Page 59 of A Fortunes of Texas Christmas (Fortunes of Texas)

“Would you stop calling him that?” she snapped and tossed some hay into Butterfly’s stall. “And to be broken up, we would have had to be together...which we weren’t,” she added pointedly.

Evan grinned. “Yeah, right. The guy means nothing to you.”

“That’s not what I said,” she said hotly. “However, whatever we had, it’s over.”

Evan came a little closer. “Mom said he’s Gerald Robinson’s son...is she right? One of the secret Fortunes?”

Robin nodded fractionally. Even though she’d decided she would hate Amersen until the end of time, talking about his private business felt like a betrayal. “I shouldn’t have told Mom,” Robin said and sighed. “We all know she can’t keep a secret.”

“But I can,” Evan promised and looked solemn. “I’m a lawyer—lots of practice. So, what happened?”

Robin figured there was little point in keeping it to herself and gave her brother an abridged version of events over the last couple of days—leaving out the part about how she’d slept with Amersen and he’d told her to leave—and then how he’d dismissed her so cruelly in front of Olivia Mendoza.

“Well, you can’t blame the guy for being a bit messed up,” Evan said when she finished.

Her gaze narrowed. “You’re taking his side?”

“I’m on your side,” he assured her. “But it would be a hell of a shock to come face-to-face with a secret sibling, particularly in a public place while you’re on a romantic date. And you did kind of interfere by inviting her to his hotel.”

Trust Evan to be the voice of reason. “You sound like a lawyer. I was trying to help. When you care about someone, that’s what you do.”

“You’re not thinking about this the way a guy would.”

Robin stared at her brother. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

He sighed. “It’s like you getting mad at me and Reece because we didn’t tell you about Trey cheating. We genuinely didn’t tell you because we didn’t want to hurt you. But you think we kept it from you because we wanted to control you or something when we just wanted to protect our sister. And you made Amersen confront something that he probably wasn’t ready to because you’re a woman and you don’t have a problem facing your feelings. But guys...not all of us are comfortable doing that. It’s in our DNA to not want to talk about how we feel. It makes us uncomfortable and vulnerable. That’s probably how he felt when you forced his hand. And when he got mad, you were hurt, and there’s the cycle all over again.”

Robin rocked back on her heels. “Is that really how men feel?”

“Yep. Most of the men I know, anyway.”

“You poor things,” she said drily. “I guess I have a lot to learn.”

“Stand in line,” he said and laughed softly.

Robin met his gaze and her throat constricted. Sometimes Evan was a jerk, but sometimes he was the best brother in the world. “Thanks. I needed a pep talk today.”

He hauled her into his arms and gave her a bear hug. “And for the record, I’m sorry Reece and I didn’t tell you about Trey. I promise that it was only because we didn’t want to see you get hurt. Can you forgive us?”

“Of course,” she said and sighed.

“And don’t be so hard on yourself. Or your Frenchman. I mean, if you love the guy...”

“Right now I hate him,” she said and sniffed as hot tears plumped at the corners of her eyes.

Evan laughed and hugged her close. “Same thing, sis...same thing.”

* * *

The Robinson estate was big and intimidating. Typical of a family home when the family in question wanted for nothing. The gardens were decorated with festive lights and Amersen figured he’d find much of the same inside. He arrived at the front security gate, gave his name and was admitted instantly. He waited in his car for a few moments before he got out of the car, headed up the pathway, tapped on the front door and waited. Foolish, he supposed, to simply turn up unannounced. Particularly since he might run into Charlotte. The last thing he wanted was to cause anyone any distress. But he had to do this before he lost his nerve.

The door opened and a tall, solid-looking man who clearly took care of himself stood at the threshold. He had gray hair and dark eyes that were riveting and impossible to shake.

My father.

“Hello, I’m—”

“I know who you are,” Gerald Robinson said and stepped back. “I heard you give your name to the housekeeper.”

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