Texas Heir

“I wanted to let my executive team know before the news hits the papers,” Reed was saying. “Daphne Harwood and I are engaged. We’re planning an early spring wedding.”

What did he say?

People jumped up, shaking his hand and congratulating him. Cari felt herself turning to stone. All her dreams, everything she’d ever hoped for, ended in that moment. Somewhere within her she found the strength to get to her feet. She had to. She was a professional.

Without shoes.

Was there something symbolic in that? What could it be? If Reed had a glass slipper, she definitely had a foot to put in it. A bubble of hysterical laughter rose in her throat and she immediately pushed it down.

“I would like for you to meet her. She’s waiting in my office.” He pushed a button on the phone to his left and then glanced at them. “Please make her feel welcome.” Reed motioned to someone at the door and a goddess walked in. That was the only way to describe Reed’s fiancée, Daphne. Tall, with champagne-blond hair and gorgeous blue eyes, Daphne’s body was a perfect ten on anyone’s scale.

Even Cari’s.

Where in the hell did she come from? Marisa hadn’t mentioned Reed was dating anyone special. Reed’s dating life was a revolving door of beautiful women. No one had told her the door had stopped revolving. When did this happen?

Reed was introducing Daphne to each person and explaining their job. Oh great! She stood on her tiptoes, not that that was going to help her height a lot. Why did she have to break her damn heel?

There wasn’t enough Tylenol in the world to fix this day.

Or her broken heart.

She braced herself as they approached.

“This is Cari Michaels, vice president,” Reed said. “She’s basically my right hand. I can always depend on Cari to—” he noticed her shoeless feet and torn slacks “—what happened?”

“Nothing.” She brushed his concern away. “I took a tumble in the garage and broke a heel, that’s all.”

“Maybe you should see a doctor,” Daphne said in a silky voice that managed to rub against Cari’s nerves like coarse burlap.

“Yes,” Reed said. “That’s a good idea.”

“No.” Cari felt dwarfed and insignificant by the tall goddess and Reed standing side by side. They reminded her of a model bride and groom atop a wedding cake. “I’m fine, really.” She held out her hand. As their palms touched, she noted Daphne’s fingers were soft, fragile almost, but that’s not what held Cari’s attention. It was the large diamond sparkling on her left hand. “It’s nice to meet you and I wish you both the very best.”

She moved away as quickly as possible, her words ringing in her ears. She prayed they’d sounded normal. She could be a sore loser if she had ever been in the game, but she had never even walked onto the field.

Only in her dreams.

“Cari.” Reed caught up with her at the door. “Our plane leaves at one. Will you be ready? We can postpone the trip if you’re not up to it.”

Good heavens, the morning’s events had caused the scheduled September trip to the El Paso store to slip her mind. Her overnight bag was in her car, so her amnesia was only temporary. Reed made random visits to all the stores. He kept an up-close-and-personal connection with every store manager. They were all eager to please him.

He’d said she was his right hand and she supposed that was true. She made the trips with him and together with the manager they went over every minute detail for improvement. This was a system implemented by Reed. Richard Preston rarely visited his stores unless it was an emergency, such as a store not showing a profit.

She usually enjoyed the trips, but this one suddenly took on a feeling of gloom and doom. Spending two hours with Reed in a plane would be pure torture.

He was marrying someone else.

A painful knot clenched her stomach. The fall was the excuse she needed to avoid the trip and she was going to use it.

Coward.

The word ran through her system like the cheap moonshine she and her cousins had gotten drunk on as teenagers. It had made her sick then and she felt sick now.

But she’d never taken the easy way out and she wasn’t about to start.

“I’m fine and I’ll be ready.”

With as much dignity as possible, she walked out of the room.

REED STARED after her. Cari looked upset and he wondered why. She couldn’t be upset about the engagement, could she? It was probably just her fall. He should cancel the trip, yet Cari would have a fit if he treated her with kid gloves. She was direct and honest and he had to take her at her word.

His sister, Marisa, had really hoped he and Cari would become a couple, but they had never made that connection. Cari was a bundle of energy, determined to succeed in the business world. With sheer grit and guts, she had climbed the corporate ladder at Dalton’s.

Her confidence and drive sometimes threw him. He was used to women fawning over him and going out of their way to please him. Cari had done none of those things. She taunted him by calling him Junior and her dark eyes dared him to reprimand her, which he often did.

They had that type of relationship, vocal and explosive. Sparks always seemed to fly when they were together. It was a great working relationship. That was the most important thing to both of them.

The situation had changed somewhat last Fourth of July and he still cursed himself for his momentary lapse. Marisa and her husband, Colter, had thrown a big party at their ranch and Cari and Reed were invited along with a lot of their friends. Everyone else there was part of a couple, so they were paired together. The evening had been fun, with a lot of laughing and ribbing. In the backyard they popped fireworks and watched the glittering sparks light up the sky.

Standing in the moonlight, Cari had smiled at him and without thinking he’d kissed her. It lasted a mind-blowing split second before he realized what he was doing and pulled away. Cari had never shown a romantic interest in him. Her career was her life. She gave Dalton’s one hundred percent of herself and he wasn’t jeopardizing that. They had a business relationship. Period.

In a rush he’d said, “Happy Fourth of July.”

She’d smiled and wished him the same.

Her reaction was a relief. No way was he dating a woman who worked for him even if his sister wanted him to. He steered clear of setups. His parents were constantly trying to fix him up with the perfect woman. Their attention to his marital status made him feel pressured and restless. It was important to him that he make his own choices, especially in women.

At times, though, he wondered what would have happened if he hadn’t stopped kissing Cari.

“Darling.” Daphne laid a hand on his arm. “Is everything okay?”

He looked into her beautiful eyes and was so grateful he’d finally found the woman for him. It had been a whirlwind courtship and at the end of four weeks he’d proposed.

Marriage had never been on his list of top priorities. His parents had a marriage from hell and his friends were all playing marriage roulette. He had to admit that Marisa and Colter were happy, and as he grew older he realized he wanted that—to find the perfect woman, if there was such a person, to share his life and to raise a family together.

His parents had manipulated him and Marisa all their lives and the last thing Reed needed was a woman his parents had picked for him. Ironically a business acquaintance of his dad’s had been invited for dinner and his daughter was in town. His mother was a fanatic about her dinner parties and the proper seating. She’d begged Reed to attend so the young woman wouldn’t feel out of place.

To his surprise he and Daphne had hit it off from the start. She was independently wealthy, so she wasn’t after him for his money. She was a ballet dancer and had just returned from touring France. That threw him at first because his mother had been a dancer, but Daphne was different. She donated a lot of her time to children’s charities and put on special shows to entertain many of them. He admired everything about her. Also, she wanted a home and family like he did. They were perfect for each other.

The date hadn’t been a setup. His parents hadn’t even known Mr. Harwood’s daughter was in town until the last minute. So it was a nice surprise for all of them.

“Yes.” He kissed her cheek. “Everything is fine.”

For some reason though he couldn’t stop himself from staring at the doorway where Cari had stood.

CARI RUSHED through her secretary’s office to reach her own, not bothering to go through her private entrance. “Get me a tall mocha frappuccino with an extra shot of espresso, please,” she said to Heather.

“Yes, ma’am.” Heather was instantly on her feet.