No Ordinary Fortune. Judy Duarte
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the only one who’d been thrown off stride by that phone call from the temp agency.
He leaned forward, his arms braced on the table, and waited for her answer, which she seemed to be pondering. That wasn’t a good sign.
Several beats later, she brightened. “You know...” She lifted her index finger and gave it a little twirl in the air between them. “It’s funny you should ask.”
“I don’t find it funny. Why did you lie to me?”
“Whoa, now just wait one minute. The only thing that was the least bit dishonest was the fact that I never set you straight when you assumed I was the woman sent by the agency. But other than that, I was up-front with you. My name is Schuyler Fortunado, I know a little about wine and I spent two summers at a friend’s Italian villa.”
At this point, he questioned everything about her.
“All right,” he said. “Then assuming that’s true, why’d you let me believe the temp agency had sent you?”
“I can be a little impulsive at times, and I like to have a good time. Serving wine at a classy event sounded like fun. Besides, it was pretty obvious that you needed my help.”
He didn’t doubt any of that, especially the part about his needing her help. And while he was still suspicious, he had to admit that she fascinated him. Why not enjoy his time with her this evening, even if only to discredit her?
“Okay, I can buy the fact that you had fun tonight. You’re also a natural at serving wine and schmoozing. What kind of work do you do?” Modeling immediately came to his mind. Acting, too. And if that were the case, she had to be pretty successful at it. That car she drove and the purse she carried weren’t cheap.
“Actually, I’m currently unemployed.”
He wondered why. She’d admitted to being impulsive. Had she walked off her last job? Had she been fired? Temporarily laid off? And what position had she held up until that time?
Rather than pepper her with those questions, he asked, “How do you pay the bills?”
At that, her smile faded. “You’re about to learn that I’m honest, even if it’s not something I care to admit.”
Oh, wow. Was she a high-end call girl? If so, he hadn’t seen that coming.
“My father set up a trust fund for me,” she said, “so I really don’t have to work. But that doesn’t mean I’m not looking for the right job.”
A trust fund baby, huh? Daddy’s little girl, too.
“Are you an only child?” he asked.
She laughed. “Sometimes I wish that I were, even though we’re all fairly close. I have three brothers and two sisters.”
“And they’re all supported by trust funds?”
“No, just me.”
Carlo lifted his glass and took a slow, steady sip. The woman was as interesting as she was gorgeous. He was usually pretty good at pegging people, but he wasn’t having much luck with her tonight.
“My brother Everett is a doctor,” she added, “and my sister Maddie works for my father’s real estate company. But I’m more of a free spirit who dabbles in the arts, so my dad feels compelled to take care of me, like he did my grandmother.”
Carlo wasn’t used to women being that open and up-front—assuming that Schuyler was being forthright now.
She fingered the stem of her wineglass, then looked up and caught his eyes. Her beauty alone was staggering, but the sincerity in her gaze nearly stole his breath away. “Just so you know, I’m not always going to be on the family dole. I’ve gone to college and traveled abroad. I just haven’t quite figured out what I want to do with my life, and at twenty-five, I don’t think that’s too unusual.”
“No, I don’t suppose it is. I went through a time in my life when I was unsure about what I wanted to do.” At twenty-five, after his divorce, he’d been forced to reevaluate his future, and that had left him a little out of step for a while.
“Apparently,” she said, her blue eyes glimmering, “you’ve got your life all sorted out now.”
“In time, it all came together.” He studied her in the candlelight, the lush blond locks, the heart-shaped face. Some men could lose their heads over a woman like her. That is, if they didn’t drown in those sparkling blue eyes first.
But Carlo wasn’t about to let his hormones run away with him. “I’m glad you came along when you did, but that doesn’t explain why you happened to be at the distribution center in the first place.”
She lifted her wineglass and took a sip. “I’d heard some interesting things about the winery and wanted to check it out for myself. I might even want to purchase some stock.”
He supposed that was possible, and while he wanted to believe her, he was still a bit skeptical.
“So tell me,” Schuyler said, “have you lived in Austin all your life?”
“No, I’m originally from Miami. I moved here six months ago.”
“And you’re working for your cousin now.” It wasn’t a question. The lady must have done her homework. But he supposed that wasn’t so hard to figure out.
“Your family must be pretty close,” she added.
They hadn’t always been, but things were looking up between his brothers and his cousins. “I guess you could say that.”
“Is your side of the family as close to the Fortunes as some of the other Mendozas are?”
Now there was a question that didn’t sit right. Something about it was...off.
“Okay,” he said. “What are you really up to?”
“Nothing,” she said.
Yeah, right. “You can’t play a player, Schuyler. Whatever scheme you’re cooking up, I’ve probably already attempted it myself.”
She blinked, and her lips parted. For a moment, he found himself softening. But he didn’t dare let down his guard. “Listen, I can’t be bought, sold or conned. But there’s one thing that might persuade me to open up and answer your questions.”
“What’s that?” she asked as if she seriously wanted to know what might tempt him.
“The truth.”
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