A Fortunes of Texas Christmas

by Helen Lacey

  “So, how long you stayin’ in town, son?” Cliff asked cheerfully.

  Amersen shifted his gaze. “A few days,” he replied. “Maybe a week.”

  The older man winked toward his daughter. “You should get Robin to show you the sights while you’re in Austin. It’s quite the town. We have some great restaurants and galleries you might like to see.”

  “Dad,” Robin said quickly, “I’m sure Amersen has more important things to do, since he’s here on business.”

  “Nonsense,” Cliff said and harrumphed. “I’m sure you can take some time off to appreciate everything Austin has to offer.”

  Amersen glanced toward Robin. Yes, he certainly could. Since she was what he wanted. But he wasn’t about to make any kind of inappropriate comment in front of her parents.

  “You’re right,” he said agreeably and smiled. “If Robin agrees to play tour guide.”

  “And you should take a look around Sterling’s Fortune,” Cliff suggested. “It’s quite a spread. Best ranch in the county. Maybe I’m biased, though, since my talented daughter is responsible for making the place look so damned impressive. It wins awards, you know...big-time stuff. Last year those fancy magazine people came out and did a two-page story on the gardens and how Robin was—”

  “Dad,” Robin said and groaned. “I’m sure Amersen isn’t interested in—”

  “On the contrary,” Amersen said quietly, cutting her off. “I am very interested.”

  It was the truth. He was interested. In her. And somehow, it had become about more than simply sex. Sure, he wanted to take Robin back to his hotel room, get her into bed and make love to her all night long. He wanted to touch every part of her and feel her legs tangled with his. But he also wanted to hear her laugh. He wanted to inhale the scent of her perfume. He wanted to order room service and eat breakfast with her. He wanted...

  To wake up next to her.

  He wanted it so much he could barely think of anything else. Including the real reason he’d come to Austin in the first place. His business focus seemed to have spectacularly disappeared.

  He took a long breath and met her gaze. “You shouldn’t feel embarrassed because your father is proud of you.”

  “I’m not,” she said and smiled. “But you know how parents can be.”

  He did. And he liked that she was talking to him as though they were the only two people in the room and that her parents were chuckling together. There was something relaxed and completely normal about his budding relationship with Robin. Stupid, he suspected, to think of what they had as any kind of relationship...but the connection between them was hard to ignore.

  Cliff laughed and Amersen quickly got his derailed thoughts back on track. “So, you were saying something about Gerald Robinson’s secret life? I think I read something about it a while back.”

  The older man nodded. “Yeah...it’s been big news in this town for a while. Looks like he turned his back on his old life as Jerome Fortune. I’m not sure anyone really knows why but him. But the secret kind of set down the pattern for a dishonest life, I reckon. He married Charlotte and had a family and managed to have several kids with other women. Like that Englishman who married that waitress from Lola May’s... Francesca something... Keaton Whitfield is his name. I think he’s added the Fortune name onto it now.” Cliff frowned. “And then there was that Elliott girl...” His voice trailed off. “Can’t remember her first name, though.”

  “Chloe,” Veronica supplied. “She’s a lovely young woman. She works as a counselor at Pete’s Place. She got married recently, remember?” she prompted. “To that tall cowboy. You know him, don’t you, Robin?”

  Robin rolled her eyes a fraction. “Chance Howell.”

  Veronica clicked her fingers. “That’s him. I think he works at Pete’s Place, too. It seems like Gerald Robinson’s illegitimate kids are coming out of the woodwork. It’s like I always say, no good can ever come of lies and deception.”

  Amersen felt the stain of his conception creep over his skin. He nodded vaguely and shrugged. “Yes, I imagine you are right.”

  Veronica looked toward Amersen. “So, tell us a little about your family.”

  He glanced at Robin, saw her smile and then replied quietly. “Mother, father and a younger sister named Claire.”

  Veronica nodded again. “I suppose your business with Kate will mean you’ll be spending more time in Austin over the coming months.”

  As far as interrogations went, it was pretty mild. Still, he suspected that if he spent too much time in the Harbins’ company, they would soon be asking him about his intentions toward their daughter. Upon reflection, he suspected his own parents would do exactly the same thing in regard to his sister, had she unexpectedly brought a man they didn’t know home for dinner.

  “Possibly,” he replied.

  They finished their meal, and Robin offered to do the dishes. Within seconds her parents were out of the room, having taken up Cliff’s suggestion to watch television. Amersen collected a few plates and walked toward the counter.

  “Damn,” she said, grabbing the plates.

  “Damn?”

  “They like you,” she said.

  “Glad to hear it,” he quipped. “But I’m not sure how you can know that.”

  “I know my folks,” she replied. “They mostly let me live my own life, but they still like to give their stamp of approval on my...friends.”

  His brows came up. “We’re friends now?”

  “I’m not sure what we are,” she admitted.

  He stopped what he was doing and came around the counter. “Really?”

  She stilled and turned, propping her hip against the counter. “Really. And I apologize if my dad’s suggestion about me showing you the sights of Austin made you uncomfortable.”

  He laughed. “Wasn’t that the purpose of the invitation...to see me squirm around your parents?”

  She shrugged, not denying it. “Epic fail, though.” She sighed lightly. “Doesn’t anything faze you?”

  “Not so far,” he said and reached out, cupping her cheek.

  “You know, I don’t think I’ve met a more arrogant, cocky and self-assured man in my life.”

  “Thank you,” he said, unashamedly turned on by her words. “Would you like to come back to my hotel tonight?”

  She shook her head. “No.”

  “Can you deny that you want to?”

  “What I want,” she said and stepped back, “and what I’ll do are two very different things. Look, I know women have probably been falling for your good looks and charm since you hit puberty, and I’m not going to deny that I’m tempted. But I’m also a realist. Once you leave Austin, I’ll probably never see you again, and you’ll probably forget that we ever met. And frankly, I don’t want to be someone that gets forgotten so easily. I’ve had that recently, and it sucks. So, good night, Amersen. And thank you for an...interesting couple of days.”

  She stepped farther back, and he dropped his hand. He admired her honesty, even if he didn’t want to hear her words.

  “Good night, ma chérie,” he said, feeling the space between them grow wider as she took another step backward. “Please say good-night to your parents for me and thank them for their hospitality.” He gestured to the clothes he wore. “I’ll see that these are returned.”

  “Goodbye, Amersen,” she said, her choice of words clearly defining the parameters of their relationship. But he didn’t say goodbye. He didn’t say anything more. He simply pulled the car keys from his hip pocket, strode through the back door and left.

  By the time he was in his rental car and driving away from the ranch, Amersen figured it was for the best. He was in Texas for one thing—to consider Kate Fortune’s business proposal. Not to get involved with Robin Harbin. No matter how much he wanted to.
>
  Business had to come first. It always did. He’d make a decision about Kate’s offer and then head home to Paris, where he belonged. He had a couple more days, and then he’d be gone. No more Texas, no more Fortunes and no more bewitching honey blonde.

  Still, that didn’t explain why he felt so damned lonely as he drove back toward Austin.

  Chapter Five

  “All I’m saying is, don’t be fooled by this guy.”

  Robin let out a long, impatient sigh and stared at her brother. She loved Evan, she really did, but sometimes he could be an overbearing pain in the rear end. And the last thing she wanted on Thursday afternoon was a pep talk from her older sibling, who’d made it his business to travel out to Sterling’s Fortune to give her a lecture on whom she shouldn’t or should date.

  Pity he hadn’t dished out the advice when she’d made the mistake of falling for Trey.

  But this conversation wasn’t about Trey. It was about Amersen Beaudin. Whom her mother had apparently mentioned to Evan on the phone earlier that morning. Then Veronica had raced around to Robin’s house before she left for work and informed her that Evan had told her Amersen was some kind of womanizing playboy who bedded a different woman every week. He was a wolf. A shark. He was no good for her. He was going to break her heart. He was exactly the kind of man a good girl should avoid. Robin had listened while her mother offered a whole bunch of platitudes about the wrong kind of guy, and then Robin spent ten minutes telling her mother she wouldn’t be seeing Amersen again, so there was nothing to worry about. Then she left for work, thinking the conversation over and done with.

  Except the idea that she’d brought Amersen to the family ranch, where they’d all been born and raised, seemed to send her brothers into some kind of macho tailspin and resulted in Evan getting the short straw and visiting her at work to give her the aforementioned lecture.

  “You’re being ridiculous,” she said and grabbed her tool kit from the table in the greenhouse. “I’m not being fooled by anyone, and for the last time, I’m not dating Amersen Beaudin. We went for one horseback ride, we had dinner with Mom and Dad, then he went back to his hotel. End of story. So, let up, will you?”

  She wasn’t about to mention that they’d made out in the barn. It wasn’t anyone’s business what she did, or with whom. Sure, the guy could kiss. But since she wouldn’t be kissing him again, it made no difference.

  Evan frowned. “Mom thinks you like him.”

  Robin rolled her eyes. “Really, what is this, high school? Go back to your office, Evan. I’ve got things to do.”

  She strode from the greenhouse, shoulders back, temper at boiling point and thinking that sometimes being the youngest sibling was unbearable. It took about two seconds to realize that her brother was following in her wake, still jabbering about how he’d done some research that morning and how Amersen was infamous throughout Europe and had a list of sexual conquests a mile long. She didn’t want to hear it—for three reasons. First, it didn’t make one iota of difference, since she doubted she’d see him again. Second, she wasn’t going to take a lecture from her brother about her dating life. And third, she didn’t like how the idea that Amersen jumped from bed to bed made her feel.

  “I’m just trying to help you see sense,” Evan implored, following her into the house through the rear entrance.

  “You’re just trying to control my life,” she snapped and kept walking.

  She knew the housekeeper was upstairs, Kate was in her study working and Sterling was in town on an errand. Kate’s husband had sworn Robin to secrecy earlier that morning when he told her he was planning on gifting Kate with a French bulldog puppy for Christmas and was visiting a breeder to make his selection from the litter. Robin knew Kate would be surprised and delighted by the gift, since she’d lost her previous and beloved pet some months earlier. She also knew Kate and Sterling wouldn’t mind Evan being in the house, since they were acquainted with both her brothers and her parents.

  “I’m trying to protect you,” Evan said. “There’s a difference.”

  Robin stomped through the kitchen and reached the main foyer area. The huge cypress tree had been delivered that morning and stood center stage in the middle of the foyer, extending several feet above the polished walnut balustrade on the second floor. Plus, several large boxes of garlands and decorations had been brought out of storage and were waiting to go up around the house. Christmas was barely weeks away, and she had mountains of work to do to get the house ready for the festive celebrations and the Fortunes’ annual Christmas Eve party.

  “Evan, you’re my brother and I love you, but please stay out of my life. And leave, right now.”

  “Not until you promise you won’t see him again.”

  She rolled her eyes irritably. “This isn’t the eighteenth century, you know. I don’t need your permission or approval to go on a date with someone. Or anything else.”

  His gaze narrowed. “So, you admit that you are dating him?” His frown deepened. “And what do you mean, anything else? Please don’t tell me you’re sleeping with some guy you just met.”

  Robin glared at her hypocritical sibling. Evan was handsome and successful and drew women to him like bears to a honey pot. Unlike the equally handsome but more serious Reece, whose wife had left him several years earlier and who seemed in no hurry to get back on board the dating train. “Really? I’m getting a lecture from a man whose bedroom has a revolving door?”

  He didn’t even try to look embarrassed. “See, I know what I’m talking about. Guys are only after one thing. And once we get what we want, it’s over.”

  “You know, you really should give your sister way more credit.”

  Robin gasped slightly at the deep voice and turned on her heels.

  Amersen.

  He stood at the foot of the stairway, resplendent in trousers, a gray Aran sweater and a dark leather jacket. Feet crossed at the ankles, his arms folded, with one shoulder propped against the staircase, he looked breathtakingly handsome. Her heart did a foolish loopy loop, and she battled the way her knees weakened.

  Robin saw her brother’s back go rigid. “You must be the Frenchman.”

  “I must,” Amersen replied, unmoving. “And you must be one of Robin’s overprotective brothers...correct?” He pushed himself off the staircase and took a few steps toward them. “For the record, she’s very capable of looking after herself. She’s also not...” His voice trailed off, as though he was searching for the right translation. “Easy or promiscuous. You might want to remember that next time you decide to question her principles.”

  “I wasn’t,” Evan replied. “I was merely—”

  “Sure you were,” Amersen said, cutting him off. “You implied that she had jumped into bed with me. If she had, it would be no one’s business but ours. If not, that’s no one else’s business, either.”

  Robin stood in stunned silence. Evan looked unusually uncomfortable and tugged at his collar. No one ever stood up to her brothers. They were alpha males in the truest sense. But Amersen could easily stand toe to toe with them and not blink. She should have been outraged by the absurd machoism emanating from both men...but she wasn’t. She was foolishly flattered that Amersen had come to her defense. Because he was right—she could take care of herself. The fact he knew that and still managed to rattle her overbearing brother’s cage secretly thrilled her.

  “You should go,” Robin said to her brother and hugged him. “I’ll talk to you soon.”

  Evan looked as though he wanted to stay and argue the point, but to his credit, he merely nodded, inclined his head briefly toward Amersen and then left, retracing their steps toward the kitchen. Once her brother was out of sight and she heard the back door close, Robin exhaled a long breath.

  “You’re here?”

  He nodded. “I had a meeting with Kate. She had
to take a call, so I gave her some privacy.”

  Robin managed a tight smile. “It’s...good to see you.”

  “But unexpected?”

  She shrugged. “I expected you would continue to negotiate business with Kate.”

  “You said goodbye to me last night,” he reminded her.

  “I was making a point.”

  He laughed softly, and the sound reached her way down low. “I know.”

  God, he was so damned hot. He made her belly do backflips. She had a serious case of lust for Amersen Beaudin, as she was sure he knew.

  “I had a nice time yesterday,” he said and came toward her, standing on the other side of the pile of boxes. “Your parents are good people.”

  Robin dropped her tool kit and stayed opposite him. “My mother doesn’t like you now,” she announced, smiling extra sweetly. “Evan told her all about you, and now she thinks you’re a player who has a different woman in your bed every night.”

  He fiddled with the open cardboard lid on the top box. “And what do you think?” he asked, not looking at her.

  “Does it matter?”

  “Probably more than it should.”

  His admission startled her and made her silently confess the obvious. She liked him. He liked her. A basic attraction between two people. It was simple chemistry. Alchemy. Sex.

  “I bet you say that to all the girls.”

  He met her gaze. “I’m twenty-five, single and straight, and yes, I’ve been with many women. That doesn’t diminish how much I want you. Or how much I respect your decision to not get involved any more than we already are.”

  His words stroked her skin like a caress. The man certainly knew the right things to say. He was smooth and seductive, even when it was broad daylight and they were separated by a pile of cardboard boxes filled with Christmas decorations.

  A deep-rooted and acute surge of awareness raced through her body, and she couldn’t fight the smile curling her lips. She didn’t want to hear about his other women. She didn’t want to listen to her brother or mother telling her how wrong he was for her. In that moment, Robin simply wanted to be a crazy free spirit and enjoy his company.