“No, thanks.” Picking up Jett from the blanket, she quickly packed up her things in the wicker basket. “I was just leaving.”
“You were?” he said, his tanned face disappointed.
“Sorry.” Straightening her big sun hat, she carried the baby and wicker basket back to the house, walking swiftly. Once she reached the safety of the terrace, she turned to look back. The beach was empty. The stranger was gone.
Of course he was. Lola exhaled. Obviously, she’d been alone in this house too long, to get so weirded out just by someone being friendly. Or maybe she’d finally become a true New Yorker. Strangers talking to her made her suspicious and alarmed.
But still, she couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling.
Inside the beach house, she went to find the bodyguards. Lester was nowhere to be found, but she discovered Tobias pacing angrily in the courtyard, speaking into his cell phone.
“Chelsea, what are you talking about?” He gripped his phone. “You know I’m supposed to have him. This is the third time you’ve brushed me off.” He listened, then an expletive escaped his lips. “That’s a lie and you know it. He doesn’t have homework. He’s five! I deserve to see my son. And he deserves it, too. I pay child support. I’ve tried to be patient, but we both know the real reason...”
Tobias saw Lola, and his face went pale. “I have to call you back,” he said, then scowled, “No, Chelsea, tonight. And if you even think you...”
Coming forward, Lola calmly plucked the phone out of his hand. “Hello, this is Mrs. Cabrera. Tobias’s employer.”
“So?” the woman’s voice was sour, ready for battle. Good, because that was exactly Lola’s mood.
“If you don’t let him see his son, which is apparently his legal right, we’re going to have to either let him go, which means you’ll be getting no more child support, or else we’ll consider sending a full team of LA’s best lawyers to ask the judge to reopen the case and pursue full custody on his behalf.”
“What do you care?” the woman bit out.
“I don’t,” Lola said coolly. “But he’s supposed to be protecting us, and it’s obvious he can’t do that when he’s so distressed. Why won’t you allow him to see his son?”
“None of your business!”
“But it is, as I just explained. So what’s it to be? No more money? Or back to court?”
Silence fell on the other end.
“My new boyfriend doesn’t like Tobias coming around.”
“I understand,” Lola said, relaxing. “But your son is the most important thing. Right? And your son needs his father. Doesn’t he?”
There was a grudging sigh. “Yes,” the woman said finally. She paused. “Fine. I’ll deal with my boyfriend. Mason misses his father, too. He’s been complaining about it. Put Tobias back on.”
Lola handed the phone to Tobias. “Here.”
Satisfaction flashed through her as she headed back into the house, carrying her baby on her hip. At least she hadn’t lost all her skills. After unpacking her beach bag, she gave Jett a bath to wash off all the sunscreen. She toweled him off, changed him into fresh clothes and then held him close, relishing the clean baby smell.
Afterward, she carried him back toward the kitchen, intending to make herself a comforting cup of tea. Tobias was waiting for her in the great room.
“I get to see my son tonight after work,” he said. “My ex is even going to give me extra time, to make up for the days I missed.” He shook his head. “How did you talk her into it?”
She shrugged. “It wasn’t hard.”
“I guess the real question,” he said slowly, “is why did you get involved?”
“As I said, I wanted your full attention—”
“Mrs. Cabrera.” Shaking his head, he gave her a grin. “How dumb do you think I am?”
She stared at him, unblinking. Then she said slowly, “My father died when I was five, the same age as your son. I have almost no memories of him.” She looked away. “I hate it when families are separated.”
“I see,” Tobias said quietly. He paused. “Was there some reason you came looking for me earlier?”
Sitting here, in this elegant, luxurious beach house, her earlier fears about the stranger on the beach seemed paranoid. “I just wondered if you’d heard from my husband since he left. Because...because I haven’t. He hasn’t answered any of my calls.” At his astonished expression, she said quickly, “I just want to know Rodrigo is okay.”
Tobias stared at her, then held out his phone. “Try calling him with this.”
Lola’s eyes went wide. She looked up at him. “Are you sure?”
He shrugged.
“He might fire you,” she said.
“He can try.” Tobias gave a crooked grin. “But I’m backing you, Mrs. Cabrera.”
“Thank you,” she whispered.
He turned away. Lola stared down at the bodyguard’s phone in her hand. Slowly, she typed in Rodrigo’s name. His number came up.
Taking a deep breath, she hit the dial button.
* * *
An hour after Rodrigo’s private jet landed in Los Angeles, he walked into his office building downtown, feeling exhausted in a way that had nothing to do with his hectic business travel to his bustling film studio in Mexico City or his newly acquired television network in Buenos Aires.
For the last week, he’d barely slept. Even when he had, peace had evaded him. And he knew why.
Because of her.
He’d taken Lola as his wife. Taken her to his bed. He now had her securely under his control, and at a distance. He hadn’t answered any of her messages or calls. He got reports on her welfare, and that of his son, from his bodyguards. He’d thought that would create the emotional distance he needed.
So why did Rodrigo still feel so vulnerable?
Why did he dream of Lola every night, in sensual dreams that were even worse than before?
Why did he wake up gasping for her like a suffocating man struggling desperately for breath?
He didn’t have control of her, damn it. He didn’t even have control of himself. It was why he’d left. Why he hadn’t wanted to let himself be near her. Why he couldn’t bear to look at her or hear her voice.
Lola made him want. She made him feel.
And feeling anything for a woman always led to loss. Women were liars. Deceivers. They couldn’t be trusted, except to cause pain.
Keeping his distance was the only way this marriage would work. The only way to give his child a stable family and home.
But even being thousands of miles away hadn’t created the distance he’d wanted. He had to find another solution. Because Lola was right. He hadn’t dragged her to the altar just to abandon her and neglect his child.
Being away from his tiny son for a week had been intolerable. And Rodrigo knew Lola. She wouldn’t put up with this silent treatment forever. Honestly, he was surprised she hadn’t already tried to revolt.
Setting his jaw, he strode into his private office and tossed his briefcase carelessly on his gleaming dark wood desk. Turning, he looked out the windows overlooking the skyscrapers and haze of downtown Los Angeles.
Sleeping with Lola hadn’t gotten her out of his system. For the last week, as he’d made deals, the image