The employee pleads with his eyes, and as apprehensive as I am, I don’t want to cause him any trouble. Like a coward, I tuck the phone back into my purse without reading the messages because something tells me this late-night call has to do with my CEO.
I glance at the lobby clock as I follow the employee. Twelve-fifteen. Is it possible that Guillermo has come after me? No. Who would he leave Nina with?
Even though it shouldn’t, my skin tingles at the mere possibility. It’s been just over forty-eight hours since we last saw each other, but it already feels like centuries.
As I step into the elevator that only grants access to the presidential suite, where a single night’s stay easily costs thousands of dollars, my legs wobble and sweat trickles down my spine. Needing to occupy my hands, I retrieve my phone again and open the messaging app. I only read the latest.
Guillermo:I’m waiting for you, Miss Freitas. Don’t even think about running away.
I must not be okay, because his warning excites me.
Chapter 31
On the day of lunch with the Caldwell-Oviedo family
As soon as I left her at the hotel, I wanted to go back. It felt strange coming home knowing she wouldn’t be with me.
Olívia needed only a few days to change even the place where I live. There’s no chance I can sit at my desk on the first floor without remembering what happened there.
Her thighs parted, the open nightgown revealing full breasts, her head tossed back, asking, offering.
Damn it!
But I know my mother is right. I can’t let things between us progress until I tell her the whole truth.
In my defense, Olívia blindsided me. Being a guy who needed to plan most of his adult life, having her spreading so quickly in my system wasn’t what I expected.
God, I wanted to kill my brother!
Seeing her smile at Gael’s small talk, or even the almost instant friendship between her and Rafe, drove me crazy with jealousy.
Nina grumbles as I put her into the crib, but unlike the past few days, she doesn’t cry. She looks at me in the dim lightof the room as if we are both thinking the same thing: why isn’t Olívia here with us?
“Good question, Princess Nina. Maybe because your daddy is an idiot.”
She smiles, claps her hands, and for a crazy moment, I think she’s agreeing with me.
I sit in the rocking chair and try to go over the last few days in my head.
I’m not giving up on her.
I should.
All the warning signs are against me, but I also know I’ve found something true. Now I just need to figure out a way to fix the mess I caused without driving her away for good.
I pick up my phone and send a message.
The server indicates it’s delivered, and I keep staring at the phone screen, hoping she’ll respond.
After an hour, she declines my dinner invitation.
Olívia:Thank you, but no. There are too many changes happening in my life, and I need to think.
Even though it goes against my nature, I decide to give her tomorrow to have some time to herself, but I won’t give up until she hears what I have to say.
I’ll call Joaquín and ask him to come stay with Nina on Monday night.
It’s time to raise the stakes.
