Illegitimate Tycoon (29 page)

 
          
It
was like a shrine. The supermodel. The star shining brightly all alone.

 
          
“Why?”
she asked, unable to wrap her brain around what this display meant.

 
          
“I
refurbished this house with great plans to bring you here. To make this our
home. But your career took another megaboost that made that impossible.” He
stared down at their clasped hands, looking far too tense. Too sad. “I have
never been as alone as I was then. When a box of your pictures was delivered to
the penthouse, I went through them. Just seeing you made me feel alive.”

 
          
She
swallowed hard, unsure if she should be flattered or concerned. She stared at
her images on the walls, at Rafael, whose dark eyes glittered with some emotion
she’d never seen before but that made her want to go to him, comfort him. Love
him. As if she’d ever stopped doing that!

 
          
“Oh,
Rafael, I wish you would have told me about this house, your plans.”

 
          
He
laughed, the sound having a nervous edge to it. “That would have required me to
admit that I was either needy or a romantic fool and my pride wouldn’t allow
either. So I hung the pictures in my empty house and convinced myself that as
long as I could look at your face, I wasn’t alone.”

 
          
“Did
it work?” she asked after a long tense pause.

 
          
“No,
for the longer I stayed here, the more I mourned what we’d lost as a couple,”
he said. “What I’d lost and feared I’d never regain.”

 
          
“You
never lost me,” she said, moving into his arms, cupping his handsome face in
her palms. Looking into his intense eyes and finally seeing the little boy who’d
stood outside a window in London, looking at the family he’d been denied.

 
          
All
he’d wanted was a home. A family. Love.

 
          
“I
loved you from the moment I first met you. But after I lost our first baby, my
heart broke knowing I was too afraid to give you want you wanted,” she
admitted, voicing the truth, making it more painful to bear. “I longed for your
child, Rafael, but I feared that if I couldn’t give you what you wanted I would
lose you and myself.”

 
          
He
bit off an oath in Portuguese. “I am a fool. An idiot who doesn’t deserve your
love.”

 
          
“We
both lost our way by putting our careers first,” she said, voicing the obvious
and gaining a grimace from him. “While I don’t regret what I’ve achieved, I,
too, have had an epiphany here.”

 
          
“And
what would that be?” he asked, sliding his arms around her, holding her loosely
in the circle of his embrace so she could slip free if she wished.

 
          
“That
in my quiet times I desperately missed you,” she said. “That I’d lie awake and
wonder if you were thinking of me. That I’d begun to worry that while I was off
somewhere alone and exhausted, you’d found someone else to share your life
with.”

 
          
“Never!”
he said with enough passion to convince her. “No woman has ever captured my
interest but you. I love you, Leila. I’ve always loved you and always will. But
I won’t force you to live here—”

 
          
Her
heart stuttered and she pressed her fingers over his seductive mouth. “Wait!
Say that again.”

 
          
She
felt his lips pull into a sexy smile that made her breath catch and her body
hum with a different need. “I won’t force you to live here because I—”

 
          
“No,
tell me what’s in your heart,” she protested, blinking back tears that
threatened to fall.

 
          
“Because
I love you,
meu amor
. Today, tomorrow
and forever.”

 
          
His
lips closed over hers, soft, seeking, so tender that the tears she tried to
hold back broke free. He loved her, and that was all that mattered to her. It
had been so long since she’d heard those words. Too long.

 
          
“We
can live wherever you wish,” he said.

 
          
“I
don’t care as long as you’re with me.”

 
          
He
gave a shaky nod, his eyes growing suspiciously moist. “As for your career, I
promise I won’t stand in your way.”

 
          
She
skimmed her fingers over his devastatingly handsome face, over the broad
shoulders that had carried the weight of far too much grief in his life.

 
          
“I
already told my agent that after this next shoot, I won’t do anymore until
after the babies are born,” she said. “And then, I will be very selective about
the shoots that I take because my family comes first in my life. I need to
focus on these precious babies inside me, Rafael. Our babies. I still worry
about relapsing, but I know if you are with me, beside me, I will be stronger.
You make me strong, Rafael, and you make me feel beautiful and cherished.”

 
          
“Good,
because I have handed over the day-to-day issues of my business so I can spend
more time with you. Together we can do anything, Leila, and I will always be
there for you no matter what happens. But I fear I will need your help, too, in
being the best father I can be. I need you to show me how to care for our
precious babies,” he said, his hands sweeping down her back, pulling her
closer, fitting her where she belonged—next to his heart.

 
          
“Oh,
Rafael, you will be an amazing father, and

 
          
I
will help. We will help each other, my love, forever.” And she kissed him,
showing him by her actions how much she loved him.

 
          
Ahh,
in this they were always in sync. “So what do you suggest we do with all this
free time we’ll have?”

 
          
“I’ve
an idea or two,” he said, his mouth returning to hers for a kiss that left no
doubt of the pleasures he vowed to share with her.

 
          
Today.
Tomorrow. And for the rest of their lives.

 
          
Jacob’s
one brief encounter with his brother Sebastian might have left him intrigued by
his other siblings, but Jacob knows he must leave the past where it is. A
business trip to Brazil helps to clear his mind, and as Jacob sits and watches
the successful young businessmen collecting their awards, his mind drifts
elsewhere until he hears a familiar name being called to the podium, a familiar
face from his past—and his heart simply stops in his chest …

 
          
Jacob
knows his brother Rafael has seen him. Terrified of speaking to him or facing
him again, Jacob leaves hastily. But Rafael was never one to give in and he
easily tracks Jacob down, requesting a meeting. Torn, Jacob isn’t sure he can
meet with Rafael after all this time, the shame is too much, but he knows that
the time has come to face his fears.

 
          
Seeing
Rafael again and talking to his beloved brother is actually easier than Jacob
had ever expected it would be. As Jacob learns about his other brothers and sister
he feels his heart begin to crack, pleased that they are all doing well …
without him. However, Jacob also learns that the family is not as close as it
once was and, for the first time since he left, Jacob begins to consider what
might have been lost by shutting himself off so completely …

 
          
Share a secret about Rafael or Leila?

 
          
Rafael
was secretly afraid he would end up unloved, unwanted, without ever having a
family of his own, without a real home and genuine love.

 
          
Who is the biggest, baddest Wolfe?

 
          
Lucas
Wolfe. He was the loose cannon—the man who had nothing at all to lose, for
William Wolfe had cruelly robbed him of the identity of his maternity because
of his own deep shame.

 
          
Which Wolfe brother did you most fancy?

 
          
Oh,
that’s a difficult choice to make. I love reckless playboys and fearless race
car drivers, so I was drawn to both Lucas and Alex. Of course there is Jacob,
who at such a tender age proved he was a hero. And it’s a given that I have a
soft spot for the illegitimate son, I did so enjoy writing about Rafael! Can I
say I thought they were all fascinating?

 
          
Which is your hero’s favourite room in
Wolfe Manor?

 
          
The
private parlour in Wolfe Manor. It looks out on the vast gardens and dilapidated
fence, and that was where Rafael first sneaked onto Wolfe Manor property. To be
inside the manor looking out is a major triumph for him, though it will never
make up for all those lost years of his father denying, and disowning, him.

 
          
How did your hero pop the big question?

 
          
Totally
spontaneously after a night with Leila in Rio. He felt a connection to her that
he’d never felt with another soul and knew he couldn’t let her go.

 
          
What do you enjoy most about writing as
part of a continuity series; how does it differ from writing a single title?

 
          
I
loved the vast scope of a continuity, for it provided countless possibilities
for each character to explore. It was also wonderful to share this sisterhood
of writing with such a talented group of authors.

 
          
What do you think makes a great
hero/heroine?

 
          
Their
inner struggle. The thing that they refuse to acknowledge, but that they must
vanquish in order to ever find true happiness.

 
          
When you are writing, what is a typical
day?

 
          
Ah,
my writing days are far from typical! I have a full-time job, so I write before
I go to work, say from 5:30 to 7am, then after dinner and a tiny window of
relaxation, I write again from 8pm to midnight. Weekends I juggle a personal
life with writing. Often the writing wins out because of deadlines.