Page 3 of The Rancher's Secret Son

A fellow Texan, Nick was in DC when she met him. She had graduated from college with a business degree and gone to work with her grandfather in his real estate business where she had worked part-time for years. When he sent her to Washington to a sales workshop, she had accepted a friend’s invitation to a cocktail party. She remembered holding a martini that she hadn’t even sipped when she looked across the room into the blue eyes of a tall, brown-haired man who gazed back. That first moment had been sizzling, a look that caught and held her attention. As she gazed at him, he raised his glass as if in a toast and she couldn’t keep from smiling and raising hers in return.

She had turned back to her new friend from Dallas. “See the brown-haired guy across the room? Do you know who he is?”

“Oh, yes. That’s Nick Milan, a lawyer with a prestigious firm here. Rumor has it he’ll be entering Texas politics someday. The Milans are a prominent old Texas family. Very wealthy.” She sucked in a breath and grabbed her drink. “He’s coming this way. I don’t think it’s to talk to me. I’ll see you in a little while.”

“Don’t go. I don’t even know him.”

“You’re going to,” her friend replied, and moved away only seconds before Nick stepped in front of her.

Claire’s heartbeat had sped up as she looked into the bluest eyes she’d ever seen.

“I think it’s time we make our escape from this party. I’m Nick Milan, single and a lawyer. I live in Georgetown and I want to have dinner with you. And you are...?”

“Claire Prentiss. You use the fewest words and get to the point faster than any lawyer I have ever met,” she said. “You don’t even know if I have a husband here tonight.”

“You don’t have a wedding ring on your finger. I looked when I got close. If you had, I would have gone in another direction. May I take you to dinner?”

“That’s nice, thank you, but you’re a stranger. I usually know the people I go out with.”

“You should be cautious, but this is an exception. First, I assure you I’m perfectly safe. Second, you can’t deny we have chemistry between us. So go out with me.”

She smiled. “Not too bashful, are you?”

He shrugged. “I know what I want.” He set his drink down on a high-top table and speared her with his undivided attention. “If you need more information, I can tell you this. I’m from Dallas, where my dad’s a judge, but I work in DC for Abrams, Wiesman and Wooten. Excellent client list, I might add.” He nodded to where her friend had gone. “I saw you talking to Jen West. She’s met me and knows who I am. She can vouch for my character. Or we can go find Lydia and she’ll tell you more about me. Then we can tell her goodbye.”

His fingers closed lightly on her arm and Claire walked with him to their slender, auburn-haired hostess, who turned to smile at them. “I see you two have met.”

“Just met, Lydia,” Nick said. “I need a character reference so I can talk Claire into going to dinner with me.” He flashed Claire a smile that sent another sizzle through her.

“Now, do I want to give you that character reference or not?” Lydia teased.

“I think you just did,” Claire replied. She turned to Nick. “I accept your offer. You can tell me all about yourself over dinner.”

“Oh, my,” Lydia said. “Now he won’t stop talking until midnight.”

“I promise, I will,” he said to Claire, causing her to laugh again. “Lydia, we have to run. The party was delightful. Thank you so much for inviting me.”

Claire also thanked Lydia and in seconds she was in a cab with Nick. She barely saw the elegant private club where he took her to dinner and she tasted only bites of a delicious, perfectly cooked sirloin. It was Nick who captivated her.

Tall, incredibly handsome and charismatic, he charmed her. She learned about his family, which had settled in Texas in the 1800s, mutual friends they had, Nick’s political ambitions. She fell in love with Nick Milan that night.

When he asked her to come back to his place for a drink before he took her to her hotel, she agreed. The minute she walked through the entryway into the spacious living area in the suite on the thirty-third floor, she forgot the view and turned as Nick drew her into his embrace.

“This has been the perfect evening,” he said. “I knew when I looked across the room and saw you that I wanted to get to know you and wanted to go out with you tonight,” he said, his gaze going to her mouth.

She had stood on tiptoe, slipping her arms around his shoulders as he leaned down to kiss her. The moment his mouth touched hers, she was in flames. The chemistry between them had sparked and heated her all evening, but when he kissed her, desire consumed her.

They had made love that night and Nick had talked her into staying two extra days over the weekend.

He had finally called a cab to take her to the airport and, while they waited, he said he would fly to Houston the following weekend and meet her family. On weekends, over the next few months after their meeting in March, Nick had flown to Houston or she flew to DC. In June, on a weekend in Houston, Nick proposed marriage.

It had been a dream come true. She still remembered that night as if it had happened yesterday, not four years ago.

Attempting to shake off the mental picture of that night, Claire stood and walked to the window to gaze at the Dallas skyline. But she saw none of it because she was lost in memories. No matter how many times she thought of Nick’s proposal, she always returned to the same answer—she could not leave her family.

When she had rejected his proposal, their fight had been bitter, deep and long-lasting. Nick had flown back to DC that night and they’d had no contact since. Nick had truly broken her heart, but if she had it to do over again she still wouldn’t change her answer to him. She had done the only thing she could.

Whatever happened when she let him know about his son, she knew one thing: she’d never fall in love with him again because she never wanted to repeat that pain. And there was so much more to work out now between them, because Nick’s political life was on a fast track, while she had her grandfather’s business to run and still had her grandparents with her. Plus, the biggest issue of all, now they had a son and had to work out sharing him.

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