Grapes of Wrath (Billionaires' Secrets Book 2) by Jennifer Lewis Page B

is he like?” A beaming smile lit his tanned face as he settled back into his chair.
    Amado isn’t the son of Ignacio Alvarez. His mother had an affair.
    The reality of the situation chilled her blood. How had Amado reacted? How had his parents reacted? He hadn’t called her with the news, as he’d promised. She’d scanned her phone daily for any trace of a missed message or text.
    “He’s nice,” she stammered. “Very smart.”
    Tarrant waved his hand impatiently. “Does he look like me?”
    Susannah frowned. “You both have strong features. I can see a resemblance around the nose and cheekbones. He’s darker, though, with dark eyes and hair.”
    Tarrant smiled. “Like my son Dominic. I never could resist the allure of a dark young beauty, back then.” Susannah tried not to recoil. Tarrant’s steady gaze made her uncomfortably conscious of her own dark coloring. She so did not want to think about Tarrant’s sexual exploits of thirty-odd years ago.
    It was downright hard to imagine Clara Alvarez being a beauty, dark or otherwise. And didn’t she have blue eyes like Tarrant?
    “His mother was such a stunner. Sharp as a cracked whip and with a fire that...” He blew out a breath and shook his head.
    “Clara is well and healthy, too.”
    “Clara?” Tarrant sipped a clear drink. Martini probably. “Who’s that?”
    “Amado’s mother.”
    Tarrant put his drink down. “Amado’s mother is dead.”
    A chill crept up her spine. “But I met her.”
    “Hardly. I was called to identify the body.”
    Susannah swallowed hard. Her blood seemed to stop flowing. “But he called her ‘mother.’”
    “I don’t know who the heck Clara is, but his real mother was Marisa Alvarez and she died giving birth to her son.” He tapped his cigar. “Tragic. The whole situation was a nightmare.”
    Susannah blinked, unable to make sense of it.
    Amado very definitely believed himself to be the son of Clara and Ignacio Alvarez. Now he wasn’t related to either of them?
    Tarrant studied the end of his cigar. “My son, Amado, will unfortunately not return my calls.”
    “How did he learn the news?”
    “My daughter Fiona managed to get him on the phone long enough to share the happy news, but he hung up on her. She’s not terribly subtle, but I had hoped that the blood ties would—”
    He let out a long sigh. “I’m truly impressed that you managed to coax him into providing a sample.” His eyes narrowed. “You’re a quiet one, and I can tell there’s more to you than meets the eye.”
    Susannah shrank into her chair, feeling guilty.
    “So I need you to go back to Argentina and bring my son home.”
    Icy shock rushed over her. Back to Tierra de Oro? “You want me to bring him to New York?”
    “I need to meet him. To show him the business. To welcome him to his place in it.”
    A sharp flash of adrenaline stung her muscles at the prospect of seeing Amado again. Then reality set in. Tarrant wanted his son to join the firm like his other newfound son Dominic.
    Her stomach clenched and she recoiled at the prospect of trying to convince Amado to leave the home he loved so much. No matter how much money was involved, that would be wrong.
    “He’ll never leave the estancia .” The words flew from her tongue. “It’s everything to him, his life’s work. He loves it like—” Like a father loves his son.
    She held her tongue. Regretted the passion with which she’d spoken.
    Tarrant frowned and studied her. “Bring him here just long enough to meet his old man before I die.”
    Susannah blinked. No doubt he was confident that once he got Amado in his reaches he could talk him into anything.
    Tarrant was such a force of nature it was easy to forget he was dying of cancer. The disease was so advanced that his doctors had advised him to avoid debilitating treatments and to enjoy his last months—or weeks—as best he could. Already he’d outlived their predictions.
    Pity trickled through her, despite her