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THE TOWNHOUSE
Gabi opened the door as she wiped away her tears. Ricardo’s heart skipped as he realized it had finally happened. He stepped inside as Gabi closed the door. "What’s wrong, Gabi? Are you alright?" He touched her arm gently. "I was...I was...watch...watching..." she was trying to control herself. Ricardo looked to the TV and could see a videotape sticking out of the VCR. He tempered his excitement as he focused his attention to Gabi. Get ready to pick up those pieces, he told himself. Gabi took a deep breath. "I was watching An Affair to Remember." Ricardo’s heart sank like a rock. "That last scene, where he’s walking out the door and sees the painting in her bedroom." Gabi sighed heavily. "It always gets to me…I just can’t help it." Ricardo was incredibly disappointed. He thought he had arrived at the most opportune time. He was tempted to just bring the damn tape over and play it for her himself. "What are you doing here, Ricardo?" Gabi sniffled. "Oh, I uh," he pulled the present out from behind his back. "I just wanted to drop off this present for you and Antonio." He held out the box wrapped in beautiful ivory paper. "Happy Anniversary, just a few days early," he said with a smile. "Oh, Ricardo," she exclaimed. "Thank you." Gabi put her arms around him and hugged him. Ricardo wrapped his arms around her waist as he took in the smell of her hair, the feel of her pregnant body pressed against him. He didn’t ever want to let her go. "That was so nice of you," said still hugging him. Ricardo closed his eyes and prayed she hold on for one more second. Gabi pulled herself away from him and walked excitedly to the couch. "I’m going to open it now." She started fussing with the ribbon. "Why don’t you wait for Antonio? I’m sure he’d like to see your reaction when you open it." Ricardo was wicked...he knew the pain would be greater for Antonio if he was by her side when she saw it. He didn’t care; he was out for blood. "Oh...well, okay," she whined as she set the gift on the table. "I was just going for a walk. Do you want to come with me?" "Sure," Ricardo smiled as they walked out to the patio. Soon enough, he thought. Soon enough. THE DEEP Antonio’s eyes flashed with anger as Heather stood before him. "I’ve been waiting for you to show up," he said quietly. Heather’s heart skipped a beat. She had hoped he had missed her as much as she missed him. "How have you been?" she asked shyly. She hadn’t stopped thinking about their night together since he walked out on her. Antonio stared at her in utter disbelief. How could she be so nonchalant? He stood from his chair and stepped around his desk. Heather’s hopes soared. She wanted him to take her in his arms and... Antonio grabbed her roughly by the shoulders. "How have I been?" his voice grew louder. "You have the nerve to ask me that!" He was squeezing her shoulders. "Antonio! You’re hurting me," she said nervously. She had never seen him react like this in the time they had spent together. The coldness in his eyes scared her. "I’m hurting you? I’m hurting YOU!" he felt himself losing his temper. "I thought you were a different person, Heather. I trusted you." He let go of her shoulders abruptly. "I know I was wrong to lead you on. I can’t explain my behavior." He dropped his eyes and Heather felt immediately sorry for him. "I love my wife, more than anything or anyone." Heather’s hope started to fade. "I will never love anyone else…ever." He directed his eyes at her harshly. "No matter what you do, Heather. I won’t leave my wife." Heather was taken aback. "What I do? What are you talking about, Antonio?" She was confused. "I just happened to be doing some business in Los Angeles. I was in for the weekend and I thought I would come by to see how the club was doing. I didn’t expect to find you here on a Saturday." She dipped her head. "I thought you would be with Gabi." "Is that why you left the picture in my mail?" he spat the question at her. "That was very clever, Heather. Having a picture taken from the videotape you made! You had it planned from the very beginning, didn’t you? God, I was such a fool. I fell for it hook line and sinker." Antonio was fuming as Heather was hit with what was happening. "Oh my God," she whispered as she turned away from him. "What do you want from me, Heather?" Antonio demanded. "I told you, I won’t leave Gabi for you." Heather shook her head slowly. "It wasn’t me, Antonio," she said sadly. "What?" Antonio wasn’t sure he heard her correctly. "It wasn’t me," she repeated. "I didn’t make the tape." She turned around to face him. "I’m so sorry...I didn’t think he would really..." "He, who?" Antonio interrupted her as his eyes glared at her for an answer. Heather looked away from him. "Ricardo." Antonio’s heart hit the floor as his blood pressure soared. "Ricardo?" he repeated for confirmation. "Yes," Heather admitted. "He asked me to help him...he said you had hurt him. I needed the money, Antonio." Antonio couldn’t believe what he was hearing. "I never expected to fall for you like I did." She dropped her eyes once again. "You were so sweet and so interested in me...as a person." Antonio shook his head slowly. "I felt bad about it, but I couldn’t make him change his mind. We had an agreement." "My brother...paid you to seduce me?" Antonio’s nostrils flared from rage. "He PAID you to take me back to your hotel room and…and videotape what happened?" Heather shook her head sadly. Antonio threw his hands up and began pacing the room. Heather never moved. Antonio was ranting and raving under his breath. "Antonio, I’m sorry," Heather offered softly. "I..." "YOU! You are not the person I thought you were." Antonio lowered his voice. "You didn’t make me come back to your room that night…I made the decision on my own. And I was wrong." He paused. "I will regret that night for the rest of my life." Heather felt tears sting her eyes. "I hurt my wife in the worst possible way and I will never truly forgive myself for that...I almost lost her." "You told her?" Heather asked with surprise. "Yes," Antonio said firmly. "There was no way I would be able to look her in the eyes and lie to her everyday." "Then she already knows," she said with relief. "So it doesn’t matter if she sees..." "Doesn’t matter?" Antonio said incredulously. "How would you feel, Heather, if you saw your husband on tape with another woman?" "But Antonio, nothing happened." "I don’t call that nothing, Heather," Antonio said guiltily. "I broke my wedding vows. It almost lost me my wife and my son. It wasn’t nothing." "Ricardo said..." she began. Antonio’s rage returned at the mention of his brother. "Ricardo...so that explains how he knew the details. Was he there, Heather? Hiding out in the closet? Was he watching?" "No. He set up the video before we got back to the room." Heather felt so horrible for what she had done. "He showed up after you left." "And that’s when you slept with him, right?" Antonio asked accusingly. Heather didn’t answer. "How much was it worth, Heather? How much was my brother willing to pay to ruin my life?" Antonio closed his eyes. "Four thousand," she admitted. Antonio’s eyes flew open. "Well, I hope you put the money to good use," he said smugly as he grabbed his coat from the chair. "I think you should leave, Heather. I don’t ever want to hear from you again." Antonio rushed past her to the door. He bolted from the office to go after Ricardo. He was going to.... THE BEACH Ricardo and Gabi walked along the water talking about Carmen’s latest obsession with an upcoming earthquake. "She was right last time, you know," Gabi offered diplomatically. "That was just a coincidence. She must have read it in the paper." Ricardo laughed at his mother. He never believed in her psychic predictions...except for the one about Antonio and Gabi. Gabi stopped suddenly as the baby kicked her hard. "Ohh," she moaned as she leaned over slightly. "Are you okay? Is it the baby?" Ricardo was worried at the pain on her face. Gabi puffed a few breaths. "It’s okay. This little guy is going to be a black belt in karate!" She managed a small laugh. "Maybe we should get you back home." Ricardo put his arm around her. "Let’s go." Gabi rubbed her belly as they walked back down the beach. Ricardo was dreaming that he and Gabi were expecting their own child. He imagined what it would be like to make love to her while she was pregnant. Her body was blossoming from her hormonal changes and he could see through her shirt how much more full her breasts were. He felt his pulse racing as he pictured himself with her. He was kissing her passionately, pulling her against him tightly… "Ricardo," Gabi startled him from his reverie. "Were here!" she laughed softly at him. "Sorry, I was just thinking," he admitted quietly. "It’s okay." Gabi yawned. "I think I’m going to go lay down for awhile. I’ll talk to you later. Thanks for the walk." Ricardo said goodbye and watched her walk inside. He closed his eyes as he took a deep breath. Soon, he told himself. Soon you’ll be the one she’s making love to. He turned and strode slowly down the beach back to his loft. Gabi fingered Ricardo’s anniversary gift on the table. She was like a kid at Christmas. It wouldn’t hurt if she opened it alone. She would show it to Antonio as soon as he got home. She was happy that Ricardo was acknowledging their anniversary at all. They had all come such a long way. Gabi sat down on the couch and began pulling the ribbon off the gift.
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