by Cindy Kirk
JUST A KISS AT NEW YEAR’S
That was all Natalia Serrano had intended. She couldn’t believe she had slept with a complete stranger! Lia had never done anything so out of character in her life. Now, against all odds, she was pregnant—and she had no idea how to find her mysterious, memorable lover.
It had been months since Shane Fortune had been in Red Rock. But no amount of time could have prepared him for the revelation that Lia was expecting. His child, she said. The distrustful Fortune executive vowed to take control of the situation. What he couldn’t control, however, was the hold the beautiful Latina and her unborn baby were quickly taking over his heart….
“I have something I’ve wanted to tell you, too,” Lia said.
Shane smiled. “Anyone ever tell you that you’re cute when you’re serious?”
A warmth crept up Lia’s neck. She moistened her dry lips with the tip of her tongue.
Heat flared in his eyes.
“This is important.”
The slight tremor in her voice brought a slight frown of concern to his forehead.
“No worries.” The gentle kindness in his tone was nearly her undoing. “You can tell me anything.”
Before Lia could get a single word past her suddenly stiff lips, his phone buzzed. He grimaced. “I’m sorry but I need to take this. It shouldn’t take long.”
Lia exhaled the breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding. Perhaps she should be grateful she’d been granted a slight reprieve. The only problem was, it was temporary. Because the news that she had for Shane was something he needed to hear. And he needed to hear it tonight.
Dear Reader,
Because I’m a big fan of the Fortune family, I was thrilled when asked to write this book. I’ve always found each member of this wealthy yet cohesive group intriguing. Writing Shane and Lia’s story was a labor of love. It allowed me to not only bring Shane to life, but other members of his family as well.
I came from a small family and always wished I had a boatload of brothers and sisters. And, since I’m being honest, I wished my family had a lot of money, too. Perhaps that’s why I love the Fortunes. They have it all. In addition, they are each getting the love of their life. Who could ask for more?
Warmest regards,
Cindy Kirk
Expecting Fortune’s Heir
Cindy Kirk
Books by Cindy Kirk
Harlequin Special Edition
†If the Ring Fits #2139
†Jackson Hole Valentine #2169
†The Doctor’s Not-So-Little Secret #2184
†His Valentine Bride #2243
†The Doctor and Mr. Right #2255
**Expecting Fortune’s Heir #2258
Silhouette Special Edition
Romancing the Nanny #1818
*Claiming the Rancher’s Heart #1962
*Your Ranch or Mine? #1986
*Merry Christmas, Cowboy! #2009
†The Doctor’s Baby #2040
†In Love with John Doe #2051
†The Christmas Proposition #2088
Harlequin Books
Special Edition Bonus Story: The Anniversary Party—Chapter Six
*Meet Me in Montana
†Rx for Love
**The Fortunes of Texas: Southern Invasion
Other titles by this author available in ebook format.
CINDY KIRK
has loved to read for as long as she can remember. In first grade she received an award for reading one hundred books. As she grew up, summers were her favorite time of year. Nothing beat going to the library, then coming home and curling up in front of the window air conditioner with a good book. Often the novels she read would spur ideas, and she’d make up her own story (always with a happy ending). When she’d go to bed at night, instead of counting sheep, she’d make up more stories in her head. Since selling her first story to Harlequin Books in 1999, Cindy has been forced to juggle her love of reading with her passion for creating stories of her own…but she doesn’t mind. Writing for the Harlequin Special Edition series is a dream come true. She only hopes you have as much fun reading her books as she has writing them!
Cindy invites you to visit her website, www.cindykirk.com.
Special thanks and acknowledgment to Cindy Kirk
for her contribution to
The Fortunes of Texas: Southern Invasion continuity.
To my wonderful friend Susan Powers Alexander.
Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Epilogue
Chapter One
New Year’s Eve
His eyes were the bluest Natalia Serrano had ever seen.
Of course, she was a fair distance away and it could have been just a trick of the light. Still, he was a magnificent specimen in his black tux; tall with a lean, muscular build and a classically handsome face. A lock of dark hair tumbled to his forehead and he impatiently pushed it back.
He was older than her twenty-five years—she’d guess early thirties. His self-assured and confident stance told her he was used to giving orders, not taking them.
Although she would guess they had little in common, in that moment she knew there was one thing they did share...and that was loneliness. Their gazes met, and her lips lifted in a tentative smile. The connection she felt was so strong that she expected him to cross the room and say hello, or at least return her smile. Instead he frowned, turned and disappeared into the hallway.
A loud cheer rose from the crowd and Natalia returned her attention to the revelers on the dance club floor, all ready to usher in a new year with kisses, hugs and a champagne toast. They looked so happy, so in the moment.
The band, a popular one from nearby San Antonio, had quickly gotten the crowd pumped up and now kept them at a fevered pitch. The waitstaff, easily identifiable by their black pants and cream-colored Western shirts with black longhorns monogrammed above the hotel moniker, kept the alcohol flowing.
La Casa Paloma, an elegant hotel in downtown Red Rock, Texas, had gone all out to make this a New Year’s Eve to remember. Linen-clad tables, complete with noisemakers and party hats, formed a U shape around a large dance floor. The entire ballroom ceiling was covered with a glittery silver netting. Captured in it were hundreds of balloons, which would be released at midnight.
Midnight. Natalia glanced at her watch face surrounded by multicolored glass beads and emitted a groan. Still ninety minutes to go.
Across the mass of gyrating bodies she saw her best friend pressed up against a guy Natalia didn’t recognize. Though she and Selina had come together, there was no expectation they’d leave together. Which was good considering Natalia was ready to call it an evening. For Selina the night appeared to be just getting started.
“Hey, beautiful. Want to dance?”
Natalia turned and gazed into the blurry eyes of a cowboy who’d already had too much to drink. His baby face and youthful features reminded her of her brother Eric around the time he’d turned twenty-one and had been into hell-raising.
“I’m sorry.” She softened the refusal with a smile. “I’m here with someone.”
Until recently that would have been the truth. She and David Francisco had been together for almost a year. But a
couple months ago, whatever fabric had held them together had begun to unravel. Last month they’d split for good.
The cowboy blinked and looked first to her left and then to her right. Confusion blanketed his face. “I don’t see anyone.”
“He’s in the restroom.”
“Oh.” The cowboy’s lips hitched up in a crooked grin even as he listed slightly to the left. “I’m headed there now myself. I’ll tell him where you are.”
Natalia hid a smile. Since she hadn’t described who she was supposedly with, that might prove a bit difficult but she appreciated the offer. “Thanks.”
When he disappeared into the crowd, she stepped out the closest door into the large, well-manicured courtyard that ran the entire length of the rear of the hotel.
The gray-haired guard looked up from where he was seated. “You’ll need your hand stamped if you plan to go back inside.”
“Not necessary.” Natalia shook her head, sending long black hair cascading down her back. “I’m headed home.”
Surprise lit the older man’s eyes. “You’re not staying for the balloon drop?”
“I’m afraid not.” She gently tapped one temple. “I’m getting a headache.”
It wasn’t a lie. Natalia had been fighting a sinus infection for over a week. Once she’d started on an antibiotic, she’d felt a thousand times better. Still, the loud music and the potent perfume in the air had brought a twinge of pain back.
“Well, I hope you feel better soon.” He patted her on the shoulder. “Happy New Year.”
The kindness in his voice was nearly her undoing. Natalia had never known her father. He’d left when she was small.
“Thank you.” Impulsively she gave him a hug. “Happy New Year to you, too.”
Redness traveled up his neck.
“If you change your mind, come back,” he sputtered as the blush reached his weathered face. “I’ll let you in.”
Natalia returned his smile and gave a wave before sauntering off. Since she didn’t have anywhere to go—except home to an empty apartment—she took time to enjoy the beauty of the deserted courtyard festooned with white lights.
She wandered down the flagstone walkway, admiring the shiny green foliage lining the path. When she reached the elaborate decorative gate that led to the street, Natalia returned to a wrought iron bench she’d passed moments before and took a seat.
The Manolo Blahnik slingbacks she’d picked up at a consignment store in San Antonio were superstylish but a half size too small. Natalia knew she was playing with fire when she unhooked each buckle and slipped them off. Getting them back on might not be all that easy.
But as her fingers massaged her instep, she decided it was worth the risk. For the first time all evening she found herself relaxing. The band sounded better from a distance and she could once again feel her toes.
Life would be practically perfect if she’d thought to bring a wrap. Though the temperature was in the upper forties—which was nice for a late-December evening—her one-shouldered minidress in a thin jersey fabric wasn’t nearly warm enough.
Natalia hugged her arms around herself, not yet ready to head to the front of the hotel to catch a cab. Though her early departure from the party might not show it, Natalia loved this time of year. Loved the hope of a new beginning. Loved the promise of a new year stretched out before her.
Footsteps sounded on the flagstone and Natalia looked up just in time to see the handsome stranger from the party round the corner of a tall sculptured bush. For one crazy second she thought he’d come looking for her, until she saw the surprise on his face.
It was a silly thought anyway. They’d never spoken or even been introduced. Though she swore their eyes had met and connected, for all Natalia knew he could have been looking at one of the other women around her.
“I didn’t realize anyone else was out here.” His voice was deep, with a hint of a Southern accent.
“If you were headed to this bench—” despite a thousand hummingbird wings fluttering in her chest, Natalia’s voice came out cool and offhand “—there’s plenty of room. Anyway, I was just about to leave.”
“Don’t rush off on my account.” He sat beside her, leaving a respectable distance between them. “Besides, it’s not midnight. Who leaves a New Year’s Eve party before midnight?”
“Well, I did. And it looks like you did.” She smiled. “That makes two of us.”
He didn’t comment on her observation. Instead his gaze had dropped to her bare feet and to the shoes sitting in front of her.
Natalia resisted the urge to wiggle her toes and to ask him what he thought about her deep purple toenail polish. Personally she thought it went perfectly with her orchid-colored minidress.
“Shoes hurting your feet?”
Natalia sighed. “They’re half a size too small.”
A look of puzzlement crossed his face. “Why did you buy them?”
“They were a bargain.” She stopped short of telling him she’d gotten them secondhand. The cut of his tux was too perfect to be a rental. That told her this was a man who’d probably never set foot into a thrift store or consignment shop in his life. He’d never understand the thrill of getting for two hundred dollars a pair of shoes that retailed for eight hundred dollars.
“They’re Manolos.”
An amused smile lifted his lips. “That explains it.”
“I bet most of the women were wearing these at your bash.”
His expression stilled. A shutter dropped over his eyes. “My bash?”
Natalia rolled her eyes, not bothering to hide her reaction to his ridiculous response. “You’re wearing a tux,” she pointed out. “Way too fancy for the party inside.”
The corners of his eyes crinkled, softening the hard planes of his elegant features. “You don’t like the way I’m dressed?”
“I never said that.” Natalia responded to his teasing tone with a lighthearted lilt. “But you don’t fit in. So, where did you come from?”
“Georgia,” he said with a disarming smile.
“That’s not what I meant.”
He lifted a shoulder in a slight shrug. “Is it important?”
Natalia resisted the urge to sigh, suddenly weary of the game. She grabbed her shoes and stood. “I need to go.”
“Please stay.” Those incredible blue eyes met hers and she found it hard to deny him anything.
Or maybe it wasn’t the eyes but the expensive cologne that teased her nostrils. It wasn’t the department store Polo that David had worn or any of her brothers’ favorites. It was a scent she couldn’t identify, but found extremely enticing.
He guided her back into her seat.
“You smell good,” she said, not feeling the need to play games.
“Thank you.” His lips twitched. “So do you.”
Natalia sighed. “Go ahead.”
“Go ahead...what?”
“Tell me I smell like your mother.”
Confusion contorted his face. “Why would I say that?”
“It’s Chanel. Every guy I’ve dated has had a mother or a grandmother who wears this scent.” She lifted her chin. “I don’t care. I like it.”
“Well, just to be clear, I like it, too. And neither my mother nor my grandmothers have ever smelled as good as you.”
“Oh.”
“They’ve also never looked as good as you, either.” He reached over and before she could stop him, his hand slid up her thigh, his fingers slipping just inside the bottom hem of her dress.
A feeling of heat shot up her thigh to pool between her legs. She slapped his hand. “What are you doing?”
“It looked...stretchy,” he said, the top of his ears turning red. “I thought I’d check it out.”
“How would you like it if I slid my hand inside your pants?”
The minute the words left Natalia’s mouth she realized they’d come out all wrong.
Unexpectedly he grinned. “I’d like it just fine. Go ahead.”
She shook her head. Between the intoxicating scent of his cologne and the testosterone rolling off him in waves, Natalia felt a bit tipsy. But not drunk enough to act on her outrageous comment.
Still, she couldn’t help wondering what she’d find there. She knew it wasn’t size that mattered, but what a man could do with it—how he treated a woman. Unfortunately, David cared more for his own pleasure than hers.
Would this guy be like David? Or would he—
She stopped the speculation before it could fully form. In his parting remarks, David had told her she was a cold fish and that was why he had to look elsewhere. But right now she didn’t feel cold; she felt...hot. Just thinking of this man touching her, really, truly touching her, made her shiver with desire.
“You’re cold.” Before Natalia realized what was happening, Mr. Blue Eyes removed his jacket and settled it around her shoulders.
The garment retained the heat of his body and that wonderful delicious smell. She snuggled into it, suddenly feeling very warm indeed.
“If I’m going to wear your jacket, I should at least know your name,” she said in a light, teasing tone.
“Shane.”
So it was to be first names only. That suited her just fine. They could talk, perhaps flirt a little then go their separate ways.
“I’m Lia.” Though Natalia was what everyone knew her by, Lia was what her family called her.
“Le-ah,” he said in a husky voice that made her blood feel like warm honey sliding through her veins. “A beautiful name for a beautiful woman.”
She gazed up at him through lowered lashes, not able to hide her smile. “Does that line really work for you?”
“Sometimes.” Shane chuckled, a low, pleasant rumbling sound. “But you are beautiful. The moonlight shimmers in your dark hair like diamonds on silk.”
He lightly touched one long curl. When she didn’t pull away, he let his hand linger, his fingers sliding deeper. “Soft, too.”
His gaze dropped to her lips. When he looked up, she knew what he wanted.
A kiss. No big deal. It was New Year’s Eve. Lots of people kissed strangers when the clock struck twelve. Of course, it wasn’t yet midnight but she wasn’t going to quibble over an hour.