It had taken only twenty minutes of waiting in the Harlem location of Lucien’s before Sam realized she wasn’t coming.
That and the phone call he received as he was walking out of the restaurant. “Desdune.”
“Hey, just wanted to check in with you before I left for the night.”
It was Bree.
“Go ahead.”
“Alex said you okayed me assigning an undercover to provide extra security for the prince and princess, so I sent that guy we have in New York already. Anyway, he just called to say the royal jet is being fueled up, estimated time of departure is three and a half hours.”
“I guess they’re in a hurry to get back home,” Sam was saying as he crossed the street to his car, pressing the remote to unlock the doors.
It was when he was settled behind the steering wheel that Bree decided to drop her bombshell.
“There’s another passenger listed on the manifest. An American. Her passport’s already been scanned.”
Sam’s jaw twitched as he sat back against his leather seats. “Go on.”
“It’s Karena.”
He cursed. Loudly. Fluently.
On the other end, Bree clucked her teeth. “Precisely the reaction I assumed you’d have. That’s why I called right away.”
“What the hell is she doing?”
“Come on, Sam, I’m sure you know.”
Squeezing the bridge of his nose, he tried to take slow, even breaths. Otherwise, he was liable to punch something or someone. “Bree, I don’t have time for this.”
“You don’t have time to listen to me warn you about scaring her away?”
“What? You don’t have any idea what you’re talking about. I’m not what’s scaring her.”
“You sure about that, big brother? You weren’t the smartest guy when it came to your last relationship.”
“Please, don’t even compare Karena to Leeza.” There was no comparison there. Leeza was a controlling, manipulative socialite with a split personality who had Sam walking on eggshells one minute and singing her praises the next. Ending things with her remained the best decision he’d ever made. No, Karena was nothing like that. And what he felt for Karena was nothing like what he’d imagined he felt for Leeza.
“I’m not comparing them. I’m comparing you. The man you were with Leeza and the one you are to Karena. It’s one and the same.”
“Bree, I’ve got to go.”
“Just listen to me for a minute, Sam. A fool could see you’ve got feelings for her, but you need to make sure those feelings are reciprocated before you go pushing your way into her life. Don’t forget I’m the one who knows you just about as well as you know yourself. You may think Karena Lakefield is the woman for you, the one you want to love, marry and cherish forever. But she may have another idea entirely.” Bree sighed. “Just food for thought.”
He couldn’t be angry with her. She was just being Bree. She was being his sister, his twin, one of his closest friends. “Thanks,” he said solemnly then started his car’s engine.
“Don’t look for me in the office tomorrow.”
On the other end Bree smiled. She knew exactly what he was saying. “I’ll let Mom and Dad know you’re out of the country.”
With a grim smile of his own, Sam thanked her again and disconnected. His foot lay heavily on the gas as he needed to make his way back to his house, pack and get to the private airstrip where the de Carrieros’ jet was parked.
Using speakerphone so he could concentrate on driving, he called Alex and asked him to contact the de Carrieros and get clearance for him to travel with them. Once that was done, he let his mind return to the pressing matter at hand.
Karena.
The look he gave her was one of barely restrained anger. His usually calm brown eyes were simmering, his lips tight in consternation as he boarded the jet just moments before it was to take off.
In that instant Karena remembered their dinner plans, her reluctance to go and finally the moment Izabel offered for her to fly back to Brazil with her.
No wonder he was angry. She’d stood him up.
Izabel and Felipe were already buckled into their seats toward the front of the jet, leaving Karena seated in the middle section of seats, behind a small table and minibar. Her heart hammered as she turned away from him. At that exact moment Sam looked away from her as well, both their gazes locking on the seat next to her.
He was going to sit there, even though there were two more seats behind her. She knew with absolute certainty he was going to stop right beside her.
“Surprised to see me?” he asked the moment he was seated and had clicked the seat belt around his waist.
“A little,” she replied honestly.
“I must have really wanted to have dinner with you to pack my bags and hop on a plane to Brazil.”
His tone was clipped. He was really upset with her.
“Look, Sam, I’m sorry. I totally forgot. Izabel came to my office and we talked. She told me who stole the paintings and why and then offered to take me to meet him. I couldn’t pass up the offer.”
“And you couldn’t call me to say that ahead of time? You had to just jump at the opportunity to leave me sitting at that restaurant waiting for you.”
“It wasn’t like that.”
“Then what was it like? You set the time, Karena. I waited for you.”
She took a deep breath, realizing that nothing she said was an acceptable excuse. She was wrong and when that was the case, Karena had no problem admitting it.
“I apologize. I should have called you.”
He looked away from her then said simply, “Tell me about this thief.”
And just like that, the comfort zone she always morphed to when they were together cloaked her. Her heart slowed to a normal beat as the jet took off and she settled in to tell Sam the story of Eduardo and the orphanage.