“My stepfather had already relinquished his parental rights from prison.” Her shoulders sagged. “They’d just been permanently adopted by their foster family.” She took a deep breath. “I started yelling and crying. The parents were so scared of me, they moved away. To New York.”
“Lola,” he said softly.
Suddenly, she couldn’t hold back her tears.
“I lost my family, Rodrigo,” she choked out. “I failed.”
For the first time in her adult life, she let someone see her cry, not a pretty cry either, but ugly and raw. Without a word, Rodrigo pulled her into his strong arms. For long moments, he just held her, stroking her hair as she wept against his shirt.
Finally, her sobs faded. Silence fell. With her cheek pressed against his chest, she could feel the steady, comforting beat of his heart.
“You didn’t fail them, Lola,” he said in a low voice. “You tried your best, when you were barely more than a kid yourself. You need to stop blaming yourself.” He gently kissed the top of her head. “You’ll hear from them soon.”
Drawing back, she said breathlessly, “You think so?”
“Definitely.” He gave her a crooked grin. “After the present you gave them, I don’t see how they could resist.”
Wiping her eyes, she gave a small laugh, like a sob.
Reaching out, he cupped her cheek. “And you have a new family now,” he whispered. “Jett.” His eyes met hers. “Me.”