Fortune's Prince Charming. Nancy Thompson Robards

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СКАЧАТЬ called up the page they needed and had signed in to a screen that looked utterly foreign to Zoe.

      She centered herself in her chair, prepared to act like the consummate professional and not some lovesick puppy fawning all over him. That was the opposite of the tactics Steffi-Anne used. Zoe knew the woman had it bad for Joaquin. She and every other female in the office. But where Zoe tended to go all starry and wistful around him, Steffi-Anne became a dominatrix.

      It was interesting how Joaquin didn’t seem to be partial to either of them.

      Professionalism was Zoe’s safety net, her comfort zone. She’d gotten her job because of her ability and not simply because her father owned the company.

      Steffi-Anne had made a few passive-aggressive digs about nepotism and, if Zoe were completely honest, it used to bother her, but she’d learned to let her job performance speak for itself.

      That’s why she needed this website to be top-notch. That’s why she’d asked for Joaquin to lend his expertise.

      She’d emailed him the specs and design ideas for the new site, as well as some images she’d procured for the project. Since she’d already turned in her homework and had no idea what all the numbers, letters and symbols he was keying in meant, she knew she would be no help right now.

      What was the harm in making a little small talk?

      “So, you like coffee,” Zoe said. “What else don’t I know about you?”

      “What do you mean?” He kept his gaze trained on the computer monitor as his fingers tapped on the keyboard.

      “I mean, I realized that we’ve been working together for three months and I barely know anything about you.”

      “I’m a private person,” he said.

      “So, does that mean that you won’t even share basics with me? You know, the niceties that people share when they’re getting to know each other? Even if it’s just to make conversation?”

      “Is that what we’re doing? Getting to know each other? Or making conversation?”

      “I’d like to get to know you.”

      When he didn’t protest, she took it a step further.

      “How about if I ask you one question and then you can ask me one after you answer mine?”

      “Why do you get to go first?” he asked drily.

      “If you feel strongly about it, you can go first. By all means. Please.”

      His hands stopped typing and he slanted a glance in her direction. So, he was going to humor her, after all. For the first time since Joaquin had walked through the Robinson Tech doors Zoe felt a glimmer of hope where he was concerned.

      Casually, she shifted her weight to her right elbow and discreetly inhaled another deep breath.

      “Ladies first. By all means.”

      “You’re such a gentleman.”

      There were a million things she wanted to ask him, but she knew if she went right for the juicy, personal stuff, it might send him back into his shell.

      So she opted for something that stayed on neutral territory to warm up the conversation.

      “What did you decide about the Cowboy Country trip?” she asked. “Are you going?”

      “Actually, I think I will.”

      “Really? Are you just trying to get Steffi-Anne off your back? The woman doesn’t like to take no for an answer, does she? You’d think it was her own personal party.”

      “I don’t know about that,” he said. “But I have family in Horseback Hollow and I figured it would be a good chance to visit. But instead of riding the bus with everyone and staying with the group on Thursday, I think I’ll drive down on my own and stay with my dad. I’ll miss the dinner Thursday evening, but I’ll catch up with everyone Friday.”

      “That’s right. You lived in Horseback Hollow before you moved here, didn’t you?”

      “I’m from Miami, originally. I only lived there for a few months to be with my family before I moved here. Horseback Hollow was a little too sleepy for me.”

      He had a point. It probably was dull when compared to Miami. Even Austin had a different feel than South Florida. Granted, there was a lot more going on in Austin than in Horseback Hollow; Austin was edgy while Miami had more of a sultry, sexy feel.

      Yes, sexy, sultry, like Joaquin Mendoza. With those brown bedroom eyes, he could’ve been the poster boy for everything that was exciting about Miami. She was certainly glad he’d brought that excitement into her world.

      Her stomach fluttered.

      Yes, she was very glad he was here now. Maybe if he continued to help with projects like this website, her father would find a permanent position for him after Joaquin had completed his temporary assignment. Then he could move here full-time.

      “How do you like Austin?” she asked.

      He shrugged, but just barely because his full concentration seemed to be focused on the computer screen.

      “So far, so good.”

      Okay, that was a little noncommittal. His expression and body language were a little aloof. And he’d given a closed answer.

      Maybe she should move on to another topic?

      Horseback Hollow was too sleepy for him. He’d gone there to be closer to his family. She liked that. Family was everything to her, even if her siblings could be a little overbearing sometimes.

      Like the way her older brother Ben had been harping on the fact that several members of the illustrious Fortune family lived in Horseback Hollow. He was obsessed with the Fortunes and the absurd notion that their own father was related to them. Between Ben and her sister Rachel who lived in Horseback Hollow, they’d managed to get their sisters and brothers on the bandwagon, too. It was causing a lot of strain with their father, who insisted there wasn’t a drop of Fortune blood in his veins.

      Even though Zoe was firmly on her father’s side and respected his word that he wasn’t related to the distinguished clan, she still thought it would be interesting to see what Joaquin had to say about them.

      “So you know the Fortune family, don’t you?” Zoe asked. “I mean you have a connection to them, right?”

      He looked at her for a moment as if he were trying to read her.

      “It’s a huge clan, but I do know some of them since my brother Cisco is married to Delaney Fortune Jones, and my sister, Gabriella, is married to Jude Fortune Jones. But, honestly, I haven’t spent much time around them. Why do you ask?”

      Her stomach clenched and she suddenly regretted bringing up the subject. Still, she had, so she felt as if she owed him some sort of explanation.

      “The Fortune name has been bandied about quite a bit these days among my family.”

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