A Fortunes Of Texas Christmas. Helen Lacey

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      But Amersen didn’t need reminding. Earlier he’d made the decision to stay in Austin for a few days. He wanted time to think over Kate’s business proposal.

      And he wanted time to get Robin Harbin into his bed.

      * * *

      Gorgeous, yeah. Nice...definitely not! That was all Robin could think as she stomped her way back to the greenhouse, fuming from head to toe.

      She was still steaming when Otis approached her half an hour later and said he would be spending the rest of the day in the small orchard at the rear of the big house. And still pissed an hour after that when she was elbow-deep in potting mixture in the orchid hothouse, slicing through the soil with a small, pronged fork. Using her pent-up energy made her feel better...and took her mind off a certain unbearable Frenchman. She’d made up her mind that she never wanted to see him again. Or speak to him. Or share air with him.

      “Do you always attack your work with such...enthusiasm?”

      Amersen.

      Robin took a deep breath and straightened her back, then pivoted on her heels and turned to face him. He stood in the doorway, leaning on the jamb, hands in his pockets, jacket open and his tie a little askew. He looked like he belonged on a billboard and her treacherous, damned libido started jumping around like a jackhammer.

      “Are you lost?”

      He smiled a stunning, megawatt smile that did little to alleviate the way her blood was now surging through her veins from a combination of loathing and lust. She’d already decided she hated him and had no intention of changing her mind on that score. He could smile at her all he wanted.

      “No,” he replied flatly. “I was looking for you.”

      Her suspicions soared. “Why?”

      “Because I think I offended you earlier.”

      She smiled übersweetly, plunged the fork into a pot and pulled off her gloves. “I’d have to care what you think to be offended, wouldn’t I?”

      “I meant no disrespect, mademoiselle.”

      “Sure you did,” she shot back quickly. “You wanted to put me in my place, and you did exactly that. I mean, what would a mere gardener know about big business...right?” She smiled again, with so much saccharine sweetness it made her teeth hurt.

      He laughed deeply, and the rich, sexy sound echoed in her ears. Damn. Why couldn’t he be old and ugly? And not possess charm by the bucket load? And why had he come looking for her? It certainly wasn’t for some half-meant, absurd apology.

      “Let me take you to dinner to make up for my...offense.”

      He wanted to take her to dinner? Like, on a date?

      She laughed out loud. “You’re not serious.”

      “Perfectly.”

      She laughed again, this time without humor. “Ah, no, thanks.”

      “Do you need some time to consider the request?”

      His formal, ridiculous manner turned her humorless smile into a scowl. “What I need, Mr. Beaudin, is to never see you again. Go away. I have work to do.”

      “Surely you must take a break,” he said and pushed himself off the door frame. “If not tonight, perhaps tomorrow night?”

      He strolled toward her, arms loosely at his sides, but with a stealth she found both exciting and annoying. She wanted him gone. “Give it a rest, Amersen,” she said, using his name for the first time and stretching out the vowels with an exaggerated drawl. “Your blue eyes and sexy accent might work in the city, but out here in my greenhouse, there’s no one to impress.”

      “Except for you.”

      His ego was astounding!

      “I’m not interested in being impressed by you.”

      “Why?”

      She stared at him. “Huh?”

      “Why?” he said again. “Or rather, why not?”

      “Because...” She was uncharacteristically lost for words. “Because I...”

      “Are you married? Do you have a boyfriend? Lover?” He asked the question with so much self-assured arrogance she couldn’t help but gape at him. “Someone who might object to my...interest?”

      Interest? She laughed out loud. “Really, can you hear yourself?”

      “Perfectly,” he replied, coming a little closer, so close that they were now barely a foot apart.

      The air seemed to sizzle, and she fought the urge to step backward. She wasn’t about to be outmaneuvered by this man. She wanted him to know exactly how she felt about him, maybe starting with a swift knee to the groin area. Which made her glance down, then up, and then realize she looked as though she was checking him out!

      “I have... I have work to do,” she said and fumbled over her words before meeting his gaze. “And I don’t have the time to—”

      “Have dinner with me,” he said softly. “You won’t regret it.”

      He was wrong. She would regret it. Just like she regretted the idea that she was actually considering it. Because, hell and damnation, he was absolutely the most gorgeous man she had ever met...and she wasn’t the least bit immune to him. She was hot all over. Her entire body was about to be set on fire, as though he was the spark and she was the kindling.

      She swallowed hard. “No. I can’t.”

      “Robin,” he said, her name almost sounding like a caress. And thinking about his voice caressing her didn’t help, either. Because all she could imagine was how it would feel if his hands did the same to her body! “Life is too brief to think about what we can’t do.”

      She stepped back and pressed her hip against the table. “That’s just your arrogance talking,” she shot back. “Because you like to get your own way.”

      “Of course,” he replied, not denying it. “I am a man, and we generally like to get exactly what we want.” He shrugged, feigning innocence. “Perhaps you could make allowances for that.”

      She laughed again. If it weren’t so ridiculous, it would be hilarious. “You’re an egotistical snob...that’s something I can’t make allowances for.”

      He smiled, his blue eyes glittering. “I’ll be on my best behavior, I promise.”

      “Go away.”

      He didn’t move. “So, you didn’t answer my question...about having a husband. Or boyfriend. Or lover.”

      The way he said the word lover made her skin prickle with a heady kind of awareness. Because he clearly had designs on the role. It was madness. They hardly knew each other. She didn’t get swept away by good looks. Sure, Trey had been good-looking...but СКАЧАТЬ