own the company. And it’s a big one.”
She stared blankly at him. “You what?”
Turning her hand palm up, as if to read her future, he explained casually, “Actually I share ownership with my parents, brother and cousins. I guess you’ve never heard of Fortune Construction. Most people don’t pay attention to the names of builders, even on big projects. I’ll bet there aren’t ten people in all of Houston who could tell you who built the Astrodome.”
Her free hand flew to her mouth. “No.”
“No, what?” His gray eyes darkened with uncertainty.
“You’re one of those Fortunes? Last week I read in the newspaper about a wealthy Native American family that was building a children’s hospital somewhere in Arizona.”
“That’s us.” Tyler grinned, looking smug.
Her heart sank. This was terrible. Not only was the man handsome, sexy and intelligent, he was rich. There was only one possible explanation for his having anything to do with her. He must be mentally unhinged.
Julie felt like running out of the elegant dining room, straight to her car—if she could find it—and driving as fast as she could away from Tyler Fortune. She closed her eyes, fighting down the panic. But his deep voice called her back, and she focused again on his words.
“It isn’t just the family,” Tyler was saying. “A lot of donations have gone into the building fund. People who care all over the country are helping out.”
She frowned. “This doesn’t make sense. You must have money to burn. You could marry any woman you want.”
“I don’t want just any woman for a wife,” he stated, but no warmth was directed at her.
“Then someone special. Like that woman over there.” Julie turned and gestured with the tip of her chin toward a woman sitting at a nearby table. “She’s stunning. Just look at her—perfectly styled blond hair, beautiful jewelry…and that dress.” She sighed and leaned across the table to whisper. “Do you realize, Tyler, she’s been staring at you since we came into this room? I’ll bet women are always looking at you like that.”
He shrugged as if he was too accustomed to attention from the opposite sex to be surprised. “Look at the problem of marriage from my point of view. What if that woman there or some other agrees to become my wife because she’s physically attracted to me? How will she feel about me five years from now? Or, if money is the object of her affection, will she be calculating even before our wedding day how much alimony she can grab?”
“But surely, there are attractive women who might genuinely—”
“Fall in love with me? Be willing to take me on for better or worse in the traditional sense?” There was a heavy touch of bitterness in his laugh. “Haven’t stumbled across any yet, lady.”
“I see.” She sighed.
“Why are you trying to talk me out of marrying you?”
She dared a quick glimpse of his smoky eyes. She could lose herself in them, if she stayed there too long. He definitely wasn’t a lounge lizard; he was clever, charming and far more dangerous. She retrieved her hand from between his. “I don’t know. Maybe it’s because I feel this is too good to be true. I can’t believe you’d choose me over a woman like…like that.”
Tyler followed her glance back to the stunning blonde. “Most of what she has to offer can be bought, inserted, painted on or surgically augmented.”
Julie stifled a giggle in spite of her anxiety. “You’re wicked.”
“You’ve found me out.”
He had her laughing now, and it was so delightful he was determined to make her continue. But first he had to lay his cards on the table. “Listen, I won’t lie to you. I have an ulterior motive for wanting to marry right away.” Her eyes went from twinkling to enormous and apprehensive. “It has to do with Fortune Construction and keeping my share of my grandfather Ben’s company. My parents have told me that if I’m not married by my birthday, I don’t inherit.”
“But—” Julie shook her head in disbelief “—but that’s not fair!”
“Fair or not, they’ve decided their youngest son needs a settled family life to be happy and ensure the continuation of the company in the family.”
“Let me guess…they’ve come up with their own list of suitable mates for you?”
He nodded. “Plenty of local gals. But I don’t want anyone choosing a wife for me. And no one I’ve dated is the kind of woman I could live with for the rest of my life.”
“But I am?” she asked incredulously.
He let his eyes drift over her soft features. “I think you might be. Your needs are simple, and as long as we understand one another from the start, we should be able to come to some sort of agreement that’s beneficial to both of us. If it helps, consider this purely a business relationship.”
She nodded slowly. “It sounds terribly cold, but I think I could do that. I had already come to terms with fairy tales when I contacted Soulmate Search.”
“Fairy tales?” he asked.
“You know…finding my true love, if such a thing exists. I’m a realist, Tyler.”
She looked him dead in the eyes and he felt an unexpected jolt down low in his gut. Something akin to arousal. She isn’t my type, he reminded himself. Not my type at all.
“About the sex,” she whispered.
“What?” Had he heard her right? He looked around but no one at the nearby tables seemed to have heard.
“You know—intercourse.” She blushed at her own breathy words.
He stopped himself from smiling at her embarrassment and tried to look serious. “Yes?”
“You’ll need to sleep with me if I’m to conceive.”
“I expect so.”
“Well, since we’re being up front about everything…I just want you to know that you don’t have to…that is, you don’t have to do it any more often than is necessary.”
“I see.” Did she think he’d be relieved to hear this? Her words had the opposite effect on him. He suddenly wanted to know how she’d look stripped of her pert sweater set and tidy wool skirt. He felt himself move and shifted in his chair to compensate for the tightness across his lap.
Time to change topics.
“We’ll deal with that when the time comes,” he said quickly. “Meanwhile, I want you to meet my family and see Pueblo, my hometown, before you make a decision.”
“You should be sure of me, too,” she insisted.
“I will be soon enough. I don’t take long to make up my mind about things.”
She
