“No one else noticed him, huh...?” The rest caught in her throat, all hairs standing on end. With the relative silence and stillness in the ward, she suddenly felt it. That aura.
She swung her head to the door in time to see a huge shadow separating from the darkness of the entrance vestibule.
Rafael.
Heaving up to her feet, blood didn’t follow to her head. She struggled to remain upright as he approached. And he was clapping...albeit with one of his hands in a splint, just as Diego had said.
“That was the best version of Snow White I’ve ever heard. And the most dynamic, entertaining performance I’ve ever seen. You missed your calling. You should be on stage.”
He was dressed as Diego had described. So casually chic and disarmingly handsome it was painful to behold his beauty. And he clearly hadn’t shaved since she’d seen him. His beard had turned him from a soul-stealing seducer to a heart-snatching pirate.
“What are you doing here?” she hissed.
Ignoring her anger, he gently swept a finger around one puffy eye and rasped, “I made you cry.”
Suppressing a shudder, she stepped away. “I made me cry. But I’m done crying. Answer my question.”
Instead of answering, his probing gaze left her to settle on Diego. “Thank you for not drawing attention to my entry and giving me the chance to watch Eliana’s performance. Is she always that fantastic?”
Diego nodded enthusiastically. “Always. She’s the only one who makes us laugh. And she’s the only one who makes me think.”
Something scalding came into Rafael’s wolf’s eyes as they swept to hers. “She’s the only one who makes me...do so many things, too.” He turned to Diego, extended his hand. “Rafael.”
The boy put his small hand in Rafael’s with all the decorum of a young prince meeting a vital new ally. “Diego.”
A painful tightness gripped her throat as Rafael shook the boy’s hand with utmost earnestness. It felt as if she was seeing two versions of Rafael, separated by the chasm of time and circumstance, past and present selves meeting. The way they regarded each other, the awareness in their eyes, as if each recognized something fundamentally the same about the other.
She blinked away the moisture. Where was this coming from? Rafael, the all-powerful tycoon, couldn’t have anything in common with an abandoned boy like Diego. Though she knew nothing about Rafael’s past, she couldn’t imagine he’d ever been as disadvantaged as Diego.
But...what had his childhood been like? How had he become this complex, irresistible force of nature...?
No. Not irresistible. Not to her, not anymore. And she didn’t care about his past or present. She didn’t want to know anything about him, or have anything to do with him.
“I asked Ellie if she could ask you to come again, just earlier so you could visit us for a while before bedtime.”
“It would be a pleasure and an honor, Diego.” He slanted her a glance. “If Eliana approves.”
Ellie tried not to gape at Rafael. It stunned her to see him treat Diego with such respect and regard. Especially after he’d snubbed her father so viciously last night. Before doing the same to her.
“Why do you call her Eliana?” Diego asked. “We all call her Ellie.”
“She is Eliana to me. Do you know what that name means?”
Diego shook his head vigorously.
“It means God has answered.”
“Answered what?”
“Prayers. So Eliana is God’s answer to prayers.”
Completely engrossed, Diego probed, “Whose prayers?”
“Her parents. Mine. And I have a feeling yours, too.”
Rafael’s eyes moved back to her, and the look in them, the way he’d said mine, made her forget how last night had ended in humiliation. But that only lasted for moments before she was back to wanting to rant that she never wanted to see him again.
But Diego clung around her neck with even more fervency than usual. “Please, let him come again.”
Her fury at Rafael intensified. But she couldn’t blast him in front of the starstruck boy, yet she couldn’t raise expectations she’d have to disappoint, either.
“We’ll see, sweetie. Go to sleep now. Or not.”
Forcing a conspiratorial wink, she hugged him one last time and got up before he argued.
Walking away, she struggled not to run out of the ward. It was even worse than she’d thought. All the kids were sitting up in bed, watching Rafael with utmost fascination. They’d never seen anyone like him in their lives. Their interest and eagerness made her curse Rafael even more. Then he made it worse, smiling and waving as he bid them good-night. They all chanted a delighted response.
The moment she closed the door behind them, she turned on him. “What kind of sick game do think you’re playing?”
“I never play any kind of game. I’m here to take you with me. I have a promise of untold pleasure to fulfill. And so do you.”
“Are you for real? No...don’t answer that. Just...”
“Senhor Moreno Salazar!”
She swung around at the excited call and found the nuns who ran the orphanage rushing closer, eyes fixed on Rafael, smiles so large they could have engulfed him whole.
Sister Cecelia, the one who’d called out, started speaking before they reached them. “Now that you’ve seen Ellie, if you’re amenable, we’d love to give you a tour of our orphanage. I know you didn’t have a chance to really see the children today, so you won’t get an accurate idea of the activities and facilities we have for them, but...”
Rafael waved away her anxious explanations. “I’ve seen enough. And I already know you’re the best since Eliana supports your establishment.” He produced a checkbook and pen, scribbled for moments before cutting out a check and handing it to Sister Cecelia. “This is only until you can give me a more comprehensive list of your needs and plans.”
The woman took the check dazedly, looking down at it with the other two nuns squeezing closer to get a look, too.
Their collective gasps told Ellie it was an obscene amount. At least, to mere mortals. To him, a man who juggled billions, everything was pocket change.
“But...Senhor Moreno Salazar...this is...is...”
“Just something to get you started on those projects you told me you’ve been forced to put off for lack of funding.” He handed her a business card. “These are my personal numbers. Call me when you’re ready to discuss your projects in detail. And please, feel free to contact me anytime with any problems concerning the children. If you don’t have project managers, accountants and attorneys you trust, or if you can’t afford any, mine are at your disposal.”
The sisters fell over themselves thanking Rafael for his incredible generosity. He waved away their thanks and shook their hands, assuring them he’d make more visits. Then he turned to Ellie, gesturing for her to precede him out of the building.
Feeling as if she’d fallen into another dimension, she walked ahead. Sister Cecelia fell in step beside her. Rafael followed with the other two flanking him.
“Where did you find this angel, Ellie?” Sister Cecelia all but swooned as she kept snatching glances at said angel.
So not even nuns were immune to Rafael’s charms. She’d bet nothing that breathed would be.
Biting her tongue so she wouldn’t put fallen before angel,