by Susan Crosby
THE KEY TO FORTUNE’S HEART
With her luscious chocolate truffles, Red Rock’s favorite confectioner, Felicity Thomas, has won many customers’ hearts, but she’s never been tempted to give away her own. Until the notorious Michael Fortune saunters into her life. “I’ve met the man I’m going to marry,” she insists that very day. And with Valentine’s Day just around the corner, who could blame the innocent beauty for waxing romantic about the sexy Southern tycoon?
Stay away from her, everyone warns Michael—but there’s nothing the COO hates more than being told what to do! Captivated by the small-town sweetheart, he pulls out all the stops to romance her. Fancy dinners. A limo. A helicopter tour. A private jet to the Caribbean…where Michael gets the surprise of his life…and a whirlwind wedding might just deliver virginal Felicity into his waiting arms!
“You need to get dressed,” he said. “We’re getting married.”
“What?” She backed up. “We are not.”
“Correct me if I’m wrong, but I think you’re a virgin because you made a conscious decision to wait for marriage. Right or wrong?”
“Right, but—”
“Then we’re getting married.” He opened his closet door.
“You can’t just tell me we’re getting married and expect me to obey, Michael Fortune.”
He aimed a steady, fierce look at her, one that said, Don’t lie to me. “Why did you decide to sleep with me, Felicity?”
“Because you’re the one,” she fired back.
“What does that mean?”
“I never wanted anyone before you, not enough to actually do it. You think it was hard to stay a virgin all these years? It wasn’t. But you’re different.”
“How? Tell me exactly how.”
“Because I’m in love with you.”
He turned his head away so fast, she didn’t get to see his reaction. “Then it’s settled. Go get ready.”
Dear Reader,
“Like a kid in a candy store” is the perfect description of my hero, Michael Fortune, when he first meets Felicity Thomas. Michael is like a kid in a candy store—hers. Felicity is a confectioner by trade—and a sweet confection to the usually cool and controlled Michael. For the Atlanta-born-and-raised man, the fact that her shop is in the quaint little town of Red Rock, Texas, is the best reason to avoid falling in love.
However, the sweet Felicity tempts big-city Michael, who, in turn, shows Felicity how different life could be for the small-town woman. But are their geographical differences an insurmountable barrier? Is love enough to conquer all?
I hope you enjoy the path their journey takes to sweet surrender.
Susan Crosby
A Date with Fortune
Susan Crosby
Books by Susan Crosby
Harlequin Special Edition
*The Bachelor’s Stand-In Wife #1912
††The Rancher’s Surprise Marriage #1922
*The Single Dad’s Virgin Wife #1930
*The Millionaire’s Christmas Wife #1936
†The Pregnant Bride Wore White #1995
†Love and the Single Dad #2019
§The Doctor’s Pregnant Bride? #2030
†At Long Last, a Bride #2043
‡Mendoza’s Return #2102
*Husband for Hire #2118
*His Temporary Live-in Wife #2138
*Almost a Christmas Bride #2157
§§Fortune’s Hero #2181
‡‡A Date with Fortune #2239
Silhouette Desire
**Christmas Bonus, Strings Attached #1554
**Private Indiscretions #1570
**Hot Contact #1590
**Rules of Attraction #1647
**Heart of the Raven #1653
**Secrets of Paternity #1659
The Forbidden Twin #1717
Forced to the Altar #1733
Bound by the Baby #1797
*Wives for Hire
†The McCoys of Chance City
**Behind Closed Doors
††Back in Business
§The Baby Chase
‡The Fortunes of Texas:
Lost…and Found
§§The Fortunes of Texas:
Whirlwind Romance
‡‡The Fortunes of Texas:
Southern Invasion
Other titles by this author available in ebook format.
SUSAN CROSBY
believes in the value of setting goals, but also in the magic of making wishes, which often do come true—as long as she works hard enough. Along life’s journey she’s done a lot of the usual things—married, had children, attended college a little later than the average coed and earned a B.A. in English. Then she dove off the deep end into a full-time writing career, a wish come true.
Susan enjoys writing about people who take a chance on love, sometimes against all odds. She loves warm, strong heroes and good-hearted, self-reliant heroines, and she will always believe in happily-ever-after.
More can be learned about her at www.susancrosby.com.
To my new neighbors, who are already dear friends—Nancy, Pat and Leo. You were an unexpected and much appreciated bonus.
Special thanks and acknowledgment to Susan Crosby for her contribution to the Fortunes of Texas: Southern Invasion continuity.
Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Excerpt
Chapter One
Michael Fortune walked into the 1950s-era diner, Estelle’s, thinking it was like everything else in Red Rock, Texas—quaint. Michael didn’t do quaint, which was probably the reason his cousin had chosen this place for lunch. To put Michael off his A game. The place was a living, breathing piece of nostalgia with its long Formica counter, red leatherette booths and chrome-legged tables and chairs.
He took a seat in an empty booth, and a few minutes later a fiftyish woman set a glass of water on the tabletop, next to his cell phone.
“Sorry to keep you waiting, honey. My name’s Estelle,” she said, sticking the eraser of her pencil against the back of his hand, stopping his fingers from drumming on the table. “I can see you’re the impatient type.”
“So my family tells me.”
“You’re new in town,” Estelle said. “Must be meeting someone.”
The town gossip, Michael decided. “My cousin Wyatt and his fiancée. I’m early, though.”
“Ahh. You’re a Fortune, then. They sure do grow ’em handsome in Atlanta.” She cocked a hip and settled her gaze on him. “Good men, your cousins. It was pretty big news around here when they packed up and settled down in Red Rock.”
Which was the very reason he’d come to Texas. Michael’s uncle James had begged him to intervene. “Talk some sense into that son of mine,” his uncle had said, frustrated at Wyatt’s—and his three other sons’—defection from the family business.
Estelle poised her pencil over her order pad. “You headed to New York City after you leave?”
“No. Why?”
“Suit. Tie. Shoes polished to a sheen. Not something anyone around here wears, not even to funerals. Ah, here’s your company.”
Wyatt and his fiancée, Sarah-Jane Early, greeted Estelle, then slid into the booth, never letting go of each other’s hands, barely breaking eye contact. What was it about Red Rock that caused so many Fortunes to become love-struck fools? Wyatt made the seventh to succumb in the past tw
o years.
Michael didn’t get it. Romantic love was a myth, and marriage nothing more than a practical merger made in the interest of procreation—no matter how it seemed to start. He’d determined long ago that what people called love was really just lust, and that always faded. Respect was the key word. That sustained a relationship. Like his parents’ marriage.
“It’s nice to see you again,” Sarah-Jane said, her long, auburn ponytail swaying when she turned to look at him. Her brown eyes sparkled with friendliness, then went tender when she gazed back at Wyatt.
No one had ever looked at Michael like that. Usually he was the recipient of cool or calculating looks, or just as often, hostile. He didn’t hold the important position he did because he went with the flow but because he exulted in riding the more unpredictable rapids. As for personal relationships, casual and short-term didn’t result in loving or tender looks, either.
“You’ve already turned Texan,” Michael said, noting Wyatt’s jeans and cowboy boots.
“You should try it. Maybe loosen up that corporate stiffness from wearing suits and ties all the time.”
Michael took the kidding easily. “I don’t wear a suit on the golf course. Or jeans. Not allowed, you know. I understand congratulations are in order,” he said, changing the subject. “When’s the wedding?”
“In June,” Sarah-Jane answered.
“I wouldn’t mind eloping,” Wyatt said with a put-upon expression. “But she wants her wedding. Women.”
Eyes sparkling, she wriggled her nose at him, signaling a private joke between them.
Estelle moseyed over, plucked menus from behind the napkin dispenser and passed them out.
“What would you recommend?” Michael asked her.
She laughed at that. “Well, la-di-dah. I’m some kinda New York server, now. Isn’t that how they do that there?”
“I’m sure you’re right, but you own the place. Don’t you have particular favorites yourself?”
“Sure I do. Tell me, do you like hearty food that’ll stick with you ’til dinner or do you go for fruits and grains and mid-afternoon stomach pangs?”
“Fill me up. You choose with what. Surprise me.”
“Maybe there’s hope for you yet, Suit.”
Sarah-Jane laughed at the nickname, then ordered a Cobb salad.
“So I think I’ve got this figured out,” Estelle said to Michael after Wyatt ordered a hamburger. “You’re here to try and talk the Fortune boys into going home. You must be one brave man.”
Michael realized he’d made a tactical error in letting Wyatt schedule the meeting place. He should’ve taken care of the arrangements himself, maybe in San Antonio, away from the gossip-filled Red Rock.
Wyatt sat back casually. “Estelle’s right, isn’t she?” he asked after she’d left. “My father put you up to this little confab. Shane told me you already talked with him.”
Back in Atlanta, Michael had drawn a blank with Wyatt’s oldest brother, Shane, who was the COO of JMF Financials. He’d left the company but not the city. Although he was the only one of the sons who hadn’t moved to Red Rock, Shane was on the same quest as his brothers, to find the woman their father had involved in their business without their knowledge.
“I figure you’ll try Asher and Sawyer next,” Wyatt said. “Good luck with that. You won’t be changing anyone’s minds. You know, Mike, I appreciate your concern, but this really isn’t your business...or your call.” Wyatt toasted Michael with his glass of water. “I’m never going back. My place is with Sarah-Jane, and Sarah-Jane’s place is here in Red Rock.”
“How can you not go back? You’re a vice president. Your brothers hold top positions, too, and yet you all walked away. I don’t understand why you can’t ride this out.”
“Ride it out? Seriously? My father is giving away half his shares of the company. Giving them away. To some unknown woman for an unknown reason. And you’re siding with him over this?” Wyatt shook his head. “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. You sharks fish in the same waters. How can you—”
Sarah-Jane laid her hand on his, stopping him. Calming him.
Coming from a man Michael had known his entire life, the words stung. “It’s your family business,” Michael said quietly, respecting Sarah-Jane’s discomfort and not wanting things to heat up any further.
“But we’re not slaves to it,” Wyatt said, just as quietly.
“What will you do?”
He looked at Sarah-Jane for a moment. “I’m not a hundred percent sure. I’m working on some things. I just know that Red Rock is home now. My brothers and I have bought property here, a ranch. I don’t know what my role is yet. In the end, it may have nothing to do with the ranch.” He eyed Sarah-Jane again. “Once I got over my own shock of leaving the company, I realized it was for the best—for me, anyway. I might have been stuck there forever. I’m feeling a freedom I never have before. It feels good.”
Estelle set their lunch plates in front of them. “Cobb salad for Miss Sarah-Jane, hamburger for Wyatt and Estelle’s famous Reuben for the Suit. Enjoy.”
“I love you like a brother, Mike,” Wyatt said, picking up a French fry. “The six of you kids and the five of us spent our whole lives like one family, even with our fathers at odds. But you need to stay out of this, unless you want our relationship destroyed as well.”
Michael didn’t know what he could do to ease the tension, then just when he considered apologizing, Sarah-Jane beckoned someone with a frantic gesture, looking relieved at the interruption. “Felicity! Over here!”
Michael glanced toward the entrance. A woman with shoulder-length blond hair and soft blue eyes walked toward their booth. Her smile lit up the room. Not beautiful, Michael decided, but fresh-faced and, well, adorable. He was sure he’d never used that word to describe a woman before. Or even a kitten. Although she looked kittenish in her fluffy pink sweater and jeans that weren’t red, exactly, but a color he couldn’t put a name to.
“Sit down,” Sarah-Jane said, in a tone more like an order, desperation in her eyes. “Join us.”
The slender woman gave Sarah-Jane an amused and curious look, but sat without argument. She took up little space as she slid into the booth next to Michael, but their arms brushed, and he went still. His body felt supercharged, paralyzed. He’d known plenty of women, but he’d never had such a visceral reaction to one, and certainly not one this innocent-looking. What the hell was going on?
She finally made eye contact. Her smile faltered a moment, then, angling toward him, she put out her hand. “Hi. I—I’m Felicity Thomas. Sarah-Jane and I are roommates.”
“Michael Fortune.” This time he wasn’t surprised at the lightning he encountered in her touch, but he still couldn’t understand his reaction.
Her brows raised. “Fortune? You’re...”
“My first cousin,” Wyatt said.
“So, you’re Wendy’s brother? It’s hard to keep all you Fortunes straight. I adore Wendy. She was my first big client.”
“For what?”
“My truffles.”
“Truffles?” was all he could think to say.
“Wendy had just become the pastry chef at Red. Have you eaten there?” Felicity asked.
Michael nodded.
“She wanted to offer a dessert created with my products.”
“Truffles?” he repeated, the only word he’d really picked up clearly.
She cocked her head at him, and he wondered if he could be any more idiotic. What was wrong with him?
“Yes,” she said patiently, her smile never fading. “It turns out that they’re a big hit at the local hotels and spas, too. People seem to like them.”
“Not to mention a certain competition you just won in Dallas,” Sarah-Jane said. “Orders have boomed.”
Felicity nodded. “Which is why I’m going to have to make decisions soon.”
He shook himself. “About what?”
“About whether or not to grow my business. I’ve been st
retching myself to the limit.”
He was fascinated. Entranced. Beguiled. “So, you’re a candy maker?”
“My official job title would be confectioner.”
She was a confection, all right, all spun sugar and sweetness. He usually preferred his women savory.
“I’ve been hogging the conversation, haven’t I?” she asked with an apologetic smile and a friendly touch on his arm.
Even through his suit jacket he felt the heat.
“How about you?” she asked. “Which Fortune captain of industry are you?”
He’d never seen eyes so blue or hair so shiny, and it took him a moment to realize she was expecting an answer. “I’m chief operating officer of FortuneSouth Enterprises in Atlanta. It’s a telecommunications company my father built.”
“That’s different from Wyatt’s. Or the one he used to work for anyway.”
Which remains to be seen, Michael thought. He wasn’t done with Wyatt yet. “Wyatt’s father and mine are brothers. Each built their own business. Until now, they’ve both been family-run.”
“We don’t really need to talk business, do we?” Sarah-Jane asked, her voice strained. “Felicity, would you like some of my salad? I can’t eat it all.”
“Or order what you’d like,” Michael said, gesturing to Estelle. Stay awhile. Talk to me some more.
“I’ve had lunch, thanks. I was making a delivery and saw you—um, Sarah-Jane and Wyatt—through the window. I need to get back to the shop. Thirteen days and counting, you know.”
“Until?”
She leaned toward him, her hair catching against his suit jacket, and whispered loudly, “The apocalypse.”
She smelled of chocolate and mint. He wanted to press his lips against her skin and taste it. “Pardon?” he said, clenching his fists.
She looked around stealthily. “Valentine’s Day. The total devastation of my painstakingly created candy supply.”
If Sarah-Jane sparkled, Felicity was an entire fireworks display.
“I’ll come with you and help,” Sarah-Jane said, hopping up and grabbing Felicity’s hand. “I’ve got about a half hour before I need to get back to work. You don’t mind, do you?” she asked Wyatt.
