A Fortunes Of Texas Christmas. Helen Lacey
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Название: A Fortunes Of Texas Christmas
Автор: Helen Lacey
Издательство: HarperCollins
Жанр: Контркультура
Серия: Mills & Boon Cherish
isbn: 9781474060585
isbn:
Amersen’s instincts were piqued, but he wasn’t about to rush into an agreement about anything. Despite his reputation for being a little wild and impulsive, at the core he was prudent when it came to business. And he wasn’t about to do anything that could damage his reputation. Or his bank account.
“What kind of product are we talking about?”
“A men’s product, of course,” she replied. “A fragrance...something that is innately masculine, but also aspirational.”
A cologne? It seemed a huge stretch from his established nightclub and wine brand. But he was intrigued by the idea and the opportunity. “And you want to put my name on the box, is that right?”
She nodded again. “Yes.”
Amersen stood straighter. “It sounds risky.”
“Of course,” Kate said and chuckled. “But good business is often about risk. Didn’t you take a risk turning that old warehouse into a nightclub five years ago?”
“Indeed. Everyone thought I had lost my mind and that it would be a complete disaster.”
Her brows rose. “And everyone was wrong. I believe in risks...in taking chances. I believe in you, and I think we could do something special with this idea.”
Amersen was curious, but cautious. “I need to think about it.”
“Certainly,” she said and smiled knowingly. “But let’s not wait too long to pull together a plan. Opportunity like this doesn’t come along very often, as you are no doubt aware.” She got to her feet with an elegance that defied her years. “I would like to offer you a tour of the Fortune Cosmetics headquarters in town while you are here. Of course, that’s if you intend to stay in Austin for a few days?”
The same headquarters where Graham Fortune Robinson worked? Amersen wasn’t sure that was such a good idea and remained noncommittal. “I have a room booked at a hotel in town. I’ll think about your offer and get back to you.”
“Okay, we’ll speak again soon.”
He was being dismissed, but he didn’t mind. He had a lot to think about and needed solitude to do so. “We’ll talk tomorrow,” he promised.
Amersen shook Kate’s hand and left. He walked from the house, glancing once toward the rotunda before he got back into the limo. He pushed the memory of the woman in the white dress from his thoughts and tried to get his mind back to business. Fortune business. The thing was, he wasn’t sure he wanted to get into bed with the Fortunes.
With the woman in the white dress, sure.
He’d take her to bed in a microsecond.
And as the limo eased down the driveway, Amersen made a mental note to ask Kate about her the next time they met. Instinct told him they’d meet again. And he always trusted his instincts. They’d never failed him.
And he found it particularly ironic that being Gerald Robinson’s illegitimate son might just bring him good fortune.
“Want to tell me what’s on your mind, chickpea?”
Robin clipped up the front of Butterfly’s rug and then patted the gray mare on the neck. She glanced sideways and saw her father, Cliff, staring at her. “Nothing,” she said as she left the stall and closed the stable door. “And don’t you think I’m a little old to still be called that?”
Cliff chuckled. “You’ll always be my little girl, no matter how old you are. That’s the thing with daughters,” he said and grinned. “They’re way more important than sons.”
“Don’t let Reece and Evan hear you say that,” she said and laughed, thinking of her two older brothers. “And I’m twenty-four, Dad...hardly a little girl.”
He grinned again in that familiar way she loved, his mouth only partially twisting thanks to a stroke he’d suffered a couple of years earlier. “Boys aren’t good for much of anything. They leave home and forget about their parents.”
Robin gently met her father’s gaze. “They’re successful lawyers, Dad,” she reminded him, thinking about how proud her parents actually were that her brothers were partners at an Austin firm. “And neither of them wanted to be ranchers.”
“Just as well we have you, chickpea.”
“I’m only a part-time rancher,” she said and hooked the hay net onto a peg by the stable door. “But you know I’m always going to be here to help you and Mom.”
“Until you get married and leave,” he said and moved across the stables, using the walking stick he resented, before resting on a couple of straw bales. “Mind you, if you’d married Trey, you would’ve stayed here, since he owns the ranch next door.”
“His parents own the ranch next door,” she corrected. “And first, I was never engaged to Trey. Second, he’s on the rodeo circuit so much I don’t think he’ll ever settle down.”
Her father visibly winced. “Sorry, chickpea... I didn’t mean to bring up old hurts.”
Robin shrugged. Everyone who lived within twenty miles of the ranch knew that Robin had caught Trey Hammond, her boyfriend of two years, pants down in a hotel room with two buckle bunnies. Robin had driven to Dallas to surprise him after he’d been on the road for two weeks competing in the bull-riding events at several rodeos. But she was the one who got the big surprise.
Looking back, she couldn’t believe how foolishly naive she’d been. Trey was a good-looking, charming flirt—everyone said so. She’d been warned off getting involved with him for years before they’d actually begun dating. But she hadn’t listened. She’d allowed her heart to do her thinking and eventually paid a whopping price for loving him. The biggest price of her life, as it had turned out. But dwelling on their broken relationship and everything that went with it wasn’t her style. She’d made a promise to herself that she would never get bogged down in grief or regret.
One day she would fall in love again. She would find a nice, sensible man she could honor and trust. Not a good-looking womanizer who couldn’t keep his manhood in his jeans for longer than a couple of weeks.
She checked her watch and made a sharp sound. “Jeez, I have to get to work.”
Her father was regarding her gently. “You work too hard. With everything you do around here and the hours you put in at the fancy ranch of Kate Fortune’s...it’s no wonder you look so tired.”
She smiled at her father’s words. “Thanks, Dad, love you, too.”
“Don’t ever doubt it,” he said and smiled. “Your mom and I are very proud of you.”
Her throat tightened. “I know. And I’ve got to run. You gonna be okay?”
“Fine,” СКАЧАТЬ