Fortune's Greatest Risk (The Fortunes 0f Texas: Rambling Rose Book 4)

  The stakes are high for this would-be dad...

  CAUTION: TROUBLE AHEAD

  Contractor Dillon Fortune wasn’t always so cautious. But as a teenager, impulse led to an unexpected pregnancy and a daughter he was never allowed to know. Now he guards his heart against all advances. If only free-spirited spa manager Hailey Miller wasn’t so hard to resist! Her sunny optimism is contagious, making Dillon dare to dream about a happily-ever-after for himself. When his secret child resurfaces, however, all bets may be off...

  USA Today bestselling author Marie Ferrarella

  MEET THE FORTUNES!

  Fortune of the Month: Dillon Fortune

  Age: 29

  Vital Statistics: Dirty-blond hair, blue eyes, miles of muscles. He’s very private, maybe a little shy. And he’s got a secret.

  Claim to Fame: One of the Florida Fortunes, recently relocated, he’s a wealthy contractor with a lot to lose.

  Romantic Prospects: If you ask him, he’s not in the market. His life is complicated enough already.

  Rambling Rose was supposed to be just another stop on the road for the Fortunes—and, to be honest, I feel we have already overstayed our welcome. I’ve tried to convince my brothers it’s time to go.

  But now there is Hailey. She’s...an angel. And she wants me. It would be so easy to say yes. But she has no idea what the world can be like, how you can start out with the best of intentions and everything can still go so wrong. I should go before things get complicated. Before I have to choose between the perfect woman and the secret daughter I would do anything for...

  Dear Reader,

  Once upon a time there was a shy little Polish girl in Salvation Army shoes who loved to read. Books (and old movies on a black-and-white TV) were her best and only friends. Because of them, she learned how to speak English (not her first, or her second, language). Since she loved Westerns, she twanged a little when she spoke, something the other kids made fun of. They also made fun of her secondhand clothes. Even so, she was determined to get other kids to like her, but she didn’t know how. All she had were her books and the stories she made up to entertain herself—and her determination to make friends.

  One spring day in the schoolyard at recess, the little girl started telling a story about a large family in the 1800s traveling west in a covered wagon, and something wonderful happened. The kids around her started to listen. Not only that, but when recess was over (and the story was far from through), they asked if she was going to continue telling the story the next day! Suddenly, she knew what she wanted to do with the rest of her life. She wanted to entertain people because they not only noticed her then, but they seemed to like her, as well.

  And that’s how my career path came about. That was in the fifth grade. I still remember the title of that “epic” story (although very little else), Anna Marie Anders: Adventurous Girl. It’s been a long road from there to here, but I am very happy I never gave up. I still love telling stories.

  As always, I thank you for picking up one of my books to read, and from the bottom of my heart I wish you someone to love who loves you back.

  All the best,

  Marie Ferrarella

  Fortune’s Greatest Risk

  Marie Ferrarella

  USA TODAY bestselling and RITA® Award–winning author Marie Ferrarella has written more than two hundred and fifty books for Harlequin, some under the name Marie Nicole. Her romances are beloved by fans worldwide. Visit her website, marieferrarella.com.

  Books by Marie Ferrarella

  Harlequin Special Edition

  Forever, Texas

  The Cowboy’s Lesson in Love

  The Lawman’s Romance Lesson

  Matchmaking Mamas

  Coming Home for Christmas

  Dr. Forget-Me-Not

  Twice a Hero, Always Her Man

  Meant to Be Mine

  A Second Chance for the Single Dad

  Christmastime Courtship

  The Fortunes of Texas: The Lost Fortunes

  Texan Seeks Fortune

  The Fortunes of Texas: The Secret Fortunes

  Fortune’s Second-Chance Cowboy

  The Montana Mavericks: The Great Family Roundup

  The Maverick’s Return

  Visit the Author Profile page at Harlequin.com for more titles.

  To

  Charlie

  Whose Kisses Still

  Make the World

  Fade Away.

  Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Excerpt from The Texan Tries Again by Stella Bagwell

  Prologue

  If anyone would have said to him seven months ago that twenty-nine was far too old for someone to actually feel homesick, Dillon Fortune would have laughed them off. In his opinion, being homesick was an emotion associated with preteens who were spending a month or so away from home surrounded by a bunch of strangers at a sleepaway camp for the very first time.

  And yet, here he was, a grown man, feeling a deep, penetrating wave of homesickness.

  Granted, he had been in Texas for more like seven months. And, yes, instead of being alone amid a bunch of strangers, he’d come out here with two of his brothers, Callum and Steven, as well as one of his sisters, Stephanie. But, when all things were considered, he had to admit, if only to himself, that he was most definitely homesick.

  Very homesick.

  Yes, Rambling Rose, Texas, was a beautiful place as well as an up-and-coming, flourishing town. A town that he and his brothers were heavily involved in building up, thanks to the construction company that the three of them owned. But if anyone would have asked him, Dillon would have had to say that his heart was back in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

  Dillon wished that the rest of him could be back there, as well.

  But he had always been raised to believe that commitments, especially to family, came first and he couldn’t very well just take off for Fort Lauderdale now, even though he really wanted to. He was committed to these various projects. His brothers were counting on him and he knew he couldn’t just leave before all the projects were completed and up and running.

  Granted, the new pediatric center and the veterinary clinic were now both open and successful. The pediatric center had even been christened, so to speak, on its very first day. A pregnant woman—Laurel, last name unknown—had gone into labor during the clinic’s ribbon-cutting ceremony. She was quickly rushed to a hospital in San Antonio with a NICU just in time, and gave birth there.

  But the same success story couldn’t be written about The Shoppes at Rambling Rose, a collection of high-end stores which were built on the site of what had once been the town’s five-and-dime.

  Not that any of the shops had failed—it was too soon to say something like that—b
ut so far, they hadn’t been able to find their dedicated audience yet, people who could be seen as a loyal clientele. He had no doubts that that would happen—Callum had a knack for picking places that were just waiting to become successes. But Dillon had no desire to remain here waiting for that magical moment to transpire.

  This part, he thought, could easily go on without him.

  Yet here he was, sitting in his car outside of the town’s newly renovated wellness spa, another one of Fortune Brothers Construction’s projects. Paz Spa was going to be opening its doors for the first time this week. Somehow, his brothers had managed to talk him into coming here today for a final walk-through. That way, they said, he could make sure that the spa was all set to go full speed right out of the starting gate. Reluctantly, because he had never been able to say no to his brothers, he had agreed, even though this wasn’t his kind of thing. He was more of a design guy, not a people person. Nevertheless, here he was, trying to get himself to leave the shelter of his vehicle and walk into the spa.

  If the spa faltered for some reason, then that might adversely affect their biggest project. The new town hotel—their company’s pride and joy—was still on the drawing board. So many factors could get in the way of it becoming a reality.

  Again.

  There were two different ways of thinking regarding all these new projects he and his brothers had undertaken. The town’s older local residents weren’t very gung ho when it came to building this new hotel, but the newest segment of the population, the millionaires who had taken up residence within the gated community of Rambling Rose Estates, were definitely all for it. Truthfully, The Shoppes had been built with these people in mind, in the hopes that eventually, with enough prodding, the locals would grudgingly come around. At least they seemed interested in Ashley, Nicole and Megan’s farm-to-table restaurant, Provisions, which was set to open within the next few weeks—barring any unforeseen complications.

  His brothers were totally convinced that they could get the locals to change their minds, but as for him, well, Dillon had never viewed things in the same sort of positive light that Callum and Steven did. His take on the matter was that the construction company had done all it could here and they should move on to another town.

  Preferably one in Florida.

  But then, Dillon supposed he had never been as dynamic or optimistic as either Callum or Steven were. Truth be told, Dillon would have been the first to admit that he had always had a far more cautious view of life.

  However, he was a Fortune and his brothers made it clear that they were depending on his clear eye to make sure that all systems were “go” before the spa’s grand opening.

  In other words, they had faith in him.

  All things considered, Dillon thought, he would rather have a root canal than face what he was about to endure now.

  Well, it wasn’t going to get any better or any easier to face with him just sitting here, Dillon thought, finally opening his door.

  Swinging out his long legs, he let his boots hit the ground and he got out of his car. The ache he felt in his shoulders reminded him that he hadn’t been exercising lately the way he was accustomed to doing. This project had caused him to let a lot of things in his life slide lately. That was going to have to change.

  Closing the car door behind him, he locked it. As he walked toward the entrance of Paz Spa, a line out of an old Tennyson poem he’d once read way back in elementary school suddenly popped up in his head.

  “Into the Valley of Death / Rode the six hundred.”

  Given the challenge of the task ahead, it certainly seemed to capture his mood appropriately enough.

  Chapter One

  Yup, those were definitely butterflies in her stomach, Hailey Miller decided. They were not only flapping their wings, they were also multiplying like crazy.

  Not that she anticipated anything going wrong, the petite spa manager thought, nervously combing her fingers through her long blond hair and pushing the wayward strands away from her face and off to one side. She was just focusing on everything going exactly right for this tour. This was her first time in the role of manager, and she wanted it to be perfect.

  That was the reason she had dressed with such care this morning instead of throwing on a pair of jeans, a comfortable shirt with the spa’s logo on it and, like as not, a pair of her favorite boots the way she had done these last few weeks. No, today was special and that was why she had put on a flowing pastel blue dress and a pair of strappy high heels, the ones that flattered her legs. In her opinion, her legs were her best feature and she needed all the help she could get to look her best this morning.

  Because this morning she was showing Dillon Fortune around the spa and Dillon Fortune was the man to please, Hailey thought.

  The spa, located across the street from the Shoppes, had been his special project and he was the contractor responsible for the spa’s newly renovated look. In addition, the man was jaw-droppingly good-looking if the photographs she had seen of him on the internet were any indication. Hailey had a feeling that someone who looked like that was accustomed to being surrounded with beautiful, intelligent women. She definitely didn’t want the man to feel as if he was slumming when he conducted his tour through here.

  Get a grip, Hailey. He’s not going to care what you’re wearing, or what you look like. The man’s coming here to see what you’ve done to highlight all the work that was done on the spa.

  Just as she pressed her hand against her turbulent stomach, Candace Allen, her new assistant, came hurrying toward her.

  “He’s here, Hailey,” Candace breathlessly announced. “Dillon Fortune!”

  Okay, showtime! Hailey took in one last big breath to steady her nerves.

  She turned toward her assistant and in that moment saw probably the handsomest man in her near recollection walking in her direction.

  Instantly she felt those butterflies of hers revving up for one massive, uncoordinated takeoff.

  Even at a distance, she could see that Dillon Fortune looked far more handsome in person than his photographs had made him out to be—and that had been pretty damn near perfect.

  Okay, Hailey, you can do this. This is nothing more than a courtesy walk-through for the guy who made all this possible.

  So why did part of her suddenly feel as if she were trying to make her way across hot coals?

  As Dillon Fortune drew closer, she decided that her fresh wave of nerves had to be due to the look on the man’s lean, handsome face. The contractor looked distracted, as if he didn’t really want to be here.

  Why? Was there something wrong?

  Walking up to Dillon and meeting him part of the way, Hailey put out her hand and gave him her widest, most welcoming smile. “Mr. Fortune, I’m Hailey Miller, Paz Spa’s manager. I’ll be the one giving you a tour of this lovely facility this morning.”

  Just for a moment, Dillon was caught off guard by the very attractive, animated woman standing before him. For such a petite woman, she had the largest, most expressive blue eyes he had ever seen. He found them almost hypnotic and just for a second, he forgot how much he didn’t want to be here.

  But then it all came back to him. His intense homesickness, how all of this—the touring, the glad-handing—just felt like such a waste of precious time.

  His precious time.

  Still, he knew he couldn’t be rude. It wasn’t this woman’s fault that he was halfway across the country from where he wanted to be. And he could see that this perky manager was eager to show the place off to him. A place he felt it prudent not to point out that he was already familiar with, thanks to the fact that he had been the one who had drawn up the initial blueprints and then designed the spa’s look from top to bottom.

  He offered the petite blonde what he hoped passed for a smile.

  “I guess you were the one who wound up drawing the short straw,�
�� Dillon told her. Belatedly, he remembered to shake the hand she was still holding out to him.

  Hailey could only stare at the contractor. She had no idea what he was saying to her—or why. What short straw? “Excuse me, Mr. Fortune?”

  Dillon didn’t think he had said anything particularly mysterious. “Well, you obviously have better things to do three days before the spa’s grand opening than dropping everything to give one of the people who renovated this place a tour of the exact same area.”

  Put that way, she didn’t know if he resented having her show him around his own work, or if there was something else going on.

  “Not really,” Hailey answered uncertainly. “We all thought that you might like to see how the ideas all came together to create this rather inviting haven. Everyone here is very eager to have the spa’s doors finally open so that our clients can come in and enjoy all the amenities that this place has to offer.” If nothing else, she thought, she could be a saleswoman with the best of them.

  “As you can see,” Hailey continued, gesturing around the wide-open reception area, “this was all finished with reclaimed wood and other natural materials. It’s all extremely pleasing to the eye,” she pointed out with pride.

  “Now if you’ll come this way,” Hailey urged as she began to lead the way farther into the spa, “I’ll show you some of the inner rooms that will be enjoyed by our clients.”

  She opened a door that led into a room with a massage table. A mural of a peaceful forest scene on the far wall added to the feeling of tranquility. “We offer various kinds of massage therapy to help our clients relieve some of the stress they’ve built up during their week. As I’m sure you know, a tense body causes mental stress and may often be responsible for sleeplessness, gastrointestinal distress and headaches, to mention just a few things. The right sort of massage therapy will allow our clients to de-stress and rejuvenate.”

  Hailey continued talking as she brought Dillon to another room painted in different colors. The main piece of equipment here was the same as in the first room. It all centered around a massage table, except here, there were two tables for the couples looking to reduce their stress levels together.