A Sincere Billionaire's Forever Love

Living life in the fast lane on and off the Formula One racetrack has proven to be a race Raul can’t win. There are limits to how long a man can hide behind his charismatic mask and pretend he isn’t broken inside. But falling head-over-heels in love with Marie has given him a new lease on life and opened a whole new world of possibilities.

When he invites the vivacious school principal to travel the world with him, he’s bursting with excitement to begin their new adventure. But a different kind of adventure just showed up on Marie’s doorstep in the form of a sweet foster child. He’s in desperate need of Marie’s special brand of love, and there’s no way she can turn him away—not when she’s ached for the day she’d share her heart and home with a child.

When Raul meets Marie’s new foster-son, the pain he’s run from for so long roars back to life, causing him to wonder if he has what it takes to open his heart again.

Marie knows she was meant to be a mother. Raul doesn’t know if he has what it takes to be a father. Little Sam is depending on them both. But a mysterious package from the past just might hold the key to unlock all their hearts.

Will Raul conquer his grief to embrace the family Marie yearns for, or will their love stall at the starting line?

“That’s my man—whooo!” The surge of excitement at seeing Raul speed toward the finish pushed Marie through the gallery, racing toward the finish line herself. Her voice carried over the sound of the crowd as she ran along the spectator’s side of the wall lining the track, waving her arms overhead as she went. “I’m coming, baby.”

Flashing her VIP badge once she reached the paddock, she entered the exclusive area reserved for the racers and their teams. Raul’s Formula One race car was parked a mere twenty feet away on the other side of a metal gate. Marie’s heart skipped a beat when he stood to exit his cockpit.

It was like something out of a movie. Removing his helmet, he glanced over his shoulder and flashed her a bold flirtatious smile—the same smile that had made her go weak in the knees the night they’d met in New York City three short months ago.

He had swept her off her feet at a swanky charity art gala, and they hadn’t touched the ground ever since. Raul seemed to have one motto in life: “What Marie wants, Marie gets.” The amazing part about it was that she never even had to say what it was that she wanted. He had some sort of superpower where she was concerned; an ability to anticipate what she wanted before she even knew she wanted it. They were so in-sync it was ridiculous which was why she couldn’t wait to tell him her big news.

After months of preparation, she’d received word last night that she’d been approved to become a foster mother to children in need of a loving home. Butterflies flittered in her stomach as she imagined walking barefoot in the sand with Raul on one side and a sweet child on the other. It was an image almost too perfect for words and brought happy tears to her eyes.

Raul had such a big heart; she just knew there was no way he wouldn’t love the idea of her becoming a foster mother. Maybe—just maybe—they’d be fostering together one day. A warm shiver raced down her back at the thought of it. Did she dare hope?

Raul tucked his helmet under his arm and scrubbed his fingers through dark, wavy hair, tousling his shaggy mane. A thousand goosebumps erupted across the surface of her skin when he hopped to the ground and made straight for her, his eyes locked onto hers. It was three months to the day since fate had brought them together, and she still got butterflies in her stomach every time she saw him.

Marie grabbed the bars of the gate in front of her and jumped up and down. “You did it!”

Raul hopped over the barricade and stretched his arms wide. “Fifth place. How about that? Forget the number seventy-seven painted on my car. You’re the only lucky charm I need. I should have brought you to all my races from the start.”

Fifty cameras went off when he wrapped his arms around her curvy figure and lifted her off the ground in an enormous bear hug.

“Oh, no. They’re watching again,” she said.

“Let them watch. I’m in love and I don’t care who knows it.” He flashed a million-watt smile toward an area reserved for the press, igniting another round of frantic photo snapping.

“Mr. De Luca, I am a respectable school administrator in New York City. I can’t afford to be seen in cheap tabloids at the checkout line of the grocery store. We can’t give them the shots they want.”

There was humor in her voice, but truth in her words. She needed to protect her image if she wanted to be effective at work, and being on the wrong end of paparazzi camera lenses was not the best way to do it.

“Whatever you say, Miss Maranzano.” Raul lowered her to the ground, smothering a playful grin. “I have to admit, even with as much fun as it is to be in the spotlight, hiding out from the press is pretty hot in its own kind of way.”

Marie slapped his arm when he looked at her out of the corner of his eye, raising his brows several times in quick succession.

The sudden clatter of a crowd of children congregating at the gate leading into the paddock caught their attention. Raul wrinkled his nose and pulled his face into a grimace. “Let’s hurry up and get out of here before they let those kids in.”

Marie’s breath froze in her chest as she took half a step backward. “What’s wrong with kids?”

“There’s nothing wrong with kids…” He paused for a moment, casting a cautious glance their way, “as long as they’re far away from me,” he said with a bit of a forced laugh. Marie didn’t feel like joining in and stared at him with a deadpan expression on her face.

“Come on, Marie. You know I’m only joking. Kids are—” again, he paused—“fine, but I don’t want to be stuck here for another hour signing autographs. I have a press conference to attend, and we’ve got big plans for tonight.”

Kids are fine? Had he really just said that? Raul was always so over-the-top that she’d never heard him describe anything as fine before. Everything was always fantastic, amazing, or awesome whenever he talked. For him to say that something was fine almost felt like he didn’t like it at all.

He leaned close to speak privately as they headed toward the press-free zone behind the paddock. His warm breath tickled her ear, sending a shiver down her spine. “I’m all yours after the press conference. There’s a private island and beach with our name on it just begging for a romantic candlelight supper this evening,” he said.

Once they were out of sight, Marie slipped her arm around his, resigning herself to recapturing the joy she’d felt before Raul’s comment about children. “Happy anniversary to us. An evening alone on the beach sounds wonderful. It’ll be the perfect place to tell you my big news.”

“I can’t wait to hear it.” He slipped his arm out of her grasp and draped it around her shoulder. “Any chance you’ll give me a hint?” Raul bent down and nuzzled her with the tip of his nose. Kissing her softly on the temple, he gave her shoulders a squeeze as they walked in step toward the lot where his driver awaited them.

She leaned into him as they walked, forcing her concerns to the back of her mind. “Let’s just say that life is about to get a whole lot more interesting.”