Surrounded by tall, majestic mountains, the ocean bay glittered a brilliant azure blue, its beaches made so scenic by palm trees and tropical flowers.
High above on the closest mountain peak towered a 130-foot statue of Christ, arms nearly as wide as he was tall, looking down on one and all, sinners and saints. The scene never failed to give Rick a cynical smile.
All That Glitters was indeed a huge business. It occupied one of the dozens of buildings crammed right on the beach, though it was bigger and better than most.
All eighteen floors of it.
While Rick debated the best plan of action, he parked and sat at an open botecoRios answer to the American caféwhere he could watch the comings and goings, of which there were plenty.
The bottom floor of All That Glitters was an upscale jewelry retail store, where he assumed the Monteverde family sold what they had designed on the other seventeen floors. As he sat back to watch the goings-on through the store window, he caught sight of her.
The mystery woman.
In disbelief, he pulled out the worn photo. Same color chestnut hair, wild and full, though now the sides were slicked back with glittery combs. Same light-olive skin, smooth and flawless.
She turned then, and through the glass and the fifteen feet of hustling, bustling street that separated them, their gazes met.
And the oddest thing happened. She seemed to see him, really see him. Him. Something deep inside Rick jerked and came to attention at that.
It bothered him.
As a man for hire, one whod effectively walked away from his own life, there was no one who knew or cared about him, and he liked it that way. People wanted him only for what he could do, and he liked that too, as frankly, there was little he wouldnt do. Hed purposely built a reputation as being the best bounty hunter in all of Brazil, and he never got personally involved with a case.
Not ever again.
No one touched his emotions, which hed buried so far deep down he was certain they no longer existed.
No one.
But this woman... One look at her, just one meeting of the eyes, and he felt something inside him crack and soften.
It had to be the sun.
Or the crowd. There were millions of people in Rio and he felt as if all of them were walking up and down this very street, showing off their youth, their bodies, their indifference.
Or maybe it was his busy schedule and lack of sleep. Since he took every case that came his way, no matter how difficult, and rarely hit dreamland easily, it was entirely possible.
Anything but a personal connection. Narrowing his gaze, he forced a cool, hard detachment, one he was terrifyingly good at, and got back to business.
Surveying her.
She was average weight and build, or so he assumed, since shed hidden nearly every inch of her body behind a business suit that didnt fit into the Brazilian wear-as-little-as-possible way of life. She was still behind the counter, and with a visible shake, broke eye contact with him and turned to talk to another woman. With a shy smile and a light pat on the other womans arm, his mystery woman disappeared into the back of the store.
She hadnt looked at him again.
Rick let out a long, slow breath, but before he could clear his head, a waitress came up to his table. She was dressed in a skimpy little skirt that sat low-slung on her hips and a bathing suit top designed to cover only her nipplesbarely. Her crooked smile was both friendly and speculative. Something to drink? she asked in Portuguese, and when it took him a moment to pull his thoughts from across the street, she added in the bold way of Brazilian women, Or...something else perhaps?
Women had come on to him plenty of times, and plenty of times hed appreciated it, but at the moment he was distracted. Have you been in there? he asked, gesturing across the street.
Laughing wryly, she shook her head. Too pricey for the likes of me. But Ive window-shopped plenty.
Window-shopped.
Yeah, that was it. He was going window shopping.
* * *
GRABBING HER PURSE, Nina Monteverde headed out. She was desperately in need of lunch, though it was already late afternoon. Shed skipped breakfast, and now that she thought about it, shed skipped dinner the night before as well.
Her head throbbed with it.
Running All That Glitters was going to kill her. Second quarter paperwork was due, there were taxes to handle and several key employee contracts had come up for negotiation.
Terry could have handled all of it and more, with a bright smile.
At the thought of her beloved sister, Ninas throat tightened. The weight in her chest seemed to double. Triple.
But she kept walking, relieved to find a small table available at the café across the street. Grateful, she sat down and ordered. When her drink came, she sipped it, acknowledging the burning sensation behind her eyes as exhaustion, and promised herself that tonight shed sleep.
No more nightmares.
Even if today waswould have beenTerrys birthday. Her sister should be home preparing her own celebration, just as she always had, and doing it in the outgoing, outrageous style in which shed done everything.
Instead of being dead.
Here, cara, the waitress said, setting a sandwich on the table. Then she plopped into the empty chair and grinned. Break time for me, too. Whew, its hot.
It is only eighty degrees, Maria.
Yes, but this is supposed to be winter. So she leaned close, studying Nina carefully you look...off today.
Yes, she was off. Hard to believe she could be surrounded by people all day long and still feel...lonely. But Nina had been holding people at bay all her life, never really letting anyone in, and shed gotten good at it.
Too good.
Maybe she regretted that now, that distance, but it was a hard habit to break.
Nina? Maria frowned in concern. Whats up?
It has been a long day, that is all. A long day fussing with the business end of things instead of designing, as her heart craved.
You need to get laid, Maria decided.
Nina choked on her drink. She enjoyed Marias company but shed never gotten used to her friends easy way of sharing absolutely everything. I am fine.
Youre always fine. Sighing lustily, ignoring the tourists at the next table who were gesturing for her attention, Maria put her feet up and leaned back. Dont you ever get tired of being so... fine?
Actually, yes, Nina did get tired of it, of putting on the perfect, good-girl facade, not that shed ever say so. After all, shed been raised as the obedient, younger, seen-but-not-heard daughter. At twenty-six, that was a very difficult habit to break, even with the entire family business now firmly on her shoulders. You have customers waiting.
Oh, please. Im not falling for that weak change of subject. Now talk. About you, she added pointedly. And by the way, you know how Im always bugging you to get a man?
They do not grow on trees. It is just not that easy for me.
It should be. Youre rich, you run a huge company, and youre beautiful. What wouldnt a man like?
Exactly. It was all about money, prestige and looks, never about Nina as a person. She objected to that, and had learned to be alone instead.
They do not grow on trees. It is just not that easy for me.
It should be. Youre rich, you run a huge company, and youre beautiful. What wouldnt a man like?
Exactly. It was all about money, prestige and looks, never about Nina as a person. She objected to that, and had learned to be alone instead.
Shed even learned to like it.
Mostly.
Anyway, listen. Maria lowered her voice. Theres been a gorgeous guy here two days in a row, looking at you through the window of the shop.
Be serious.
I am. Maria dropped her feet and leaned in close. Ill even point him out to you. Hes a few tables over as we speak, watching you very carefully.
Maria
Shhh. Hes tall, dark and dangerous. Got a brooding edge to him, that one does. No, dont look! Not yet. Meu Deus, hes got a body, too, all muscle and hunger.
Nina found herself reeled in. What does he look like?
Hes wearing dark, unassuming clothes and looks like a man who knows what he wants and how to get it. Ah, and those eyes! Did I tell you about his eyes? Theyre spitfire green and full of heat. Now slowly crane your neck and look off to your right. See? Look at him look at you. Magnifíco! Maria fanned herself wildly. Isnt he wicked?
Wicked didnt begin to describe him. He was indeed all muscle and hunger and fire and heat, one-hundred percent of it directed right at Nina, who could suddenly scarcely breathe.
He was the man whod held her gaze prisoner the day before when shed innocently looked up and caught him watching her through the window. Her heart had thrown itself against her rib cage.
She hadnt liked it then. She didnt like it now either, though he had managed the one thing no one else had in days...hed taken her mind off Terry.
A man like that... Maria spoke in a hushed, reverent whisper. He knows how to satisfy a lover, no?
Nina tried to tear her gaze away, tried to pull back, but there was something in his startling eyes that once again held her utterly captive. He didnt blink or look away, and she found she couldnt, either.
Americano? Maria wondered.
If he was indeed American, it was impossible to tell. Not all drop-dead gorgeous men were American. His sun-bleached brown hair and brilliant green eyes could have come from anywhere. His clothes were nondescript, yet emphasized his long, sculpted frame. His face, tanned and rugged and sporting at least a days growth of beard, couldnt be pinpointed to any one nationality.
One thing was certain, she had definitely drawn his interest. Those searing eyes looked right at her. Through her. And though he certainly couldnt see insideno one couldshe felt as if he could read her thoughts.
They hadnt met, so he wasnt interested in her intellect, wit or personality. It couldnt be her exciting reputation either, since, unlike her sister, she didnt have one.
But menspecifically fortune huntersdidnt much care about Ninas looks or personality, and if this man was indeed a fortune hunter, he wouldnt be the first. Shed deal with him. She was in just the mood to do it. I need to go.
But your lunch.
Bag it for me?
Nina
Please?
Maria tilted her head in the mans direction. I think he wants to talk to you.
I am not interested. To prove it, she wrenched her gaze from his, grabbed her purse and started across the street.
Not interested.
A lie, of course. She was interested, desperately so. Interested in learning what shed missed in life by hiding away, by letting work take over, by letting family loyalty keep her silent.
The familiar spurt of bitterness went through her. After an overprotective childhood, not to mention growing up in the shadow of her sisters outrageous stunts, shed purposely interacted with very few people, and certainly few strangers.
Much as shed like to change things and start...well, living, she wasnt sure how to do that. And anyway, it didnt matter. Certainly the stranger, gorgeous as sin and likely double the trouble, had forgotten her already. She was positive of it.
So positive she didnt look back.
Though she wanted to.
* * *
THE REST OF the day flew by as she plowed through her business chores so she could get to her own private pride and joycreating jewelry from her own designs.
It was her life, her heart, and once at her worktable, away from all the dreaded paperwork, she let her mind flow and empty, and she did what she did bestdesign original jewelry to go with the gems All That Glitters mined, purchased and traded all over the globe.
It was a quiet job, and one she did alone, which only perpetuated her reserved image. But she loved it more than anything, and wished she had more time for it these days.
Terry, I miss you, so much.
But what was done was done, and Nina had dealt with her grief. Shed dealt with the business. Shed truly moved on.
It just seemed her heart hadnt quite gotten the message yet. Determined to lighten her mood, if only for a little while, she adjusted her light and reached for her latest drawing, a bracelet of inlaid gold with emeralds. It would match the Coração de Amante shed made for Terry several years ago. Already Nina knew she couldnt let this new piece go to sale. Shed dip into her own savings to buy it for herself.
She began by making a bezel, a gold sheet to hold the gems. For the next few hours she worked annealed gold around the stones, measuring, cutting and soldering with gold hard solder. By the time she stood up and stretched, it was long after dark, and the building was empty except for security.
Shed forgotten, if only for a while, her unbearable sadness.
Yes, tonight shed sleep dream-free.
She was halfway across the back parking lot, heading toward her car, planning which book shed take to bed with her to read until sleepiness over-came her, when she heard a footstep. A shadow fell over her.
Heart leaping, she whirled around.
And faced him. Her perfect stranger.
For one moment she had the ridiculous thought that hed sought her out to ask her for a date.
How absurd. No one wanted her simply for herself. No one even knew the real her.
As she debated whether to stop or run, he pulled a photo from his pocket and held it up. Comparing her to it, he glanced back and forth for a moment, then frowned before taking a step closer.
Who are you? he asked.
It should have been her question to him.
Como você se chama? Whats your name? he tried in both Portuguese and English, still frowning.
If hed been huge and menacing rather than lean and rangy as he was, he couldnt have been more intimidating. He stood over her, all lithe, tense muscle.
Maria was right, he was magnificent, one of the most magnificent men shed ever seen, but that didnt make him any less dangerous.
Saying nothing, she backed up, wondering if she could make it to the building, where she could get help from the security guards within.
Hey. He looked annoyed. You speak Portuguese? English? What?