Bidding on a Texan

by Barbara Dunlop

  “Two brothers. One’s a stepbrother.”

  “It must be nice.”

  “It has its moments.” Gina thought back to Ross’s pledge of support with the methane report. But then there was the falling-out between Ross and Rusty over Ross’s wife, Charlotte, the fact that Asher was arrested and that the family had doubted him, and Billy, who it seemed increasingly likely was Rusty’s illegitimate son.

  “There’s discord, too,” Gina was quick to add. “Don’t let anybody tell you big families are happy families.”

  Anastasia nodded to Matias and Rafe, who were now chuckling about something. “To be honest, that there is what I picture in a big family.”

  “That’s the best of it,” Gina agreed, contemplating Rafe’s relationship with Matias and Lorenzo. She thought back to the Sunday barbecue when they’d taken the auction pictures. The Cortez-Williams family seemed very close-knit, incredibly fun-loving and loyal.

  Rafe saw them looking over and quickly included them in the conversation. “Anastasia, Matias tells me your father teaches at Harvard?”

  Anastasia looked uncomfortable for a moment and hesitated over her answer. “It’s more of an affiliation than an actual job. He does have a doctorate from Harvard, but he’s not a teaching professor.”

  “Oh,” Rafe asked conversationally. “What does he do?”

  “He sits on a few boards.” She paused. “Makes a few donations.”

  Matias seemed surprised. “I thought—”

  “Any area in particular?” Gina asked, hoping Rafe’s question hadn’t inadvertently caused friction between the two.

  Anastasia looked at Matias. “It’s not on the Harvard campus, per se. It’s a fine arts pavilion.” An apology came into her eyes. “The Kovell Fine Arts Pavilion.”

  “Wait,” Matias said.

  “And Academy,” she finished, cringing slightly.

  Gina recognized the name of the institution. It was prestigious and huge, and owned by...

  Matias was shaking his head now. Luckily the drinks arrived, because he looked like he could use one. He took a swallow of his martini as the waitress left.

  “You really are slumming,” he said to Anastasia.

  “No. I’m rebelling.”

  “And that’s different how?” Matias was clearly annoyed.

  Gina looked to Rafe, thinking maybe they should leave for a minute and give the couple some privacy.

  Rafe started to rise. “Gina and I will—”

  “No,” Matias said. His smile was brittle. “No. It’s not the end of the world. She was only supposed to be in Texas for two days. We’ve had five. I’m grateful for that.” He raised his glass. “Thank you, Anastasia, for buying me and for coming all the way to Royal for an experience.”

  “Matias...” she said.

  He rocked his glass meaningfully, annoyance still in his eyes.

  Gina quickly raised her Bordeaux, hoping to help defuse the situation and give Rafe’s brother a moment to calm down. “Welcome to Royal, Anastasia.”

  “Hear, hear.” Rafe raised his glass as well.

  Looking none too happy, Anastasia joined the toast.

  Afterward, she was quiet for a moment.

  Gina searched her mind for a safe topic.

  But Anastasia spoke up. “I’m not going back there.”

  All three of them looked at her.

  “I like it here,” she said airily. “And I’m staying. Date me if you want to, Matias. Dump me if you want to. But I’m sticking around. Maybe I’ll buy some real estate.” She turned to Gina. “Do you know a good agent?”

  Gina opened her mouth, not knowing what to say.

  “Don’t be ridiculous,” Matias said.

  “Matias.” Rafe’s tone was warning.

  Matias glared at his brother.

  “What are you doing?” Rafe demanded. Matias started to speak, but Rafe cut him off. “So she’s richer than you thought. So what?”

  “She—”

  “Didn’t tell some random auction cowboy her family had more money than royalty? Right out of the gate? I wonder why?”

  Matias paused, his expression going pensive.

  “I wouldn’t either,” Gina put in. “If I was in a new city, meeting a new guy, I wouldn’t tell him about my family.”

  She caught Rafe’s amused expression out of the corner of her eye.

  “Okay,” she said in response. “So, my family is pretty much infamous now. But still, you get my point. Who wants to be judged by your family? I know I don’t.”

  “I didn’t mean to keep it from you,” Anastasia said to Matias. “I didn’t lie, I just didn’t...”

  “Bring full financial statements on a first date,” Rafe finished for her. “Get a grip, Matias. She’s obviously way out of your league, and you’re being a jerk, and she’s still willing to give you a second chance. Apologize, thank her very much and order an appetizer already.”

  Gina almost laughed.

  Anastasia tried to hide it, but she was clearly amused.

  Even Matias rolled his eyes, shook his head, but then he smiled. “Fine. I’m sorry. I don’t know why I reacted that way.”

  A waiter, clearly one with impeccable timing, arrived with their dinner menus.

  The rest of the evening passed in fine food, good drinks and a luscious crème brûlée that Gina shared with Rafe for dessert. Then they were saying a cheerful good-night and she was climbing back into Rafe’s SUV.

  “She seems great,” Gina said, settling into the soft seat as Rafe started the vehicle.

  “Matias is a lucky guy,” Rafe agreed. He backed out of the parking spot and steered them toward the exit. “Tired?”

  “A little, yeah. It was a fun night.”

  “So...what...now...?” His voice was a sexy rumble above the sound of the engine. “Do you want me to take you home?”

  She turned, gazing at his profile in the strobing streetlights. “Is that what you want?”

  He glanced sideways and slowly scanned his way to her toes. “What I want is to take you, those shoes and that sexy little dress straight back to my bedroom.”

  Her skin flushed with heat while anticipation constricted her chest. “That. Let’s do that.”

  * * *

  The day of Sarabeth’s wedding, Rafe drove to Mustang Point alone. Gina had traveled there with her mother and the rest of the wedding party the night before in a private plane. He’d booked himself a room at the Trinity Grand Bayside Hotel, a short drive from the marina where the wedding yacht would be moored.

  Lorenzo and Matias were also attending the wedding and planned to stay at the Grand.

  Rafe checked in and pocketed his key card as his bag was whisked away by the bell captain.

  “You made it.” Lorenzo approached with Valencia by his side.

  Rafe gave Valencia an affectionate hug. “Good drive down?” he asked them both.

  “We’re all checked in, nice view of the marina from our suite. We were about to have lunch. Want to join us?”

  “Sounds good to me,” Rafe said. “Did Matias make it yet?”

  “Should be here anytime,” Lorenzo said. “They flew straight into Houston.”

  “Flew?” It was an easy three-hour drive from Royal.

  “He didn’t tell you?”

  “Tell me what?” Rafe had spent the past week working with JJ and Mrs. Yeoh on the baking launch—that was when he wasn’t taking every spare hour to snatch a little sexy time with Gina.

  “He went to Boston to meet the parents.”

  “Anastasia’s parents?”

  “Let’s get a table,” Valencia suggested. “I’m starving.”

  “Sure, sweetheart.” Lorenzo gently touched the small of her back as the three of them started for the lobby restaurant.

 
They were shown to a table beside the picture windows with a view of Trinity Bay. The beach was filled with families and sunbathers. Swimmers bobbed out in the ocean and volleyball games were underway on the sand. The shouts and calls of it all were muted through the glass.

  As he sat down, Rafe glimpsed the wedding party at a table on the far side of the restaurant. Ross caught his gaze and gave him a curt nod—not a welcoming expression by any means. But Ross didn’t have to worry. Rafe wasn’t going to intrude on their family time.

  Both Gina and Sarabeth had their backs to Rafe, while Ross’s wife, Charlotte, was in profile, as were Asher and Lani.

  “I see our timing is perfect,” Matias said as he and Anastasia arrived.

  Lorenzo quickly hopped up to move his chair closer to Valencia, making room for Matias to add a fifth seat to the round table.

  “How was the visit in Boston?” Rafe asked Matias, curious about what had happened there.

  “Her father hates me.”

  “He doesn’t hate you,” Anastasia quickly put in.

  Out of the corner of his eye, Rafe caught sight of Zach Benning and Lila Jones being shown to a table. They were dining with Carter Crane and Abby Carmichael, obviously all here for the wedding.

  “Who can blame him?” Lorenzo asked on a note of amusement, earning him a warning touch on the arm from Valencia.

  His brother’s fiancée liked to keep things calm. It served her well in working with horses and troubled kids, but the rowdy banter among the Cortez-Williams brothers sometimes made her uncomfortable.

  Lorenzo kept on talking. “If I had a daughter of Anastasia’s caliber, I’d want to keep her far away from a cowboy like you.”

  Even Valencia laughed at the joke and seemed to relax again.

  “Mother loved him,” Anastasia said to the group. “She’ll bring Daddy around.”

  “I don’t think a rancher was what he had in mind for his baby girl,” Matias said, looking around for a waiter. “Have you guys ordered yet? I’m starving.”

  “Thank you, Matias,” Valencia said. “Maybe we can get some appetizers to get us going?”

  Rafe caught the eye of a waiter and gave a quick nod of his head. The man came straight over.

  He handed menus around and offered to take drink orders.

  Iced tea seemed to be everyone’s preferred beverage, while Valencia and Matias agreed on a large appetizer platter with fresh guacamole.

  “What do you think he had in mind for his baby girl?” Rafe asked Matias, his gaze straying to the Edmond table again, wondering if they had specific aspirations for Gina.

  “Someone refined,” Matias answered. “Likes the symphony and all that, maybe with a PhD in literature and wearing tweed.”

  Anastasia was clearly trying not to laugh at Matias’s description.

  “You disagree?” Rafe asked her.

  She shook her head. “No, I completely agree. I’ve been dating guys like that since high school.” She put her perfectly manicured hand on Matias’s arm. “I didn’t know what I was missing.”

  Valencia rubbed Lorenzo’s shoulder. “Can’t do better than a Cortez-Williams man.”

  Rafe looked at Gina again.

  Lorenzo leaned over to give Valencia a quick kiss of appreciation.

  Rafe caught a glimpse of the smiles and laughter between the two couples at Zach and Carter’s table. It made sense that everyone was in a good mood anticipating tonight’s wedding and the lavish reception and harbor cruise to follow.

  “You’re here solo?” Lorenzo asked Rafe, and it occurred to him that he’d been more than circumspect about Gina.

  Rafe nodded to the far table. “I’m Gina Edmond’s plus one.”

  Both of his brothers looked surprised. “Seriously?”

  Anastasia looked confused by their reaction. “Gina came to dinner with him last weekend.”

  “That was business,” Rafe said, sticking to their cover story. “The wedding’s business, too, her cowboy experience.”

  Everyone looked at him in confusion.

  “A bit of an inside joke,” he said, wishing he’d kept his mouth shut about that. “She donated to the auction, and I agreed to be her escort to the wedding.”

  “This is a paying gig?” Matias joked.

  Rafe shot him a reflexive glare. “The donation was to the Chamber of Commerce fund.”

  “Which I very much appreciated,” Valencia said. “We’ve used the money to add three horses to the new stable and make room for ten more kids this year.”

  “I would have done it anyway,” Rafe told Matias. He wanted to be clear on that.

  “Who wouldn’t?” Lorenzo joked. Then he looked at Valencia. “I mean, not me or anything.”

  Everyone laughed again.

  “Any single guy would,” Rafe said, putting a thread of humor in his own voice. He wasn’t annoyed with Matias. He was only annoyed with himself.

  The waiter arrived with the iced tea and another one set the appetizer platter in the middle of the table while Rafe watched Gina’s party rise to their feet. She was talking with Charlotte and smiling about something. Then her gaze caught Rafe’s and he physically felt the punch.

  She said something more to Charlotte, then something to her mother, then she started his way.

  The two waiters finished their work just as Gina arrived at the table.

  “Hi, all,” she said, putting a hand on the back of Rafe’s chair.

  He stood.

  There was a round of hellos to Gina.

  “Thanks for coming,” she said warmly to them all. “Nice to see you again, Anastasia.”

  “Anything you need?” Rafe asked her.

  “Not just now.” Their eyes met and held for a moment before she turned her attention back to the group. “The chaos seems to be somewhat under control. There were a few bad moments with the cake, and a minor flower emergency that we were able to resolve.” She glanced at her watch. “But the afternoon is young.”

  They all chuckled.

  She put her hand on Rafe’s shoulder and looked at him again. “See you after the ceremony.”

  “You bet,” he said, wishing with all his heart he dared to pull her into his arms.

  She sent a smile all around. “See you tonight.”

  Rafe watched her for a moment before sitting down. Then he looked up to see everyone staring silently his way.

  “What?”

  “Just business?” Lorenzo asked.

  “She’s been helping with the bakery launch. You saw how she handled the auction. She does terrific work.”

  “You had a bit of dopey look on your face there,” Matias said.

  “Matias,” Valencia admonished.

  “She’s a beautiful woman,” Rafe said matter-of-factly, temporarily shaking off his longing. “We all agreed on that. And I get to dance with her later.”

  “Business doesn’t get any better than that,” Anastasia offered with a grin.

  “Exactly.” Rafe made a show of scanning the appetizer platter. “Who said they were hungry?”

  Eleven

  In the captain’s stateroom of the Azure Moon yacht, Gina helped Sarabeth with her final preparations. It was thirty minutes to the ceremony and the weather and wind were both cooperating. The ceremony would be held outdoors at the bow, while the formal reception would spread out in the ballroom and the aft deck. Dinner would be on the main deck with dancing later on the lower deck and a mix-and-mingle bar outside on the upper sundeck around the pool.

  This afternoon at the Grand hotel spa, she and Sarabeth had both indulged in facials, mani-pedis, and professional hair and makeup. Now the hairdresser was anchoring the pearl-and-rhinestone comb into the loose knot of Sarabeth’s beautiful blond hair. She had romantic wisps around her face, sparse enough to show off her dangling diamond earri
ngs.

  Gina was wearing her favorite diamond studs and the little cluster diamond necklace her mother had bought her as a keepsake. The seafoam chiffon felt light and airy on her legs. She’d sprayed just a touch of sheen on her tanned shoulders, and her brunette hair was swept back in a simpler style than Sarabeth’s.

  Gina double-checked the cream-and-pale-yellow rose bouquets sitting out on the table. They were subtle and classy, with just a hint of greenery to set off the blooms. Their shoes were ready to be put on at the last minute—no point in wearing out their feet too early—although they’d both brought along dancing slippers for later in the evening.

  A knock sounded on the cabin door.

  Gina moved to get it while Sarabeth and the hairdresser perfected the comb’s placement.

  It was Ross. “Got a minute?” he asked in a low tone.

  Asher was standing behind him in the narrow corridor.

  “Now?” Gina whispered back.

  “We need to give you a heads-up.”

  They both looked serious, so Gina moved into the passage and pulled the door mostly shut behind her. “What’s wrong?”

  “It’s Billy.”

  “What about Billy?” Who cared about Billy Holmes twenty minutes before the wedding ceremony?

  “The overseas private investigative firm sent Dad a report.”

  Gina rolled her eyes. “This is a Rusty emergency?” She looked back and forth between her two brothers. “You don’t think Dad’s just trying to mess with the wedding?”

  “No. Rusty doesn’t care about the wedding,” Ross said.

  “He doesn’t want Sarabeth to be happy,” Gina countered. “He doesn’t want anyone to be happy.”

  Both men considered that for a second.

  “True,” Ross said. “But that’s not what this is.”

  “Gina?” Sarabeth called from inside the cabin.

  “Be right there, Mom,” Gina called back.

  “Who’s out there?”

  “It’s just Ross and Asher.”

  “Tell Ross I’ll be a few more minutes.”

  “Will do,” Gina called back.

  “Take your time,” Ross called out.