When Sabrina Bancroft (from England) was 18 and Cruz Delgado was 24 they had a brief affair that lasted less than a year. She was a wealthy aristocrat visiting her father, Earl Bancroft, in Brazil where he was working at his diamond mine. Cruz was one of the miners (who grew up in the slums and later found work mining.) During their affair Sabrina eventually became pregnant but then had a miscarriage. Cruz had asked her to marry him but Sabrina turned him down. She was sure Cruz didn't love her, he only wanted his child. And after witnessing her parents disastrous marriage, she was wary of making a commitment. So they drifted apart, she went back to England, and they haven't seen each other since then.

Ten years later...

Sabrina now has a PhD and works in antique furniture restoration. Her father, Earl Bancroft, has been missing for eighteen months, he's been officially declared a missing person, so his bank accounts have been frozen and Sabrina is running out of money. Opening up her large ancestral home (Eversleigh Hall) for weddings and parties was the only way Sabrina could afford the huge running costs of the estate until her father returns.

Cruz is now a wealthy man and the owner of a diamond empire (Delgado Diamonds). He bought the diamond mine he named "Old Betsy" from Earl Bancroft, and found diamonds, and became rich. He has heard stories about a map with details about an abandoned mine connected somewhere to his mine and he wants that map. (He is especially interested in finding a rare red diamond---the Estrela Vermelha.) Since Earl Bancroft sold him the mine he figures the old Earl has the map. So he goes to England to visit the Earl, not knowing the Earl is missing and he will only be seeing Sabrina.

Cruz arrives at Eversleigh Hall and discovers Sabrina's father is missing and she is having financial difficulties. Cruz asks about the map but Sabrina doesn't know where her father put it. She tells him the Hall has many secret places/rooms to hide things and her father could have put the map in one of these places. So Cruz decides to make Sabrina an offer. He offers her a lot of money and in return she will be his mistress for the next six months. This will give Cruz time to look around Eversleigh Hall for the map and Sabrina will be able to pay expenses for maintaining her estate. Sabrina's younger brother Tristan also needs money for his university education. His dream is to become an airline pilot. Sabrina eventually accepts Cruz's offer and they become lovers again and find they are still very attracted to each other. They also learn a lot more about each other than they did ten years ago.

Sabrina was a cool, classy, aristocratic heroine. I liked how much she cared for her brother, Tristan, and looked out for him for years since her parents were never around much. Her mother left them for her lover when they were young, and their father was always going off somewhere, exploring, mining...

Cruz was aloof and distant towards Sabrina at first. He tried to keep his emotional distance since she rejected him ten years ago. He always (wrongly) felt that Sabrina thought she was too good for him since she was wealthy and he was poor. Cruz is wealthy now but he still feels he isn't accepted by the upper classes because of his poor background.

At first I found the main couple cool/cold because they were both trying to hide their emotions and feelings for each other but they grew on me as the story progressed and they opened up and talked to each other. I also liked the loyalty they had to their families, Sabrina's closeness and devotion to her brother Tristan, and Cruz's love for his family, his mother and sisters that he looked out for after his father died in the mine.

This was an enjoyable read by Chantelle Shaw with lots of misunderstandings, sexy love scenes, and diamonds. ( )