Someone Unexpected(19)

With the way he was looking at me I could have easily just melted right  into the floor. I should have said no to him but he probably had a point  about wandering into a dangerous part of the city, and the last thing I  wanted to do was put myself in any kind of danger. Besides, as much as I  did not want to admit it I was excited about the opportunity to spend  the day with him.



"Okay, but only if Mark or Carol come with us."         

     



 



He furrowed his brow. "Elena, I want to be alone with you."



"I know you do, but you basically told me that I am not good enough to  be seen with in public, so we need to have someone else with us. I don't  want you to think that there is any possibility of anything happening  between us."



He took a deep breath and held his head in his hands as he looked at the  floor and then up at me. "Elena, it is very complicated and because I  have a high profile life I have to be very discreet about my private  life. I can't tell you all of the details now, but I will, I promise  you, when the time is right. But I do want to be with you, please  believe me. You're going to have to trust me for a little while."



My eyes searched his looking for any signs of dishonesty and I saw none,  all I saw was genuine emotion. Trust him. That was not going to be easy  but as I sat there looking at him, thinking about the past couple of  weeks and how my feelings for him had grown, I decided to do it. I was  going to trust him because I wasn't willing to walk away from him.



I looked at him and gave him a half smile. "Okay."



He smiled at me and I think I saw a look of relief on his face. So the  handsome billionaire isn't so sure of himself all the time after all.



"Great. I promise we are going to have an incredible day, Elena. I see  you have your camera so must want to start with something scenic?"



"Yes, that would be nice."



"Okay, there is a beautiful neighborhood called Jardim America that has a  beautiful thoroughfare called Avenida Paulista we can stroll through  and we can stop in at the Art Museum of São Paulo. After that we can  walk through Estação da Luz, a gorgeous late 19th century train station  that has been renovated and then stroll through a beautiful park called  Praça da Luz, where bands play in a gazebo and the grounds are lush and  beautiful with sculptures all around.



Then I thought we could grab lunch and then take a walk through  Ibirapuera Park which is enormous, something like 400 acres, and I am  positive you will find plenty of beautiful scenery to capture with your  camera. After that we can head over to the Mercadão and really get a  taste of local life and sample different delicious foods. For dinner, I  thought that we could just come back to the room and order room service,  if that is okay with you. Does this all sound good to you?"



"It does, it just sounds like a lot to cram into one day."



"Well, we will have a driver so we will be driven to each spot and if at  any time you are too tired to go on, just say the word and we will go  back to the hotel. Is that okay?"



"Yes, I guess we better get going." I almost felt like a giddy teenager  as we left my hotel room and I was really excited about being alone with  him that day, until I saw the bodyguard.



"Is he going to be with us all day?" I whispered so that I wouldn't offend the big man behind us.



"Yes, he is, but you won't notice him. Isn't that right, Carl?"



Carl had a very serious expression on his face. "Yes sir."



"By the way, Carl this is Elena, Elena meet our private security, Carl.  He's a good man." Sebastian gave Carl a chuckle and lightly tapped him  on his shoulder. "You'll see that he just kind of fades into the  background and you get used to it. He's here to keep us safe, Elena."



"It's nice to meet you, Carl."



Carl nodded at me, never breaking character. "Likewise, ma'am."



We got into the car that was waiting for us and I felt like royalty with  the celebrity treatment I was receiving. Everyone from the doorman to  the driver treated us like we were A-list celebrities. I guess that is  what comes along with being wealthy. I was getting a tiny glimpse into  Sebastian's world and I had to admit that I liked it, it was nice to be  treated so well.



As we drove through the city I was in awe of how drastically different  it was from one block to the next. Some parts were so beautiful and  others were downright depressing. Everything I saw that day was amazing  to me because it was all so new for me. I was too excited to be tired so  I was able to keep up with Sebastian as we hit every spot that he  planned and I must have taken 1000 pictures. My favorite spot that day  was probably the market because of the people and the incredibly cool  and different food. I tried foods that I had never heard of or seen but I  loved everything I tried. We fell into a very comfortable vibe and by  the time we hit our last stop it felt like I had known him forever.  Sebastian was very different away from work and I really liked the man  that was with me.         

     



 



I soaked up as much culture as I could in that one day and by the time  we headed back to the hotel I was exhausted. We made it back around 6:30  and I was dying to take a shower to freshen up and help wake me up. I  wasn't starving but I could feel a tinge of hunger coming on. Sebastian  came into my room and stood by the adjoining door and looked at me, and  something in his eyes was different. Lust was replaced by genuine  interest and I liked it.



"I am going to take a quick shower and then I would really like it if  you would join me in my room for dinner around 7:15. Does that work for  you?"



I smiled at him. "Yes, I will knock when I am ready."



"Okay." He winked at me before he closed the door behind him and  butterflies fluttered in my belly as I spun around with a huge grin on  my face. I'd had a perfect day so far.



I hopped in the shower trying to remember which new clothes I had  because I wanted to look pretty for Sebastian. We'd had a really good  day and something had changed between us. I don't know if it was because  I had learned to relax around him or if he had laid off laying it on so  thick with me, but I really liked where we were and I couldn't wait to  see where we would go next. As my hair was drying, I quickly looked  through the racks and pulled out a gorgeous red spaghetti strap  mini-dress and knew that was the one. I slipped it on and it skimmed my  body as if it were made specifically for me, it was so pretty. I had  just finished putting on my makeup and I decided to blow dry my now  slightly damp hair and just leave the natural waves. I didn't have time  to flat iron my hair, which was something that I did every single day  because my hair was so thick and it was hard to manage if I didn't  straighten it. I put a little bit of product in it to tame the mass and  it actually looked pretty. Being in São Paulo, it seemed perfect to have  thick, wavy, kind of unruly hair with my red dress. When I looked at  myself in the mirror I almost did not recognize the person who was  staring back at me and I really liked the way I looked. I'm going to  have to wear my hair wavy more often. It was 7:14 so I slipped on my  black strappy sandals and knocked on the adjoining door.



Sebastian opened it and if it was even possible he looked more beautiful  than the last time I saw him less than an hour before. His eyes slowly  scanned me from head to toe and back again until they rested in mine.  They searched my face, my hair, and then my eyes and seemed awestruck.



"You look absolutely beautiful, Elena, simply stunning."



I could feel my cheeks getting warm as I smiled at him. "Thank you." It  felt really good to know that he liked the way it looked.



We both realized at the same time that I was still standing in his  doorway, and I asked if I could come in and he asked me to come in at  the exact same time. I erupted into giggles and he chuckled as I walked  into his room. There was definitely a different energy in the room and  he seemed a little bit nervous and I was definitely nervous, but not in a  bad way. Things were changing between us and I liked it. I really liked  seeing this side of Sebastian because his work mood could be so  intimidating. It was nice to see that he was just as human as I was.



He handed me a menu and put in our order for dinner and then we sat  down, him on the couch and me right next to him, and had a glass of wine  and relaxed and chatted before dinner arrived.



"So Elena, how have you enjoyed São Paulo?"



"It has been amazing, especially today because we were able to see so  much of it. Thank you, by the way, for asking me to change my plans, I  had a wonderful time with you." That last part slipped out before I  could take it back and I felt a little bit shy about being so open with  my feelings, but it was too late.