Fortune's Greatest Risk (The Fortunes 0f Texas: Rambling Rose Book 4)

by Marie Ferrarella

  Kissing her now was a totally intoxicating experience.

  Damn but she tasted heavenly. Her lips were sweet, like strawberries that had been picked just at the right moment. Not too sweet, not too tart, just incredibly arousing.

  Desire shot through Dillon’s veins as he deepened the kiss.

  Hailey felt herself getting lost in his kiss.

  Lord, but he was making her head spin. This was even better than she could have possibly imagined. Her blood was rushing through her body, making her aware of just the moment, just the man and nothing more.

  Ordinarily, Hailey was always aware of her surroundings, always aware of everything and everyone around her, no matter what. But this time, Dillon had no sooner kissed her than everything else around them had just managed to vanish, becoming one with the universe as it slipped away into the mist.

  Leaving just the two of them.

  All she was aware of was this incredible surge within her, this incredible desire to slip away with him somewhere and explore all these wonderful, delicious feelings that she was experiencing. The feelings that were racing through her body, making her want him. Making her want to be with him.

  And then, finally, because he sensed that they had to undoubtedly be attracting attention to themselves, Dillon reluctantly drew back his head.

  He smiled into Hailey’s mesmerizing blue eyes. “I take it that’s a yes?” he asked the moment his lips were no longer on hers.

  Hailey returned his gaze, feeling a little dazed, unable to form a coherent thought or even follow what he was saying to her.

  She blinked, struggling to focus her brain. “A yes?” she repeated uncertainly.

  Unable to resist, he ran his fingers through her hair, marveling at how very silky it felt to the touch. “To my kissing you.”

  And then her mind caught up to the rest of her. Hailey smiled at him, the smile unfurling like the first flower of spring raising up its petals to the rays of the warm sun.

  Captivated by the sight, Dillon found he couldn’t draw his eyes away from her enticingly sexy mouth.

  “I wouldn’t have kissed you if I didn’t want to,” Hailey told him.

  “Just to be sure you know, you can always say no. That’s your prerogative.”

  “Good to know,” Hailey told him. She remained rooted to the spot, hoping for a repeat performance. “Then I choose not to say no.”

  He felt heartened, although there were distant alarms going off in his head, warning him not to take this any further even as he heard himself say, “Would you mind if I asked to see you again?”

  “You mean other than here right now?” she asked, her smile growing deeper.

  “Yes, other than that,” he told her with an amused laugh.

  “I’d mind if you didn’t ask,” Hailey told him honestly. “Yes, you can ask to see me again. Just name the time and the place and then we’ll coordinate our very busy schedules,” she teased.

  Then, before Dillon could answer, she surprised him by slipping her hand into his and lightly tugging on it, getting him to come along with her. She was back to weaving her way through the various rows of tables displaying merchandise.

  “Are we still looking for those frog figurines for you?” he asked. He wanted to be clear what she wanted him to search for.

  “We are,” she confirmed. She knew he was thinking about the kiss and how it might very well have been a signal that her days of kissing frogs were over.

  Time would only tell if it was. But her days of collecting figurines were still ongoing.

  She smiled at him. “I can’t very well put you on my shelf, now can I?”

  “Well, for one thing, I don’t think I’d fit,” he deadpanned.

  Hailey’s eyes slid over his robust body. She felt herself growing warm. “No, you definitely would not. Besides, you have work to do and so do I. That kind of stationary life is not right for either one of us.” Her smile went all the way up to her eyes as she told him, “I’d like to think that’s something that we have in common.”

  When he didn’t say anything in response, Hailey wondered if he had even heard her. From the expression on his face, his attention was apparently focused on something else.

  “Dillon?” she said, raising her voice, but to no avail. He still wasn’t looking at her.

  Maybe he was having second thoughts about their getting together, she thought. Maybe she had gone too fast, assumed too much.

  Maybe—

  “There,” Dillon said, pointing to something she couldn’t see because there were a cluster of people in the way, blocking her line of vision. He was tall enough to see over them.

  “There?” Hailey repeated, still mystified. She had no idea what Dillon could be referring to. She didn’t see anything around that might be considered out of the ordinary.

  Rather than explain what it was that had caught his eye, Dillon suddenly picked her up in his arms and then put her on his shoulders as easily as he would a child.

  It was all she could do not to squeal. Hailey struggled to contain her surprise.

  “One row over,” he told her, then added more specifically. “Look at the display three tables from the end.”

  Still confused, Hailey looked in the direction he had pointed out, vaguely aware that the milling crowds of shoppers and browsers around her appeared to be mildly entertained by their balancing act.

  “What am I—?”

  No sooner had Hailey started to ask him what exactly she was supposed to be looking for when she saw it. Stunned, she could only marvel at how she might have missed seeing it if it weren’t for Dillon and his high vantage point.

  “Oh!” she cried, utterly mesmerized.

  “You see it,” Dillon concluded, pleased.

  Now that she was looking at it, she couldn’t understand how she could have possibly not seen it. It was a figurine of a frog, all right. Dressed in a black tie, formal black jacket—referred to as tails, she recalled—the frog also had on a black top hat and he was leaning on a striking black walking cane. It looked so vivid, the little frog seemed as if he were about to start dancing at any moment. And if she listened, she could almost swear she could hear the dapper little frog about to break into a song.

  “Oh, yes, I see it,” she told Dillon with enthusiasm. When the light hit the figurine just the right way, she was certain that the jacket and top hat sparkled thanks to a sprinkling of sequins.

  Belatedly, Hailey suddenly realized that he was still holding her up on his shoulders.

  “I’ve got to be getting heavy for you,” she said self-consciously. “You can put me down now.”

  Kneeling, Dillon carefully guided Hailey down from his shoulders, even though he denied the assumption she had made.

  “You’re not getting heavy at all,” he insisted. “Believe me, I’ve hauled sacks of concrete that weighed a great deal more than you weigh. I put you up on my shoulders because I figured that was the fastest way to get you to catch a glimpse of that frog,” Dillon explained to her. “I wanted you to see it before someone else bought it.”

  “And I really appreciate that,” Hailey told him.

  As if to prove it, the second her feet made contact with the ground, Hailey immediately rushed between shoppers, making her way over to the next row so she could purchase the figurine.

  Dillon made no attempt to stop her or to tell her to slow down. Instead, he just followed in Hailey’s wake.

  She could move really fast. But then, why shouldn’t she? he asked himself. Hailey obviously kept that body of hers in excellent shape with those exercise classes she had put together. He had a feeling that she didn’t just stand back and let the instructors do the heavy lifting. She was the type to be there every step of the way, he thought.

  By the time he had caught up to her and was at her side, Hailey had concluded negotiating
with the older woman who was selling the figurine. The dapper figurine was nestled in with a number of other “treasures” that the woman had brought to the flea market in an attempt to sell.

  “Can I interest you in this ancient cameo?” the woman asked, holding the necklace up and waving it slightly before her face.

  “No, thank you. All I want is the figurine,” Hailey assured her.

  “Are you sure?” the woman asked, unconvinced. “After all, a girl can always use another piece of jewelry,” the woman told her. She held up the necklace again, as if the second time was the charm.

  “Yes, I’m sure. I’m only interested in the frog figurine,” Hailey told her. “Now, if you have any others...”

  “No, Froggie here is one of a kind,” the woman informed her. Her face lit up and as she smiled, it made some of her more prominent wrinkles look as if they were receding and fading away. She gave Dillon a long appreciative look, her brown eyes sliding up and down his body. “Kind of like your fella, here,” she told Hailey.

  Not wanting Dillon to feel embarrassed or uncomfortable, Hailey quickly denied the woman’s assumption.

  “Oh, he’s not my fella. We just ran into one another here this morning.”

  The older woman’s eyes lit up as they gave Dillon a second, even longer appreciative survey. “Then could he be mine?” she asked with genuine interest.

  The woman was probably about twenty years older than they were, possibly more, and behind the smile there was definitely something about her that reminded Hailey of a determined predator. She could almost envision the seller’s appetite causing her to all but devour Dillon in a couple of well-placed bites.

  Just in case she was right, Hailey decided an ounce of prevention might be called for.

  “On second thought, I spoke too soon,” Hailey told the woman as she shelled out the money for the figurine. Sparing Dillon a quick wink, she added, “He is my fella.”

  Rather than be annoyed, the woman smiled knowingly as she nodded her head.

  “Yes, I thought you might change your mind once you had a chance to think about it,” the seller said knowingly.

  That had Hailey wondering if she had just been played.

  Well, it didn’t matter. She had gotten what she wanted: a one-of-a-kind frog figurine in good condition.

  After taking her money, the seller carefully deposited the stylish frog into a paper bag. The bag was too small to properly house the frog, but it did manage to cover his legs all the way up to his waist. It also covered up his cane.

  “You’re good luck for me,” Hailey declared with a bright, pleased smile as she looked at Dillon.

  “Glad I could help.”

  He gave the area a quick, final cursory look. “Are we done here?” he asked hopefully, then tagged on “Or—?”

  “Or,” she told him without any hesitation. “I want to look around a little more and see if I can locate any more frog figurines. And besides,” she glanced back at him and his hands, “you’re still empty-handed,” she pointed out.

  “Oh, I wouldn’t exactly say that,” Dillon responded, his eyes drifting over in her direction.

  “Well, I know what I’m looking for,” she said by way of conversation. “What are you looking for?”

  “I think it’s a case of I’ll know it when I see it,” Dillon told her.

  Hailey smiled at him with a knowing smile. “In other words, you haven’t the slightest idea what you’re looking for.”

  Dillon laughed lightly as he moved his shoulders up and down in an evasive shrug. The shrug told her beyond a shadow of a doubt that she had certainly guessed correctly.

  “All right, then,” Hailey told him gamely, threading her free hand through his. She glanced at her watch. “I’ve got another forty-five minutes before I have to get back to the spa. Let’s see if we can make the most of that time.”

  “What happens in forty-five minutes?” Dillon wanted to know, allowing himself to be led around by his shapely tour guide.

  “I turn into a pumpkin,” Hailey answered him with a wink.

  “That I’d like to see,” Dillon told her, a smile curving his mouth as it seemed to snake its way up to his eyes, as well.

  “Stick around long enough and you just might get to witness it,” she answered.

  “Promises, promises,” Dillon responded with a quick wink.

  Hailey felt the wink burrow its way directly into her stomach, creating its own little tidal wave as it came to rest there. No doubt about it, the man had a way of stealing her breath away.

  Chapter Nine

  It seemed nothing short of a minor miracle to Hailey just how she managed to move around the spa for the rest of the day, seeing as how her feet didn’t actually make any contact with the floor beneath them.

  She really was floating on air.

  She had a date with Dillon.

  Each and every time she thought of that, her stomach would do a little dance, completely throwing off her equilibrium, not to mention that her stomach wound up tying itself all up in knots. Granted the date wasn’t until the end of the week—Friday—but it was a date. An official date that had absolutely nothing to do with her work or his.

  At the time, just before they went their separate ways from the flea market, it had taken her a few minutes to realize he was asking her out. Dillon had adorably stumbled through the invitation and at first she hadn’t been sure if he was asking her if she liked eating at the restaurant in town, the one he and his brothers were currently involved in renovating, or if he was asking her to eat at Osteria Oliva, the Italian restaurant that had recently opened at the far end of the shopping center. Maybe he wanted a layperson’s point of view on the work that had been done.

  When Hailey finally unscrambled his words—no easy feat—Dillon had looked almost as surprised as she was at the invitation. It was almost as if the invitation had come out of his mouth of its own accord. But what counted was that it had come.

  Hailey smiled to herself. The man was definitely not a smooth talker, but she liked that about him. The last few men in her life had all been silver-tongued bad boys who, she had found out later in each relationship, had a penchant for juggling more than one woman at a time in their lives.

  It had gotten to the point that she had started to think—unhappily—that she had a type, and not a good one. Or, at the very least, that she was prey for a certain type of male.

  Her smile deepened as she relived the moment he had asked her out. When Dillon had finally gotten out the invitation, he would have made the “aw, shucks, ma’am” Gary Cooper type very, very proud.

  Hailey found his shyness extremely sweet. It was refreshing. At least she knew when he said something he meant it and wasn’t just spouting empty words in an attempt to win her over and talk his way into her bed.

  That in itself was more tempting than she would have thought possible. Dillon’s utter awkwardness was exceedingly seductive.

  But she was getting ahead of herself. She needed to pace herself, to go slow instead of just diving headlong into the waters. Despite all her warnings, though, Hailey could feel her pulse racing each and every time she thought of spending time with Dillon.

  Hailey sighed. It was going to be a long, long week, she thought.

  * * *

  She was right. It was a long week and time just seemed to dribble by one excruciatingly elongated moment at a time.

  But finally, finally after what seemed like an eternity, it was Friday.

  Hailey made plans to leave the spa early in order to give herself plenty of time to get ready for her date. But life, as it was wont to do, had other plans for her, starting with two of her yoga instructors waylaying her just as she was about to leave the building.

  It seemed that the instructors were teaching classes with conflicting time slots.

  So, with her mind al
ready at home, going through her closet for the perfect outfit to wear tonight, Hailey had to get her thoughts in gear so that she could reschedule the two classes. Once that had been taken care of, she found herself on the phone, calling each one of the prospective clients who had eagerly signed up for the classes.

  Hailey was well aware that it was a task that could have easily been delegated to someone else to handle, but since the wellness spa was still in its infancy stage, she felt that it better if she personally expressed her regret to each client. She assured each and every one of them that something like this wouldn’t happen again.

  In addition, to make sure that everyone involved had their ruffled feathers smoothed, she had given the women who had signed up a discount. It had been an arbitrary last-minute decision on her part and it seemed to have done the trick.

  The moment she had finished the calls, she left her office and dashed to her car. Gunning her engine, she glanced at her watch. She was going to be cutting it close, Hailey thought. The relaxing bubble bath she had promised herself had to—out of necessity—turn into a very quick shower.

  She still hadn’t settled on what to wear, but that too was going to have to be a quick decision rather than one painstakingly arrived at after trying on a variety of different outfits.

  She did her best to calm her ever-growing nerves, reminding herself that Dillon wasn’t taking her outfit to dinner, he was taking the woman in the outfit to dinner. Namely her. She had a feeling he would only notice the outfit unfavorably if she came wearing a shapeless burlap sack and a used one at that.

  No, she amended, Dillon Fortune would only have an unfavorable reaction to something she was wearing if that outfit had been dipped in a bathtub filled with jasmine oil.

  With that in mind, Hailey showered using unscented body wash. She also was careful not to use any colognes or lotions after her shower that had any sort of scent to them. She wanted to take absolutely no chances. The last thing she wanted was for those baby blue eyes of his to suddenly become bloodshot or blurry because of something she had unconsciously put on, washed with or accidentally applied to her skin.