“You're even more beautiful,” he said, “than you were that day at Carnaval.”
Feeling awkward, she swallowed the bite of fruit and leaned back in her chair. Forgetting her gracefully placed linen napkin in her lap in her confusion, she wiped her mouth with her sleeve.
“Thank you,” she muttered.
“How are you feeling?”
“Great.” And to her amazement, it was true. The nausea she'd felt for months was gone. In fact, she hadn't really felt sick since she'd arrived back in Rio and taken a deep breath of the fragrant air, spiced with exotic flowers and the salt of the sea.
“Good.” Diogo smiled at her. “I have a proposition for you.”
A little thrill zinged through her. “A proposition?”
A fantasy overwhelmed her brain. I want you, Ellie, you and only you. I want to raise our child together. I want to marry you and make love to you every day for the rest of our lives…
Stop it! she yelled at herself. Hadn't she learned not to dream impossible dreams—and learned it the hard way? Besides, she didn't want to be Diogo's wife. Why would she want to marry a man she couldn't even trust to be faithful?
“Ellie.” He took a sip of his coffee, then set down the cup. “You are so young.”
She snorted. “Twenty-four!”
His dark gaze seared her. “That is young to me. You are barely starting your life. You had no intention of getting pregnant, but I caused you to conceive my child. You shouldn't suffer because of my mistake.”
She gave him an uncertain smile. “I haven't exactly been suffering…”
He gave her a brief, humorless smile. “I've caused you to be sick for months. Driven you out of your job. Kidnapped you from your wedding… Shall I go on?”
“What is your point?”
“I caused this,” he said quietly. “I can fix it.”
She clasped her hands beneath the table to hide their trembling. “How can you fix something like this?”
“I want you to promise to stay with me.”
Her heart leapt up into her throat. “To promise?”
“Until the baby is born. Then you can go back to New York, or anywhere you desire. You can return to your career, if you like. You can date whomever you want. Being pregnant has thrown you—it's what nearly made you marry a man you did not love. It clouded your judgment. Marrying him would have ruined your life—and my son's.”
“What are you driving at?” she whispered.
“After our child is born, I will set you free.” He took another sip of coffee. “My son will stay with me.”
A dagger of ice passed through her body. “You want to separate me from my baby?”
“It is for the best, Ellie. You never wanted to be a mother—”
“That's not true!”
“And I'm not convinced that you can take proper care of him.”
Her jaw dropped. “You can't be serious.”
“I am.”
She sucked in her breath.
“You think you would be a better father?” she demanded furiously. “You'd never even be home! You fling yourself into a new woman's bed every night!”
“Ellie, listen—”
“No, you listen to me!” She abruptly rose from the table. “You're the one who doesn't have the ability to be a good parent. The baby and I are leaving right now—”
“Stop,” he ordered, and she stopped. She heard him come behind her. He placed his hands on her shoulders. The weight of them pressed down on her like the burden of her heart's hopeless yearning.
He turned her around in his arms.
“You will stay here until the child is born,” he said. “That is nonnegotiable. I can't take the chance you might return to Timothy Wright—or any other man like him. You will remain here where I can keep an eye on you.”
She fought back tears. The Brazilian sunlight must have glazed her brain to make her think that she could ever trust Diogo! “So you can keep me prisoner, you mean!”
“So I can keep you safe,” he said coldly. “You don't know Wright as well as you think you do.”
“I know he's my friend. I know he's got more honor and decency in his little finger than you've got in your whole body!”
He gave her a grim smile. “And it's that blind lack of judgment that shows you're not fit to raise my son. I simply cannot trust you to—”
“You can't trust me?” she gasped. “That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard! You are nothing but a rich, spoiled womanizer who's never had to struggle for anything in your life. While all I want, all I've ever wanted, is to take care of the people I love!”
He ground his jaw. “I do not want a custody battle, Ellie. Give the baby up to my care. He will be happy and secure.” He paused. “And I will compensate you for your trouble. I will make you rich beyond your wildest dreams.”