Page 13 of The Bride's Billionaire

She stared up into his face. He searched her eyes and ran a thumb down the side of her face, cupping her cheek.

They came together in the intimacy of couples long accustomed. No bumbling searching, no fast rushing, or hesitant exploring. It was as if she knew his mouth as well as she had come to know him. He pulled her closer against him. and their kiss deepened immediately, naturally, as her fingers rose up into his soft curls and pulled him closer until her toes were tingling and her head spinning and he had to hold her up. “Mmm. Kayla. You’re something.” Her shook his head, still a hair’s breadth away.

Her taxi pulled up. He groaned. She wanted to wave the car away and press her lips to his again. But duty called, so they moved apart. “Good night,” she whispered.

He held her hand until she slid her fingers out of his and stepped through the opened car door and sat down before closing the door reluctantly. She watched him out of the window until he was out of sight. Sitting back against the seat, she closed her eyes. She’d never felt so connected to another person.

Then her eyes shot open. They hadn’t exchanged phone numbers!Oh no!

“Oh dear, turn around.”

“O que?”

“Oh, please.” She mimed. “Turn around. Go back. I forgot something.”

The driver eyed her with raised eyebrows. “Go back?”

“Sim, por favor.” She whipped her head around, searching the road for him, but it was empty. The car turned and headed back in the direction she’d come. He had to be there. He had to be close. But as much as she hoped he would be there, everything inside told her he’d be gone.

As the driver drove up one street and down another with no Tyler in sight, another thought crept in. What if he hadn’t forgotten? What if he left without his number on purpose? And then the awful feelings of a one-sided one-night stand started to strangle her happiness. Until she shook her head. “No.”

The driver raised his eyebrows.

“You can go to the hotel now.”

“Go to hotel?”

“Sim, por favor.”

He nodded.

Tyler had never promised more than one night; that was their agreement. She couldn’t let its end tarnish a perfect night. She sighed and leaned back on the seat again, but her satisfaction was disrupted by the tiniest tickle of unease, the suspicion that perhaps she was more into him than he was into her. Perhaps he hadn’t been all he seemed.

Well, no matter. Now that the car was pulling into the circular front driveway of her hotel, her mind was on other things. She had to hurry; she had so much to prepare and double-check.

Rushing through the lobby, she tapped the elevator button ten times before it opened. When she finally arrived in her room, she turned on the shower and got out her laptop. Five A.M.. She had three hours to review her presentation and study the stats, shower, and make herself look like a professional bottler. It was always a challenge to bid for new companies. She was a mid-sized bottler who promised better quality inspections and better productivity than many, but when it came down to the conference room and the actual bid, she was a woman, and everyone else in that room would be a man. And she was short. Again, she cursed her height and her thick dark hair.

For some reason, being a short woman gave her less credibility. She set out her highest spiky heels and her power suit blazer, shirt, and skirt. Rotating her arms forward and backward and clicking her neck, she practiced her power phrases. “I am strong. I am assertive. I am charming. I am important. I listen. I care. I watch. I serve. And no one gets in my way.” Over and over she repeated the words as she reached for the ceiling with one arm and then the other, stretching her body into alignment. She did this until the room started to steam up from the hot water of her shower.

She turned on her meditative music and got in, trying to wake up. What kind of fool was she to stay out all night before one of the most important bids of her life? If her company could gain this client, the biggest soft drink provider in all of Brazil, they could expand down here, and what was now only a mid-size company could become one of the largest bottling companies in the world. And once it was stable and successful, she could pass off running it to the board and start thinking about having a life...with someone special even.

Tyler’s face came into her mind. It obviously wouldn’t be with him, since he hadn’t even asked for her number. But someone like him.

However, she believed in karma, and something told her she would see Tyler again.

She used every minute of her three hours to her best advantage, drank her morning caffeine, and met the car down on the circular drive. When he opened her door to the same cab driver who had dropped her off a few hours ago, she laughed. “It’s you.”

He eyed her as though he didn’t recognize her.

She laughed it off and waved her hand. “Don’t worry about it.” Perhaps business-suit Kayla gave off a completely different vibe than sleepy-party-girl Kayla. She scoffed at herself. Party-girl Kayla indeed. She onlywishedshe was as spontaneous and fun as Tyler thought she was. The truth was that life was stressful and busy, and who had time to behave like they were still in college every day?

The car pulled up in front of the tallest building in downtown Rio.

“You see Antar?” The driver pointed up.

“Sim.”

“Best drink. I like.” He smiled, and she nodded, handing him payment before stepping out onto the sidewalk.

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