by Helen Lacey
They’d been married for four years, dated for seven months, been friends for a year before that. Marrying Frank had been a no-brainer. He was the best man she’d ever known—kind, considerate and gentle. Their relationship had been a happy one and she missed him down to the depths of her soul. She missed his friendship and his company. She missed sharing that first cup of coffee and conversation over breakfast. She missed lingering in bed on Sunday morning and then making love for a few hours. She missed the intimacy they’d shared every day. She missed his arms around her. And she mourned that he didn’t have the chance to watch his daughter grow up. Of course Erin didn’t really remember him. And now, all Layla had were photographs and the memories in her heart.
She let out a weary sigh, grabbed her laptop and slipped into bed. She opened the document of her current assignment and reread the passages she’d written early that morning. Taking online college courses had seemed like a good idea six months ago, but with the workload increasing and two assignments due, Layla wondered if she’d overcommitted herself. Getting her degree in marketing had been a goal since high school. College hadn’t been in her future then, since she had no father and her mother had left years earlier, and her grandparents weren’t in any kind of financial position to fund her education. Instead, Layla had started working full time at eighteen. Without a college degree her options were limited, so she worked mostly as a receptionist, changing jobs every twelve months or so.
She met Frank when she was working the front desk at a car dealership. He’d come in looking for a new car, and she’d supplied him with coffee while the paperwork was being done. By the end of the afternoon, he’d bought the car and she’d agreed to go out with him. As friends at first, because he’d just come out of a serious relationship and she wasn’t prepared to be anyone’s rebound girl. So they got to know each other as friends and when she finally agreed to a real date, Layla was already half in love with him.
Since his death, she’d remained resolutely single. She didn’t date. And no one had been so much as a blip on her radar.
Until yesterday.
Layla couldn’t stop herself from remembering the tall, broad-shouldered, green-eyed, über-good-looking man she’d met at the day care center. Larkin Fortune’s uncle. He wasn’t wearing a wedding ring, she’d noticed. Which didn’t mean he wasn’t married or involved with someone. A man who looked like that was hardly going to be on the market. Still, it didn’t hurt to fantasize a little. It was a huge leap from believing she’d never feel anything again. Not that she was looking for a relationship. The idea of getting involved with someone else didn’t seem possible when her heart was still filled with the memory of Frank. But the thought lingered as she worked on her assignment. By ten o’clock the light was out and she spent an hour listening to relaxation music on her phone. It helped her drift off to sleep, until she woke up to the sound of Erin’s happy babbling through the baby monitor around six.
Layla headed for her daughter’s room. As always, her heart rolled over when she saw Erin standing in her crib, her blond curls bouncing, her big brown eyes wide and full of wonder.
“Momma.”
Layla still felt a thrill every time she heard the word. Erin didn’t talk much, but the few words she did say usually included the word momma. She was mostly a happy child, but the last few weeks she’d been unusually unsettled. She’d run a fever for a couple of days and, after a visit to the pediatrician, was diagnosed with a cold. Layla had taken a week off work and was still trying to make up the time by starting earlier. Of course, that meant leaving Erin longer in day care. But what choice did she have? Frank’s life insurance had covered their mortgage, but she still had a house to run and utilities to pay.
She hauled Erin into her arms and gave her a hug, then quickly changed her diaper before heading to the kitchen. She made breakfast and switched on the small television in the corner to keep her daughter entertained while she packed lunches for the day. With her routine set, she had everything organized and was out the door by eight. Forty-five minutes later Erin was in day care and Layla was at her desk at Paz Spa.
The appointment book was full for the day and clients began arriving just before nine. Several people were waiting in the reception area when Hailey Miller, the spa’s assistant manager, came out of her office and joined her behind the counter.
“Good morning,” Hailey said cheerfully. “How’s Erin doing? Over her cold?”
“Mostly,” Layla replied. “Looks like we’ve got a full day today.”
“Business is good. The Fortunes certainly know how to turn straw into gold,” Hailey said, and grinned. “And I say that with absolutely no agenda, since I’m engaged to one of them,” she added, and wriggled her left hand, showing off a perfectly beautiful diamond ring.
Hailey was engaged to Dillon, the younger brother of Callum Fortune who was the brains behind Paz Spa. Since its opening, business was booming, as it was in most of the Fortune-run enterprises. After the news reports about baby Larkin needing a bone marrow transplant last year, the town had not only become something of a tourist attraction but was now recognized as a great place to settle down. Of course, Layla had always known it. Her grandparents had settled in Rambling Rose years earlier, when it was a small blue-collar community. She’d gone to the local high school, moving in with her grandparents when she was fifteen after years bouncing around from one place to the next with her mother.
Rambling Rose was her home and she had no plans to live anywhere else. Even though there were times when the loneliness was acute and made her long for a simpler time—when Frank was alive and she had someone to share her life with.
By three o’clock on Thursday afternoon, after a day of answering phone calls and scheduling appointments, she was happy to hand over the reins to Hailey for the last two hours. She headed directly to the day care center and pulled up outside. There was a large, hulking Ranger pulling in the space next to her and she waited until its engine turned off before she stepped out onto the sidewalk. And stopped in her tracks.
The handsome, incredibly broad-shouldered man—her first “blip” since losing her husband—was getting out of the Ranger. He smiled when he spotted her and she colored down to the soles of her feet, resisting the urge to straighten out her ponytail.
“Hey there,” he said, his deep voice quickly running riot over her burgeoning awareness. He was so darn hot. Maybe the hottest man she’d ever seen up close. Ruggedly handsome with enough charm to raise her temperature a zillion degrees.
“Oh, hello, it’s nice to see you,” she managed to say without stuttering. “You’re picking up your nephew again?”
“Yeah,” he replied. “My brother’s out of town and my sister-in-law has an appointment. So I’m it.”
Layla’s hasn’t-been-used-for-anything-other-than-talking tongue almost stuck to the roof of her mouth as she looked at him. “That’s so good of you,” she somehow managed to say. “It’s nice to have a big family you can rely on.” Then she sighed a little as she shrugged. “Well, I imagine it would be.”
He looked at her, his mouth curling at the edges. “You don’t have family?” he asked, glancing at her left hand, and she followed the path of his gaze. “Husband?”
“I’m a widow,” she said quietly, the words making her heart ache as it always did. “I do have grandparents, but they’re elderly.”
He took a second to reply. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to pry.”
“You weren’t,” she assured him, feeling the mood become awkward.
“After you,” he said, and motioned toward the pathway as a couple of other parents walked by them.
She clutched her tote and walked on ahead, through the doors and into the reception area. There was a line of people at the desk and she stood in turn, conscious that he was beside her.
“I’m Layla, by the way,” she said, and held out her hand. “Layla McCa
rthy.”
He took her hand and she felt the burn of his touch like it was poker hot. It was unexpected. And on some base level, unwanted. It was silly, of course. She didn’t know him. She’d never know him. He was just some random hot guy who had turned her head for a few minutes.
“Kane Fortune,” he said. “Nice to meet you.”
She smiled. “Of course, one of the Fortunes.”
His mouth twisted a fraction. “One of the lesser ones,” he replied.
His words made her laugh softly. “I’m sure that’s not true. I work with Hailey Miller at Paz Spa—she’s engaged to Dillon. And I’ve met Callum a number of times.”
“Cousins,” he supplied. “My brother Adam and I moved to Rambling Rose from New York last year. And one of my younger brothers just moved here, too.”
“Adam is your nephew’s father, correct?” she asked, conscious that they were next in line. “He’s the baby who needed a transplant?”
He nodded. “Yes,” he said as they approached the counter. “Larkin.”
Layla nodded, but she didn’t comment. Instead, she greeted the regular receptionist behind the counter who was back and clearly recognized them both. The children were brought out a couple of minutes later and Erin’s arms were outstretched the moment she saw her mother.
“She had a much better day today,” the aide said as she passed Erin’s backpack to her.
Layla grabbed the bag and her child and hugged Erin close. “Oh, great. Thank you.”
She turned on her heel and saw Kane was holding his nephew. It was a good look on him, she thought, and then figured he probably had a girlfriend or significant other waiting for him at home. He might even have kids. Sure, he’d said he was an uncle, but maybe he was one of those all-around great guys who were great dads and uncles. And he hadn’t said anything about being single. Not that she cared, Layla reminded herself.
With Erin’s backpack in one hand, she pushed her tote over one shoulder and walked outside. He was close behind and they reached their vehicles at the same time. Once she secured Erin in the car seat, she turned and saw that Kane was behind her, strapping his nephew into his Ranger. The boy was chuckling delightedly and it made Layla smile.
“He’s such a happy child,” she remarked. “And he obviously adores you.”
“Who wouldn’t?” Kane replied, and grinned. “Your daughter’s cute.”
Layla nodded. “Yes, I know. Takes after her mom.”
His grin turned into a soft chuckle. “Obviously. Do you have any more children?”
“Just Erin,” she replied. “Do you have kids?”
“No,” he said, and hooked a thumb backward. “I’m just an uncle to Larkin. I’m not married,” he added, and smiled again.
Layla realized she had a serious case of Captain Obvious. Gawd...she needed to get a grip. “Oh...well...”
“I was wondering, are you busy on Saturday?” he asked unexpectedly.
She sucked in a sharp breath. “Saturday?”
He nodded. “There’s a grand opening celebration at the Hotel Fortune on Saturday afternoon. It’s going to be like a big party—kids are welcome, so you can bring your daughter. I’m pretty sure Hailey will be there, and it should be a fun afternoon.”
Was he asking her on a date? She wasn’t sure. She’d had so little interaction with men in the last year or so, she was inept at reading signals.
“It’s Valentine’s Day on Saturday,” she reminded him.
“I know,” he said and met her gaze straight on. “So...is that a yes?”
Layla’s first thought was to refuse. She didn’t need anything derailing her at the moment. And the man in front of her was pure distraction. But still...he hadn’t indicated it was anything other than an afternoon at a party and Erin might enjoy it. And she had no real reason to refuse. In fact, getting out and socializing would probably be good for herself and her daughter.
“Ah...okay. What time?”
He ducked into the Ranger for a second and returned holding a small business card. “My cell number is on there. Send me a text message and I’ll let you know the time and address.”
“I know where the hotel is,” she said. “But I’ll send you a text anyway.”
He grinned. “Great. See you Saturday.”
Layla got into her car and waited until he pulled out of the parking space before she started the ignition. Somehow, she thought as she drove home, she’d agreed to a pseudo date with Kane Fortune.
Now all she had to do was decide if she had the courage to actually go.
Chapter Two
“So, everything is going to go smoothly tomorrow, correct?”
Kane looked up from his desk in the corner of his cousin’s office and spotted Callum in the doorway. It was Friday afternoon and the hotel’s grand opening was less than twenty-four hours away. He knew Callum had concerns, and rightly so, considering what had happened over a month ago.
“It’ll be fine. The place looks amazing. Everything is on track. There won’t be any surprises,” he assured his cousin.
“There might be if the authorities don’t determine if we were sabotaged, or if the balcony collapse was an accident.”
“I’m sure they’re doing their best,” he said, once again trying to be the voice of reason. It occurred to him that he did that a lot.
“I wish I had your confidence,” Callum said, and frowned. “Perhaps we should hire more security?”
“We could,” Kane said, and got to his feet. “But remember that tomorrow is meant to be a family-friendly event,” he asked. “Besides, the hotel security system is the best money can buy and the regular security staff have been briefed and I’ll be there. So will you, Steven, Wiley and Dillon. And Adam and Brady, too. Plus, Grace is in full charge of the hotel, so it’ll be fine.”
“Okay,” Callum breathed on a sigh. “I’ll trust your instincts. Let’s face it, without them we probably wouldn’t be having the opening tomorrow.”
Kane stayed silent, but figured his cousin was right. Callum and his siblings had money, ambition and great ideas—but what his Fortune cousins occasionally lacked was a little dose of the “real world.” They’d been raised without the burden of any financial hardship. Their father had made millions in the computer gaming industry and although Kane didn’t envy their background, he certainly understood what it meant to grow up without wealth. His own father, Gary, was a hardworking man who raised his family to have a strong work ethic and Kane was grateful for that. It kept him grounded, a quality that came in handy when he was dealing with all the Fortune egos.
As much as he enjoyed being part of the Fortune legacy, there were times when he missed his old life and his family in upstate New York. Sure, having Adam and Brady in town was great, but he had always been close to the rest of his siblings and his parents. His father had made it clear that he didn’t agree with his and Adam’s decision to move to Texas and take up their roles as part of the Texas Fortune arm of the family.
When his father had discovered he was the illegitimate son of Julius Fortune he didn’t exactly embrace the idea. In fact, he wasn’t interested in connecting with any of his half brothers—all of whom had created their own legacy in one form or another. His half brothers Gerald and David had both found riches in computer technology, and Kenneth in real estate. Gary’s background was more blue-collar, and the recession had hit the family hard. Still, Kane was grateful for the happy childhood he and his siblings had shared together. There might not have been much money, but there was always a lot of love.
Kane left the office with Callum and they took a quick tour of the hotel. The first reservations were booked from Saturday and so far, business looked promising. The place was built exactly how Kane had envisioned. Its mission-style architecture paid respect to the town’s Spanish roots, and it was smaller and more intimate than Callum’s orig
inal plans. Plans that had originally created dissent and disagreement in the town, because the Fortunes had wanted to build a monster-sized hotel that rivaled ones in cities like Houston and Austin. Kane had urged them to scale back once the locals had gotten wind of the proposal and began campaigning against the venture. He came up with an alternate plan for a smaller but equally luxurious boutique-style hotel—and one that was also about inclusion, staying loyal to the town’s heritage, using local contractors to complete as much of the construction work as possible, and hiring and training local staff. Thankfully, his cousins listened, and now the hotel was only a day away from opening.
Kane spent another half an hour convincing Callum the opening would go off without a hitch before the other man headed back to his office, and then Kane did a final sweep of the hotel, floor by floor, checking rooms, inspecting the kitchen, restaurant and reception area. He spent ten minutes with Grace Williams, the hotel manager, who’d been injured in the balcony collapse and still wore a boot on her injured leg. Afterward, he had another quick meeting with the security team and then spotted his younger brother Brady striding across the foyer.
“What are you doing here?” he asked, happy to see his sibling.
His brother looked around. “Just checking things out. Callum’s nuts today,” he added, and laughed.
“Well,” Kane said, and shrugged lightly. “At the end of the day it’s his wallet and his reputation as a developer on the line, so that’s not surprising. But everything is organized and I’m sure it will be a successful opening tomorrow.”
Brady nodded. “I guess. Have you talked to Mom or Dad this week?”
“Mom,” Kane replied. “I think Dad’s avoiding me. He doesn’t want to talk about the hotel or what we’re all doing here in Rambling Rose. And I’m pretty sure he hasn’t forgiven Adam for getting married and settling down here. And now that you’ve moved here, too...” Kane’s words trailed off for a moment. “Dad’s had a lot of changes to get used to lately.”
