A Taste Of Brazil_An Interracial Billionaire Romance

by Kendra Riley

  She thought about asking him what had happened in his life, if he had stayed with that girl, if he was married now. But she realized that she actually didn’t care. She’d stopped caring for Robbie a long time ago. It was a welcomed realization.

  “Ah, well welcome back.”

  “Mommy. Look, snail.” Ben was tugging on her jeans and pointing to a snail in front of him. She could see the look of surprise run over Robbie’s face.

  “Your kid?”

  “Yeah, this is Ben. The cutest little guy in the world.” She picked him up and kissed his neck while he giggled and tried to wriggle away. “Anyway, we better get going. Nice seeing you again and good luck settling back in.”

  Robbie started to say something and Hazel walked off. At least that meet up had made her feel good.

  After their evening rituals of food, playtime and bath she finally put Ben to sleep and then crept down the stairs. She needed to speak to someone. She thought about calling her mother or calling Theresa, but she wasn’t quite sure she was ready to tell them. They were still battling to come to the terms that Damien had gone to jail – especially after they had all announced how much they liked and trusted him from that first meeting. It had taken Hazel three weeks to finally sit them down and tell them that not only had Damien been sentenced to imprisonment but that she was now carrying his child.

  It had been a hard thing to tell them and a hard pill to swallow herself. They’d been incredibly supportive but she knew how much they hated him for what he had done to her. How he had managed to fool all of them. Instead, she phoned Rachel. She’d met Rachel about two months into her pregnancy. They were in the same antenatal class and their babies were due at the same time. They had clicked instantly and since then the two of them had become fast friends. Rachel had been there for her throughout the pregnancy and had been her rock while she tried to bring up Ben on her own. Ben loved Rachel, who came around to the house at least once or twice a week. And Ben loved Willow, Rachel’s little girl.

  “Hey Rachel. Hope this isn’t a bad time.”

  “Perfect time actually. Willow is fast asleep and Leo is playing his video game. I swear – it’s like I have two kids sometimes.”

  That made Hazel laugh. She could easily picture Leo sitting in the living room with his headphones on, a bag of chips and a can of cola next to him while he shot zombies left right and center. He was like a teenager in an adult's body. There was something quite adorable about it and while Rachel liked to complain, it was obvious that she was still smitten with him.

  “Ben is also sleeping. We’re lucky to both have kids that like sleeping so much. I’ve heard nightmares about children who just refuse to go to sleep.”

  “Yeah, that’s probably because they can see how much we love our sleep, too. So… how was school today?”

  “Uh… actually… that’s why I called.”

  “Why? What happened?”

  “So many things. Let’s start with Robbie. I bumped into him on the way home from school.”

  “What? The Robbie? Robbie the scumbag?” Rachel had never met Robbie but she knew all about what had happened.

  “The very one. Turns out he’s been in London this whole time. He’s back now.”

  “Whoa. So… how did it feel seeing him?”

  “It felt like I really just didn’t give a shit. I felt nothing. Oh, also, he’s fat now.”

  Rachel laughed. “That, my friend, is brilliant news. I hope you’re having some wine to celebrate. I’ll gladly have some with you.”

  “Well, no, because that’s not all that happened. Today was like a ‘let’s throw the past into Hazel’s face and see how she reacts’ kind of day.”

  “What do you mean? What else happened?”

  Hazel took a deep breath. “Damien is back.”

  “DAMIEN?! How do you know? Wasn’t he only supposed to come out in like two more years?”

  “Turns out you can get released early on good behavior. He came to the school.”

  “OH MY GOD. Hazel, are you pulling my leg here?”

  “I’m not. I know, it sounds mental doesn’t it.”

  “How was it? You know, seeing him?”

  “It was hard. Oh Rachel, it was so hard. I want to hate him. I want to punch him. But he just stood there – looking all Damien like. And I also just wanted to throw my arms around him. It’s so confusing. I told him to leave. He did. He also left me a note with his phone number and his address.”

  “What are you going to do?”

  “I don’t know. That’s why I’m calling you. You have to tell me what to do. I cannot make this decision on my own.”

  “You have to go see him.”

  “I know.”

  “You have to tell him about Ben.”

  “I know.”

  “Listen, Hazel, you can do this. You have already survived so much on your own. You’ve proven to yourself and to everyone around you that you are strong enough to handle anything. So you’ve got this. You always knew that one day you would see him again and that one day you would have to tell him about Ben. And you deserve to know why he did what he did. You’ll never get full closure until you do.

  "And remember, you have the right to keep Ben away from him. But you also have the right to let him decide whether or not he wants to be a part of Ben’s life. And that doesn’t mean that he has to be a part of yours. If you’ve moved on, and if you don’t want anything to do with him – then you don’t have to. These are you decisions. Just go see him. Talk to him. And then you move on from there. You move on and forge forward – just as you always have. You know you’re my hero, right?”

  Hazel felt the tears rolling down her face “Yeah, but that’s mainly because I can hold my liquor isn’t it?”

  “Mostly. Yes.”

  Hazel laughed. “I love you, Rachel.”

  “I love you, too, Hazel.”

  Chapter5

  Damien

  “So, did you see her?”

  Damien was sitting with his brother having lunch. It was the second time that they had seen each other. It was Damien that had called to ask if they could meet up and his brother had seemed pleasantly surprised. This time they weren’t at a greasy burger joint but were enjoying a rather classy lunch in the city. According to Wesley, it was the only place to go for something that is both healthy and delicious. Damien hated to admit how much he was enjoying it but his body seemed to actually be screaming ‘thank you’ with each bite he took. A few years ago, he would’ve teased his brother about a place like this.

  “Yeah. I went to her school.”

  “I’m assuming from the look on your face that it didn’t go too well.”

  “Not particularly. Although, I’m not exactly surprised by her reaction either. She hadn’t expected me to be out for another two years, at least, and I suppose nothing could quite prepare her for it. She asked me to leave. I don’t think she wanted the kids to see me. I don’t blame her. I left her my number and my address but I haven’t heard anything yet.”

  “Ah, you going to try again?”

  “Definitely. I’m not giving up. No way. But I’ll give it another day or two at least. I don’t want to freak her out. Ah Wesley, man, it was so good to see her again. I knew I had missed her but I didn’t quite realize just how much until I saw her. She’s so damn beautiful. Of course, I couldn’t say that to her, even though all I wanted to do was go up and kiss her. Ah sorry, don’t know why I’m telling you all of this.”

  “Uh… because I’m your brother. Damien, I’m glad you’re talking to me about all of this. I’ve missed this, you know. You didn’t see the kid, though?”

  “No. And I don’t think she even knows that I know about him. Or her. I really need to speak to her. There’s just so much that I want to say. I knew that I couldn’t ask too much of her on the first day. I just hope she gives me a chance to speak.”

  “She will.”

  “Yeah, give it time and all that crap. I know. I know. I’ve
become the king at waiting.”

  Wesley suddenly looked very uncomfortable and Damien looked at him suspiciously.

  “What’s up, Wes?”

  “Look, I know we’ve just reunited and all that. But… I’d love you to meet my family.”

  Damien punched him on the arm. “Seriously? You’re nervous to ask me that? Of course I want to meet them. Tell me about them. Let me guess… five kids and you live in a mansion, three cars, a Jacuzzi and a sauna. Oh, and a butler?”

  He laughed. “What a bizarre image you have of me. One house. Normal size. One car. No Jacuzzi or sauna but we do have a pool. Well, my wife is Christie. She’s absolutely gorgeous but super down to earth. More a trainers and jeans kind of girl. And get this… she likes playing games more than me.”

  “What? Dude, nice.” Damien didn’t want his brother to know that he didn’t even know he was a gamer. He thought it was better to leave that out. He was glad that Wesley had found someone that made him so obviously happy.

  “Yeah, check her out.”

  Wesley pulled out his wallet and showed him a photo of himself and Christie on their wedding day. He was right. Christie was beautiful. She actually reminded him a lot of Hazel. A blonde version. There were some people that you just had to look at once to know they were good inside and out. He felt a tugging at his heart that he hadn’t been to their wedding. He had, in fact, received the wedding invitation but it had collided with a big ‘job’ of his and he had decided not to go. It was one of the biggest regrets of his life.

  “She’s beautiful. God, Wesley, I can’t believe I didn’t come to your wedding. I’m so sorry. It is by far one of the biggest regrets of my whole life. I am such an idiot. I really am sorry. You must’ve hated me so much.”

  “It’s okay. I did hate you – I won’t lie. But I don’t anymore. We’re talking again now. And you’re moving on from all of that. We all do things that we regret. But you’re the only family I have left so I’m not going to hold it against you.”

  “Dammit, why are you so nice? I feel like you got all of the nice genes.”

  “Nah, I also got the good looking one.”

  Damien laughed, and again he wondered how much different his life would’ve been had he just stayed in his brother’s life and listened to his sense. “So tell me about Christie. What does she do?”

  “She teaches high school. Poor thing. Lucky teenage boys though. Imagine having a teacher like that!”

  She teaches! She’s even more like Hazel than I thought. Maybe all teachers are nice people.

  “Yeah, I don’t think I would’ve gotten much work done with a teacher looking like that. We just had old men when we were in school.”

  “Ha! Not that it made you do your work. You still hated school!”

  “That’s true. I really hated it. Hey, I just realized that I don’t even know what you do? Flip, I’m a terrible brother.”

  “It’s okay. It’s been a while. I’m a teacher, too. Different school though and different subjects. She teaches English and I teach Science.”

  “What?! You’re a science teacher?”

  “Yeah, I was always a little bit nerdy. So you can’t be surprised.”

  “I’m not surprised. But I am actually very impressed. A science teacher. Wow. Hey, maybe you can go all Breaking Bad on me and the two of us can get together to make drugs. You make them, I’ll sell them.”

  “Ah, thinking just like a man who has just been to jail.”

  “What a bore! So… any kids?”

  Damien watched as Wesley’s face broke into a smile. It was easy to see that his family were his whole life.

  “Yeah, two. Here…”

  Wesley took out another photo from his wallet. Two little girls grinned into the camera – their faces every bit Christie and incredibly angelic. Damien could see why he smiled when he spoke about them.

  “They’re beautiful. Wow – so you live with three girls!”

  “Yep. They rule the kingdom. And I am their slave. They’re amazing though. They really changed our lives.”

  “Twins?”

  “Yep. Sarah and Ashley. They’re five now and more talkative than ever before. And they are very strong willed – which they definitely get from Christie. At the moment they are refusing to wear dresses. They said dresses are restrictive because they can’t run around and get dirty in them. And yes, they also actually used the word restrictive. They also both want to become scientists at the moment. They said it’s not fair that it’s normally boys that do science.”

  “And you know what… I bet you that’s exactly what they’ll become.”

  “I think so, too.”

  “So, when do I get to meet them?”

  “Actually, Christie is picking me up soon as we’re going to a friend’s place for the afternoon. They also have kids so we can actually have some adult time. Uh… want to say hi when she comes? It will just be a quick meeting. I mean… of course you don’t have to. I’ve just kind of thrown this at you at the last minute. I know the whole thing might be a bit much.”

  “Don’t be crazy. I’d love to meet them. I assume she knows all about me?”

  “She does. And she’s glad that we’ve reconnected.”

  Half an hour later and Wesley got a call from Christie to say she was outside. Damien felt incredibly nervous, almost as if he were meeting his girlfriend’s parents for the first time. It reminded him of the first time that he had meet Hazel’s family. The night when it all went wrong. As they approached the car, he saw Christie get out. She had her hair pulled back and she was wearing a t-shirt, some jeans and trainers. Wesley was right – she was definitely a very laid back person. Yet she was beautiful.

  “You must be Damien. I’m Christie.” Her voice was soft but confident.

  “Christie, it’s so great to meet you. Wesley has been telling me all about you.”

  “Oh dear.” She glanced between Damien and Wesley.

  “Trust me, only good things.”

  “You just never know with this one. Let me get the kids.” She opened the door and two little girls came out. They were both dressed in clothes similar to their mother and it was very hard to tell them apart. “This is Sarah and this is Ashley. Say hello girls. This is your Uncle Damien.”

  Uncle Damien. Uncle Damien. The words tugged at his heart.

  “Wow, we have an uncle! Cool!” the one said and the other one giggled shyly. “Will you come visit our house? We can show you all of our toys! Our daddy helped to build us our very own scientist lab. So we can show you how to make cool potions.”

  Damien looked up at Christie, unsure how to reply. Thankfully she noticed his discomfort and replied for him.

  “We will definitely be inviting your uncle over soon. But only if you girls are on your best behavior. Deal?”

  “Deal!”

  She laughed and then looked back at him. “Well, we better get going, but we really would love to have you over for dinner. I make a mean lasagna.”

  “Deal!” he said and they both chuckled.

  He said his goodbyes and then made his way home. He felt a strange sensation as he walked. A mixture of happiness and sadness. He had missed out on so much – Wesley’s first love, his wedding, the birth of his children. Why had Damien been such a fool? All he had thought about was himself all these years. He was deep in thought, so much that he didn’t even notice the figure standing in front of his motel room.

  “Penny for your thoughts?”

  He jumped when he saw her. Hazel!

  “Hazel!”

  “It’s my turn to frighten you with an unplanned visit.” She was smiling at him but there was still so much sadness in her eyes.

  “Hey… I’m glad you’re here.”

  “Yeah… look… I’m sorry about the other day. It was just a huge shock to me. And like I said, I didn’t want the kids to see you. They’d have a million questions that I am just not strong enough to answer right now. But… we do need to talk.”


  Damien was in such shock he was surprised words were actually coming out of his mouth. “Want to go for coffee? Or come in?”

  “Uh… you have coffee in there?”

  “Of course I do! Come in.” Damien was surprised that she was happy to be alone with him. But then he supposed the conversation was not something that she wanted everyone else to hear. He opened the door and let her in, slightly ashamed by his little motel room – the few clothes, and sparse belongings. There was nowhere to sit down but the bed so she gingerly sat down on the end while he went to make them coffee.

  “Okay, is that a coffee press?” she asked him.

  “It sure is.” And held it up with pride.

  “So let me get this straight, you don’t even have two pairs of shoes at the moment but you have a coffee press?”

  “Yeah… I got it the first time I went shopping. I felt it was imperative.”

  “Ah… priorities.”

  “Of course.” He made the coffee and was surprised at how easy it felt to have her there.

  Although he was aware of her eyes watching him as he made the coffee, he tried desperately not to spill. Finally, he walked up to her with two steaming cups. He didn’t want to tell her that the biggest reason he had gotten the coffee press was because he had spent the last two years drinking coffee that just tasted like dirty water. That he had dreamed about coming home and taking a sip of proper coffee and how it still reminded him of her – and how they had always loved their coffee together. He didn’t want to tell her anything of that just yet. He was too scared of ruining the moment. He was so afraid she would just run away the moment things got serious.

  “Thank you. Where did you just come from?”

  “Actually, lunch with my brother.”

  “Seriously?”

  He smiled at her. “Yeah. He fetched me from prison and we got talking the whole way – went for lunch and everything. Some crazy place offering the biggest and most delicious burgers in the area – and they weren’t wrong. It was fantastic just watching my brothers face biting into it – he’s on this major health kick so you can imagine what a burger that size and with that much bacon and cheese tasted like to him. Priceless.” Damien realized that he was talking too much but he just suddenly didn’t know how to stop. He took a deep breath. “I called him to meet me again today. And get this… I even met his wife and kids. Seems I missed out on his whole life. I’m going to make up for it though. He’s my brother. I didn’t quite know how much I missed him until now. You’ll like him Hazel.”