CHAPTER 4

“Mister Bruce?” Asks the man, who, apparently, is his right-hand man. The redhead didn't even notice his presence next to him. Not even the moment he approached.

“Tony, my friend! I confess that I have never felt anything like it. I can't even feel my whole body, I've lost the rhythm of my breathing, I feel suffocated...” admits Bruce, leaning on his friend.

“Did you forget that we’re leaving in forty minutes? Or, perhaps, aren’t you going to start your return trip to Europe this morning…, as you had planned?”

“My dear, I can't even take a step in any direction, unless it takes me closer to her...” he confesses, somewhat thoughtfully.

“Is that what I’m thinking?”

“I don’t know what you’re thinking, but that’s what I’m feeling.” He concludes, smiling with satisfaction.

Bruce and the advisor spend a few minutes outside the mansion, as they are analyzing some type of diary and checking some pages followed by others. For those who are far away, it is possible to notice the redhead shaking his head successively negatively.

Minutes later, they finally enter.

One of the housekeepers doesn't fail to notice his sudden transformation, so, faced with this excitement, she approaches him politely and says:

“Excuse me sir, this is your cousin, your blood, your father’s brother’s daughter...” she informs, indicating that he could not feel what he is visibly feeling.

“I know that, ma'am. Furthermore, she is the only person left in my family...” he comments, implying that the excitement is for parental reasons. Which is contradictory, considering what the friend and employees witnessed.

“It’s not for nothing that they call this city romantic”, the advisor thinks to himself, as he notices that the boss is getting more excited every second. And he goes further, based on the travel plans he has in his hands, “I believe that the 'hot' climate will not allow the boss to want to return, not even today, and perhaps never again”, he concludes in thought.

For a long time, the faithful squire witnessed many women being interested in the young and handsome billionaire heir and he never gave a damn, but now it's the opposite. The attractive young man was visibly attracted to a beautiful woman.

“Would it be a blood attraction according to the culture of European royalty?”, thinks the companion again.

Well, whatever it is, there are elements that can corroborate a romantic relationship. At least on his part there is plenty of it.

At noon sharp, the young boy and his faithful English friend are led to the immense dining room. Which, incidentally, if it didn't have a luxurious table with twelve padded brown velvet chairs, right in the center, could be described as a large exhibition of rare and extremely valuable paintings by renowned painters. In addition to some white marble sculptures.

The man is dazzled looking one by one, with his arms behind him, as if he were handcuffed, taking slow steps and stopping briefly in front of each work. He didn't believe he would find such a European environment on the coast of Brazil.

On the other hand, the young man in love ignores everything and everyone and can't stop looking at the main door, through which, possibly, she will appear.

The table displays food in sufficient variety and quantity to serve fifteen to twenty people. One of the housekeepers remains standing in one of the corners of the room, as still as the statues, until another enters through the back door and approaches her, saying something in her ear.

Seconds later, the first governess addresses the young man saying:

“Miss Rúbia apologizes profusely, but she won’t be able to have lunch with you today, as she wanted. There has been an unforeseen event and she will have to go immediately to one of the hotels owned by her, where she will certainly have lunch.”

His arrival coincided with many problems that she had to solve, and all of this left her focused, necessarily, on her responsibilities. So, day after day, she only greeted him occasionally, when they happened to cross paths, and chance didn't seem to care, besides for him, it was worth every moment.

It was at these moments when he was entitled to a charming and inviting smile, followed by a deep, firm voice. This whole ensemble sounded like it was a courtship on her part. Feelings fought for space in his heart: admiration, attraction, desire, passion and even love in a matter of seconds. Everything about him was much more than the right measure.

The days passed and young Bruce's travel schedule was limited to the city of Romântica. Paralyzed by passion, the young man tries to disguise his feelings by trying, in every contact with her, to act naturally. And, at the same time, thinking of a thousand ways to seduce her, however, always on the back foot, like someone who only has a single arrow and is afraid of missing the target.

Until he asked his friend, who is normally always at his disposal, to find out, informally, if she has any suitors. This request was the most difficult of his life, as he was too afraid of a positive response in this regard, which would be negative for him.