Wild West Fortune Page 20

  From the corner of his eye, he saw Zoe’s bright red dress—a flash of vibrancy among the traditional sea of little black dresses—as she returned to Joaquin’s side. If things had been too different, he wouldn’t have ever had Zoe. Or Ben and Wes. Not Sophie or Olivia. Kieran. Rachel. Graham. Because if things had been too different, he never would have married Charlotte. He was a miserable husband. And he’d never win awards for father of the year. But he did love his children.

  Making them believe it had never been his strong suit, though.

  Jayden was still watching him with that unsettling dark gaze.

  “How is your mother?” He finally let the question loose. “Is she well?” Did she ever marry someone else? Did she forget me as easily as I wanted to be able to forget her?

  “She’s well.” Jayden’s voice was clipped. “A little surprised that you’re not dead and buried somewhere.”

  The message came through loud and clear. One of his three eldest sons wished he was dead and buried. Chances were the other two felt the same.

  Some things went beyond forgiveness. Gerald read that sentiment in Jayden’s eyes.

  “Don’t tell her,” Gerald told him, “but I’ve thought of her often.” Every day.

  Jayden’s lips twisted. “I don’t think so. Keeping secrets might be a biological trait you inherited from your father, but it’s not a trait I intend to adopt.”

  “My father.” Gerald grimaced. No matter what he did, how well or how fast he did it, nothing had ever been good enough for his old man. Which didn’t alleviate the guilt he still felt about the way his father had died. “My father never kept any secrets from anyone. Particularly the fact that he hated the ground I walked on.”

  Jayden eyed the man. His father. It was still hard to accept. And right then, he wasn’t sure that he didn’t hate the ground Gerald walked on, too.

  Ariana tugged on Jayden’s fingertips. “It’s late. Maybe we should be going.”

  Jayden curled his hand over hers, feeling something inside him calm again. “Soon, sweetheart.” Gerald was his father by blood but not by anything else. But if he’d felt a smidgen for his mother what Jayden felt for Ariana, he’d had to have lived ever since knowing what he’d lost.

  If for no other reason than that, he could almost feel a little sympathy for the man in front of him.

  “I don’t think this is the time,” she murmured not entirely under her breath.

  “Why not?” Jayden angled his head and focused on Gerald once more. “I didn’t expect you to be here. But you are. And who knows when we’ll see each other again.” If Ariana reconsidered the book her publisher was still trying to get her to take on again, maybe. But in the past few weeks since they’d stood next to the windmill and said their vows, she’d been noodling with ideas for a thriller.

  About an ax murderer.

  He figured the ax murderer might win out. Mostly because his wife was incredibly imaginative and inventive.

  And he planned to enjoy that facet of Ariana in every way possible for as long as the good Lord saw fit to keep him on earth with her.

  And just that easily, he decided it didn’t matter what he knew or didn’t know about Gerald. Or Jerome. Or whatever name the man wanted to go by. It didn’t matter that Jerome’s father had been just as much a cheat as Jerome. With similar results. Jayden knew he wasn’t going to be an apple off that tree, because he had Ariana by his side.

  “You know what?” He looked into the older man’s face. “It doesn’t matter. I don’t care if you know as little about your father’s life as I knew about mine. I’ve got everything I want in this life standing by my side.” He squeezed Ariana’s shoulder and looked down at her face. “Are you ready to leave, Mrs. Fortune?”

  She beamed at him and nodded.

  And without another glance at anyone, they walked away, hand in hand.

  * * * * *

  Celebrate the holidays with your favorite family—don’t miss the first FORTUNES OF TEXAS holiday special!

  French entrepreneur Amersen Beaudin comes to Austin to investigate a business opportunity, kisses a cowgirl under the mistletoe—and just might be hooked on the holidays, American-style! But will his hidden connection to the famed Fortune family interfere with his chance at happiness?

  Look for

  A FORTUNES OF TEXAS CHRISTMAS by Helen Lacey

  Available December 2017, wherever Harlequin books and ebooks are sold.

  And catch up with

  THE FORTUNES OF TEXAS: THE SECRET FORTUNES

  Look for:

  A FORTUNE IN WAITING by Michelle Major

  HER SWEETEST FORTUNE by USA TODAY bestselling author Stella Bagwell

  FORTUNE’S SECOND-CHANCE COWBOY by USA TODAY bestselling author Marie Ferrarella

  FROM FORTUNE TO FAMILY MAN by USA TODAY bestselling author Judy Duarte

  FORTUNE’S SURPRISE ENGAGEMENT by Nancy Robards Thompson

  WILD WEST FORTUNE by New York Times bestselling author Allison Leigh

  Keep reading for an excerpt from THE CHASE by Vanessa Fewings.

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  A rising star art investigator finds herself captivated by Icon, an enigmatic international art thief whose heists are methodical, daring, baffling. To Zara the case is maddening—bordering on an obsession. She finds distraction in the arms of a magnetic American billionaire but, as she surrenders to his captivating allure and glamorous world, she must determine if it’s the real thing...or just a convincing forgery?

  Enjoy a sneak peek of THE CHASE, the first book

  in the ICON series by USA TODAY bestselling author Vanessa Fewings.

  The Chase

  by Vanessa Fewings

  My gaze fixed on the living, breathing sculpture.

  My heartbeat quickened as I searched my memory for where I knew him from. I was awestruck by this breathtaking Adonis, who was reaching for a white shirt hanging on the back of a chair. He was tall and devastatingly handsome in a rugged kind of way. Thir
ty, maybe? Those short, dark golden locks framing a gorgeous face, his three-day stubble marking him with a tenacious edge and that thin wry smile exuding a fierce confidence. His intense, steady glare stayed on mine as he calmly pulled his arm through a sleeve and covered that tattoo before I could make out more.

  A gasp caught in my throat as it came to me that we’d never actually met, probably because this was Tobias William Wilder, a billionaire. He moved in the kind of refined circles one would expect from a business magnate and inventor who owned TechRule, one of the largest software companies in the world.

  And I’d given this playboy mogul his very own peep show.

  I’d read an article on him, featuring his Los Angeles–based art gallery, The Wilder. It was an acclaimed museum that was one of the most prestigious in the world.

  Although I’d imagined one day I might bump into him with the art world being relatively small, but never had I imagined a scenario as racy as this.

  “I’m looking for the stairs,” I managed.

  “That way.” His refined American accent felt like another blow to my reason.

  That alpha-maleness made him look like he’d just returned from a dangerous adventure in the Himalayas or even the jungles of Peru—

  A waft of expensive musky cologne reached me with its sensuous allure and did something crazy to my body.

  “You might want to put some clothes on,” I said firmly.

  “Well, now I’m dressed.”

  Yes, he was, and this was a changing room, apparently, and I’d not exactly represented a pillar of virtue.

  “Well that’s good.” I swallowed my pride. “Please keep it that way.”

  His gaze lowered to my feet.

  And I remembered my strappy stilettos were flirtatiously dangling from my left hand, those spiked heels hinting at a sexy side I wished I had.

  Intrigue marred his face, and then his expression softened again as his jade gaze returned to hold mine.

  I left in a rush—

  Shaken with just how this man had affected me merely with a smile.

  I felt an inexplicable need to run back in and continue to bathe in the aura of the most enigmatic man I’d ever met.

  Will Zara risk it all when she finds herself on a collision course with danger and desire? Find out in THE CHASE by USA TODAY bestselling author Vanessa Fewings, available June 2017!

  Copyright © 2017 Vanessa Fewings

  Special thanks and acknowledgment to Allison Leigh for her contribution to The Fortunes of Texas: The Secret Fortunes continuity.

  ISBN-13: 9781488014291

  Wild West Fortune

  Copyright © 2017 by Harlequin Books S.A.

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