Hot Latin Men 2 Fight for Love Delaney Diamond

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to make him tougher, but he s only eight years old. He s not a grown man.
Not yet, but he will be, and the sooner his training starts, the better.
Training?
Ricardo rested his hands on the counter and stared out the window at the fading light. He needs
toughening up, Rebekah. He looked at her again. He can t run and cry to his mommy every time he
takes a fall. And you shouldn t be there to hold him every time he does.
I ve been taking care of him all this time, and he s turned out just fine. He s also had other male
influences in his life my brother Adam, and he spends a lot of time with my father.
Your father? He sounded skeptical. Has your father ever run through a few punches with him?
You don t live in the streets of Mexico City. You live in the Hollywood Hills, for heaven s sake! I
live in a suburb of Atlanta.
His gaze pinned her. Do you have any idea what s going to happen when other kids find out who
his father is? They re going to test him, challenge him, and make him prove he s strong and able to fight
like me.
Rebekah had never thought about it before, but she realized Rafael may be right. Kids could be cruel.
As a middle school teacher, she saw how the boys behaved, full of testosterone and the need to prove
their manhood long before they entered it.
He s only eight. Would they gang up on her baby?
That s why we start now. His look softened. I know you re worried, but he ll be fine. He needs to
toughen up. If he doesn t, the other children will eat him alive. When he falls, he needs to get right back
up and act as if nothing happened.
That s what Rafael had done. She d been to very few of his underground fighting matches, unable to
stomach the brutality of the sport. She d seen it all bruised ribs, a dislocated shoulder, fractures
nothing could keep him down. No matter how many kicks and punches were leveled at him, he kept on
fighting.
In the ring, the adrenaline had kept him going, and she sensed he couldn t really feel the blows. Only
later, once he was at home and she had to clean his cuts and bruises, and he soaked his sore muscles in a
warm bath, did he show any indication the fighting took a toll.
I ll teach him how to fall and how to tense his muscles to deflect the power of a punch. He won t
start a fight, but he ll know how to stop one. There s a difference.
Maybe you shouldn t have been such a good fighter, Rebekah joked with a weak smile.
He would have to learn these things anyway, but I admit, having a pro wrestler as a father could be a
negative.
I guess it could be positive too, Rebekah said. He could threaten to have you beat up the other
kids. Or he could even throw out the my dad can beat up your dad card.
Rafael chuckled and leaned against the marble counter. His eyes lit up as his handsome face
transformed into lighthearted merriment. I need to remember that and remind him he can use me to
threaten the other kids whenever he needs to.
Rebekah laughed too, and she could feel herself falling, tumbling into long-buried feelings. What was
she doing here living under the same roof with the man who should be her ex-husband, talking about
how to raise Ricardo and& enjoying it?
Secretly, she d missed seeing him the past few days while he shot the commercials. Would he spend
more time with them now?
Rafael looked thoughtfully down at her. Let s go out to dinner tomorrow night.
Where did you have in mind? Ricky mentioned
Without Ricardo. Just you and me. His gaze didn t waver, and his voice was different. The lowered
bass rippled through her, heating her skin.
Her breath stalled for a moment. Just the two of us? She followed up her breathless question with
another. What will we do with Ricky?
I ll hire someone to watch him. My housekeeper may even be willing to babysit for the night. I ll
hire a car, and we ll get dressed up and go somewhere nice.
Trying to appear nonchalant, although she was excited by the prospect of an evening out, Rebekah
said, Sounds like a good idea. It ll be nice to get out and see the city at night.
Do you remember our first date?
The change of subject surprised her. She nodded.
A wry smile lifted a corner of his mouth. What a mess. I had left my wallet at my apartment, and I
didn t have any money to cover the meal. You had to put it on the credit card your father gave you for
emergencies.
She remembered it well. He d been so embarrassed and upset. You paid me back.
My car broke down, and we had to walk part of the way until we could get to a phone, and I could
call one of my friends to pick us up.
She had left her cell phone at home so her father couldn t reach her. She remembered the night in
vivid detail. It was the night of their first kiss and the night she had fallen in love with him.
She had felt safe with him as they walked the dark streets. He d been a big man even then, though
now he was more muscular after years of conditioning.
It gave us time to talk, and you held my hand the entire way, she said.
He laughed dryly and shook his head.
Rebekah realized what she recollected as fond memories were not the same for him. His macho pride
had taken a beating that night.
None of that mattered to me, she said softly. All I cared about was being with you.
I know. He smiled down at her. But now, I can afford the things I couldn t before. I can take care
of you and Ricardo the way you deserve.
Rebekah shook her head. I don t want a dime from you. My attorney understands how I feel. You
don t owe me anything because you did this on your own. Just take care of Ricky.
Not many women would feel that way, Rebekah. You do know I m rich now, don t you? He
grinned, and the reappearance of his dimples made her heart race.
I know.
He shifted and shoved his hands deep into his pockets.
Tomorrow night, I m going to spoil you.
Rafe
I want to.
She smiled. Well& it just so happens I love to be spoiled.
Good. I ll make the reservations.
Then, as if he didn t want to give her time to change her mind, he made his way out of the kitchen.
Rebekah slowly released her breath. Dinner with Rafael, alone. It would be the first time they would
spend an extended period alone together since their arrival in California. Under normal circumstances,
Ricardo was always nearby, and she and Rafael usually went their separate ways early in the evening.
Tomorrow night, for the first time, it would be just the two of them.
Chapter Twelve
Rebekah leaned toward the mirror in her bedroom to apply mascara and eyeliner. She had used a
curling iron to add large curls to her hair and then pinned the thick tresses atop her head, making them
look messy, yet neat at the same time. The black-and-white wraparound dress she wore was one of the
few dresses she d brought to California. With the addition of minimal jewelry and high-heeled sandals,
she was ready for the evening out with Rafael.
She and Rafael had fallen into comfortable conversation earlier during the day, bantering back and
forth with ease. The day they spent on the beach near the pier had been enjoyable and made them more
relaxed around each other. Only once had there been cause for tension, and it had occurred when a fan
wanted to take a photo of Rafael while he played with Ricardo. He told the man in no uncertain terms
he did not have permission to take a picture of his son, and he made him wait until Ricardo moved out
of the range of the shot.
Rebekah peeked in on Ricardo. The amber glow of the nightlight was enough for her to see he was
comfortably under the covers, flat on his back, arms spread wide across the bed. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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