by Joanne Rock
“We didn’t want to disturb you, mijo,” Maria said.
Dallas didn’t buy that for a minute. “You wanted to eavesdrop. Regardless of how desperate Paris might be, I don’t see her as the kind of woman who’d agree to marry a stranger in exchange for a job. And I’m not the kind of man who would ask that of any woman.”
Jenny put on her sweeter-than-honey expression. “Sugar, I love my son, but I also know Fort doesn’t deserve this place given how much grief he’s showered on me and Worth. Why don’t you just invite Paris to dinner tonight and see what happens?”
He’d like to see what happened, but not in the way she was thinking. “I’m sure she’s already halfway to San Antonio by now and I’ve got a lot do before I fly to Houston in two days.”
“You can take one night off,” Maria stated, a totally out-of-character comment.
“Yes, you can, for the cause,” Jenny added. “Now go after her, sugar, and escort her back here. I can make you both my famous chateaubriand.”
He saw one big problem with that, and a prime excuse to halt all the nonsense. “She’s a vegetarian.”
Maria shook her head. “Yeah, we heard her say that, but it’s not normal. Not normal at all.”
“We’ll work around it,” Jenny said. “I’ll make a wonderful assortment of spring vegetables. That will allow Dallas and Paris to get to know each other better in an intimate setting, not a crowded restaurant.”
Dallas barked out a laugh. “Sure, while the two of you hang out in the next room, listening to every word we say.”
Jenny raised her hand like she was about to take an oath. “I swear I will leave as soon as the food is served. Maria will, too. Right?”
Maria stared up at Jenny. “Why do you need me there anyway?”
“For moral support,” Jenny answered. “And you can make Dallas his usual T-bone, since that’s not my forte.”
Maria sighed. “It’s easy. Remove the horns, slap it on the stove, make sure it’s not mooing and put it on the plate.”
Jenny ignored Maria and took his hand. “Sugar, we’ll work out the dinner details. In the meantime, you just have to convince Paris to join you by telling her you want to discuss the particulars of the job, sort of like an interview. Then you can see what comes up after that.”
He had a sneaking suspicion he knew exactly what would come up if he didn’t get a rein on his libido. Logical or not, he did like the plan, if for no other reason than to spend a little more time with Paris. As far as the mothers’ harebrained matrimony scheme was concerned, no way would that happen.
After pushing away from the desk, he stood and propped his hat on his head. “All right, you two. Get to cooking and I’ll go get the girl.”
Copyright © 2016 by Kristi Goldberg
ISBN-13: 9781488001611
His Secretary’s Surprise Fiancé
Copyright © 2016 by Joanne Rock
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