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Chapter One

Kenneth Fortunado tapped his champagne flute with a table knife. The ping, ping, ping of metal on crystal silenced the small gathering of family and friends, whom he’d summoned to the impromptu afternoon barbecue.

Maddie Fortunado shivered as a frisson of anticipation spiraled through her.

A champagne toast at a barbecue. It can only mean one thing.

Finally.

She’d been dreaming of this day.

“Does everyone have a glass of bubbly?” Kenneth asked. “I have a special announcement.”

Maddie plucked a flute off the tray of a passing server and turned expectantly toward her father. Catching his eye, she checked her posture and held her glass high. He flashed her a knowing smile and lifted his flute to her in a private cheers, before surveying the small crowd he’d gathered on the back terrace of the Fortunado estate.

“Barbara?” he called. “Barbara, where are you? Where is my lovely wife?”

Her mother did indeed look lovely in her powder-blue sweater set, which she’d paired with ivory silk trousers and her signature double strand of pearls. Barbara waved from the back of the terrace where she appeared to be giving the caterer last-minute instructions.

“Barbara, dear,” Kenneth said. “Please join me.”

Demonstrating that a Southern woman neither rushed nor allowed herself to be rushed, Barbara held up a ladylike index finger, signaling to Kenneth that she’d be there in a moment, and continued her business with the chef.

Maddie allowed her gaze to meander over to her coworker Zach McCarter, who was talking to her sisters, Schuyler and Valene, and Schuyler’s fiancé as everyone waited for Kenneth and Barbara to share their big news. Her toes curled in her navy Jack Rogers sandals. Somehow, Zach managed to look masculine—and sexy as hell—holding the delicate crystal champagne glass by the stem, totally oblivious to the fact that she was watching him.

Her uncle Bill, her mom’s brother, whom she hadn’t seen in months, had come back to Houston for the announcement at their parents’ behest, and was engrossed in conversation with Zach and the group. Obviously, her family didn’t think there was anything out of the ordinary that Zach had been included in this day of special news.

Zach, who had until a few weeks ago been the broker in charge of Fortunado Real Estate’s San Antonio office, had arrived at the house before Maddie, and her mother—as intuitive as ever—had been in the kitchen and had warned her he was here.

“Oh!” Barbara’s hand had flown to her mouth, as if she hadn’t meant for the exclamation to escape.

“By the way,” she’d said, “before you go out there, I thought you should know your father invited Zach McCarter to be here today.”

Maddie’s stomach had flip-flopped, then plunged. “Here? For the barbecue?”

Barbara grimaced. “Yes. He’s out on the porch. Your father insisted on inviting him, even though I said I thought it wasn’t a good idea.” Barbara shot Maddie a knowing look. “I hope you don’t mind.”

“Why would I mind?” Maddie kept her voice level and her poker face firmly fixed.

“Why would you mind?” Barbara had shrugged. “Well, I thought this announcement that your father and I are about to make would’ve been best kept to just family first. But you know how he is. Once he gets something in his head, there’s no talking him out of it. It’s best just to go with it.”

Happy to have the forewarning, she’d seen Zach before she’d opened the French doors that led out to the terrace. In the split instant when her eyes had picked him out of the group that had grown to include more friends than family, her heart had performed a two-step that had caused her to put her hand to her chest.

She looked at Zach standing there, so comfortable in his own skin, laughing with her sisters. The sheer beauty of him—of them all—made the scene look like it could have been an ad for Ralph Lauren or some other all-American line that featured buff, gorgeous people.

Perfection seemed to come so effortlessly to Zach.

This stolen opportunity to drink in his masculine beauty was a smidgen of unadulterated heaven. From the top of his curly blond head—with hair that was on the longish side, but still looked professional—to the bottom of his six-foot-four-inch frame, he was sheer perfection.

His light blue eyes were slightly downturned and adorably crinkled at the edges when he smiled. Maddie took a moment to pay homage to that strong, structured jawline, to those wide shoulders and his impressive height. He was tall, but so was she and next to him, she felt feminine. His nose was just a little crooked and that scar on his chin that she couldn’t see but could visualize were just enough to lend a masculine edge to his classic features. Good thing, too, because with his sun-kissed honey-blond hair, perfected by his convertible BMW, he could easily have been too pretty. But he wasn’t. He was perfect.

She watched Schuyler reach up and ruffle Zach’s hair. She’d wager that she was telling him that people paid big bucks for highlights like that. Schuyler was always bemoaning the high price of beauty when she migrated back to Houston from Austin every six weeks for hair appointments. That was precisely why Maddie preferred to keep her blond hair natural. She didn’t have time to get roped into regular salon appointments for upkeep. The mere thought of the obligation gave her hives.

On a better note, she wished she could freeze this stolen moment and savor it over and over. Because Zach looked particularly gorgeous on this fine Sunday afternoon. There was something especially enticing about the way his light blue eyes crinkled as he laughed at something Schuyler was saying. He was probably humoring her as she went on and on about his highlights. He looked so comfortable in his own sexy skin. He was mesmerizing, and the sight of him sent a quiver down to the pit of her stomach. Maddie fisted her free hand, the one that wasn’t holding her champagne, so tightly her nails dug into her palms.

Oh, Zach, you sexy thing.

A wisp of wistful regret skittered through Maddie as she realized he would never be anything more to her than a fantasy. He couldn’t even be her secret crush anymore, which had been so easy when he was at the San Antonio office. She’d had a chance to get to know him better since he’d transferred to Houston. But she needed to rein it in if she was going to be his boss, which was about to happen once her father made the big announcement.

Any second now.

But until then, she was free to indulge one last tiny little daydream—

Uh-oh—

She froze as Zach’s gaze locked with hers. It happened so fast and the jolt was so gripping, she couldn’t look away. It was just as well. In her peripheral vision, she could see that Val was talking to Uncle Bill and Schuyler was talking to her fiancé, Carlo Mendoza, leaving poor Zach unentertained. If she looked away too fast, he might think she hadn’t wanted him to catch her watching him. Even though she hadn’t intended for him to catch her looking. It was best to hold up her end of the subtly flirtatious stare-down, which she did—brilliantly, if she did say so herself—dropping her gaze to her champagne flute for a single beat and then snaring his gaze again.

It was a silent dare to see who would look away first.

She sighed inwardly.

It’s been fun, Zach, but now it’s time for me to move on.

That’s what she was telegraphing to him. He didn’t seem to be receiving the message, because if he had, surely, he would’ve had the good grace to look away.

Instead, he raised his hand to her. She made the same motion in return.

In the end, neither of them lost the challenge because her father called it a draw when he started talking and broke the spell. They both gave him their attention. Her mother was now standing at Kenneth’s side and he handed her a glass of champagne.

“My family—” Kenneth gestured toward Maddie and then toward her sisters. “Madeleine, Valene, Schuyler and Carlo. And Zach. Zach, I include you because you are like a son to Barbara and me—like family to all of us.”

Family? Maddie blanched. No. That would make him my brother.

Of course, Zach had been over to the Fortunado homestead. Since he didn’t have family in town, they’d invited him last Thanksgiving.

She’d never think of Zach as a brother. Not with the fantasies she had of him.

Those fantasies were anything but sisterly...

“Speaking of sons,” Kenneth continued. “I wish Everett, Connor and Gavin could be here today.” Kenneth’s gaze scanned the group of well-wishers. “Everett and Lila are away on their honeymoon. Those crazy kids eloped after they saw everything that’s involved in putting together a wedding. It’s not too late to follow suit, Carlo.” Everyone laughed. Schuyler held on tight to Carlo and shook her head as Kenneth continued. “Connor and Gavin couldn’t get away since they’re coming for Schuyler and Carlo’s wedding at the end of the month. But—”

Kenneth stopped and shook his head. A slow smile tipped up the corners of his mouth. “I am a lucky man to be surrounded by so much love.” He lifted his glass to Schuyler and Carlo. “To my lovely daughter and her husband-to-be and to all of you. Thank you so much for being here this afternoon. It was a last-minute invitation, but as I told you, it’s important to Barbara and me to share our news with you first. You are important to us and we wanted you to hear it first.”

Kenneth’s smile faded.

“When my mother passed away, it was a wake-up call. Those of you who knew Starlight know she was larger than life. She lived every day to the fullest. Her passing not only gave me pause, it made me stop and take inventory of my life. That inventory revealed that I have a lot of lost time to make up for.” He put his arm around Barbara. “Not only that, but our children are all grown. They’re getting married and leaving the nest. It’s made Barb and me realize we have a lot of living to do. It’s time for us. However, it’s difficult to make time for us when I’m working eighty-hour weeks.” He paused and smiled down at Barbara. “Thank you for being patient with me, love.”

Barbara kissed his cheek.

“With that in mind,” Kenneth said, “I am so pleased to announce that right after Schuyler and Carlo’s wedding, I will retire from Fortunado Real Estate.”

Even though they were exactly the words Maddie had been expecting, a gasp escaped her throat as she led the gathering in a round of applause, sloshing a little champagne as she clapped.

Barbara held up her hand to silence them. “And I am pleased to announce that right after the big wedding, Kenneth and I will take a second honeymoon. We will be leaving on a four-month cruise around the world. Forty-nine ports of call—thirty-two countries on six continents.”

More applause.

Maddie’s chest hurt and she realized she’d been holding her breath. She was thrilled for her parents, but she was waiting for the next part. The part of the announcement where her father said that he was promoting her, that she would be stepping up as his successor to lead Fortunado Real Estate into the next chapter.

“I booked the cruise and told him the ship would sail on June fourth—with or without him,” Barbara said. “I told him I’d be on that boat and I hoped he would be there, too. Because even with all this life inventory, we all know that’s the only way I’d ever get him to finally make the leap into retirement.”

Maddie inhaled sharply to quell her impatience.

“Now, now, my love,” Kenneth said.

Maddie blew out all the air from her lungs. Her heart thudded. She could hear her blood rushing in her ears. Her father put his arm around her mother and lovingly massaged her neck, which made Barbara squirm and swat him away. She’d never been one for public displays of affection.

“Kenneth, not in front of the kids,” Barbara said.

Yes, not in front of the kids, Dad. Yuck. Save it for the cruise and get to the rest of the announcement.

Kenneth and Barbara raised their glasses to the small crowd.

“Thank you for helping us celebrate our big decision.”

Everyone raised their glasses in return and offered cheers and good words like congratulations, hear! hear!, to your health and happiness and bon voyage.

But wait... What about the rest... What about the announcement of your successor?

Maddie battled the demons of disappointment as she watched her sisters rush to congratulate their parents with hugs and squeals. She blinked once, twice. Took one more slow, deep breath, doing her best to slay the monster inside.

Okay. So, he wasn’t going to announce her promotion now.

It was okay. Really, it was.

She blinked again and reframed. It wasn’t that big of a deal that her father hadn’t yet announced that she would be his successor.

Maddie let the words ruminate in her brain for a moment.

This afternoon was for her parents. It was a big, big deal for them. It was a huge step for them. Today was about them.

Not her.

Them.

Her cheeks burned as she knocked back the rest of her champagne, draining the half-full glass. She could let them have their day. She should let them have their day. Her dad probably wanted to talk to her privately before he made the announcement.

Of course. He wouldn’t just announce her promotion without preparing her first.

Today was a day to celebrate Kenneth and Barbara. In fact, she was proud of her dad for not making today all about business. It took a lot of restraint on his part, since he was always all business, all the time. Plus, something so important as her stepping into her father’s shoes needed to be discussed. Even though they had already discussed it—in broad terms. But now that his retirement had a fixed date, they would need to discuss her salary. They needed to talk about his expectations. She needed to make sure he understood she wanted complete control. His role would be as support system to her.

Or better yet, he’d stay out of Fortunado Real Estate altogether and enjoy his retirement as she implemented her vision for the company.

Her gaze found Zach again. Like her, he stood just outside of the knot of people clustered around her parents, wishing them well.

Once she took over, she would offer Zach a lovely promotion. It was the least she could do if she couldn’t offer him her body—Stop that. To date, she’d never offered him her body and now she never would. And that was not the way a boss should think about an employee. Even if said employee was drop-dead gorgeous and flirted outrageously with her. He flirted outrageously with all women. He had a different girl with him every time she saw him. And that’s why she needed to focus on what would come next: her promotion. It was a chance to give her all to something bigger than herself—something that would never let her down. That was the way to go.

She would always love Zach, but he would never know it.

That was the price she would pay to secure her future. A future so close she could taste it.

* * *

Zach McCarter was honored to be invited to hear his boss’s big announcement. From the first minute Zach had joined the Fortunado Real Estate team five years ago, Kenneth Fortunado had made him feel like part of the family. Even so, he felt a little out of place here today. Like a fish out of water among Kenneth’s adult children and close friends. However, when his boss welcomed him as part of the family, it would be rude—hell, it would be downright ungrateful—to second-guess the invitation.

His gaze landed on Maddie Fortunado, who was standing apart from her sisters and the others who were clustered around their parents. Only he and Maddie, with her long blond hair and perfect skin, hung back.

She stood with her arms folded, wearing a Mona Lisa smile that didn’t quite reach her blue eyes. Zach knew she would wait until the scrum had dissipated before going in. He knew this because it’s what he’d do. He and Maddie were a lot alike when it came to things like this—and in their approach to business. But their backgrounds were polar opposite.

With her Ivy League education and continental upbringing, Maddie Fortunado was not your standard Texas debutante. She was smart—too smart to concern herself with inconsequential things that didn’t matter. She put her Harvard Business School education to good use at Fortunado Real Estate and seemed to live, eat, breathe and sleep her career.

While he and Maddie were philosophically alike, Zach hadn’t been born into money. He wasn’t implying that Maddie didn’t work hard. In fact, he had to hand it to her, she never coasted on the privilege of being the boss’s daughter. She was good at her job as vice president of sales. She was always in the office. Every time he was there, so was she. No one could accuse her of not pulling her weight. But at the end of the day, she was the boss’s daughter. That’s why he had to check any feelings that might have remotely resembled attraction.

And there had been a few.

Zach had worked double time just to get to the starting gate of his career, so that a man like Kenneth Fortunado not only knew his name, but respected him enough to invite him into his home and include him in an occasion like this.

Maddie glanced his way again and he made a face at her. She smiled—as he knew she would. She shook her head and rolled her eyes good-naturedly.

Zach closed the distance between them, walking across the marble back porch, past the koi pond to stand next to her.

“Hey,” he said.

“Hey, yourself.” She cocked a brow. “I guess they let anyone in here these days.”

“Surprised by the announcement?” he asked.

She shrugged. “In some ways, yes, but it’s been a long time coming. So, in that regard, no.”

“What happens next?” he asked.

“What do you mean?” She raised her chin a fraction of an inch, a tell that she knew something she wasn’t sharing.

“If anyone knows what’s going to happen with the business after your father retires, it would be you.”

She opened her blue eyes wide, obviously feigning cluelessness, but she wasn’t very good at it.

“I don’t know, Zach. I guess you’ll just have to wait for another Fortunado family announcement.”

She fisted her hands on her hips and the movement showed off her sleek tanned arms beneath her crisp white sleeveless blouse. She had great arms that were toned and feminine. And long, long legs that could drive a man to distraction if he allowed it. Zach wouldn’t allow it. He couldn’t allow it, he thought, forbidding himself to glance down.

It was likely that Maddie would be named her father’s successor. That meant she would go from being the boss’s daughter to being the boss. No matter how alluring he found those long legs, they weren’t worth compromising his job. He’d worked too hard to get to where he was today to risk losing it all.

“Everyone, lunch is ready,” said Barbara. The crowd around her and Kenneth thinned. “Please help yourselves. We have pulled pork, barbecued brisket, and chicken. I hope you brought your appetites. Because there’s plenty of food and I don’t want any leftovers.”

Schuyler and Carlo were the first ones to approach the buffet. Zach and Maddie continued to hang back and let the other guests and Fortunado siblings go first. No matter how many family functions or Sunday lunches like this one that he’d attended, he always tried to err on the side of politeness. He was thirty-two years old and had been in the business since he was eighteen, but at times like this, he still felt out of place. If he thought about it too hard, the fifteen-year-old boy who was on the outside looking in beckoned him farther back into the periphery, where he would feel more comfortable watching than diving into the middle of everything. He’d outgrown his insecurities, of course. He’d like to think he’d gotten as strong as he was to spite them. Because confidence had been a must to succeed in the real estate business. In fact, in this industry, confidence was everything. But being in the Fortunado home like this, he preferred to stand back and watch the family dynamics. Watch and learn. The natural family rhythm fascinated him. Especially families like this that were so different from what he was used to.

“The food doesn’t get any warmer,” said Maddie. “You better get it while it’s hot. Or at least before my cousin Dale goes through the line.”

Maddie nodded toward a tall skinny guy who was still talking to Kenneth.

“He didn’t earn the name the closer because he’s good at sales,” Maddie said. “He eats a lot.”

“The closer, huh?” Zach said. “That sounds formidable.”

“Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

Maddie motioned for him to join her as she approached the buffet line. He followed. She picked up two plates and offered him one. Her hand brushed his as he accepted it.

“Are you happy at Fortunado, Zach?” she asked.

The non sequitur made him do a mental double take. “Happy?” he repeated. “Of course I’m happy.”

“Good to know.” Her gaze searched his eyes. There was something in them he didn’t understand. Especially when they dipped to his lips for the briefest of seconds. She bit her bottom lip, a hint of color blossoming in her cheeks, before lifting her eyes to hold his gaze again.

There was something understatedly sexy about her and the realization caught him off guard. He could test these mixed signals she was sending—these cracks in her buttoned-up, businesslike armor that kept him guessing, making him wonder if he was reading her right. And he was usually very good at reading people. He prided himself on it.

But these flirty looks of Maddie’s sometimes morphed into stare-downs that became games of chicken to see who would look away first. The accidental brush of hands, and now asking him if he was happy at Fortunado? What was that all about?

“Why?” he asked. “If I was, say, restless, would you be willing to make it worth my while to stay?”

“And how would you propose I make it worth your while?”

She watched him, waiting for his answer as she held out the white china plate for the server to dish up a piece of chicken and a portion of brisket.

He arched a brow, and his gut clenched at the thoughts swirling around his head. He felt as if he were contemplating taking something that didn’t belong to him. Like finding a twenty-dollar bill on the sidewalk—you could stuff it in your pocket and walk away...or you could do the right thing and try to find the owner.

She must’ve read it in his expression.

“You’re full of yourself, McCarter.” He watched her walk to an empty table off to the side, rather than joining her sisters and Carlo at the one in the middle of the patio.

Zach took his plate of barbecue and followed her, claiming the seat next to her. “Full of myself? That wasn’t a very nice thing to say.”

Her eyes widened. “You’re so sensitive.”

“That’s me. I’m just a sensitive kind of guy. Isn’t that what the ladies want? A sensitive guy?”

She cut a piece of chicken off the bone. Raising the fork to her lips, she stopped short of putting the bite into her mouth, a mischievous smile tipping up the corners of her lips.

“Is that what you tell all the ladies?” Maddie asked. “That you’re a sensitive kind of guy?”

Zach flashed his best smile. “Whatever works.”

“Whatever works,” she repeated. “Is that your philosophy?”

“Nope. Sensitivity is my philosophy. How could you forget?” He made a stabbing gesture in the center of his chest. “I thought we’d finally found something in common. You know, you liking sensitive men and me being sensitive.”

She laughed and her cheeks colored. He liked the thought of rattling calm, cool, collected, perfect Madeleine Fortunado. He wanted to get under her skin. Because it was the closest he’d come to ever getting under anything of hers.

* * *

Maddie took a sip of her margarita, willing herself to calm down. She was grateful when Schuyler and Carlo moved from their original spot and joined them.

“What’s wrong?” Schuyler asked Maddie when they sat down. “What did I miss?”

Zach snared Maddie’s gaze and he raised his eyebrow, issuing a challenge for her to explain the conversation.

“Zach will explain.” She turned to him and smiled.

“Whatever works.” He winked at her and her cheeks colored again.

He cleared his throat. “I was just asking Maddie what she did for fun. You know, I’m starting to get the feeling that all she does is work. She doesn’t always work, does she?”

“Pretty much,” Schuyler said.

“There has to be something else,” he said. “I’m curious about what she likes to do for fun.”

Schuyler looked as if she wasn’t buying it. “Oh, really? I know my sister works a lot, but you two get together every Friday night at the Thirsty Ox, don’t you?”

“Of course we do,” Maddie said.

“But that’s still work-related,” Zach qualified.