Guarding His Fortune

by Stella Bagwell

  Maybe she believed her father wasn’t a wedge between them, but Chaz fully grasped the situation. Miles Fortune would never recognize him as worthy of his daughter’s attentions, much less ever consider him as son-in-law material. And where Savannah was concerned, there was only one option with her. Marry her or leave her for someone else. She wasn’t affair material. Not for Chaz, or any other man.

  “Okay, I won’t use your father as an excuse. I’ll make it even clearer. You and I are from different worlds. Where you open a can of caviar, I rip the lid off a can of soup.”

  She smiled at him and for the first time in years, he felt an emotional lump building in his throat.

  “You’re very wrong about that, Chaz. But I’m not going to waste my time trying to change your mind tonight. Soon you’ll see it for yourself.”

  He was still contemplating her words, when she rose on the tips of her toes and planted a soft kiss to the side of his face.

  “And by the way, you can’t count that little kiss,” she said with an impish grin. “Good night, Chaz.”

  Turning away from him, she collected her dirty dishes, then went into the house. As Chaz watched her disappear through the patio doors, he could see an explosion on the horizon and he figured that once the dust settled, the only thing left of him would be a few broken pieces.

  Chapter Eight

  “Are you feeling okay, Savannah?”

  Savannah glanced across the break room table to where Marva was sitting in a chair next to Arnold, one of the male members of the study group. At twenty-six, he needed several more hours of studies to get his post-graduate degree, but on the subject of diseases, he was light-years beyond Savannah. Quiet, with an odd penchant for dressing like Elvis, he’d instinctively gravitated toward Savannah and Marva, rather than some of the other men in the group. Savannah appreciated his brainpower and his humbleness.

  Savannah answered while thinking she should have added more concealer to the dark circles under her eyes.

  “I’m fine, Marva. Why? Do I look sick?”

  “Not exactly. More like preoccupied.”

  With one little kiss, Savannah thought. No, it hadn’t been little, she corrected herself. It had been gigantic! Monumental! It had changed every plan she’d ever made. Every hope and dream she’d ever carried around in her heart.

  Clearing her throat, she reached for the foam cup of coffee she was having with her lunch.

  She said, “This study group is much more difficult than I imagined.”

  “That’s an understatement,” Arnold muttered, then leaning his head toward to the two women, he lowered his voice. “Honestly, it’s hell trying to follow Professor Barcroft’s lectures. He drifts and drifts until he’s so far-off course I get to thinking I’m somewhere in left field watching for fly balls.”

  “Same here,” Marva added with a grimace. “And I thought he was supposed to be one of the best.”

  “Well, this is only our second day,” Savannah reasoned. “I’m guessing we need more time to get used to his style of teaching.”

  “Don’t you mean get used to his arrogance?” Marva asked, with a shake of her head. “God forgive me, but he reminds me of my ex-brother-in-law. My sister divorced him because she couldn’t stand his conceit. Too bad I can’t divorce this professor.”

  Arnold glanced at the older woman. “It’s not a requirement that you stay, Marva.”

  “I’m not about to leave,” she said resolutely. “Since the study group has already started, I doubt they’d allow anyone to fill my vacancy. Besides, I’m not a quitter. This is too important for me.”

  “Same here,” Savannah said. “My being here has already caused a rift between me and my father. I need to prove to him that this study group was the right thing for me to do.”

  Arnold glanced at her. “Where are you from originally, Savannah?”

  She looked across the table, while wondering why a man like him couldn’t catch her attention. Arnold wasn’t a hard hunk of muscle like Chaz, nor did he have his dark good looks. But he was slender and fit, and his smiles were the kind that assured her it would be a freezing July day before he’d raise his voice in anger to anyone. As for the subject of science, he was highly intelligent and devoted to his studies. He might not be exciting or sexy, but he’d make some woman a nice husband. At least, he’d be a damned sight gentler to the heart than a playboy like Chaz.

  I’m not the type to settle down in a two-story house with a bunch of little Mendozas running around my feet.

  Chaz’s remark shouldn’t be bothering her. Whether he wanted to play the field for the rest of his life or have a wife and eight children was really nothing to her. Like she’d told him, she wasn’t looking for a man. It would be years before she started thinking about marriage and babies. And yet, hearing him say he wasn’t interested in love was like hearing a person didn’t like flowers, or birds, or ice cream. It just wasn’t natural.

  Shaking herself out of her glum reverie, she answered Arnold’s question. “I live in the Garden District in New Orleans.”

  He nodded slightly. “I’ve been there. I live in New Mexico. Santa Fe. We still had snow on the mountains when I left home.”

  “And it already feels like summer here,” Marva replied with a chuckle. “Hope you brought your shorts and sunscreen.”

  He frowned. “At the rate I’m going, I doubt I’ll have a chance to spend any time outdoors. I’ll be too busy trying to unravel the professor’s lectures.”

  The three of them discussed their studies a few more minutes before Arnold excused himself from the utility table. Once he was gone, Savannah began to gather her leftovers and pack them back into an insulated lunch sack.

  “Ten minutes until lab class,” Marva said, as she checked her watch. “At least we’ll get to look at microscope slides or do some sort of chemical tests rather than take notes.”

  “It would be a refreshing change,” Savannah agreed, then looked thoughtfully over at the woman. “Marva, you told me that your children are grown. Do you have a daughter?”

  “One. Kathy is married with two youngsters. A boy and a girl. She’s the first one of my children to make me a grandmother.”

  Savannah smiled. “If she takes after her mother at all, I’m sure I’d like her. I was asking because—”

  “Because you need to talk with me about something?”

  Relieved, Savannah nodded. “Oh, Marva, from the moment I arrived in Austin nothing has been like I expected.”

  “And you’re homesick?”

  She shook her head. “No. I guess you could say I’m a little scared.”

  Marva’s attitude changed to one of concern. “Scared. To live alone in your apartment? Has someone been threatening you?”

  Savannah sounded like a child who was too immature to take care of herself. “No one has directly threatened me. And I’m not living alone while I’m in Austin. My father has hired a bodyguard to protect me around the clock. As far as I know, my bodyguard could be staked out on campus right now. Watching to make sure no suspicious looking characters enter or exit the building.”

  Marva’s mouth dropped open. “Dear Lord, I’ve always wanted my children to be safe, but I never reached the point of hiring a bodyguard! I couldn’t have afforded one anyway.”

  Savannah had never been one to talk about her personal life with fellow students or even with friends. Not that she had that many close friends. After Bethann had died, she’d made a point to avoid getting that close to anyone again. But Marva had a maternal warmth about her and Savannah needed to share her troubled thoughts with someone.

  “This isn’t something I go around telling and please don’t let it affect our friendship, Marva. You see, my family is wealthy. Extremely wealthy. My father owns Fortune Investments in New Orleans.”

  Marva’s amazement quickly changed to understanding.
“Oh, I see. He worries about kidnappers.”

  Kidnappers? Not exactly, Savannah thought. No one had implied to Savannah that the threat against the Fortunes involved money. But she supposed the possibility couldn’t be ruled out. And it was easier to let Marva think along those lines, rather than making an attempt to explain Gerald Robinson’s connection to the family and that his ex-wife was supposedly plotting revenge.

  “Something like that,” Savannah told her.

  The woman shook her head. “Well, rest assured I’m not going to let anything ruin our new friendship, Savannah. Besides, I don’t have anything against rich people.”

  Savannah’s laugh was a short dry burst of sound. “I’m glad. Not everyone feels like you.” She sucked in a long bracing breath. “But this matter of the bodyguard—I didn’t know about him until I got here to Austin. My father didn’t tell me. So meeting Chaz was a shock.”

  “Chaz? That’s the bodyguard?”

  Savannah nodded, then felt her cheeks begin to burn red as the memory of his kiss washed over her. She’d been kissed before, but none of those occasions could begin to match the experience of having Chaz’s lips on hers. She’d felt euphoric, and exposed and everything in between. How was she supposed to concentrate when all she could think about was kissing him again?

  “Yes. And he’s—uh, very handsome and strong and difficult to ignore. I’m afraid I’m beginning to like him far too much.”

  “I’m getting the picture. Is he single?”

  Savannah nodded. “And from what he says, he’s determined to remain that way.”

  Marva made a dismissive gesture with her hand. “They all say that. Most men are just waiting to be caught.”

  If possible, the heat in Savannah’s cheeks grew even hotter. “Chaz isn’t the type to stand still and let a woman snare him. Besides, I don’t want to catch him. I want to get him off my mind.” She gave her head a helpless shake. “The whole thing sounds silly, doesn’t it?”

  “No. It sounds perfectly normal to me. A pretty girl like you housed up with a handsome hunk. You’d be dead not to feel some sparks.”

  She’d felt sparks all right. More like fireworks.

  “I don’t want to have my thoughts distracted from this study group, Marva. I have so many plans for a job, a career. I want my education to mean something important.”

  Marva reached across the table and patted Savannah’s hand. “Honey, you’re worrying too much. Being attracted to a handsome man is hardly a crime or the end of the world. Even if he is your bodyguard.”

  Savannah gave her a wobbly smile. “Put like that I guess I sound like my father. And God knows I don’t want to be as autocratic or controlling as him.”

  “Maybe you should talk to your mother about this,” she suggested.

  Savannah shook her head. “Mother is very supportive and I will be talking with her, but I won’t mention any of this to her.”

  “Why not? Mothers are good about listening and advising.”

  Grimacing, she explained, “Because as soon as she got off the phone she’d repeat everything I said to Dad. She loves her children, but she’s one of those wives who believes her husband should know everything. And that would cause all kinds of problems. Dad would probably fly up here and collect me himself.”

  Marva frowned. “Just how old are you, Savannah?”

  Another blush warmed her cheeks. “Twenty-five.”

  “That’s a grown woman. By the time I was your age, I was married and had two kids. Maybe you should remind your father that you’re on a college campus, not an elementary school playground.”

  “That might be easier said than done,” Savannah told her. “There are seven of us children and he tries to direct each one of our lives. His daughters more so than his sons.”

  Marva gave her another understanding smile. “That’s because he loves you.”

  If I kiss you again, I’m going to have to take myself off the job.

  Would Chaz really do that? How would she feel if he did?

  Lost. Empty. That’s how she would feel.

  The troubling thoughts continued to nag her as Marva rose to her feet and collected the trash left over from her lunch.

  “We’d better head to the lab,” she said. “I’ve already learned one thing. Professor Barcroft is very prompt.”

  Savannah had learned something, too, she thought, as she followed Marva out of the break room. If she weren’t careful, she was going to fall head over heels for Chaz Mendoza. A man who would never return her feelings.

  * * *

  Three days later at the family distribution center in Austin Commons, Chaz watched his brother Carlo shove a box of wine onto the stack the two men had created at the back of the storage room.

  “That’s the last of the merlot,” Carlo announced. “A steak house across town has been selling the heck out of this stuff.”

  “Do we have more at the winery?”

  “Unfortunately, no. After this goes, we’ll be sold out. Which, on one hand, is a good thing. On the flip side, it’s going to hurt when we have to tell our customers there won’t be any for a long while.” He thoughtfully studied the stack of boxes. “We need to plant more black grapes for the merlot. That much is obvious.”

  “Even if Alejandro can find the extra ground, it will take a few years to get the vines up and producing,” Chaz pointed out.

  “Good wine isn’t made in a day, my brother,” Carlo said cheerfully. “But it can sure make a day good.”

  Chaz snorted. Carlo would look at the bright side of things. He’d found his rainbow riches when he’d married Schuyler Fortunado. The beautiful blonde had made his brother happier than he’d ever seen him. Not only that, she’d changed a dedicated playboy into a contented, one-woman man. It was still hard for Chaz to believe.

  “A little wine will fix everything, huh? Well, I’m glad I’m only the security man.”

  Carlo turned a scowl on him. “Only? What does that mean? Handling the security for the Mendoza businesses is a big deal. And it’s going to become an even bigger deal for you once we add the wine bar and the nightclub.”

  Chaz shrugged, while hating himself for sounding so crabby. Carlo hadn’t done anything to him. Except show him everything that was missing in his life. Like a woman who truly loved him.

  “If you say so.”

  Carlo walked over and stood facing him. “What’s the matter with you? Have you argued with Dad about something?”

  “No. I’ve not even seen Dad or talked with him since last Sunday when Savannah and I visited the winery. And there’s nothing wrong with me that a good night’s sleep won’t fix.”

  Carlo darted him a sly glance. “What’s the problem? Your pretty Miss Fortune is a loud snorer and she’s keeping you awake at night?”

  Chaz’s fingers unconsciously curled into loose fists. Any other time, his brother’s teasing would have rolled off his back. But not this time. Not when Savannah was the subject. “Since I’m sleeping in a bedroom across from her, I couldn’t say whether she snores loudly, or at all. Last night, an alarm went off at the winery and I was up several hours trying to detect what had set it off.”

  “Why didn’t you or the security guard call me? Was anything amiss?”

  “Nothing missing. Nothing vandalized. But I’ll be honest, for a while I was wondering if Charlotte had sent her goons out to the winery to cause some mischief.”

  Chaz’s suggestion clearly stunned his brother.

  “Surely not! Why would she want to cause the Mendozas any problems?”

  “I don’t have any proof that she does. But think about it, Carlo. The Mendozas are tightly intertwined with the Fortune family. Several Mendozas are married to Fortunes, including you. To hurt us would be hurting the Fortunes, too.”

  “Hmm. I never thought about it that way. But then my mind d
oesn’t work like yours, Chaz. Danger, security risks, safety issues, you pick up on those things instantly. They have to be pointed out to me.”

  “Yes, but I don’t have your business mind,” Chaz retorted. “Like how many bottles of merlot we might sell in one day or one week. Or what kind of prices are needed on La Viña’s dinner specials in order for the restaurant to make a profit.”

  “That’s exactly right, brother. We each bring something different to Mendoza businesses and it takes all of us to make them work efficiently.” Grinning, Carlo slung an affectionate arm around Chaz’s shoulder and urged him out of the storage room. “Come on. Let’s go to the main office and see if we can find something cold to drink.”

  “I’m all for that.”

  Down a long hallway, the two brothers entered a small office where the arrival and departure of inventory was logged in to a computer. Along with a desk and executive chair, the room also held a navy blue couch, three tall file cabinets, a compact refrigerator, a serving cart loaded with a coffee machine and all the fixings to go with it.

  Chaz went straight to the refrigerator and peered inside. “Looks like we can choose from diet soda, green tea or water. Damn, what happened to all the beer? A few days ago, there were two six packs in here.”

  Carlo chuckled. “I asked Schuyler to restock the refrigerator and she’s currently on a health kick. I’m guessing she moved the beer to make room for something with less calories. Looks as though there aren’t any boxes of pastries over here with the coffee, either.”

  “What’s next? Celery sticks and bean sprouts for snacks?” Chaz muttered as he pulled two cans of colas from the fridge and handed one of them to his brother.

  “Just think of all the good it’s doing your waistline.” Carlo gestured to the couch. “Let’s sit. We can waste a few minutes before we head out to the winery for another load.”

  Chaz eased into a cushion on one end of the couch and crossed his ankles out in front of him. Carlo joined him on the opposite end and quickly popped the top on his soda can. Chaz did the same and chugged down a third of the can in one gulp.