No Ordinary Fortune

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.”

Chapter Three (#ue1861221-de40-5bf0-88dc-9198355241e0)

Schuyler hadn’t meant to be deceitful. Nor had she tried to “con a con man.” So it really ought to bother her to have Carlo assume that she was playing him. But in reality, she was a bit turned on by the fact that he wasn’t like other men—and that she couldn’t charm him into submission, like she was often able to do.

As Carlo continued to stare at her as if reading her innermost thoughts, as if he understood her better than anyone else in the world, she realized, for some inexplicable reason, that she actually wanted him to.

“Who are you?” he asked again, his demeanor cool and unaffected.

Admiration and attraction went up another notch. “I told you before. My name is Schuyler Fortunado, but you can also call me Schuyler Fortune.”

He furrowed his brow, clearly confused—and unconvinced.

She’d better explain. “Gerald Robinson’s father is my grandfather—which makes Gerald my uncle. But my father was illegitimate and kept secret from the family.”

“But why’d you show up here, at the Mendoza Distribution Center?”

“Because I want to get to know the Fortunes. Rather than pop in on them unannounced, I decided it would be best to take a slow-and-easy approach in meeting them. And since the Mendozas have strong family ties with them, I thought I’d start with you.”

“I’m not going to be very helpful.”

“Maybe. Maybe not. Either way, you have to admit that today turned out to be a win-win for both of us. You needed my help. And I needed to meet someone who knows the Fortunes, even if it’s by six degrees of separation.”

“You also need a job.” Carlo sat back in his seat, no doubt stretching out his legs under the table. “Money, too, I suspect.”

So he didn’t believe what she’d told him about the trust fund and thought she was in it for a payday. That’s where he was wrong.

Schuyler lifted her wineglass and took another sip. “Contrary to what you might think, the Fortunes’ wealth has nothing to do with this. You see, just like my uncle, Jerome Fortune, aka Gerald Robinson, my father is a self-made man.”

“So you say.” The intensity of his gaze nearly bored into the very heart of her, but he was way off.

“Why are you so skeptical of me?” she asked.

“Shouldn’t I be?”

“I suppose it’s only natural.” She blew a little sigh out the side of her mouth. He wasn’t going to be an easy man to win over. And oddly enough, that made him all the more appealing.

“Just to be clear,” he said, “the Fortunes are experts at recognizing impostors and gold diggers.”

“No doubt they are, but I can assure you, some people don’t need a famous name to be successful. If you’re smart and the cards are in your favor, you can make it to the top. And my father is as smart as they come. He’s lucky, too. A real King Midas. He parlayed a winning lottery ticket into real estate, and his investments paid off. He now lives in the most exclusive area of Houston and owns an agency in a downtown high-rise, with branches in Austin and San Antonio.”

“Fortunado Real Estate?”

“That’s us. So, you see, we don’t need the Fortunes’ money.”

Before Carlo could answer, Alfonso stopped by the table with a basket of bread, olive oil and balsamic. Then he took their orders.

When they were alone again, Carlo picked up the conversation where they’d left off. “If your family has plenty of money, why the interest in the Fortunes?”

“Actually, my father and most of my siblings aren’t interested in forging a connection. At least, that’s what they told me.” She reached into the basket, removed a warm slice of bread and tore off one side of the crust. “I suspect they’re curious, but they’re not sure about making any changes to our family dynamics.”

“And you’re not concerned about that?”

Schuyler wouldn’t mind seeing a slight shift in the Fortunado family dynamics. For one thing, she’d like to see artistic expression valued as much as an advanced degree or a head for business.

“I’m more open-minded than the other Fortunados,” she said. “So I decided to check out the Fortunes for myself.”

Carlo studied her once again, as if he still couldn’t buy her story. She lifted her wineglass and took a drink. Dang, it was good. No wonder those chefs had been impressed.

“Believe it or not,” Schuyler said, “I’m as honest as the day is long.”

“Except when you hold back information.”

“Well, that’s true.” She popped the crust into her mouth. Mmm. Homemade and fresh from the oven.

“It seems to me,” Carlo said, “that you’d be better off talking to Ariana Lamonte, who wrote those articles and blogs for Weird Life magazine about the Fortunes.”

“I already did.” Apparently, he didn’t realize she’d done her homework. “Her articles actually convinced me that my suspicion was right and triggered my quest. And by the way, in case you didn’t know, her last name is Fortune now. She married Jayden Fortune from Paseo, Texas.”