as if her heart wasn’t breaking. She forced her lips into a smile. “I, um, just wanted a little fresh air.”
Gabriel wrapped his arms around her more tightly, nestling her backside firmly against his thighs as he nuzzled her temple. “And I wanted to dance.”
Oliveira looked at them, his eyes narrowed. “You’re both liars.”
Gabriel shook his head. “No—”
“I’ll tell you what is really going on,” the older man interrupted. “You think I am stupid enough to fall for this. But if I sign those papers tomorrow selling you the company, you know what will happen?”
“You’ll make a fortune?” Gabriel drawled.
His hooded eyes hardened. “You will end this charade and be once again free to pursue what does not belong to you.”
Gabriel snorted. “Why would I possibly be interested in your fiancée, Oliveira, when I have a woman like this?”
The other man looked at Laura, then shook his head. “Santos, you change lovers with the rise of each dawn. Miss Parker is beautiful, but you will never commit to her for long. There is nothing you can say to convince me otherwise.” He finished the last of his martini. “I will sell to the Frenchman.”
“You will lose money!”
“Some things, they are more important than money.”
Gabriel exhaled. Laura felt his body tense behind her, tight and ready to snap. “St. Raphaël is a vulture,” he growled. “He will break my father’s company up for parts, fire the employees, scatter the pieces around the world. He will crush Açoazul beneath his heel!”
“That is not my problem. I will not give you any reason to remain in Rio.” Oliveira’s jowly face was grim as he started to turn away, holding out his arm for Adriana, who could barely contain the smug look on her beautiful face.
They’d lost.
Laura’s heart leaped up to her throat, choking her.
They’d failed. She had failed.
“You’re wrong about me, Oliveira,” Gabriel said desperately. “I can commit. I’ve always been ready to commit. I was just waiting for the woman I could love forever.”
Frowning, the older man and Adriana glanced back at them. They stopped. Their eyes went wide.
As if in slow motion, Laura turned to face Gabriel, who was standing behind her.
Except he was no longer standing. He’d fallen to his knee.
He’d pulled a black velvet box out of his tuxedo pocket.
Opening it, he held up a ten-carat diamond ring. “Laura,” he said quietly, “will you marry me?”
Laura’s jaw dropped.
She looked from the ring to Gabriel kneeling in front of her. She looked back at the ring.
I was just waiting for the woman I could love forever.
He’d changed his mind about love and commitment? Did he want her in his bed so badly he was willing to marry her?
He smiled, and everything else fell away. She was lost in his dark eyes.
“What is this?” Oliveira demanded. “Some trick? Now she’s your pretend fiancée?”
Gabriel just looked at Laura. “Say yes. Make this an engagement party.”
And Laura exhaled.
All her wedding dreams came crashing down around her. This proposal had nothing to do with love, or even sex. It was entirely about business.
This was his plan B.
Tears rose in her eyes, tears she hoped would appear to be tears of joy. Unable to speak over the lump in her throat, she simply nodded.
Rising to his feet, Gabriel kissed her. Tenderly, he placed the diamond ring on her finger. It fit perfectly.
Laura stared down at it, sparkling on her hand like an iceberg. It was beautiful. And so hollow.
“Hmm,” Oliveira said, watching them thoughtfully. “Maybe I was wrong about you, Santos.”
“You said you’d never marry anyone!” Adriana sounded outraged.
Never looking away from Laura’s face, Gabriel smiled. “Plans change.”
“But people don’t,” she spit out. “Not this much. You would never marry a woman with a baby!”
Stiffening, Gabriel turned to her.
“She has a baby,” Adriana said spitefully to Oliveira. “They were seen together on Ipanema Beach. He just brought Laura here this morning, after they’d been apart for a year. Why would he suddenly decide he’s in love with a woman after being apart for over a year? It’s a trick, Felipe,” she declared. “It’s a lie. He’s not committed to her. He won’t commit to anyone.”
“I can explain, Oliveira,” Gabriel said through his clenched jaw.
Felipe Oliveira’s jowly face hardened as he slowly turned to face his younger rival. “No,” he said. “I’m afraid you can’t. I don’t appreciate this elaborate theater you’ve performed. The deal is officially off.”
The man turned away. Laura saw Gabriel’s frustration, saw his vulnerability and the desperate expression on his face as he lost his father’s company forever.
“Wait,” Laura gasped.
Snorting a laugh, Felipe Oliveira glanced back at her with amusement. “What could you possibly have to say, little one?”
“Everything that Adriana said is true,” she whispered. “I have a baby. And I hadn’t seen Gabriel since I left Rio over a year ago. But there’s a reason why he came for me. A very good reason he’d want to marry me.”
Folding his arms over his belly, Oliveira looked at her with a shake of the head. “I am dying to hear it.”
Laura didn’t glance at Gabriel. She couldn’t, and still say what she had to say. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath. Then she spoke the secret she’d kept for over a year.
“Gabriel is the father of my baby.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
TREMBLING, Laura folded her arms.
“Ah,” Felipe Oliveira said, stroking his chin with satisfaction as he looked from her to Gabriel with canny eyes. “Now I understand.”
“No!” Adriana gasped. “It can’t be true!”
Laura’s gaze rested anxiously on Gabriel. His dark eyes were deep as the night sky. She saw him take a deep breath.
