Page 51 of A Fortunes of Texas Christmas (Fortunes of Texas)

“It’s a surprise.”

Amersen looked at a roadside sign. “The Hill Country?”

“It’s a nice spot,” she explained. “Better in the daylight, but I know you’re just going to adore where we’re going. It will take about half an hour, but it’s worth the drive, I promise you.”

The excitement in her voice was contagious. Mon Dieu, he loved that about her...

Loved...

He almost brought the vehicle to a screeching halt as the word banged around in his head.

I do not love this woman...

I can’t...

It was just desire. Mind-blowing, off-the-charts, out-of-this-world sex that was unlike any he’d experienced before. But still, only sex. Heat, sweat and release. Nothing more. He had the pattern set. Three dates, get laid, a last date, send flowers and then adieu.

But just thinking about his usual pattern made him feel sick to his stomach. Was that who he had become? A man with such little regard for the most intimate thing two people could do together, a man who treated women like playthings? Sure, he’d never played roulette with birth control or ever said I love you, but did that really make him any different from the one person he never wanted to be compared to? Gerald Robinson. Was being an honest and indifferent asshole toward women any better than lying and deception?

No...

“Are you okay, Amersen?”

His whole body tightened. “Fine,” he denied, for a crazy, guilty moment wanting to turn around and take her home to her ranch.

“Good,” she said, and he could hear her smile. “Next right, turn.”

He did as she asked and spotted a sign that said Mendoza Winery. He’d heard anecdotally about the place but knew little of its history. Amersen followed the road, turned into a driveway and drove beneath a tall set of open gates.

“It’s amazing in the daylight,” she said as she reached over and placed her hand on his thigh. Her touch was light but possessive, and he didn’t mind one bit. “The vines run on either side, and there are several really amazing gardens here and the most brilliant sculpture garden out the back. You just have to see it.”

“Is that why you like it so much? For the gardens and the sculptures, not the wine?”

She chuckled. “You know me, always thinking about what I can plant where.”

“Kate said she would offer you a job at Fortune Cosmetics in the laboratory if she thought you would accept.”

She sighed lightly. “I know. But I’m happier outside.”

Five minutes later they were inside the restaurant and seated at a table she had booked. The place was high-end and well-appointed, and he thought that adding the restaurant and function rooms to the winery was a solid idea. Not something he’d want to do at his own place, but it clearly appeared to be a successful venture. Their table was discreet and well positioned, overlooking the gardens. Several heat lamps had been fired up to add warmth and atmosphere, and the place was humming. Waitstaff hovered, taking their drink order, and when the wine they ordered arrived, it was a heady merlot he liked very much. The Texas wine industry was a growing concern, not as steeped in tradition as places like Napa, but the reputation of the wines was growing accordingly. Even as a competitor, Amersen could appreciate a quality product.

“How does it measure up?” she asked, as though reading his thoughts. “I mean, to yours.”

He chuckled softly. “That’s something of a loaded question, ma chérie.”

She smiled, her blue eyes glittering with the promise of what the night would hold. The truth was, he couldn’t wait to strip off her sexy dress and make love to every inch of her. He wanted to feel her beneath him, he wanted to watch her come apart in his arms, he wanted to hear his name on her sighs as she convulsed with pleasure.

“I like how you call me that,” she said and watched him over the rim of her glass.

He tapped his chest lightly. “It is what is in here. Perhaps I say it better in my native language than English, yes?”

Before she could respond, a waiter arrived and they ordered their meals. When the man left, the intimate mood had shifted slightly, and she talked about Christmas and asked him questions about Paris and how long he would be staying in Austin.

“I am...unsure. However, my business with Kate will no doubt bring me back here in the future.”

“Good.”

Amersen saw doubt in her gaze and reached across the table and grasped her hand. “I don’t want to mislead you, Robin. That is not who I am.”

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