The Mayor's Secret Fortune

Ellie watched Callum’s new wife, a pediatric nurse, step through the glass doorway. Becky had been a single mom—to one-year-old twins. Surely if she’d been able to handle two babies at once, Ellie could handle one. Right?

A little niggle that felt a lot like panic began to stir inside her. Babies were small and vulnerable. And as an only child, she’d never been around them.

She’d only held one once, a long time ago, but the mother had hovered around her as if she was going to drop it or do something wrong. What if she…?

No, Ellie. Chill. You’ve got this.

As Callum sauntered toward his wife, Steven seemed intent upon returning to the conversation they’d been having.

“You’ve already admitted that some of our projects have benefited the community,” he said.

“Yes, but you and your brother bought up every piece of property you could, and from all outward appearances, you’re only focused on what the newest residents want.”

“I beg to differ.”

Of course he did. She wouldn’t expect anything less.

“I’m afraid we’ll have to agree to disagree,” Ellie said.

“Good idea.” His grin morphed into a dimpled smile. “But if you could do anything—pie in the sky—what changes would you like to see in Rambling Rose?”

She paused for a moment, but not because she didn’t have a response, but because the question came from him, and he seemed to be interested in what she had to say.

“I’d start by building a community center that would cover a lot of needs for those who are on a limited income, like senior citizens and single parents. I’d love to see us offer after-school care for latchkey kids, as well as tutoring. And it would be awesome if we could provide classes that would appeal to adults, too, like computer basics, flower arranging, cake decorating, financial planning, yoga, line dancing, pickle ball, which I hear is all the rage. Anyway, you get the idea.”

“I do. And I can’t make promises without talking to my brothers, but I think we’d all be better off—Rambling Rose, Fortune Brothers Construction—if we could find a way to meet in the middle.”

Ellie knew he might be blowing smoke as a way to appease her, so she studied the man, his expression sincere, hopeful. His face so blasted handsome. And she couldn’t help but wish that they could find some common ground, but so far, it hadn’t seemed possible.

“Would you be willing to meet a few of the locals and get to know them on their own turf?” she asked. “If so, that would be meeting me in the middle.”

“You bet I will. Maybe you can set up a committee—”

She held up the palm of her hand like a traffic cop, stopping him in midthought, and shook her head. “No way. I’m not talking about a meeting down at city hall. I didn’t get to be the mayor by forming committees. If you really want to know what makes Rambling Rose tick, you’ll need to go where the locals go.”

Steven cocked his head slightly. “All right. I’m game. Where do you suggest I meet them? The Grange Hall? The local church?”

“If you really want to get to know the folks who live here, you’ll need to go to Mariana’s Market on a Saturday morning.”

“I’ve heard about it. Vaguely. But I don’t know where that is. Or what it is. Help me out, okay?”

Darn him. He couldn’t pull off a meet-and-greet like that without her, and the fact that he was willing to take a field trip away from his fancy home and busy office actually made her eager to facilitate the little excursion.

“You won’t find Mariana’s Market on your GPS,” she said. “Just meet me at my office on Saturday and I’ll take you there. Bring your brothers, too.”

“All right. You’ve got a deal.” He reached out to shake her hand, and as his long fingers slipped around hers in a warm, firm grip, her senses reeled as if…

As if nothing, she admonished herself.

Ellie glanced at her wristwatch while trying to come up with a plausible reason to cut out and go home.

“As much as I’m enjoying our chat,” she said, “I really need to go. I promised my roommate that I’d puppy-sit.”

“And I really should greet my sister-in-law, as well as the other guests and shopkeepers. But I’ll see you on Saturday.” He tossed her another dazzling smile that darn near melted her in place. Then he turned and sauntered away.

Ellie watched him go, torn between admiration for the guy and frustration with his plans to ruin her town.

Too bad the Fortunes hadn’t remained in Fort Lauderdale, doing whatever the rich and famous did there. Yacht races, maybe. Sunning themselves on the white sands of the Atlantic. And what a sight that would be for tourists and Floridians alike.

Unable to stop herself, she sought Steven in the crowd once again.

Unlike Callum, Steven had quickly shed his no-worries, Tommy Bahama style. And with each week he remained in Texas, the more he seemed to have acquired a cowboy persona—albeit a cowboy with more money than he knew what to do with.

And now it seemed she’d have to come face-to-face with him on a regular basis, especially if the construction company continued to have ribbon-cutting ceremonies every time she turned around. She’d take Steven and his brothers to Mariana’s, although she wasn’t sure that would have the desired effect on any of the Fortunes.

But try as she might, she couldn’t quite shake the desire or the effect Steven Fortune threatened to have on her.

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