THE VALQUEZ SEDUCTION(61)

                Her dimples appeared as she smiled. ‘There’s always that danger, I suppose.’

                Luiz ran his eyes over her outfit again. ‘You look hot tonight.’

                She pulled at her lip with her teeth. ‘You don’t think it’s too over the top?’

                ‘For Vegas, no. For teaching five-year-olds in London? You may have a problem.’

                A little frown flitted over her forehead as she glanced around. ‘Gosh, I didn’t think of that. What if someone sees me?’

                ‘Wasn’t that the whole idea?’ he asked. ‘To get noticed?’

                ‘By you; not by the rest of the world.’

                ‘It comes with the territory of hanging out with me. I attract the world’s attention.’

                She looked at him thoughtfully for a long moment. ‘Why is being the centre of attention so important to you?’

                Luiz thought of all the times as a child when his needs went unnoticed. The constant struggle to be heard in a house that had to remain quiet for the sake of his father’s health. His brother had done what he could but he hadn’t been able to meet the emotional needs of a young insecure child. Who would have expected him to? His mother’s desertion had made Luiz act out in a variety of ways that had tested his older brother’s patience. Alejandro had used work and study and doing whatever he could to keep the family together as his way of coping with the pain of their father’s accident and their mother’s leaving. Luiz had used any number of attention-seeking behaviours. His reputation as a tearaway began early and even though there were times when he’d wished he could reinvent himself, he’d never quite managed to do it. Although he was more than competent academically, his love and natural aptitude for sport was the thing that stood him apart from his peers. Over the years the adulation of the crowd had become more and more addictive. It made him all the more competitive and ruthlessly driven to be the best.

                But it was lonely at the top and there was only one way down from it—the word he dreaded more than any other—failure.

                ‘I’m just a ratbag,’ he said lightly. ‘Ask my brother. He’ll tell you.’

                A wistful smile curved her mouth. ‘I would’ve loved a sister or a brother. I think my mum would’ve had another child but for the fact that she wasn’t happy with my father.’

                ‘Why didn’t she divorce him?’

                ‘She asked him once or twice but he always talked her out of it.’ She traced her fingertip around the rim of her glass before she added, ‘Arguing with my father is not for the faint-hearted. He can be very persuasive.’

                Tell me about it, Luiz thought. ‘What sort of husband was he to your mother?’

                She looked at him with her clear blue gaze. ‘Do you mean: was he abusive?’

                ‘Is that why she wanted to leave him?’

                ‘No, he wasn’t abusive. He loved her too much, if that makes sense.’ Her finger did another circuit before she looked at him again. ‘He expected her to be a certain type of wife. But my mother wasn’t the type of person to be boxed in.’

                ‘Is that what he does to you? He expects you to act and behave a certain way?’

                She sighed. ‘Yes…I hate disappointing him. I really do. I’m all he has, when you think about it. He wants me to be happy. I totally understand that. It’s what all parents want for their kids. He doesn’t want me to mess up my life with being with the wrong person, I guess because of how things turned out between my mother and him. But how can I find out who’s right for me if I don’t put myself out there? It’s not like you can just know in an instant if someone’s perfect for you.’