Maddie Fortune's Perfect Man. Nancy Robards Thompson

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СКАЧАТЬ Oh, Zach, you sexy thing.

      A wisp of wistful regret skittered through Maddie as she realized he would never be anything more to her than a fantasy. He couldn’t even be her secret crush anymore, which had been so easy when he was at the San Antonio office. She’d had a chance to get to know him better since he’d transferred to Houston. But she needed to rein it in if she was going to be his boss, which was about to happen once her father made the big announcement.

       Any second now.

      But until then, she was free to indulge one last tiny little daydream—

       Uh-oh—

      She froze as Zach’s gaze locked with hers. It happened so fast and the jolt was so gripping, she couldn’t look away. It was just as well. In her peripheral vision, she could see that Val was talking to Uncle Bill and Schuyler was talking to her fiancé, Carlo Mendoza, leaving poor Zach unentertained. If she looked away too fast, he might think she hadn’t wanted him to catch her watching him. Even though she hadn’t intended for him to catch her looking. It was best to hold up her end of the subtly flirtatious stare-down, which she did—brilliantly, if she did say so herself—dropping her gaze to her champagne flute for a single beat and then snaring his gaze again.

      It was a silent dare to see who would look away first.

      She sighed inwardly.

       It’s been fun, Zach, but now it’s time for me to move on.

      That’s what she was telegraphing to him. He didn’t seem to be receiving the message, because if he had, surely, he would’ve had the good grace to look away.

      Instead, he raised his hand to her. She made the same motion in return.

      In the end, neither of them lost the challenge because her father called it a draw when he started talking and broke the spell. They both gave him their attention. Her mother was now standing at Kenneth’s side and he handed her a glass of champagne.

      “My family—” Kenneth gestured toward Maddie and then toward her sisters. “Madeleine, Valene, Schuyler and Carlo. And Zach. Zach, I include you because you are like a son to Barbara and me—like family to all of us.”

      Family? Maddie blanched. No. That would make him my brother.

      Of course, Zach had been over to the Fortunado homestead. Since he didn’t have family in town, they’d invited him last Thanksgiving.

      She’d never think of Zach as a brother. Not with the fantasies she had of him.

      Those fantasies were anything but sisterly...

      “Speaking of sons,” Kenneth continued. “I wish Everett, Connor and Gavin could be here today.” Kenneth’s gaze scanned the group of well-wishers. “Everett and Lila are away on their honeymoon. Those crazy kids eloped after they saw everything that’s involved in putting together a wedding. It’s not too late to follow suit, Carlo.” Everyone laughed. Schuyler held on tight to Carlo and shook her head as Kenneth continued. “Connor and Gavin couldn’t get away since they’re coming for Schuyler and Carlo’s wedding at the end of the month. But—”

      Kenneth stopped and shook his head. A slow smile tipped up the corners of his mouth. “I am a lucky man to be surrounded by so much love.” He lifted his glass to Schuyler and Carlo. “To my lovely daughter and her husband-to-be and to all of you. Thank you so much for being here this afternoon. It was a last-minute invitation, but as I told you, it’s important to Barbara and me to share our news with you first. You are important to us and we wanted you to hear it first.”

      Kenneth’s smile faded.

      “When my mother passed away, it was a wake-up call. Those of you who knew Starlight know she was larger than life. She lived every day to the fullest. Her passing not only gave me pause, it made me stop and take inventory of my life. That inventory revealed that I have a lot of lost time to make up for.” He put his arm around Barbara. “Not only that, but our children are all grown. They’re getting married and leaving the nest. It’s made Barb and me realize we have a lot of living to do. It’s time for us. However, it’s difficult to make time for us when I’m working eighty-hour weeks.” He paused and smiled down at Barbara. “Thank you for being patient with me, love.”

      Barbara kissed his cheek.

      “With that in mind,” Kenneth said, “I am so pleased to announce that right after Schuyler and Carlo’s wedding, I will retire from Fortunado Real Estate.”

      Even though they were exactly the words Maddie had been expecting, a gasp escaped her throat as she led the gathering in a round of applause, sloshing a little champagne as she clapped.

      Barbara held up her hand to silence them. “And I am pleased to announce that right after the big wedding, Kenneth and I will take a second honeymoon. We will be leaving on a four-month cruise around the world. Forty-nine ports of call—thirty-two countries on six continents.”

      More applause.

      Maddie’s chest hurt and she realized she’d been holding her breath. She was thrilled for her parents, but she was waiting for the next part. The part of the announcement where her father said that he was promoting her, that she would be stepping up as his successor to lead Fortunado Real Estate into the next chapter.

      “I booked the cruise and told him the ship would sail on June fourth—with or without him,” Barbara said. “I told him I’d be on that boat and I hoped he would be there, too. Because even with all this life inventory, we all know that’s the only way I’d ever get him to finally make the leap into retirement.”

      Maddie inhaled sharply to quell her impatience.

      “Now, now, my love,” Kenneth said.

      Maddie blew out all the air from her lungs. Her heart thudded. She could hear her blood rushing in her ears. Her father put his arm around her mother and lovingly massaged her neck, which made Barbara squirm and swat him away. She’d never been one for public displays of affection.

      “Kenneth, not in front of the kids,” Barbara said.

       Yes, not in front of the kids, Dad. Yuck. Save it for the cruise and get to the rest of the announcement.

      Kenneth and Barbara raised their glasses to the small crowd.

      “Thank you for helping us celebrate our big decision.”

      Everyone raised their glasses in return and offered cheers and good words like congratulations, hear! hear!, to your health and happiness and bon voyage.

       But wait... What about the rest... What about the announcement of your successor?

      Maddie battled the demons of disappointment as she watched her sisters rush to congratulate their parents with hugs and squeals. She blinked once, twice. Took one more slow, deep breath, doing her best to slay the monster inside.

       Okay. So, he wasn’t going to announce her promotion now.

      It was okay. Really, it was.

      She blinked again and reframed. It СКАЧАТЬ