into her arms.
Startled, the boy stiffened. His eyes widened and his bottom lip began to tremble. Oliver certainly didn’t relish snatching Ollie from his mother’s arms. But neither did he want his son to start crying and cause a scene in public.
He was rapidly sorting through options when Shannon stepped forward and stroked the child’s arm, diverting his attention.
“Hey, Ollie,” she said in a gentle, melodious tone. “Remember me from this afternoon?”
Apparently the child did remember. His trembling lips morphed into a wide smile and he extended chubby arms to Shannon.
Instead of taking him from his grandmother as Oliver expected, Shannon clasped his small hands in hers and jiggled them up and down. “Can you tell your grandma your puppy’s name?”
Ollie smiled, showing a mouthful of drool and tiny white teeth. “Barn-bee.”
“Is Barnaby a nice puppy?” Josephine shot Shannon a grateful smile before refocusing on her grandson, now content in her arms.
As the two continued their corgi conversation, Oliver touched Shannon’s arm, drawing her attention to him. “Thanks.”
She shot him a wink. “No prob.”
Their gazes locked and that electricity she’d mentioned returned to give him a hard jolt.
Blast it all to hell and back. He was not so crass as to be attracted to the nanny. Okay, so perhaps he was...intrigued. Shannon was different from the London socialites he frequently took to the opera and sometimes to bed.
But intrigued didn’t translate into action. Correction, wouldn’t lead to action. Even if Shannon wasn’t his employee, Ollie and managing his business affairs were his top priority.
Shannon’s eyes widened as Fortunes flooded the lobby, including Oliver’s brother Jensen and his fiancée, Amber. “Why is everyone here? What’s the occasion?”
“Mum decided to host a last-minute dinner party. She invited all the family in the area.” Oliver smiled ruefully. “She didn’t want to put my aunt out so she decided to have it here. She’s a bit impulsive, but that’s part of her charm.”
“How fun. I admire spontaneity.” A hint of wistfulness crept into Shannon’s voice. “I’m not spontaneous. You miss out on a lot when you’re always thinking things through.”
“So true, my dear,” Josephine interjected.
Shannon’s cheeks grew pink. Clearly, she hadn’t realized that his mother had eyes—and ears—in the back of her head.
“I was surprised to see you here this evening. I didn’t know—” Oliver stopped, remembering. “That’s right. You told me you had plans.”
“I met some friends for happy hour.” Shannon glanced over to the bar.
Oliver followed her gaze. A cowboy sat in the seat she’d vacated moments before, munching on nachos. Was the man someone she knew?
Oliver opened his mouth but shut it without speaking. Not his concern.
Strictly business, he reminded himself.
“It was a pleasure seeing you again, Josephine.” Shannon’s use of his mum’s first name earned an approving smile. “Enjoy your dinner party and your grandson.”
Shannon shifted her gaze to Oliver, and when those brown eyes settled on him, he experienced another punch of awareness.
“Trust me.” She lowered her voice to a conspiratorial whisper. “Go with the enchiladas. They’re the best.”
Unable to resist touching her, Oliver reached over and lightly squeezed her shoulder. “Thank you...for everything.”
Shannon smiled and strolled off.
“I thought someone said we were meeting in the party room,” a feminine voice said. “But the lobby works for me.”
Oliver turned to find a petite dark-haired woman with an angelic face and a wide smile approaching him.
“You probably don’t remember me from the other night.” The young woman extended her hand. “I’m Gabi Mendoza. We—”
“He remembers you, darlin’.” Jude Fortune Jones, another one of Oliver’s Horseback Hollow cousins, stepped forward and pressed a kiss on the top of Gabi’s head. “No man forgets you.”
Gabi flashed her tall blond fiancé an indulgent smile. “Aw, thanks, honey. But Oliver saw a lot of new faces the day he arrived.”
Though Oliver was exceedingly good with names and faces, Gabi was correct. With so many relatives to meet, including their spouses and significant others, he appreciated her courtesy. “We didn’t have much of a chance to chat the other day.”
“Tonight we’ll get better acquainted over cowboy caviar,” Gabi told him.
Oliver pulled his brows together, completely flummoxed. “Cowboy caviar?”
“It’s not really caviar.” Jude slanted a glance at his fiancée, who simply smiled cheekily.
“It’s actually a type of dip,” Gabi explained. “It contains black beans, tomato, avocado, onion, cilantro and corn.”
“Interesting,” Oliver murmured.
Jude grinned. “Let’s just say it’s a whole lot more tasty than those nasty fish eggs.”
“Oliver has a discerning palate,” Jude’s brother Christopher Fortune Jones tossed out as he strolled past. “And you, bro, are just a hick from the sticks.”
Jude’s eyes flashed, but then Gabi wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her nicely curved body against him. “I like you just the way you are, sweetie pie.”
Oliver couldn’t decide if he’d just witnessed normal sibling interaction or if there was more behind the tension between the brothers.
“Oh my goodness.” Gabi pulled from Jude’s arms. “I almost forgot.”
The pretty Latina turned to Josephine, who still held her grandson.
“I hope you don’t mind. I asked my father to join us tonight. Jude and I had planned to have dinner with him. Then you called and—”
“Orlando is here?” Josephine sounded oddly breathless.
“He’s on his way. I hope it’s no trouble.”
“No trouble at all.” Josephine’s free hand rose to smooth her hair. “Orlando is always welcome.”
Jude and Gabi wandered off to speak with Quinn and Amelia.
“I need to freshen, uh, check on a few things.” Josephine’s long elegant fingers fluttered in the air, sending diamonds flashing in the light.
“Would
