Page 70 of The Texan's Secrets

She laughed at the question. “Smooth talker.”

“I hope so. I was afraid back there when your phone went dead and I was still five minutes away. You scared me, Emilia. I am so glad to have you safe in my arms.”

“I can tell,” she said on a note of humor, pressing meaningfully against him.

“You’re going to tease me?” he asked in mock offense. “I’m baring my soul, and you’re going to tease me?”

“I was only bruised.”

“I know.”

“And cold and wet.”

“Are you warm now?” He slipped his hand to her breast.

“Oh, yeah,” she said breathlessly, squirming a little.

He gave a low chuckle. “Good.”

She kissed him deeply then, and her hands went on an exploration of their own, building a private storm of passion between them.

Nine

The citizens of Royal cleaned up after the storm with the efficiency of a town founded by ranchers, with their abundance of heavy equipment helping the effort. A day later, the water had drained off and most of the debris had already been shoveled or swept away.

With Paris’s bedroom out of commission, Chase had invited her to stay at his family’s big ranch house twenty minutes outside the city. He’d graciously extended the offer to Emilia too, but her suite was undamaged, and the kitchen was still functional, so she opted to stay in the house rather than impose on strangers.

Located on higher ground, the TCC clubhouse had been spared any flooding, and a joint Del Rio–Winters press conference about the heirloom necklace was going ahead as planned. Reporters from both legacy and online media had crowded into the main meeting room. There was interest in the artifact itself and in the multigenerational family feud from all across the state of Texas and beyond.

“Will we get a close-up look at the necklace?” Emilia asked Misha in a low tone.

The two bridesmaids were attending the event as moral support for Maggie. Although the feud between the two families was officially over, there was still some tension in the air, made more acute by the presence of local and national press.

The reporters and cameras were clustered close to the velvet ropes that cordoned off the family members and kept people back from the Del Rio heirloom necklace. It sat in a position of prominence in a glass display case, carefully watched over by a security guard.

Patriarch Fernando Del Rio III had given a short speech, and it was now Joseph Winters’s turn to talk about the necklace being loaned for display at the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston.

The Winters family members—current matriarch Camille, and children Jericho, Trey, Alisha, Marcus and Tiffany—fanned out on the left-hand side of the podium. While Del Rio matriarch Gail stood next to her husband along with Maggie and her brother, Preston.

“I think we can go up and take a look after the speeches are over,” Misha said.

“Even from here, it’s gorgeous.” Emilia stood on her toes for a better look at the gemstones that sparkled under the lights against black velvet.

The infamous and beautiful gemstone necklace had been stolen years ago by Eliza Winters. She left fiancé Fernando Del Rio for Teddy Winters and ignited the family feud. Now it was proving a symbol of the reconciliation.

It was made mostly of diamonds but interspersed with rubies and emeralds, making it even more magnificent, not to mention unique. Emilia tried to imagine having such a priceless heirloom connected to her family. She didn’t have so much as a photo of her parents, never mind anything of value passed down through the generations.

“Has it been appraised, do you think?” Emilia wondered out loud. She couldn’t even begin to guess at the worth of the gemstones, never mind the value of the provenance behind them.

“They must have done it for insurance at least,” Misha answered. “What do you think? Tens of thousands? Hundreds?”

“It makes me want to go jewelry shopping and start my own dynasty,” Emilia said with a grin, thinking she’d have to start from scratch.

While Misha chuckled at the joke, Emilia imagined a baby in her arms. The picture gave her a warm glow. After all, if she had a baby of her own, for the first time in her life there’d be someone else in the world with her genealogy.

Disconcertingly, she imagined Nick standing beside her.

Maybe that wasn’t such a surprise. After all, he’d charged in to rescue her from danger during the flood. That probably made him look like good father material.

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