Page 4 of Their One-Night Rio Reunion
Done.
The marriage of convenience she’d entered into with the utmost reluctance was now over and it hadn’t been what she’d expected it to be at all. It had been...something else entirely...
CHAPTER TWO
CAIOWATCHEDASAna straightened from signing her name. She looked...agitated. Biting her lip. His insides twisted with helpless reaction. He tensed against it and reminded himself that the sooner she was gone, the better. His reaction to her was just a build-up of sexual frustration after a year of celibacy.
But no other woman has interested you, pointed out a mocking voice.
Caio ignored it.
He’d got what he needed out of the mutually beneficial arrangement and it was time to move on. He’d go out tonight, arrange to meet one of his ex-lovers who’d made it very clear throughout the last year that she was available if he so desired...
Yet right now it was hard even to recall what she looked like. And the thought of going through the charade of wining and dining and indulging in inane conversation was suddenly very unappealing.
Slightly disgusted with himself, Caio wondered if a year of domesticity—even if it had been a charade—had somehow rewired his brain?
You could have seduced Ana, taunted another voice.
Caio’s mouth firmed into a tight line. Seducing her had not been an option. She was a virgin, and she’d been so terrified on their wedding night that he would force her to sleep with him that she’d tried to run away. He’d assured her that he wouldn’t touch her during their marriage, because he didn’t sleep with innocents.
And he still didn’t.
Time to move on.
The chief legal advisor looked first at Ana and then at Caio. She said, ‘Once the decree is signed off by the court, the divorce will be final. That will happen within the next twenty-four hours. But essentially, as of this moment, you can consider yourselves divorced.’
Ana swallowed past the obstruction that had appeared out of nowhere in her throat. She forced herself to say, ‘Thank you.’
The legal advisor cracked a small smile. ‘I just wish every divorce was as amicable and respectful as yours—it would make life a lot easier.’
Ana’s face grew hot, and she avoided Caio’s eye. It was pretty much common knowledge that her marriage to Caio Salazar had been one borne out of a business arrangement between Caio and her father, even if Caiohadmade sure the final decision was hers.
The legal team were starting to file out of the office now, talking in low voices, and the sound of their chatter broke Ana out of her reverie. She reached for her bag on the table and Caio walked over to join her. All the tiny hairs on her body vibrated with awareness. She didn’t like the wrenching sensation in her gut. She gritted her jaw. The sooner she was out of his disturbing orbit the better.
‘My driver is outside to take us home.’
Home. Ana wanted to reject the notion that Caio’s Rio de Janeiro penthouse apartment had been a home to her, but in fact it had become more of a home than her own had ever been, and the thought of never seeing it again made her feel acutely vulnerable.
She shook her head. ‘Thanks, but my flight to Europe leaves in a few hours. I’m going to go straight to the airport.’ She forced down a dart of inexplicable guilt and looked at him. ‘It’s not as if we need to pretend any more, do we?’
He looked at her intently. A muscle ticked in his jaw. She could see the golden flecks in his eyes so clearly now, and wondered why it had taken her so long to notice them. Maybe because she’d avoided looking at him directly for a long time. Scared of his effect on her. And maybe because for many weeks after they’d married she’d still been crippled by the lingering humiliation of her father completely exposing her.
When he’d found out that she’d agreed to the marriage, Rodolfo Diaz had boomed in his loud voice, ‘Excellent! And let me assure you that you are getting a wife not only of impeccable breeding but also one who still has her virtue intact. How many twenty-two-year-olds can claim that in this day and age?’
Ana still burned at the excoriating memory a year later. She’d wanted alternately to throttle her father and to disappear about a thousand feet under the earth. But Caio hadn’t appeared shocked. He hadn’t been remotely interested in whether or not Ana was innocent, as she’d found out on her wedding night. Just to compound her humiliation.
Eventually Caio responded, breaking Ana out of her painful reminiscences. ‘What’s your plan when you get to Europe?’
Ana said, ‘I’ve rented an apartment near Francisco for six months. I can figure out where to go from there. I’ve arranged for my things to be put in storage until I know where I’ll be long-term.’
Caio’s expression was impossible to read. Even now. He clearly couldn’t care less that she was leaving—he was just being polite, making it appear as if her imminent departure wasn’t something he’d been waiting for for weeks. It made something rebellious and volatile bubble up inside her—a need to see that polite façade crack.
But before Ana could say something—anything to try and provoke some last reaction—there was a sharp rap on the door, and they both looked around to see Caio’s chief of security, Tomás, who organised the discreet security detail that followed them both daily. He looked serious, and apologised for interrupting so precipitately.
Tomás acknowledged Ana and then addressed Caio. ‘Mr Salazar, we have a situation and it’s serious.’
‘What is it?’ Caio’s voice was sharp.
