Rico felt only contempt for her now

Once it had been different. "There was a time," he said, "when I would have given everything I possessed for the pleasure of taking you to my bed and loving you."

His statement offered no comfort to Merle now. Not when unfortunate circumstances had forced her to return to Spain to seek help from the cynical, handsome Rico de Montilla.

How could she ever convince him that she was not the mercenary, unfeeling woman he believed her to be?