“Do you think I haven’t?”
“I think you don’t have much experience with a woman who you can be proud to bring home to Mom and Dad.”
“That’s not—” Gavin stopped, ran a hand through his hair. It was exactly the truth. Even though his relationship with Christine was a complete fake, he hadn’t dated anyone with her amount of class and elegance in years. Christine was the kind of woman a man thought of spending his life with, and Gavin’s stomach pitched at the realization.
“Bring her to the family reunion,” Schuyler told him, breaking into his tumbling thoughts.
“What family reunion?”
“The one I’m planning to introduce everyone to the new Fortunes.”
He shook his head. “I thought we were the new Fortunes.”
She leaned forward, her eyes dancing with excitement. “There are more, Gavin. Dad has a half brother, Miles. He lives in New Orleans and has seven kids. Ben and Keaton put me in touch with the youngest son, Nolan. He’s recently moved to Austin.”
Ben Fortune Robinson had spearheaded the search for his illegitimate siblings after discovering that his tech mogul father was really Jerome Fortune, who’d faked his death years earlier. Jerome reinvented himself as Gerald Robinson and built his tech empire, but in recent years the family’s focus had been on their new siblings. Keaton Whitfield, a British architect who was now living in Austin, had been the first of the secret illegitimate Fortunes Ben had tracked down. Together, the two of them had worked to uncover Gerald’s other grown children and bring them into the fold.
Schuyler was the Fortune expert as far as Gavin was concerned, so he knew from her that Gerald’s estranged wife, Charlotte, had actually known about his other children for the duration of their marriage and hidden the information from everyone. To learn there were even more previously unknown Fortunes out there... Gavin didn’t know what to think.
“Schuyler, last year you were the one who wasn’t sure if the Fortunes could be trusted. That was the whole basis for you infiltrating the family through the Mendozas.”
She smiled wistfully. “Thank heavens for that brilliant idea. Otherwise, I never would have met Carlo.”
“Can we keep on topic?” Gavin asked. Once again he wondered what it would have felt like to grow up an only child.
“We have to welcome the New Orleans Fortunes into the family, just like the Robinsons did for us. They’re as innocent in all the family intrigue as we were, but we can’t deny the connection. I’m going to make sure it goes well.” She rubbed her hands together. “The reunion is going to be held at the Mendoza Winery. Nolan seems like a good guy. He promised he’d get his brothers and sisters to attend. I’m not sure about his parents yet, but I’m still hopeful.”
“You never give up,” Gavin murmured with a smile.
“It’s one of my best traits,” she answered. “I think the Fortune Robinson siblings are going to come, as well. I talked to Ben last week and he seemed amenable to the idea.”
“What does Dad think of all this?”
Schuyler shrugged. “He’s going back to enjoying his retirement after Maddie and Zach return from their mini-honeymoon, but I know he’s curious about our new extended family. He and Mom have agreed to drive up and meet everyone. We’ll all be here. Except maybe Connor. I’m not sure about his schedule and you know how dedicated he is to the search firm. He promised to try. Either way, the rest of the Fortunados will show a united front in welcome.”
“It looks like you’ve worked out all the details.”
“I’m doing my best. Now that Maddie’s happily married, I can turn even more of my attention to the reunion.” She wiggled her eyebrows. “And to making sure you don’t mess things up with Christine before your big day.”
I can’t mess up something that doesn’t really exist, Gavin thought to himself. Although he wasn’t sure that rationale actually held water. It felt as if he’d already made a huge misstep by asking her to enter into a fake relationship.
He actually liked Christine quite a bit. More than he’d expected and definitely more than he had any other woman he’d recently dated. But it would complicate things if he tried to turn their pretend love into something real. Plus, despite what his sisters now believed, he still barely knew her. There was no explaining the connection he felt between them, yet he couldn’t deny it.
“Don’t tell me you’ve already done something stupid,” Schuyler said, studying his face.
“No,” he answered automatically then schooled his features. His sister was far too perceptive for his own good.
“You’ll bring her to the reunion?” she asked again.
“You know she wants to keep our relationship private,” Gavin argued weakly. “A Fortune reunion is the least private activity I can imagine.”
Schuyler waved away his concern. “Valene saw her leaving your room, so someone else might have, as well. Besides, she’ll want to start planning the wedding. Does she have a dress yet?”
“Um...I don’t think so.”
“Val and I will take her shopping. We have to plan the perfect bridal shower, too.”
“Slow down, Schuyler.” Gavin held up a hand like he was giving a command to an eager puppy. “All of this is going to overwhelm her. I don’t want that. Even though we’re engaged, Christine and I are going to take things at our own pace. If she wants—”
“You’re in Austin until the end of the month, right?” his sister interrupted.
“Yes.”
“Then it’s no longer a long-distance romance where you can sweep her off to Colorado and have her all to yourself.” She speared a piece of melon from her plate. “I assume that’s what you’ve been doing. Unless you’ve been secretly coming to Austin for clandestine dates? Where did you get engaged, anyway?”
Gavin’s heart started to leap in his chest. There were so many moving parts in this situation. He needed to talk to Christine to make sure they both kept them all straight. Hell, he wanted to talk to Christine again just to hear her voice.
“Colorado,” he told his sister, deciding it was best to stay away from any pesky details. “Everything has been in Colorado.”
“That makes sense,” she agreed.
Good thing it did to someone.
“Austin is different than a lot of places. It’s a big small town in some ways. You know that. It would be silly for you to try to keep things a secret, and I doubt it would work anyway. If you talk to Mom and Dad, they’ll understand, but you can’t keep trying to hide it. Mom will drive you crazy with attempts to nose into your love life, anyway.”
Gavin pointed his fork at Schuyler. “I guess you get it honestly.”
“Does that mean you’ll bring Christine to the reunion?”
Out of the corner of his eye, Gavin saw Everett and Lila approaching the table. He might have to take his sister’s advice and go public with his relationship with Christine, but he didn’t intend to reveal it this morning. “I’ll invite her,” he promised, “but the decision whether to attend will be hers.”
“Oh, we can convince her,” Schuyler assured him with a smile.
“No pressure,” he said, pushing back from the table. “I mean it. I don’t want you or Maddie or Valene to make her feel like she has to accept.”
“Gavin, you have a protective side when it comes to your future bride.” Schuyler grinned. “It’s adorable.”
He shook his head. “I’m going to talk to Mom and Dad. Let me tell them about Christine and the engagement, okay?”
“Sure,” Schuyler agreed. “But I’ve already told you, the family loves her as much as you obviously do. There’s nothing to worry about.”
Gavin’s stomach pitched at the mention of the L word. Those four letters were definitely cause for concern. Fearing that Schuyler would be able to read his emotions, he turned to greet Everett and Lila then ma
de his way toward the rest of the family at the other side of the room.
He knew he needed to talk to his parents about Christine but didn’t relish the thought of lying to them outright about his relationship. He told himself it would be better if he waited to speak to his dad in private. Although guilt sat heavy in his gut, he made it through the rest of the brunch then retreated back to his room, changed into a T-shirt and sweatpants and headed out for a run.
He expected to miss the bright sunshine and crisp air in Colorado but it felt good to be back in Texas. After a four-mile loop around downtown Austin, he showered, changed and then texted Christine to see if she could have dinner.
The challenge was knowing what to call the invitation. A fake date? A business meeting? In the end, he left it at “Want to grab dinner?”
His chest constricted when her return text lit up his screen. She had plans for the evening. Should he read more into the terse message? Was she angry that he’d texted instead of phoning? Could she be regretting their agreement enough to call off their arrangement?
Disappointment crashed through him, both because she wasn’t available and due to the thought of her possibly backing out of the pretend relationship.
This discontent was new for him. Gavin didn’t usually allow himself much time for reflection or self-analysis. Deep thoughts weren’t really his deal. As a middle child in a big family, he’d learned early on that the best way to get noticed was action as opposed to introspection, which suited his restless nature just fine.
He’d climbed trees, raced his bike along dirt paths and generally careened through his childhood with an abandon that seemed to both amuse and terrify his parents. He knew they’d been happy when he finally settled on law school, and the constant challenges in his professional life kept his adrenaline moving just like the extreme sports he loved. But lately mastering even the most technical ski slopes hadn’t been taxing enough to help him feel settled at the end of the day. Not like he had spending the night with Christine curled next to him.
He had friends in Austin who would be up for a night out, but the idea of going out with anyone but his fake girlfriend held no appeal. In the end, he pulled out his laptop and got to work preparing for the meeting he had scheduled with the firm’s client next week.
His fingers itched to call Christine, but she hadn’t given him any indication in her text that she wanted to talk to him. Not even a smiley-face emoji like the one she’d sent earlier. The simple plan for getting his family to stay out of his love life was already far more complicated than he’d expected.
Chapter Five
When the knock sounded on her office door Monday morning, Christine was already on pins and needles. She hadn’t talked to Gavin other than a simple text about dinner the previous night. When she’d texted back that she had plans, he hadn’t responded and she’d been too nervous to suggest an alternate time to get together.
She imagined him having second, third and fourth thoughts about their arrangement, especially after spending what to him must have been a boring night in his hotel room. Falling asleep after watching movies together—talk about a wasted moment. She figured she’d never get the chance for a do-over.
Maddie and Zach had flown to Cabo for a short mini-honeymoon. Neither of them was willing to leave the Austin branch for too long when business was picking up so much. Christine had no doubt they trusted her to run the internal side of things at the office, and Valene had postponed her return to Houston until they got back. Even Kenneth was pitching in despite his recent retirement. But she still appreciated their commitment and understood their mutual dedication to Fortunado Real Estate was part of what made them such a perfect couple.
Christine might have had a crush on Gavin for years, but what did they really have in common? She loved her work and knew he enjoyed his law career, but that was where the similarities ended. He was a high-powered corporate attorney who worked with big-name clients, and she was more comfortable behind the scenes, keeping everyone in the office organized and on track. She led a quiet life, and he was always off on some new adventure during his downtime.
It had pained her to say no to his dinner invitation last night, even if she was sure he was offering because they needed to confirm their stories before revealing their relationship to his family. But since she’d moved back to Austin, her mother had insisted she come to dinner every Sunday, sitting down to a meal with her parents and sister. And if she needed a physical reminder of why she and Gavin weren’t a great match, her sister, Aimee, was more than happy to provide it.
Aimee was a talented hairstylist but had trouble holding down a job, bouncing from salon to salon so often that only her most loyal clients stayed with her. Still, she always made wherever she landed sound like the most exciting place on the planet to work. Her sister relished every opportunity to point out what a boring life Christine led and how old-fashioned it was to stick with the same company for a decade. Last night had been no exception. The owner of Aimee’s most recent salon had invited her to go to the Bahamas for a weekend. Although the guy sounded like a total creep to Christine, her sister insisted Christine was just too much of a stick-in-the-mud to appreciate an opportunity for adventure.
Someone knocked again, more insistently this time, and Christine realized she’d been lost in her own thoughts.
“Come in,” she called, pasting the polite smile on her face she knew any of her coworkers would expect to see.
Her jaw dropped when Gavin walked into her small office, and it felt like all the air in the room had been sucked out the moment he entered.
She shut her mouth and attempted to draw a breath but ended up choking and sputtering, reaching for the glass of water next to her computer. Her hand tipped it and water spilled across her desk.
With a yelp-cough, she jumped up, at least having enough sense to pluck the stack of contracts she’d been inputting before they were soaked through. She rushed to the utility closet in the corner of the office and grabbed a roll of paper towels, turning back to find Gavin lifting her wireless keyboard and phone out of the water.
“What a mess,” she muttered then quickly cleaned up the spilled water, still coughing every few seconds.
She could feel her face flaming with embarrassment. Only when she’d dumped the last of the wet paper towels in the trash can next to her desk did she look up at Gavin.
“You’re cute when you’re flustered,” he said, tossing the paper towels he’d used to dry the bottom of the keyboard and her cell phone case into the trash.
She gave a small laugh, which turned into a cough.
“Going to make it?” he asked, arching one thick brow.
“I’m fine,” she whispered and took the phone and keyboard from him. “Mortified, but fine. Coordination isn’t always my thing.”
He winked, and her stomach felt like it had taken the first plunge on a roller-coaster ride. “Good to know.”
“I didn’t expect to see you here.” She busied herself with rearranging the items on her desk, trying to ignore how close Gavin stood and how her body reacted to him.
“I’m meeting with my dad in—” he checked his watch “—five minutes.”
“Oh.” Disappointment washed through her at the knowledge that he hadn’t stopped by to see her. Of course, why would he stop by for her when he could easily—
“Are you free for lunch after?”
Her mouth dropped open again and she pressed it shut. “Mmmhrmrh.”
One side of his mouth quirked. “Is that a yes?”
“Yes,” she breathed and was rewarded with a full grin.
It was like being struck with a two-by-four. She felt dazed, like she’d held her breath too long and was getting light-headed from the sensation.
Okay, maybe she was light-headed. Breathe. Remember to breathe.
“I’d like to speak to my dad about us,�
� Gavin continued like she wasn’t having an internal freak-out inches away from him. “If that’s okay with you?”
“Us?” she squeaked.
“Our relationship.”
“Our fake relationship,” she clarified.
“Yes, well...” He massaged a hand along the back of his neck, and she wondered if she wasn’t the only one trying to hide her nerves. “What would you think about a pretend engagement?”
Christine choked out shocked laugh. “Excuse me?”
“I...uh...my sisters... There was a little...uh...misunderstanding at breakfast the morning after the wedding.”
“A misunderstanding that ended up with us engaged?” she asked, pressing her palms to her cheeks, which felt like they were on fire.
“It’s not much different than dating.”
The sound that came from her throat sounded like the creaking of the old screen door at her parents’ house.
“I’m sorry, Christine.” He started to reach for her then rubbed his neck again. “I should have said something, but they were so happy about it. I thought an engagement might be...uh...fun.”
“Fun,” she repeated. She started to shake her head, but Gavin was looking at her with so much hope that she couldn’t stand to disappoint him. It was what she told herself but only part of the truth. She also didn’t want her time with Gavin—pretend or not—to end. “Sure. It could be fun.”
“Really?”
She smiled when Gavin’s voice cracked on the word like a teenage boy.
“Yes,” she confirmed and when he grinned, she had to believe she’d made the right decision. “So you’re going to tell your dad we’re engaged?”
He nodded. “Before I speak with him, I wanted to make sure you hadn’t changed your mind about the arrangement and now the engagement. When you blew me off last night, I wondered if—”
“I have Sunday dinner at my parents’ every week,” she interrupted. “The only thing that could get me out of it is a trip to the emergency room, and there’s a good chance my mom would pack up the food and bring it to the hospital. She has this notion that eating a meal together will suddenly make the four of us into a happy family after almost three decades.”
A Deal Made in Texas Page 5