“A bit, yes. I feel this visit I’ve been able to see more in a short amount of time than ever before.”
How could she say these things without even cracking a smile?
Rogerio led them up the trail. “Tell us what you’ve done.”
Their trail curved round, through trees and then up a flight of stairs. They would be at the base of Cristo Redentor soon, Tyler assumed.
“Well, I told you already I know of Madame Rosario. I was able to spend some time in her shop yesterday.”
“Oh, are you going to be married too?” Rogerio and Mr. De Santos laughed and nudged Tyler. He forced a laugh to join them.
“Is Mr. Sperring going to be married?” She looked amused, but a new glint sparked at him, and he hurried to explain. “No, not—”
“He had the best date of his life last night, and it ended with a proposal.”Mr. De Santos grinned as though he had been there.
“And she said yes!” Rogerio clapped Tyler on the back.
“Wow,” Kayla laughed. “That’s some date.”
“That’s what we said. That’s how our Tyler is.” Rogerio’s eyes sparkled in pride. “He knows how to seal the deal.”
Kayla’s forehead wrinkled as she looked from Tyler to the other men. “How long have you two known each other?”
“For years. Tyler and I used to work together.”
She nodded.
At last, they reached the final segment of stairs. Tyler’s chest had started to ache with the climb. He hid his shortness of breath, but their night was catching up to him, and he could only go so far on morning caffeine. Kayla seemed pale and quiet but otherwise unaffected.
As he watched her purposely avoid looking at him still, he wondered for the first time if she’d left without giving him her number on purpose. Maybe she had really wanted to keep the night what it was, just one night of fun. And now here she was, stuck with more of him. Heh, he thought to himself. He was not giving up. He knew she was affected by him, or she had been. He would restrain his wondering and not give in to rash misunderstandings until they had a chance to talk. Until then, it was fun, this secret they shared.
“So, what else have you seen?” Tyler stepped up beside her. The others were still within earshot but perhaps they might have a moment without eavesdroppers.
She lifted her gaze to the others and then glanced his way with a slight roll of her eyes. Oh, to be able to read her mind. Then she said, “I had a lovely walk on the beach.”
Rogerio and Mr. De Santos talked for many minutes about their beaches and which ones were the best and how famous they were and well visited by tourists. He stepped close enough to her that they rubbed shoulders.
“And you, Tyler. What are some of your favorite haunts here in Rio?”
“Well, it’s not as if I’ve been able to spend as much time here as I would like, but I certainly enjoy a good samba.”
She snorted and looked away.
“Ho ho!” Rogerio clapped him on the back. “Do you know how to samba?” He shuffled his feet and wiggled his hips, and then Tyler joined him. He watched Kayla out of the corner of his eyes. She seemed an entirely different person today, perhaps, or maybe she was tired.
Rogerio called to her. “And you too, do you know the samba tambem?”
She laughed and started wiggling her hips just the way Tyler remembered. “Oh, yes, I do! It’s become one of my favorites.” She moved to the front of them, going backwards up the hill doing the samba.
He wanted to wrap his hands around her hips and dance again like they had at the dance club. But instead he clapped his hands. “Well done!”
She turned, and they crested the last bit of stairs to stand in front of the Cristo Redentor. Mr. De Santos crossed himself, and Kayla approached reverently. He tipped his head back. The statue was so much larger than he thought, especially because it sat on such a tall pedestal. It was boxy in shape and panned out above him in a twenty-eight-meter arm spread. “Wow, that’s remarkable.”
Rogerio nodded. “Yes, we are very proud of it, all over Brazil. It is in all the movies and talked about, much like your Statue of Liberty, isn’t it?”
Tyler nodded. “Yes, very much.”
Rogerio and De Santos circled around to the other side of the statue, and as soon as they were out of eyesight and earshot, he reached for her hand. “What. Are. The. Odds?”
She widened her eyes and pulled her hand away, watching for the men to return. Then she lifted the corner of her mouth. “I didn’t get enough sleep last night to be able to deal with this.” Her eyes narrowed in what he hoped was mock accusation.
“You got sleep?”
“Well, no.”
“Okay then we’re even.”
They rounded the pedestal to catch up with the others.
Kayla hurried to stand beside them. “Thank you for sharing this with me, with us. I’ve always wanted to see it.”
Tyler watched her, watched Mr. de Santos defer to her, studied Rogerio’s reactions to her. She was a stunning woman, even without any sleep.
Perhaps winning this bid wouldn’t be as easy as he had assumed.
Chapter 7
Back in the car, going down the mountain through the beautiful trees, Kayla was overwhelmed. Too many emotions ran through her, too many thoughts. “I loved the view.”
Tyler nodded. “I as well. Some of Brazil’s finest views can be had up there.”
She watched him. He would be hard to beat. He was charming, and she knew all about his bottling company. They were ruthless, huge, and smart. They swallowed up competitors instead of letting them win. They out-bid, out-spent, and saved their clients’ money.
But she cared about Brazil’s infrastructure. She cared about potential fallout. Her company could appeal in other ways, she was sure of it.
Her mind still swirling, she scrolled through the images she took on her phone. “We were so blessed to get a clear day.” She held up one of her photos. “Just look at this.”
They took it from her and seemed pleased that she cared. She really did care. She loved Brazil and its crisp blue water, the rocks that seemed to rise up out of the ocean in the bay, the greenery on the hills around them. The houses upon houses everywhere she looked. The pulse, the heart of Brazil. She loved it all.
“You have an appreciation for our country.” Rogerio smiled.
“I do. I think your country is beautiful and your people some of the best in the world.”
Mr. de Santos’s eyes lit, and Rogerio nodded, pleased. She loved to be able to help warm their hearts and be completely sincere while doing so. Her gaze travelled to Tyler, as she knew it would whenever they were together. He crossed his arms, and his devilish eyebrow wiggled just a little. Did he doubt her?
She tipped her head and looked away. She had nothing to prove to him. No matter how much fun they’d had or what kind of connection she had experienced with him, this pitch mattered. She couldn’t give it up even if she wanted to; it was out of her hands.
The limo pulled up in front of her hotel. She was surprised when everyone exited. Rogerio reached for her hand. “I know we are doing things differently than you expected?”
“True. I had a wonderful day.” She smiled.
“Tomorrow we will see Sugarloaf before our other meetings?”
“I would love that.” But her heart iced over, and her throat threatened to close up. She had seen the cable car travel precariously from one hill to the next, dangling on what could only be called sketchy cables across a huge expanse of homes and then out over the bay. Heights. Her other fear. She hadn’t dared mention it to Tyler because she found it impossible to face. “What time should I come in?”
Tyler stood beside her.
“We’ll come by the hotel and pick you both up here. Ten A.M?”
“Us both?” She turned to Tyler.
“I’m staying here as well.”
Her mouth dropped open. He had come to the same hotel last night?
His
eyes lit with amusement but glanced away. “I’ll look forward to it as well.”
They shook hands with the men from Antar and watched the limo pull away. As soon as it was out of sight, Kayla groaned. “I want my bed.”
His chuckle started low, and then he reached for her hand. “So many things I could have said in response to that. But let’s get you inside.”
They made their way through the lobby. “And you were here last night as well?” she asked him.
He nodded. “I was.”
They stopped in front of the elevator. “Last night,” she said in a rush. “I had the driver circle back to find you.”
When the door opened, he stepped inside and pulled her into his arms. “I ran after the cab. Down the street until it turned.”
She rested her face against his chest. What was she going to do? Right now, it didn’t matter. She just allowed the comfort of being in his arms to wash over her, relieved she hadn’t lost him forever, that he hadn’t tried to avoid sharing phone numbers. And she was too tired to think of anything else. “Can you push ten?”
He grunted, and the familiar lurch of the elevator rising made her step away. “Tyler.”
His answering raise of the eyebrows when she pulled back to look at him made her smile. “I had a wonderful night last night.”
“Agreed.” He watched her, and she couldn’t tell what was going on in his head. How strange to feel like she knew him so completely last night and then this morning realize she knew nothing about him.
“And I thought I’d lost you,” she added.
“It was the worst kind of torture.”
“But—” She shook her head. She didn’t know what to say. But I’m going to try to steal this bid from you? But I hope they pick me and not you. But I’m stuck. I either win this or I’m trapped?
“Let’s get some rest before we deal with the rest of that sentence,” he murmured
The door opened, and he let her exit first. She headed toward her room. He followed. She kept walking and his grin grew.
“What?” she asked.
“Nothing. I just wonder how close our rooms are.”
“You’re on this floor too?”
“I am.”
She stopped in front of her door, and he shook his head. “Right across the hall.”
“No way.”
He pulled out his room key and showed her.
“I couldn’t have made this up.” Her room keycard lit green, and she paused. “Do you want to come in? I have a sitting area.” What was she doing? She wanted him to come in, but also, she didn’t want him to come in. She needed to spend five hours researching his company and finding weaknesses, coming up with strategies on how to present herself as the stronger of the two, but instead she waited, hoping he would join her.
He paused. Then he shrugged. “With you, I can’t resist. It’s like last night is stretching out into my whole life.”
She pushed open her door, grateful for housekeeping having cleaned up the signs of her shower and exercise session that morning. “Even today. Not at all what I expected.”
“I should have known. They’re a bit eccentric.”
“Me too. It’s such a Brazilian way, to treat us so well, tour the city, and enjoy other people before talking business.”
“Yes exactly.”
And there it was, the competitive edge between them. She tipped her head. “Are we gonna play ‘who knows Brazil better’??”
His expression softened. He rubbed his forehead. “No, not now. Tomorrow? Who knows? But now, I just want to sit on your couch.” He stepped around her and dropped to the couch, leaned his head against the back, and closed his eyes. Then he opened one. “You gonna join me?” He rested his arm along the back of the couch, and she sat down and snuggled into him.
His voice rumbled through her. “Ah, this is nice. Let’s sleep on it and talk about it over dinner tonight.”
Even more time she should be researching how to beat him, but she only nodded and closed her own eyes. “You’re on.”
His breathing became steady and heavy almost immediately. But she couldn’t relax completely, not yet. Her mind spun with too many scenarios, seeking, hoping for one where she could get the bid and keep Tyler in her life. Soon they all jumbled in a mass confusion, and she knew she would nod off. She laid down with her head at the end of the couch and rested her legs on Tyler. She felt strangely at peace and safe with the man who could ruin all of her company’s hopes.
Tyler woke up with his arm around Kayla. Somehow, he had joined her, lying prone on the sofa. Her back curled up into him, and she was cradled in his arms. Her hair smelled of lemons and something from last night, something uniquely her. The crack in the hotel curtains told him the sun had lowered in the sky. The room was quiet, and Kayla’s breathing was regular. Her mouth pushed forward in a cute, pouty expression, her forehead was smooth. His gaze followed the line of her pert nose as it turned up at the end. She was classically beautiful. Her features were stunning, and he had loved spending time with her. That went without saying. They were both highly compatible, and it made for fantastic dates, but what more did he know about this intoxicating woman? He was unexplainably attracted to her, certainly. He closed his eyes. No, he couldn’t talk himself out of it. They had something special, a connection he’d never felt with anyone else. He sighed. Next to him, she stirred.
In her first moments, before clarity broke through her sleep haze, she smiled. And he wanted mothing more than to press his lips to that beautiful smile. Then her eyes fluttered open, and he waited for her to notice him. She ran her hand along the arm that was draped across her front, then she turned to face him. “Hello.” Her bright eyes twinkled at him, and her smile widened.
“Hello, yourself.”
She snuggled closer into his chest and closed her eyes again. He tightened his hold and ran his fingers up and down her back. What was he going to do? He trailed his fingers through her hair, lightly moving aside strands, running one finger along the base of her neck and then up her scalp, massaging in gentle circles. “What am I going to do with you?”
“Exactly what you’re doing right now.” She smiled, her eyes still closed at first, and then she opened them and looked up at him.
Tyler ran a finger along her forehead. “Your eyes are brilliant. Every time I see them, they’re shining pools of light.”
“You stopped.”
He laughed and then ran fingers up and down her back. “Should we go get some food?”
Now she sighed. “But then we have to talk, and if we’re gonna talk, we have to figure out how we want to go about competing for the same bottler franchise, and if we have to do that, then you might not like me any more and you’ll stop rubbing my back.” Her smile turned impish.
“Oh, so you’re using me for my mad back-rubbing skills?”
“You know it. You’ve got some serious talent.”
“Mmm. So you like this.”
She snuggled closer. “Very much. Too much.”
“Well, we could linger and do these kinds of things… Or we could go get some food and come back to doing these kinds of things.”
She eyed him, skeptical.
“I don’t imagine my interest in you is going to change after a conversation.” He lifted her hand, playing with her fingers. They were soft, her nails neatly trimmed. He admitted to being all the more intrigued now that he knew she was head of a growing, successful bottler. So much potential there, for business and in their relationship, if he could somehow salvage a relationship after everything.
She turned to face him, her eyes suddenly sad, and the unhappiness he saw there tore into him. “What is this?” He ran a finger across her forehead again, now wrinkled with concern
“There’s so much at stake.” She looked away. “You’re right, let’s go eat. And if you still want to, we can go be tourists again after.”
“That’s the spirit.” His stomach grumbled. “I don’t understand how women seem
to survive without food. I’m so hungry I can’t think straight.”
She laughed and then stood. “So, I’ll see you in an hour?”
“What! No way. Let’s go down right now.”
“I feel disgusting.”
“You look stunning.”
She turned pink but eyed him. “Okay, at least let me brush my teeth.”
“Now that I won’t complain about.”
She swatted him and then entered the bathroom.
His gaze travelled over her room, but everything was put away, so there wasn’t really anything to see. Then he opened up the curtains. She had the gorgeous bay sideview. From here he could see Sugarloaf, the starkly beautiful peak that rose up out of the water, where they would go tomorrow. He could also see the beautiful Cristo Redentor. The dark-blue water reflected the setting sun, and he drank it all in. Iowa had nothing on this view. The way Kayla talked about Brazil made him wish he appreciated it more. Mostly he came for business, ate at his favorite restaurants, and then left. But she made it seem like a real place, made him want to know the people.
She came to stand beside him. “It’s incredible.”
He wrapped an arm over her shoulder and kissed the top of her head. No matter what they had to do over this next week, he wanted her to know he cared about her.
They made their way down to the hotel restaurant. Next door to the nicer restaurant was a bar, blaring samba music. The sign read, “Samba Sensation tonight. Nine P.M. to Midnight.”
“Meant to be.” He indicated the bar. “I say we spend some time showing these people what we learned from the locals.”
The Bride's Billionaire Page 5
