father so viciously last night. Before doing the same to her.
“Why do you call her Eliana?” Diego asked. “We all call her Ellie.”
“She is Eliana to me. Do you know what that name means?”
Diego shook his head vigorously.
“It means God has answered.”
“Answered what?”
“Prayers. So Eliana is God’s answer to prayers.”
Completely engrossed, Diego probed, “Whose prayers?”
“Her parents. Mine. And I have a feeling yours, too.”
Rafael’s eyes moved back to her, and the look in them, the way he’d said mine, made her forget how last night had ended in humiliation. But that only lasted for moments before she was back to wanting to rant that she never wanted to see him again.
But Diego clung around her neck with even more fervency than usual. “Please, let him come again.”
Her fury at Rafael intensified. But she couldn’t blast him in front of the starstruck boy, yet she couldn’t raise expectations she’d have to disappoint, either.
“We’ll see, sweetie. Go to sleep now. Or not.”
Forcing a conspiratorial wink, she hugged him one last time and got up before he argued.
Walking away, she struggled not to run out of the ward. It was even worse than she’d thought. All the kids were sitting up in bed, watching Rafael with utmost fascination. They’d never seen anyone like him in their lives. Their interest and eagerness made her curse Rafael even more. Then he made it worse, smiling and waving as he bid them good-night. They all chanted a delighted response.
The moment she closed the door behind them, she turned on him. “What kind of sick game do think you’re playing?”
“I never play any kind of game. I’m here to take you with me. I have a promise of untold pleasure to fulfill. And so do you.”
“Are you for real? No...don’t answer that. Just...”
“Senhor Moreno Salazar!”
She swung around at the excited call and found the nuns who ran the orphanage rushing closer, eyes fixed on Rafael, smiles so large they could have engulfed him whole.
Sister Cecelia, the one who’d called out, started speaking before they reached them. “Now that you’ve seen Ellie, if you’re amenable, we’d love to give you a tour of our orphanage. I know you didn’t have a chance to really see the children today, so you won’t get an accurate idea of the activities and facilities we have for them, but...”
Rafael waved away her anxious explanations. “I’ve seen enough. And I already know you’re the best since Eliana supports your establishment.” He produced a checkbook and pen, scribbled for moments before cutting out a check and handing it to Sister Cecelia. “This is only until you can give me a more comprehensive list of your needs and plans.”
The woman took the check dazedly, looking down at it with the other two nuns squeezing closer to get a look, too.
Their collective gasps told Ellie it was an obscene amount. At least, to mere mortals. To him, a man who juggled billions, everything was pocket change.
“But...Senhor Moreno Salazar...this is...is...”
“Just something to get you started on those projects you told me you’ve been forced to put off for lack of funding.” He handed her a business card. “These are my personal numbers. Call me when you’re ready to discuss your projects in detail. And please, feel free to contact me anytime with any problems concerning the children. If you don’t have project managers, accountants and attorneys you trust, or if you can’t afford any, mine are at your disposal.”
The sisters fell over themselves thanking Rafael for his incredible generosity. He waved away their thanks and shook their hands, assuring them he’d make more visits. Then he turned to Ellie, gesturing for her to precede him out of the building.
Feeling as if she’d fallen into another dimension, she walked ahead. Sister Cecelia fell in step beside her. Rafael followed with the other two flanking him.
“Where did you find this angel, Ellie?” Sister Cecelia all but swooned as she kept snatching glances at said angel.
So not even nuns were immune to Rafael’s charms. She’d bet nothing that breathed would be.
Biting her tongue so she wouldn’t put fallen before angel, she smiled vaguely, diverting the conversation to weekend plans as they made their way out of the orphanage.
The sisters stood at the door waving and sighing until she and Rafael turned the corner. Once they did, she lengthened her steps, wanting nothing but to escape him.
Without even trying, his longer strides kept him by her side, his imposing figure parting the pedestrians around them on the sidewalk like Moses parted the Red Sea.
Finally, out of breath, she ground to a halt and turned on him. “What?”
In answer, he just swept her up in his arms and kissed her.
Just like his first kiss, there were no preliminaries. Just off the deep end into devouring passion. And like they had in that isolated corridor, her senses sang at his feel and taste. The abrasion of his bristling beard and splinted hand stoked the fire that not even his mistreatment had doused, clamoring downtown Rio disappearing around her.
Then the images lodged into her brain. Of him looking at her as if he didn’t know her, walking away without a word then disappearing with that woman...
She tore her lips away, struggling until she made him put her back on her feet. But he wouldn’t let her escape the cage of his embrace.
She glared up at him. “What was all that about? Is making huge, empty promises to vulnerable people the way you get your kicks?”
“I never make empty promises.”
“Sure, because you intend to come back to visit an orphaned boy. Because you intend to place all your resources at the disposal of destitute nuns in a backstreet orphanage.”
“That’s exactly what I will do.”
The imperious conviction with which he said that! Last night, she would have believed him without reservations. She would have had as many stars in her eyes as the kids and nuns had when they looked at him. She would have believed him to be the superhero or the angel they believed he was. He’d been even more to her. The sum total of her fantasies. Then he’d walked away and slapped her with the truth. His truth.
The horrible part was that even knowing it, she couldn’t feel it. Let alone see it. He felt and looked sincere and forthright. Not to mention even more gorgeous. The harsh shadows of the beard and what looked like haggardness made him devastating. Even the casual clothes that were nothing like his impeccable attire last night made him more ruggedly sexual. She felt downright dowdy in comparison.
His left arm
