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  Book Excerpt

  (unedited sneak peek from Second Chances, Book 4 of the Hot Latin Men series; coming fall 2012)

  Chapter One

  Liar. Cheat. Those were the words that came to mind when Renaldo da Silva thought about his wife. His soon to be ex-wife.

  Silently berating himself, he stared out of the giant windows of the luxurious penthouse apartment they’d shared since she moved to Sao Paulo with him over a year ago.

  He should have known better. After all, he’d been warned, hadn’t he? She’d told him herself about her background. She told him how she came from a family of drug addicts and criminals. She’d explained how she had lied and stolen to make ends meet. He’d known what kind of woman she was, and he’d chosen to ignore everything she’d said because he’d been such a besotted fool and assumed she’d done those things out of necessity.

  He’d barely known her when they married. His impulsive behavior had simply been an act to whisk her away and make her his. According to her, he’d given her the kind of life she’d only dreamed of, but it still hadn’t been enough. It was never enough.

  He looked down at the three photos in his hands, though he didn’t really need to. The images of her and another man were seared into his brain. To think, he wouldn’t have known if he hadn’t been searching for a document in her home office. He wouldn’t have found the pictures, and he wouldn’t have known of her deceit.

  He’d been a fool to welcome her into his life. Fortunately, he’d uncovered her true character beneath the beautiful façade of independence and intelligence before it was too late. Nonetheless, his stomach burned, and anger simmered inside him.

  ****

  Sabrina stepped off the private elevator, glad to be home. The five-bedroom apartment took up the entire top floor of the building Renaldo owned. The recessed lighting shined down like a spotlight in the spacious entryway, while the rest of the house remained wrapped in darkness. In her hands she held her high heels so they wouldn’t make any noise on the black walnut floors because she assumed he was probably asleep after his long trip.

  She crept toward the staircase, trying not to make too much noise. She knew Renaldo would not be pleased she’d worked another late night, particularly since she hadn’t been at home to greet him upon his return from his trip to Chicago. But she’d been getting so much accomplished, she simply hadn’t been able to tear herself away.

  Sabrina smiled to herself. She would find a way to make it up to him.

  She sensed his presence before she saw him and halted her movements. He emerged like an apparition from the darkened interior, slowly coming toward her. The shirtsleeves of his white shirt were rolled up to reveal his bronze, hair sprinkled forearms.

  She set her shoes on the table against the mirrored wall and planted her most becoming smile on her face in an effort to counteract the disapproving set of his.

  “Sweetheart, I’m sorry I didn’t get here earlier. Feel free to give me a spanking,” she teased.

  He didn’t crack a smile, stopping a few feet away. “Where have you been?” he asked in an oddly quiet voice.

  “At the office, of course,” she answered. She couldn’t decipher the strange look on his face.

  “Working late again. You knew I was coming back tonight, but you couldn’t tear yourself away from…whatever you were doing to be here to greet me.”

  She had really screwed up this time. He was very upset with her. “I’m sorry, but when you see the numbers I have, you’ll understand why I couldn’t break away.”

  He took a step forward but stopped again. He eyed her, examining her features in a curious way, as if he was seeing her for the first time. But there was something else. His eyes were hard and cold. She’d finally pushed him too far.

  “Renny, I know you’re mad at me. I’ll make it up to you.” For the first time, Sabrina noticed the photos in his hand. They were turned inward toward his leg, so she couldn’t see the images, but her heart rate sped up with trepidation. “What are those?” she asked in a low voice.

  Renaldo tossed the photos on the floor with a mixture of anger and distaste. They fanned out across the polished wood, and she could clearly see the images. They turned her stomach.

  “You tell me,” he said in a quiet voice. “Who is this man and what are you doing with him?”

  Sabrina swayed, feeling lightheaded. She reached for the table to steady herself. “Where did you get those?” But she already knew where they came from. He’d found the photos she’d hidden away in her desk.

  “You didn’t answer the question,” Renaldo reminded her.

  She couldn’t get the words out because she didn’t know what to say or how to explain.

  “Were you with him tonight?” Renaldo asked.

  Sabrina’s eyes flew to his face. He spoke calmly, but she could see the darker emotions hidden in his eyes, ready to unleash on her.

  “No, I was at work. I swear,” Sabrina said, her voice trembling.

  “And why should I believe you? It seems that when I’m out of town, you find alternative ways to keep yourself entertained.”

  Sabrina shook her head. “No. That’s not true.”

  He jabbed his index finger toward the floor in barely restrained fury. “Then explain this to me.”

  His composure was slipping fast. The words were said behind gritted teeth and his accent thickened. How could she explain when she didn’t know herself how this could have happened?

  “I don’t know how,” she admitted weakly.

  “They are not…” his voice trailed off as he fumbled for the correct English word. “They are not doctored?”

  She recognized that he was grasping at straws, hoping she would say they were doctored photos. If only she could. If only she didn’t know herself that she had betrayed him with her actions. She’d managed to keep it a secret for as long as she could.

  “No,” she said quietly.

  The breath he drew in was harsh and loud in the grave-like quiet of the house. “So you have been lying to me and sneaking around behind my back? For how long?”

  “I never sneaked around behind you back,” Sabrina said. “It-it just happened. I didn’t plan it.”

  Renaldo gave a disgusted snort. “It’s hard to believe you when I find photos of you in intimate positions with another man, hidden away in your desk for enjoyment when I am not here.”

  “That’s not why I hid them. I was ashamed. I didn’t want you to find them.” She pressed her palms to her hot cheeks. “Please. You have to believe me.”

  “You should leave before I do something I regret.”

  The scorn and anger in his voice hurt. It was almost too much to bear, because ever since she’d met him he’d been her champion and treated her with care and respect. He’d never once made her feel beneath him because he had money and a better family life than she did.

  “You have to listen to me. You have to hear me out,” she said in desperation. Her perfectly formed world was falling apart.

  “Leave.”

  “Renny, please.”

  “By the time I count to three, you better get out or I will toss you out.”

  “Please don’t do this to me. Give me another chance.”

  “One.”

  “I was drunk,” she said, shaking uncontrollably. “I didn’t know what I was doing.”

  “Two.”

  “You love me.” He flinched as if she’d struck him. “Can we please work it out? I don’t know what happened, but you know that’s not me. I love you.”

  “Love me?” His upper lip curled in disbelief. “You love this life. Your ambition betrays you. You love money and power. You love material things. But you do not love me.”

  Sabrina’s eyes welled up with tears of pain at the way he’d characterized her. “If you believe what you’re saying,
why did you marry me?”

  “I was a fool,” Renaldo said in a voice full of regret. “I saw what I wanted to see.”

  “That’s not true. I’m your wife. You know me.”

  “Obviously I do not. Your time is up.” He resumed counting. “Three.” He stepped toward her with a purposeful stride, his face set in uncompromising lines.

  He was really going to put her out. In a panic, Sabrina struck out at him, but he caught her hand and spun her around hard, slamming her back against his chest.

  “You can’t do this,” she said, as her pulse kicked up a notch.

  He was so tall, that when his arms cinched around her like tight bands, and he easily lifted her, her feet dangled a few inches above the floor. “You can go to him now,” Renaldo said in her ear, bitterness lacing his voice. “Tell him I sent you, and he can have you all to himself.”

  Sabrina twisted and kicked wildly, throwing her body backward to force him to put her down. “I’m not leaving!” she screamed. “I’m not leaving!”

  Her desperate movements only made him close his arms tighter around her. He marched toward the side door leading out the stairwell.

  “Renny, I love you. Don’t do this. D-don’t!”

  It was as if he could no longer hear her. He didn’t speak. He managed to hold her still with one arm and use his free hand to open the door.

  “Renny!”

  He stepped out into the stairwell and deposited her there. “Do not come back here,” he said in a cold voice. “You will hear from my lawyer.” He swung around and stalked back inside. She heard the latch hit hard on the other side of the door.

  Sabrina looked around at the bare white walls and the long staircase leading down to the next floor. Her eyes brimmed with tears. He’d put her out. This couldn’t be happening.

  It couldn’t be over. She loved him. He had to forgive her. She moved swiftly to the door and pounded with her fist. “Renny! Please forgive me. Please!”

  She didn’t know how long she stood out there pleading for his forgiveness. She pounded until her fists grew sore and her arms tired. But he never came back. She knew it would be futile to try to get back in through the private elevator. He would have had her key card deactivated by now.

  Exhausted, Sabrina finally accepted her fate. She had no one to blame but herself.

  Finally, she crumbled to the floor in a miserable, sobbing heap.

  ****

  Later that night, Sabrina knocked on the door of her cousin’s apartment. When Jewel Porter opened it, she stared at Sabrina with widened eyes.

  “Brina, what happened to you?”

  Sabrina knew she looked as bad as she felt. She’d seen an image of herself reflected in the mirrored walls of the elevator on the ride up. Her cheeks were tear-streaked, and dark lines of black mascara ran down each side of her face. Her hair, which she’d taken great care with, was a mess after tumbling from its neat arrangement during her altercation with Renaldo.

  “Can I come in?” she whispered. Her throat felt raw from all the screaming and crying she’d done.

  “Of course.” Jewel widened the door and let her enter.

  “I don’t have any money. Would you pay the taxi downstairs?”

  “Of course.” In the past, she had always been the one to help Jewel, but now Jewel was helping her.

  Like a zombie, Sabrina trudged in and dropped onto the sofa. She rested her cheek against its back and curled her bare feet under her. She heard when Jewel reentered the apartment after she’d gone downstairs to pay the driver, but she didn’t have the energy to lift her head and face her. How she managed to make it to Jewel’s apartment was still a mystery.

  Jewel sat in front of her on the sofa, her brow furrowed in lines of worry. “Brina, what happened? What’s going on?”

  “He threw me out.”

  “Renaldo?”

  Sabrina nodded, feeling the tears well up in her eyes again. She didn’t think she had any more tears.

  “What do you mean he threw you out? What for? The two of you are married.”

  “We won’t be for much longer.” Overwhelming sadness forced the tears from her eyes.

  “Honey, you’re not making sense,” Jewel said patiently. “What on earth would make Renaldo want to divorce you? He’s madly in love with you, and you’re madly in love with him. You followed him here from Chicago. You even convinced me to come with you, for heaven’s sake.” She laughed at how they’d moved thousands of miles to a foreign country. “Of course you’re staying married. You just had a little spat, that’s all.” Jewel patted her cousin’s hand in a comforting gesture.

  Sabrina shook her head. “No. It was more than a lover’s quarrel.”

  “Tell me what happened.”

  Sabrina sniffed and wiped under her nose. “He found out.”

  “Found out what?”

  “About Mateo.”

  “Who in the world is Mateo?”

  Sniff. “The guy we met at the club.”

  “Wait a minute, that was months ago. You stayed in touch with him?”

  “I guess you could say that.”

  “Honey, you’re not making sense. Look at me.” Jewel took her cousin’s hand and squeezed. “What are you talking about? Why were you still in touch with Mateo?”

  Sabrina closed her eyes and her face crumbled. “Because I spent the night with him,” she said, her voice pitched lower and cracking. “And now Renny knows.”