Page 44 of A Fortunes of Texas Christmas (Fortunes of Texas)

Except Otis.

The old gardener knew something wasn’t quite right with her.

“I guess you’re pining after that fancy Frenchman, right?” he asked exactly twelve days after Amersen had flown out of Austin. She hadn’t heard from him. She hadn’t expected to. But she knew he was back in Paris, back to work and back to his old life. She’d read the blog posts to prove it, including one headlined Single and Loving It! Okay, so perhaps that was not what the post she’d read two days earlier had actually been called, but she hadn’t missed the message in it.

And then there was the photo he’d posted on Instagram of himself with a tall, skinny redhead to drive the point home. A picture with some suggestive hashtag that she couldn’t bear to read more than a trillion times. A picture that spoke volumes. His arm was around this awful woman’s waist. And the redhead, with her pouting lips and slumberous eyes, was leaning close, looking like she’d just had some kind of marathon sex session. A look that Robin knew well, because less than two weeks earlier she’d been the one with the cat-who-got-the-cream expression. And it wasn’t the only picture she’d seen. The week before it had been a brunette with exotic green eyes and a flat chest and legs that went on forever. He was everything she’d first believed. A playboy. A man whore. A bed-hopping swine.

And it hurt. So much. So damned much.

Robin laughed at Otis’s words, dying inside. “That’s ridiculous. Now, we need to talk about the roses that—”

“I got eyes,” he said, his craggy face wrinkling. “They might not be good for much, but I still got them. And you haven’t been yourself for the past week. I’m figuring it’s got something to do with him leaving.”

Robin did her best to look hinged and happy. “You’re imagining things. I don’t get swept up in that kind of nonsense, you know that.”

His expression didn’t alter. “I know that since that Hammond boy busted you up inside, you haven’t been seeing things clearly. But the Frenchman seemed to make things right for you, in here,” Otis said and tapped his heart.

Robin stared at Otis, then laughed. “What...are you my love guru now?”

“Someone needs to look out for you,” he said solemnly. “Don’t you think?”

Although she was touched by his concern, Robin knew she had to change the subject. The last thing she wanted was anyone thinking she was harboring feelings for Amersen Beaudin. With any luck, she’d never see him again. At least she was well and truly out of her dating funk now, and she was grateful to him for that.

Thinking about anything else, imagining it was anything else, was simply stupid.

Sex without strings.

Admit it, girl...it was just a breath away from being a one-night stand.

“I’m fine,” she assured him. “And to prove it, I have a date tonight.”

So maybe calling it a date was a stretch. But she was going out with a few friends for dinner and a movie. Thankfully, it was enough to stop Otis from making any more humiliating observations. When she got home later that afternoon, she showered and dressed in jeans, a bright purple sweater, a scarf and coat, and then headed into town.

She knew she was early the moment she entered Lola May’s Homestyle Restaurant, because the place was empty and neither of her friends Mara and Janine was there. But she didn’t mind. She waved to the waitress and grabbed a table, sliding into the booth seat as she chucked off her scarf. Then she looked at the scarf and realized it wasn’t hers. It was Amersen’s. The one he’d draped around her the night they’d watched the movie in the park. She’d almost forgotten she still had it, and certainly she’d had no intention of wearing the damn thing. She fingered the soft wool, felt a sudden and acute sense of loss, and admitted she wasn’t fooling anyone by denying the truth of what was in her heart. Even though she knew she’d been right to end things.

“Robin!”

She turned at the excited squeal and saw Francesca Fortune standing beside the booth. Or was it Francesca Fortune Whitfield? She wasn’t sure. They weren’t exactly close friends, but they had shared a few study groups together at college and were friendly

, at the very least. They’d meet up every few months for a quick coffee and catch up.

“Hey, Fran, how are things?”

“Good,” the other woman said and sat down with an invitation. Francesca was one of those people who had a bubbly energy around her. With blond curls and brown eyes, she was remarkably pretty and had a broad, infectious Texan twang, much like Robin’s own. “Just picking up some takeout. My gorgeous husband loves Lola May’s battered fries. Since Friday is our designated date night, we usually eat in, play Scrabble and just hang out together.”

It sounded like the perfect way to spend an evening with the person you cared about the most. Robin couldn’t help wondering if she’d ever find that kind of someone.

“Didn’t you used to work here?”

The other woman nodded. “Yep. Seems like an age ago now. How are things with you? Still working at Sterling’s Fortune?”

“Yes. Kate’s a great boss.”

Francesca’s mouth curled, and her eyes widened. “So, is it true that Kate Fortune and that Frenchman Amersen Beaudin are doing business together? I heard he was in town and at the ranch. Did you meet him?”

Robin’s stomach rolled. She wasn’t about to betray any confidences of either Kate’s or Amersen’s. As far as she knew, there had been no formal announcement of a business alliance between the two, and she had no intention of speculating. “I did. Although I wasn’t privy to their conversations.”

“Is he as hot as they say?”

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