by Helen Lacey
“She shouldn’t have—”
“People do stupid things when they’re in love,” Olivia said and laughed. “Just ask my husband.”
“Robin doesn’t—”
Olivia waved her hands, cutting him off. “You know, for a smart guy, you’re pretty stupid.”
Amersen had taken all the insults he was prepared to take from his half sister. “She’s not in love with me.”
Just saying the words hurt him through to his bones.
“Of course she is,” Olivia said quickly. “Otherwise, she wouldn’t have called me. What did she have to lose? Only everything,” Olivia said, answering her own question. “If that’s not love, I don’t know what is. And you’re in love with her...only you’re too stubborn and proud to admit it.”
His head reeled.
“I’m not in love with her.”
“Sure you are,” Olivia said and laughed. “Now go and tell her that.”
Amersen’s feet felt as though they were stuck in cement. He didn’t want to admit anything his sister was saying to him was the truth—that he was stubborn, that he was foolish, that he was anything like Gerald Robinson...or that he was in love with Robin.
But denying it would have been the biggest lie of his life.
“I will tell her,” he said and grabbed his keys. “But there’s something I have to do first.”
It was time he faced his father.
* * *
Robin believed she knew what a broken heart felt like. But nothing had prepared her for this.
Not even an hour spent with Butterfly could soothe the ache in her soul that reached right down to her bones.
Someone I hardly know...
That was what he’d reduced their relationship to. Nothing. She hurt so much she was all out of tears. Everything had turned out exactly as she’d suspected it would from the beginning. The coldness in Amersen’s expression spoke volumes. The man had ice in his veins. He didn’t deserve any tears or her broken heart.
“Mom called.”
She turned her head and spotted Evan standing by the doorway. “And you raced over here?”
He shrugged. “She said you broke up with the Frenchman.”
“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.”
A thousand emotions raced through Amersen’s entire body. He wasn’t sure how to feel. Angry. Resentful. Edgy. He’d imagined the moment countless times and had prepared himself to be filled with enough rage to start a war. But what he truly felt was an all-consuming sense of relief.
And then the older man held out his hand. Amersen wavered for a moment, unsure, feeling about sixteen years old...imagining he was that boy again, the one who demanded to know who he was and then saw the pain in his mother’s eyes when he learned the truth. A pain that this man—this sperm donor—was responsible for. So he waited for the familiar rage to manifest itself. But it didn’t come. And then, without really knowing how, he reached out and shook Gerald Robinson’s hand.
“Come inside,” Gerald said when Amersen pulled his hand free. “We should talk.”
The home was as impressive inside as out. As expected, it was decorated within an inch of its life with Christmas elements, which reminded him of Robin’s little house—and then the thought of her sent his stomach plummeting.
Once they were seated in the large living room, Gerald spoke again.
Amersen didn’t flinch. “I figured one of us had to be the first to face the other.”
Gerald nodded. “You’re right. It’s been a long time coming. I suppose you have a lot of questions.”
Amersen’s chest constricted, and he forced air into his lungs. Not now. He took a second and thought of wide-open spaces. He thought of water. He thought of air. And he thought of Robin. And then his lungs were free. Thank you, ma chérie.
He took a breath and looked at Gerald. “I have one question. Why do you cheat on your wife?”
To his credit, the other man didn’t shrink back from his query. “Because for better or worse, women have always been my biggest weakness. And I find them hard to resist.”
“Every woman you meet?” he shot back, unflinching.
“That is a slight exaggeration,” Gerald replied. “But I can see why you might think that...considering.”
“Considering I’m sitting here, you mean.”
Gerald’s mouth twisted in a brief half smile. “You have your mother’s eyes.”
Amersen tried not to let the mention of Suzette’s name change the tempo of the conversation. He didn’t want to start a fight. He didn’t want to hear stories about twenty-five-year-old broken promises. But he did want the truth.
“I know what transpired between you and my mother when she worked for you. It’s not a road I wish to go down with you. But I would like to know this—you have been aware of my existence for some time. Why have you not made contact?”
Gerald met his gaze, took a long breath and sat back in the chair. “I didn’t think you needed me to. You appear to be in control of your life... I didn’t want to interfere with that.”
It was quite the admission, but Amersen wasn’t quite ready to let the other man off the hook. “How could you interfere? I don’t know you.”
Gerald looked at him. “You know me, Amersen. You know me when you look in the mirror. You knew me when you made your first million. You knew me when you bought that vineyard and planned to produce the best wine in the region. You knew me when you decided to come to Austin to talk with Kate Fortune. You know me every time you have an idea or plan some risky business transaction.” He leaned forward. “Because I’m in your blood.”
Amersen stared at him, and as he did, the resistance and rage he’d been harboring for months suddenly faded. Not completely, but enough for him to really see the man who sat in front of him.
Flawed. Earnest. Scared.
Everything that he was, too. And he knew, in that moment, that he had a choice. He could be a coward and tell Gerald Robinson to go straight to hell and forget the man existed. Or he could accept who and what he was. Luc Beaudin would always be his father. But perhaps, with time and patience and compromise, this man could be something, too. He wasn’t sure what...perhaps a mentor or friend. But he was willing to at least leave a window of opportunity open. He was man enough to admit that he could. And that he wanted to.
“I’m tired of being resentful toward you,” he admitted.
“Good,” Gerald said flatly. “Resentment is a wasted emotion. And it’s certainly wasted on me.”
Amersen nodded. “I have good parents. A solid family. I’m not looking for another. I don’t want anything from you, either,” he stated, laying it out. “I don’t want or need your money, your name or your success.”
“I know that,” Gerald said and nodded. “You have that all on your own. Despite how it might seem, I’m actually very proud of you.”
Amersen made a self-deriding sound. His father was proud of him? Ironic, since he wasn’t particularly proud of himself right now. “I’ve tried really hard to not be like you.”
“And how’s that working out for you?”
“It’s not,” he admitted and then said a brief goodbye to the older man.”
“Will I see you again?”
Amersen shrugged lightly. “Maybe.”
Gerald nodded. “Thank you. That’s more than I expected. Maybe more than I deserve.”
Amersen left the room and insisted on seeing himself out. He was out the front door and three steps down the pathway when he met another man coming in the other direction.
Ben Fortune Robinson.
His brother.
It took about two seconds for the other man to recognize him and another few seconds to realize he was shaking Ben’s hand.
“About time you showed up,” Ben said and grinned. “Olivia called me, she said you were coming to see the old man, so I thought I would drop by for some moral support.”
Amersen’s back straightened. “For me, or him?”
“For whoever needed it,” Ben replied. “Did you get the answers you wanted?”
“Some,” he admitted.
“Well, that’s a start, I guess. The thing is, he hurts people without trying...you might say it’s in his nature.”
“That doesn’t let him off the hook.”
“No,” Ben said agreeably. “But when you really think about things, I guess most of us are guilty of hurting the people or person we love most at some point...don’t you think?”
Amersen scowled. “Your point?”
“The Harbin girl,” Ben said matter-of-factly. “Olivia said you screwed up big-time.”
Amersen actually laughed. “Privacy is clearly not a big thing in your family.”
“Your family, too,” Ben reminded him. “So, you screwed up. Not the first time. Won’t be the last. The question is, what are you going to do about it? Are you going to be a fool and let her slip through your fingers?”
“I hadn’t planned on it.”
“Then what did you plan?” Ben asked. “Is she a fling? Or is she the marrying kind?”
Marriage...
Amersen’s already knotted stomach was doing backflips. “Ah...yes...that kind.”
Ben offered a broad grin. “Then take some advice—go and get a ring and do the right thing.”
Amersen laughed loudly. If someone had told him a couple of weeks earlier that he would be standing outside his biological father’s house having a civil conversation about engagement rings with his half brother, he would have dismissed the notion entirely.
But by five o’clock he was driving toward Robin’s home with a ring in his pocket.
And hope in his heart.
Chapter Twelve
Robin was just coming out of the bedroom after taking a shower when she heard a knock on her front door. She glanced down at her gray sweats and purple moccasins and figured she looked decent enough for company. She half expected it to be her mother or Evan, who was staying with their folks for dinner, or even her dad coming to check on her. They had all spoken to her at some point over the course of the afternoon. She was grateful for their love and support, but she really just wanted to be miserable in private.
But it wasn’t her family at her door.
It was a ridiculously huge bouquet of flowers, followed by the last person she’d expected to see. Especially since she spent most of the afternoon convinced that they were over and done with.
“What do you want?” she demanded when Amersen’s handsome face came into view from behind the flowers.
He held out the bouquet. “To apologize.”
His eyes were glittering so blue she could barely look into them. “Go away.”
He smiled. “I can’t.”
She looked at the bouquet and grimaced. “I can’t be bought off, Amersen. I told you that...gifts don’t cut it with me.”
“Then what?” he asked, still standing beneath the doorway. “What do you need? What do you want?”
She pressed a hand to her heart. “I want this. I want what is in here.”
He s
wallowed hard. “You have it. Unconditionally.”
Robin’s heart leaped through her chest. How she wanted to believe him. But how could she? He’d made his feelings about their relationship abundantly clear just hours earlier.
“I don’t believe you.”
“Let me in,” he said, his silky voice like a caress down her spine. “And I will prove it to you.”
Oh, right. Sex. That was what he wanted. That was why he was at her door. A quick roll between the sheets before he flew back to Paris.
“If you want a quickie, then go find a redhead,” she said, hurting through to her bones. “I’m sure you’ll find one in town. I’m tired of being your latest fling.”
He laughed. “I only want a particular blonde,” he said, then turned somber. “And I’m glad you don’t want a fling. Neither do I. Please, Robin...let me in so we can talk.”
“I don’t want to talk to you. Go back to your hotel.”
“You’re being stubborn and unreasonable.”
Unreasonable!
She stepped back and slammed the door in his face. Then she stalked up and down the hall, cursing him under her breath. Hating him with every fiber in her body. He knocked again. And again. And again. In fact, he knocked eight times. And when he gave up and headed back down the steps, she muttered to herself how it was typical, since he gave up so easily. She peered through the curtain, expecting him to head for his car. But he didn’t. He was walking toward her parents’ house.
What’s he up to?
He looked so good, too. In his black pants, black shirt and dark coat, everything about him screamed elegant style. The best money could buy. Well, he couldn’t buy her.
She squinted to see what he was up to, scowling when she saw the back door of her parents’ house open and Amersen ushered inside. Robin’s insides churned. Damn.
She grabbed her phone and texted her brother.
What’s going on?
A couple of minutes later, her cell pinged.