Page 20 of A Fortunes of Texas Christmas (Fortunes of Texas)

She liked the look of a suit on him. He carried it off effortlessly. But in jeans and her brother’s plaid cotton shirt, he was out-of-this-world hot.

“I really wish you were old and ugly,” she said and scowled.

He laughed and came down the stairs, his coat, suit pants, shirt and jacket flung over one arm. “No, you don’t.”

“I do. And just so you know, what happened in the barn isn’t going to happen again.”

“Sure it is,” he quipped when he reached her. “You can’t fight the inevitable.”

“I can,” she assured him. “You’ll be leaving town in a few days and we’ll never see one another again.”

“Never is a long time.”

“Never is what I want, Mr. Beaudin.”

“Amersen,” he corrected, reaching out to touch her cheek with the back of his fingertips. “You promised.”

“You have to stop doing that,” she said quietly and stepped back.

“Doing what?”

“Making me...” Her words trailed off and she glanced toward the living room and grimaced at the loud television, wondering what Amersen thought of the whole scene, because he seemed annoyingly relaxed. “Making me like you.”

“I can’t help it, Robin,” he said, so softly she instinctively leaned closer. “Every moment I spend with you, I miss Paris a little less.”

His words were provocative, sexy, and made her realize one incomprehensible fact.

I’m going to fall in love with this guy. I just know it.

And it was one big pile of fertilizer that made her the biggest fool of all time.

* * *

Amersen wasn’t sure why Robin had invited him to dinner with her family. Maybe to make him uncomfortable? The truth was, he didn’t do parents. Not ever. He never dated anyone long enough to form any kind of attachment, and back home he wouldn’t have entertained the idea of meeting the family of someone he’d known for only two days.

Or likely ever.

But strangely, he sincerely wanted to meet her family.

Her father, Cliff, was a solid man who’d clearly had a stroke—he walked with the aid of a cane—but was very affable and chatty. Her mother was genuine and talkative and clearly adored her husband and daughter. Robin had a happy family. Much like his own, he realized, with parents who were genuinely in love with each other.

And while they sat at the big scrubbed table in the modest kitchen, talking about the ranch and horses, eating a meal that was homey and filling, and touching briefly on his business with Kate Fortune, Amersen could think of only one thing...that he ached to kiss Robin again. The memory of her pressed against him—of her lips and hands and lovely curves—was something he just couldn’t shake. And he wanted more.

“So, Amersen,” Cliff said and gave a lopsided grin. “You’re going to sell perfume with Mrs. K?”

He noticed Robin’s brows come together and smiled. “Something like that.”

“She’s a fine woman,” Cliff said and nodded. “With a good mind for business. She might not be running the show now, but she’s still the reason the Fortune family are big news in Texas. Don’t let her age put you off...she’s as switched on as ever.”

“I won’t,” he assured the other man. “And thank you for the advice.”

Cliff puffed out his chest. “Anytime.”

Amersen saw an opportunity to dig a little deeper. What could it hurt to know a little more? “So, do you know the Fortunes very well?”

Cliff nodded and managed a half shrug. “I know Graham and Wes. Before the stroke got me, I used to breed and train quarter horses. I’ve sold a few for Pete’s Place over the years,” he explained, instantly jogging Amersen’s memory.

Pete’s Place, a ranch that took in troubled kids, had the name Fortune stamped all over it. Graham Fortune Robinson had spent years running the ranch, which helped teenage boys in need of a fresh start, until he’d taken over as CEO of Fortune Cosmetics. But according to some reports, the guy was still a rancher at heart and his appointment to the role by Kate had been a surprise. Still, he appeared to be doing a good job. Most of Amersen’s other half siblings worked at Robinson Tech, the family corporation.

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