The Fortunes of Texas: Whirlwind Romance

“Actually,” Tanner said, pushing back from his desk, “that all sounds great, including the website stuff, but I’m going to have to leave all that for you and Max to go over.” He rounded the desk. “I’m going with Jordana to her O.B. appointment.” He gestured at the small, round conference table in the corner of his room. “Make yourselves comfortable here, if you want. I know there’s more room there than in Max’s office.” He squeezed Emily’s shoulder as he passed by. “If you want a tour of the place, Max can give you one. He knows every nook and cranny around here by now. Right, Max?”

Max nodded, but as his boss left the office, he couldn’t help wondering what Tanner was thinking, leaving it all in Max’s lap.

“Why don’t we start with the tour, then? It would help if I can get a little bit of a feel for this place.” Emily was looking at him, her eyebrows lifted a little. If she had any suspicion that her expertise would be wasted on someone like Max, at least she didn’t show it.

“Sure.” He stepped out of her path so she could exit the office. “Do you know anything about flight schools?”

She laughed a little, and the sound seemed to send heat straight down his spine. “Not a single thing,” she admitted as she walked past him. “You’re the expert, here.”

He grimaced. Evidently, Tanner hadn’t told his sister-in-law much at all. Maybe she’d have refused to help if she knew how unqualified he was. “I’ve only been working for Tanner for a month,” he said. There was no point in putting any varnish on it. The truth was what it was. He’d started out—officially—on a part-time basis, but just a few weeks ago, Tanner had asked if he’d be willing to take on more.

Max still had a hard time believing it.

“I don’t know diddly-squat about marketing,” he told her.

She stopped in her tracks and looked at him. “Tanner said you are his marketing assistant.”

He hated titles. Mostly because they’d only ever pointed out that he was low-man on the totem pole, which he’d been perfectly aware of. “Assistant … whatever,” he said. “The marketing stuff is just a priority right now. A long time before he actually hired me, though, I was mopping floors and cleaning toilets around this place.” She might as well know that truth, too. “Did anything and everything, pretty much, in exchange for flying lessons.”

Her head tilted slightly. The silky end of her ponytail slipped over her shoulder. “How’d you learn about the flight school in the first place?”

He shrugged. “Everyone around Red Rock’s heard of the flight school.” He had, even before the day he’d actually walked through the front door.

“But how,” she pressed. “Radio spots? Signage?” A faint smile played around the corners of her lips, which only meant he was studying them too closely for politeness. “Good old word of mouth?”

“Word of mouth.” He dragged his attention away from her mouth.

“Never underestimate the power of good word of mouth. It can make or break the success of any number of things,” she said. “You’re lucky, actually. You’ve got a unique perspective, Max.”

Again, he felt heat slide down his spine. “How?”

“You’ve already been your own prospective customer.” She turned again and headed along the tiled hallway that led from the front door of the business office to the rear that opened out into the hangar. “You know what brought you to Redmond Flight School.”

He was pretty sure that “desperation” wasn’t the angle that Tanner wanted them to promote. Fortunately, Emily was unaware of his thoughts as she continued.

“So now what you need to think about is what would have brought you here even more quickly.” She glanced at him.

“Money.” It was an obvious answer. One that hadn’t exactly applied to him at the get-go but sure had ever since.

She sent him a smile over her shoulder again, obviously not shocked by his blunt tone. “Part of your job, then, is to convince the masses that money isn’t the object. Learning to fly is.”

“If everyone knew how it felt to be up there, we wouldn’t need to advertise.” He reached past her to push open the heavy metal door and got a whiff of something soft. Almost powdery.

Nothing around the hangar smelled like that, including him. Which just left her.

He would have been happy to stand there a long while breathing in that completely feminine fragrance, but she was already moving through the door, that long ponytail of hers swinging.

If he’d ever thought anything was particularly sexy about a woman’s hair, it was only when it looked messed up from his hands tangling in it. But there was definitely something sexy about Emily’s swinging length of sleek, corn-silk blond. He wondered what it would look like flowing over her bare shoulders …

“That’s even better,” she said, stopping again to turn on her heel and face him. Beyond her glasses, her eyes were animated. “You’re already honing in on your messaging,” she said, thankfully oblivious to his wayward mind. “Show your prospective customer what it feels like.”

The palms of his hands were suddenly itching. He shoved them in the pockets of his blue jeans. “What it feels like,” he repeated, feeling about as dumb as a rock.

“Up there.” She waved her hand. “You said it yourself. If everyone knew how it felt to be up there.” She pulled off her glasses, folded them and tucked the earpiece down the front of her jacket, giving him the briefest of glimpses of something black and lacy beneath, which did not help his distraction any.

“So … show me around,” she invited. “My only contact with airports has been as a passenger.”

A first-class passenger, he figured, but kept the thought to himself. Maybe if he concentrated enough on describing everything to do with the physical layout of the flight school, he’d get his thoughts off of her physical layout.

“This area, obviously, is the classroom.” He pushed on a hidden partition halfway down the main wall. “We can break it up into three smaller classrooms with partitions like these.” He nudged the partition wall and it smoothly disappeared again. “They’re all new additions since the tornado. Just had the desks delivered a few days ago, in fact.”

Emily wandered among the empty chairs that looked reminiscent of her high-school days, complete with an attached desktop, and wondered fleetingly what Max had been like in high school. Probably football team captain and hotly pursued by all the cheerleaders.

She had not been a cheerleader. Too ambitious with her eye already on making her place in her father’s company. Hoping that then, maybe, he’d see something worthwhile in her.

She abruptly pulled her thoughts back into the present. Ever since the tornado, she’d vowed to focus on the future. Period.

She glanced at Max and despite her good intentions, had to work hard to focus on her purpose there and not him.

Max had put another few chairs in between them. His eyes were still the same blue that they’d been that December day. But all of the gentleness in them that she’d clung to in those brief moments before he’d disappeared among the rescue workers crowding around her was nowhere in sight. Now, those eyes were completely unreadable.

She found him no less compelling, though.

Which was so not her purpose right now.

She mentally shook her head, trying to get her thoughts in order. It was more difficult than it should have been. “I, um, I know the terminal was badly damaged. But how much damage did Tanner’s building sustain?”

“It was still standing. Barely.”

She walked over to a white erase board that stood on wheels in front of the desks. “Really? I had no idea it had been that bad.” She picked up one of the markers from the tray at the bottom of the board and toyed with it, wishing that her heart would stop its frantic little cha-cha inside her chest.

“The roof was gone. Half the planes had some sort of damage. The offices needed to be completely gutted and built over.”

“That’s a lot of repairs accomplished in a short amount of time. I’m impressed.”

He shrugged. “That’s Tanner.”

“He is a force to be reckoned with.” She smiled wryly. “Or so my sister, Jordana, says.” She dropped the marker back in the tray. “Okay.” She eyed the classroom’s trappings. “So you have the ability for multiple classrooms. What happens in them?”

“Ground school.”

“Which is … what?” She couldn’t help looking at him again. He wore plain old blue jeans and a white button-down shirt incredibly—with a capital I—well. “You’re the knowledgeable one, remember?”

“There are rules in flying just like there are rules in driving. FAA regulations. Have to learn them as well as some basic aeronautics and be able to pass a test on them. You don’t learn everything in the cockpit. In fact, most of it seems like it’s done sitting at a desk whether in a classroom with other students or on a one-to-one basis with a private instructor.” He shrugged. “Classroom’s obviously more economical for the student pilot, but we offer a lot of different options.”

She propped her hip on one of the desks. “How many instructors does Tanner have?”

He looked away, but she could see the abruptly grim turn of his lips. “Eleven, now. Gary Tompkins died in the tornado. He was my first instructor.”

Regret pinched hard. She’d known Tanner had lost an employee and wished that she’d shown more tact. “I’m so sorry.”

“He was a good guy.” His gaze slanted back at her. “As patient as the day is long, which was a good thing when it came to teaching me.” She was glad to see his expression lightening as he shook his head, looking wry. “Probably telling the same old stories in heaven that he was always telling everyone down here,” he said.

She smiled. “Did you always want to know how to fly?”

He shook his head, that bit of lightness in his expression fading, and leaving her wanting it back again. “That’s more recent.”

But he didn’t elaborate, which only left her wondering about him even more.

He glanced at the sturdy leather watch strapped on his wrist and gestured toward the door opposite the one they’d come through. “Anyway, Tanner hasn’t replaced Gary yet. He’s interviewing now, though. But he’s also interviewing for commercial pilots since he’s set a July 4 launch date next month for his charter business expansion, and he wants to get another ATP on board.”

“ATP?”

“Airline Transport Pilot. Highest rating you can get. Tanner has it. He wants a backup.”

She wasn’t surprised about Tanner’s ambitious business plans. He’d received the “John Michael Fortune” seal of approval when it came to business, after all, and that wasn’t an easy thing to come by. She passed through the doorway when Max pulled it open for her and nearly lost her train of thought again when her shoulder brushed against his. “Any … any other employees besides the instructors?”

“Just me.” He touched the small of her back briefly, directing her toward the rear of the soaring building. Sunlight shined through the long, narrow windows set high in the rafters onto an assortment of small planes parked in precise order on the gleaming floor. The main door was open, too, and she could see the airport terminal some distance away. “Our simulator room is back here,” he said.

He ushered her into another room, this one considerably smaller than the classroom, which could have easily seated a few dozen students.

This one only seemed to have room for two.

He dropped his hand on top of the enclosure that surrounded what looked—eerily, to her—like an airplane’s cockpit. “One of three sim rooms,” he said. “Most places just have two. And these are state-of-the-art.” He kept moving, passing the doorways that obviously housed the other two flight simulators, before exiting out into the main hangar area again. “We have aircraft available for lessons as well as rentals.” He waved at the planes as he walked toward the closest one. “Slow day today, though. Half the fleet is in. Usually they’re all out this time of day.”

Surprised, she looked over the planes again. “Where do the rest of them go?”

His eyes glinted with amusement, and she felt that strange trip inside her chest again. “They all fit,” he assured. “Close as sardines, but they fit.”

“I wouldn’t want to have to park one,” she admitted, eyeing the wingspan of the plane.

“Just takes some muscle and some careful attention. We’ve also got some planes outside on tie-downs.” He finally stopped walking and leaned against the long tail of a white plane with a propeller on its nose. “Have you ever been up in a small plane?”

She eyed the airplane behind him. He was as tall as the top of the wing. “Depends on your definition of small.” There’d been plenty of times she’d flown on a private jet for business, but it had still been a jet. Multiple engines and all. “That thing there practically looks like a toy.”

“Pretty expensive toy.” He glanced at the plane and she couldn’t help but see the distinct fondness in his expression.

“You look at it like she’s a beautiful woman.”

“Well.” He ran his palm along the edge the wing. His gaze, though, didn’t move from her face. “She does give plenty of pleasure.”

Even though she was the one to bring it up, she felt her face turn warm. And there was no point in denying it. He could see her blush just as easily as she could feel it and a faint smile flirted around the corners of his lips.

It wasn’t a full-on smile, but just then it seemed wholly worth the price of her silly blush.

“All right, then.” She clapped her hands together. “Maybe it’s time we go to your office and we look at the marketing materials. If you want to see the mock-up I did, I can pull that up for you, as well.”

His head dipped slightly in agreement. He pushed away from the plane. “That’s what you’re here for.”

Yes. That was what she was there for. Help out with some advertising tips and get back to her own priorities. All she needed to do was keep herself as focused as she’d always been.

Then Max touched her arm, guiding her away from the plane.

She quickened her step toward the hangar door. But she couldn’t walk fast enough to outrun the shivers flitting down her spine.

Chapter Two

“I’m serious,” Emily insisted, several hours later. “There’s no earthly reason why you can’t learn this design program if you want to.”

They’d started out at the conference table in Tanner’s office, but had ended up in Max’s closet-size office where she was hunched on a little stool next to his chair beside his desk. Even though his office was cramped, the computer humming on the desk in front of them was state-of-the-art.

Max just shook his head, though. Despite what she’d found to be an incredibly creative mind as they’d brain-stormed various advertising themes and she’d plugged some of the ideas into the sample website, now he just seemed adamant that he couldn’t also learn the graphics program that she, herself, personally favored. “Tanner’s always had his brochures and stuff designed by a company that specializes in that sort of thing.”

Feeling frustrated, Emily pushed her fingers through her hair, getting caught in her ponytail. She absently tugged on the band until it slid free. “That doesn’t mean they have to be,” she countered. She was focused on the computer screen where she’d been able to pull up her own computer at FortuneSouth over the internet, so she could show him some examples of the projects her department worked on.

She leaned closer to tap the oversize monitor screen. “This is a full-color brochure that we did a few months ago for a special corporate promotion we offered to one of Atlanta’s larger construction firms. We wanted it specifically targeted to their employees. So we did a small print run that we easily handled in-house.” She reached for the computer mouse, unintentionally brushing her hand against his before he quickly moved it away.

Ignoring that, as well as the way her hand tingled, she clicked a few times. Opened a second project so both were displayed. “Same exact brochure layout used again last week with redesigned messaging for a corporate law firm in Boston. Small print run again, minimal time spent revising the variables.”

Max was leaning back in his chair. He’d folded his arms across his chest. “I get the advantage of it,” he said. His voice was flat. “I just don’t know if it’s something I’m going to be able to master. I’m taking care of other stuff around here, too, that I can’t ignore. And if Tanner goes for all those website ideas of yours, I’m gonna be updating that every time I turn around, too.”

“We can minimize the effort of updating,” she assured. “And I admit there are entire courses designed around learning this graphics software.” She scraped her hair back and pushed it through the band. “But I could teach you the basics.”

His lips twisted. “You got the next six months available?”

“Don’t be so negative,” she chided. “It’ll take a few afternoons. It doesn’t have to take you away, entirely, from your other duties. I’ve got the time if you do.”

“Tanner’s going to owe you big.”

She sat up, stretching her back. It felt like she’d been hunched over his desk, sitting on that little stool, for hours. But as fond as she had become of Tanner, she knew she hadn’t made the offer because of him.

That offer came because of Max, himself, and she wasn’t going to lie to herself by pretending otherwise.

“Advertising’s my business. I’m actually good at it,” she said. “I enjoy it. But I usually end up spending most of my time sitting in meetings, directing everyone else’s projects while they get to do the fun stuff.”

His eyebrows shot up. “This is fun?”

She couldn’t help but grin. She had enjoyed coming up with the website as a surprise for Tanner. But she focused on Max. “Don’t pretend you don’t have a creative bone in your body.” She waved at the notes covering his desk. They contained just as many scribbles as hers. “You’re able to focus on the essentials, but not get your thinking locked into a box. Not everyone can do that, you know.”

Instead of smiling himself, though, he compressed his lips. He shifted and his desk chair gave a soft squeak while his gaze focused again on the computer screen. “Are you hungry?”

She blinked. “What?”

“I should’ve closed up shop two hours ago. It’s supper time.”

“Oh.” Of course. Her gaze flew guiltily to the small window that was all his office possessed. The sky was nearly dark. “I’m sorry. I got caught up in what we were doing.” She quickly pushed off the stool and carried it from behind his desk. He’d gotten it from the break room just down the hallway. “Of course you want to be done.” How many times had her assistant, Samantha, back at FortuneSouth had to remind Emily that the employees had lives beyond the walls of the company?

“All I asked was if you were hungry,” he commented before she reached the doorway.

She hesitated. “Well, I guess I am,” she admitted. She hefted the stool a few inches. “I’ll put this back in the break room.”

“Emily—”

She stopped in her tracks again, realizing that it was the first time he’d actually spoken her name.

She liked it.

“I was thinking we could continue this over dinner.”

Surprise held her still. She liked that idea, too. Probably more than she ought to, since it wasn’t exactly a date. Not that she wanted a date.

He was interesting and attractive and smelled incredible, and if she was interested in having a date with anyone, Max’s name would be at the top of a very short list. But the only dates she had planned in her future were those designed to put a baby in her arms.

It was pretty much a foregone conclusion that mentioning that plan to him would put the kibosh on him wanting to spend anything other than a business dinner with her.

“Um, okay. Sure. Unless you’d rather I just come back another day?”

He was already pushing back from his chair and gathering up the papers strewn over his desk. “Nope.” He stuffed the pages into a folder and opened the top drawer of his desk to pull out a set of keys. “Just leave the stool,” he said.

Feeling a little slow in the face of his sudden motion, she quickly set the stool out of the path of the doorway and grabbed her purse from where she’d left it on top of the filing cabinet that stood beneath the little window.

“Wait here while I lock up the front,” he suggested. “I’ve got more doors to take care of out back.”

In minutes, he returned and led the way back to the classrooms, checking doors and light switches as he went, plunging the hallway into darkness. “Hold on.” His hand reached back when she bumped right into him.

“Sorry,” she murmured.

His hand unerringly found hers. “My fault. Nearly there. Two more doors and we’ll be out of here.”

She opened her mouth and let out a silent breath as she followed behind him. She felt as silly as a schoolgirl with her first crush from nothing more than the heat of his fingers against hers.

Too quickly, he’d finished his rounds and they reached the back door. He let go of her hand as he pushed it open. Light from the lampposts outside flooded over them and she waited while he set the security system and locked up. “Do you have a problem with break-ins?”

“No. But Tanner doesn’t take chances, either.” He pocketed his keys and they walked around the building until they reached the parking area near the front of the office.

Aside from the luxury rental car that she’d had since March, the only other vehicle in the lot was a dark pickup truck.

She stopped at her car. “Shall I drive, or follow you?”

His gaze seemed to hesitate on the Mercedes. “What kind of food do you like?”

“How about Red?” Wendy’s husband, Marcos, managed the popular restaurant.

He nodded and headed toward his truck. “See you there.”

Which answered that, she thought, feeling a little pinch that she knew she had no business feeling. She rummaged through her purse, hunting for her key fob. She finally found it and unlocked the car, aware that Max was already in his truck and waiting. She quickly started the car and drove out of the lot, ridiculously conscious of his headlights in her rearview mirror.

By the time they made it to the restaurant and she found a parking spot in the crowded lot, she had her emotions well in hand again. She could see him driving through the lot, and she went inside to get their names on the waiting list while he hunted for his own parking spot.

“Inside, or the courtyard?” the hostess asked.

Emily peered past the people waiting to be seated. The restaurant was located in a converted hacienda and possessed an open-air courtyard in the center of the building. “Courtyard, please.” The heat of the day had passed, leaving the evening temperature nearly perfect. And there were a few tables still available there.

The girl smiled and made a notation on her list before gathering a pile of menus in her hand and moving off with a well-dressed couple.

Emily went out in front again to wait for Max. He was just crossing the parking lot, his legs eating up the distance. “I requested the courtyard,” she told him when he reached her. “If that’s all right with you.”

“It’s fine.” He nodded toward one of the benches situated outside. “You want to sit?”

She made a face. “Feel like my rear end is still flat from sitting too much already.”

He pinched his earlobe. “Whatever I say to that is probably going to get me into trouble.”

She felt her face go warm again. “I wasn’t hunting for a compliment.”

“I wasn’t trying to look at your rear end all afternoon, either,” his voice was matter-of-fact. “Some things just happen when a woman looks like you.”

Her jaw loosened. She didn’t know what to say to that. So she said nothing, and the silence started to stretch awkwardly.