Fortune's Unexpected Groom

She placed her hand on her stomach. Giving him that part of herself had led to another gift … a baby that would tie them together. Forever. Whether they got married or not.

She pressed her fingertips over her closed eyelids and tried to obliterate the image of herself in Tanner’s arms. When that didn’t work, she opened her eyes and forced her mind onto a different train of thought.

Maybe Tanner had come to the office to tell her he’d changed his mind. Jordana sat up straighter in her chair. Yes, that was better. Maybe he had to go back to Red Rock earlier than expected, and had come to say goodbye …?

As much as she wanted to believe it, she knew inherently it wasn’t so. He’d been too persistent that morning. So persistent, in fact, he’d almost been convincing … that they could get married and be a family … the three of them. That somehow love could bloom in the shadow of a marriage in name only.

A life built on a foundation of resentment held together by a mortar of obligation and duty.

She drummed her manicured fingers on the desk. Why was Tanner so eager, when he hadn’t even cared enough to call her since they’d said goodbye in late December? Was she selling her child short by not even considering the possibility of a life with Tanner?

The thought turned the skin on her arms to gooseflesh.

Could it work? She’d been so embarrassed seeing Tanner again for the first time since that night, she hadn’t even allowed herself to think about possibility and hope. That she and Tanner might be able to get married first and learn to love each other later.

Her pulse beat in her ears like a ticking bomb, and for a moment, she let herself go there. She imagined living together as a family, spending holidays together, rather than alternating time with their child as dictated by a custody agreement, celebrating all those milestones in their child’s life that Tanner had insisted he would be there for, whether she liked it or not. She imagined waking up in his bed—their bed—every morning. And then the reality bomb exploded when Tanner was absent from her vision. Instead, she saw herself waking up alone; he was nowhere to be found because he didn’t love her … or maybe it was because she didn’t love him.

Tanner wanted to marry her. Yet, he didn’t even know her. Not in the the-man-I-marry-will-know-all-about-me-and-still-love-me-despite-myself sort of way.

The way she’d always dreamed her marriage would be.

Jordana wanted to do right by her child and give the baby the best possible life. But agreeing to a loveless marriage simply wouldn’t be what was best for the child. The realization brought with it the kind of sadness that made her heart ache down to its very center.

She’d been so careful her entire life, saving herself for just the right man, and one careless move had changed everything. All her life she’d dreamed of falling in love and having a family of her own. In those dreams the man she loved had loved her back with a ferocity that could move mountains. If she agreed to Tanner’s impulsive, loveless plan, they would end up hating each other, and the one who would suffer the most would be their child.

Suddenly, what she needed to do was perfectly clear. She needed to have a frank conversation with Tanner—right now, outside of the office—and set things straight once and for all. The sooner he was on a plane back to Red Rock, the better off everyone would be.

John Michael Fortune had a bad reputation of being a hard-ass. But Tanner knew from personal experience a person didn’t get to Mr. Fortune’s station in life without being strong willed and having a clear-focused vision of what he wanted.

That’s why when John Michael entered the lobby as Tanner waited for Jordana, he greeted her father like an old family friend. Tanner had spoken with the Atlanta Fortune patriarch only on a handful of occasions, and was much closer to the Fortunes of his own generation, such as Scott Fortune, Jordana’s brother. But to his pleasant surprise, John Michael rewarded Tanner’s fortitude with a hardy clap on the back and a firm handshake.

“Tanner Redmond, good to see you,” he said.

“Mr. Fortune,” Tanner returned.

He hoped John Michael’s greeting was the beginning of a long and amiable relationship. Because it would make life much easier for everyone involved if he and the grandfather of his child were on solid terms.

“How’s business?” John Michael asked. “I heard Redmond Flight School took a beating in that tornado.”

“Business has never been better.” Tanner stood a little taller reporting this news, because it was true. “It was rough in the days following the storm, especially after one of my flight instructors, Gary Tompkins, died. But we worked hard and pulled everything together. Business had to carry on. I’m sure you know how that is.”

John Michael nodded. “I was sorry to hear Gary died. Scott told me he was a real asset to Redmond Flight School. But you have a good attitude. So is everything rebuilt and repaired?”

“Sure is. In fact, I’m looking into expanding. I want to begin offering charter services before the end of the year. I have a line on a Cessna Citation that’s on the market for a reasonable price. If I get it, I’m going to hire a crew and a pilot.”

John Michael’s right brow arched. “Sounds ambitious, but it also sounds like you know your stuff. I’m sure you have everything under control. What brings you to Atlanta? Are you here on business?”

Mustering his most sincere smile, Tanner responded, “I’m here to see Jordana. I’m taking her to lunch.”

John Michael did a double take and furrowed his brow.

“I didn’t realize you and my daughter were seeing each other.” The look on the older man’s face did not suggest objection; surprise and puzzlement, maybe, but not dissent. “Red Rock to Atlanta is quite a commute for a lunch date. Is this relationship serious? That daughter of mine never tells her mother and me anything.”

Tanner worried the button at the cuff of his blue oxford shirt as he considered how to answer the question. That’s when it hit him: his best chance at getting Jordana to marry him was standing right in front of him. If her father was on board with the wedding, Jordana would be more likely to agree. He looked the man square in his brown eyes—a feature Jordana had inherited from her father.

“Yes, sir, I believe we are serious. In fact, one of the reasons I’ve come all this way is to ask you a very important question—actually, I’d like to talk to you before I take Jordana to lunch. Would you happen to have a moment now, or should I make an appointment with you?”

John Michael’s expression suddenly sobered and he studied Tanner as if searching for weakness. Tanner redoubled his resolve to carry through with what he knew he had to do.

“Please hold my calls,” John Michael instructed the receptionist. “Come to my office, Tanner.”

Tanner let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. He reminded himself that despite the man’s formidable reputation, he’d seemed easy enough to get along with. Of course, that was before John Michael realized Tanner had his eye on Jordana. Tanner could only hope his future father-in-law would be this even-tempered once he learned exactly how serious his and Jordana’s relationship had become.

Jordana made her way out to the lobby to collect Tanner, but when she got there he was gone. She glanced around the empty reception area.

“Where did he go?” she asked Marta. “Did he leave?”

“No, he’s in your father’s office.”

“What?” Jordana’s heart constricted then lodged in her windpipe. She had to clear her throat before she could muster a calm voice and ask, “How long have they been in there?”

Marta squinted at the clock on the wall, then pushed a strand of brown hair off her forehead. “Not very long. Your father arrived shortly after I buzzed you to let you know Mr. Redmond had arrived. Mr. Fortune asked me to hold all calls, but I’m sure he wouldn’t mind if I buzzed him to say you’re looking for him and Mr. Redmond.”

Jordana stared out the floor-to-ceiling windows along the office’s front wall as the ramifications of what might be happening—that Tanner might be telling her father about the baby before she could—settled around her. The gorgeous view of the Atlanta skyline seemed to tilt a little. She steadied herself on the edge of the reception desk and shifted her gaze to the leather chairs in the waiting area.

“No, that’s okay. I’ll just wait until they’re finished.”

Like heck she’d wait. What in the world was Tanner doing in her father’s office? Well, there was only one way to find out.

As soon as she was out of Marta’s line of sight, Jordana speed-walked down the parquet-covered hallway toward her father’s office, her high heels tap-tapping on the wood. In the process, she nearly ran into the intern, who was looking down at a stack of papers as he stepped out of the copy room.

“Oh, excuse me,” he said. “I’m sorry, Miss Fortune. I wasn’t watching where I was going.”

She mustered her best smile and kept walking as she said, “No problem, Ben. I was … I’m sorry, too.”

When she reached her father’s office door, she paused before she knocked, composing in her head what she’d say to them.

Well, it would depend on her father’s demeanor. If he was in a good mood, then Tanner hadn’t betrayed her; if he was in a bad mood … it was a good thing she could run in heels. But then there would be the moral dilemma whether she should check on Tanner, because if he spilled the beans, her father would surely kill him.

And if her dad didn’t, she would.

Before she could knock, the door opened and she was standing in front of her father. Tanner, she noted, was a few paces behind him—still standing. No visible bodily harm.

For a moment that seemed to last a lifetime, Jordana held her breath as she gauged her father’s mood.

“Jordana, there you are.” He smiled.

Jordana exhaled. Good mood. He was in a good mood. Oh, thank God.