Just One Dance
Book Three of the Billionaire Barons of Texas Series
Chapter One
“What you need is a man.”
Standing over her latest compound mixture, the dropper in her hand fell to the floor as Eve Baron snapped her head around to face her assistant. “Excuse me?”
“You work too hard.” Isabel Santorini had been the best compounder, assistant that Eve had ever worked with. The standard white lab coat did little to hide the woman’s gothic wardrobe, complete with heavy combat boots that thudded their way across the commercial linoleum floors. Nor did the plethora of strategically pierced studs along with raven black dyed hair and striking makeup choices give any hint of the brilliant mind that had worked beside Eve since the day she started Le Perfumerie. “I can sense your tension the minute I cross the threshold. You need a good roll in the hay.”
“What I need,” Eve spun around and handed Isabel a list of her latest choices, “is for you to compound these and leave my love life alone.”
“Would love to. If you had one.” Isabel flashed a toothy grin. “Love life, that is.”
“My love life is just fine. Thank you.”
Isabel set a dish of cheese and fresh finger fruits in front of her. “Sure it is. That’s why you’ve been sleeping on the sofa in your office all week.”
Eve could do little more than roll her eyes. The woman was right. Eve loved her work, loved being her own boss. From the moment she’d discovered the art of mixing perfumes and that she was darn good at it, better than creating adhesive compounds for safety stickers, she’d strived to build her reputation and her own business. Now it wasn’t uncommon that when she worked on a particularly enchanting scent, time would get away from her and she’d crash on the sofa. On the bright side, working crazy long days for stretches at a time kept her from remembering basic necessities like food, which helped keep her in the same size clothes she’d worn since high school. A caring nagger, Isabel made sure that Eve at least didn’t starve to death.
“Thanks. I didn’t realize I was hungry.” Eve popped a morsel of cheese in her mouth.
“For food or men?”
“Will you stop that!” The last thing Eve needed now was a romantic liaison.
“I’m serious. Never mind the roll in the hay. When was the last time you went out on a date?”
“Two weeks ago, at the Shelters for Women annual gala.”
One pitch black eyebrow lifted high on Isabel’s forehead and her charcoal lips pursed in bitter disagreement. “Jack Preston doesn’t count. Even though the man is sexy as hell, he might as well be your brother. Heaven knows no honorable man would be willing to cross the line with his best friend’s little sister. Especially when the brother is a Baron and has two more brothers to back him up in a brawl.”
There wasn’t much of an argument she could give. Jack Preston, her brother Kyle’s college buddy, had been her go-to date for charity events and weddings for some time now. It made for great photographs, fed the gossip mill to keep her preferred charities in the news, and repelled unwanted gold-digging male attention. Too bad he wasn’t available for tonight’s Housing for Heroes event. The entire evening was planned around her joint donation with a major cosmetics company of the naming rights to a recent scent creation. Everyone expected the fundraiser to be a bumper crop night for the non-profit that had done so much for struggling veterans. At least for tonight her grandparents would be in attendance. Not the same as an escort on her arm, but a safe haven nonetheless. Speaking of which, she glanced down at her wrist watch. Three o’clock. If she high-tailed it out of here she’d be able to beat some of the miserable Houston traffic. One of these days she’d move the operation out of downtown, sell her townhouse in the Heights, and set up in a cheaper, less congested northern suburb. Some day.
She tossed a grape in her mouth and a morsel of mozzarella, then scooped the dish into her hand to finish nibbling on her way out the door. “Thanks for the snack, but I need to get moving if I want to wear something other than my lab coat to tonight’s banquet.”
Isabel stepped back and nodded. Eve was almost out the door when her assistant shouted after her, “If you find a hot bachelor, take him home with you!”
* * * * * *
Pepper limping home was the crown on a miserably hot and unproductive day. If today’s mishaps were an indication of how tonight would go, Jared Gold was in serious trouble.
“Uh oh.” Older than dirt, with legs as bowed as the St Louis arch, there was no man on this planet that Jared would trust with his horses as much as he trusted Randy. “What happened?”
“Good question. We’d barely ridden the first small section of fence on the east pasture when she started favoring one side. I climbed off and checked her shoes, but didn’t see anything. I’m guessing she’s got a stone bruise. Before we went out this morning I cleaned out some pebbles from her shoes, but you know how it goes.”
Salt and pepper brows buckled under loose locks of cayenne red hair. “You wear your boots out walking her all the way back?”
“Just about.” Jared patted the horse’s neck and scratched under her jaw. “Didn’t want to take any chances.”
“Smart man.” Randy smiled and reached for the reins. “I’ll take a look at her. You’d better be gettin’. Your mama has called me three times in the last hour, looking for you.”
“Blast.” Jared snapped his fingers and glanced at his phone. Almost five thirty and two missed calls from his mother. “Tonight’s that stupid gala. Promised Mom I’d step in for Dad.”
“So she said, but isn’t this the fundraiser for building homes for troubled or disabled vets?”
Jared nodded.
“Doesn’t sound stupid to me.”
“No.” Jared blew out a long sigh. He stood corrected. The ranch foreman had been like a second father to him for as long as he could remember. Jason Gold was a great dad but had no interest in the ranch that had been in his family since Texas was its own republic. Everything Jared knew about horses and ranching he’d learned first from his Pawpaw, and then from Randy. Everything he’d learned about being a man and a decent human being had come from both his biological and ranch families. “It’s a great cause. One I’d be happy to cut a nice check for. It’s the dinner and endless superficial chatter that’s going to be a stupid way to spend my night.”
“Understood.” Randy was a cowboy through and through. He’d never survive a night buttoned up in a tuxedo and sipping champagne. Though the way Jared felt at the moment, he wasn’t all that sure he’d survive a night dressed like a penguin, making nice to Houston’s social elite either.
Handing his horse over, Jared spun around in the direction of the main house. The day he had graduated from A&M, his dad handed him the keys to the front door, all the books for the ranch, including his name on all the banking accounts, and moved himself and his wife into a lush little four thousand square foot house nestled in the heart of a two acre treed lot in the burbs. Both his mom and dad had never been happier.
His next thought was how hard would it be to talk his mother into finding a last minute replacement. Even she would understand any human being would be dead to the world after walking for hours across the ranch on foot with a lame horse. Expecting him to dress up and be social was asking a lot under the circumstances.
“About time.” The front door barely latched behind him, his mother appeared in the library doorway. “You’re not answering your phone.” She sniffed the air. “And you need a shower. A long shower.” Despite her announcement of his less than pleasant odiferous contribution to the room, she marched straight up to him and kissed him on his cheek. “We don’t want to be late.”
All dolled up in a sleek black evening gown, her favorite sapphire and diamond earrings with matching necklace, and her hair high on her head in a simple style that showed off the depth of her sparkling sky blue eyes, he remembered how excited she’d been when he agreed to share a night out with her only son. He simply didn’t have the heart to confess how bone tired he was. “I need a few extra minutes.”
Her gaze softened and her hand gently cupped his cheeks. “Hard day?”
“You could say that.”
Love and concern shone clearly in her eyes. “What happened?”
He shook his head. “Had to walk Pepper home. She’s limping.”
“Oh, dear.” Her expression crumpled with concern. His mom may not have been cut out to be a country girl, but her kindheartedness extended from animals to humans alike. Tonight’s charity du jour was for veterans, next week it could be for stray cats. “Nothing serious, I hope.”
“Me too. Randy will let me know, but right now a long hot shower would do me good.”
“Take a soak. We can be a little late.” She rubbed her hand along his cheek again.
Strangely enough, even though he was a grown man who didn’t need or want coddling, his mom’s loving touch still had a way of making him feel better. There was no way he could disappoint her by asking to skip tonight. Maybe if he were lucky he could avoid all the annoying people and just spend the night dancing with his mom.
“I’ll call for Mary. Have her make you some hot chocolate. Good for the soul after a hard day.” Mary had been the family housekeeper since before Jared was born. She was as devoted to the Gold family as she was to her own.
“Thanks, Mom.” Offering a return smile and gentle squeeze of her hand, he proceeded up the winding staircase to the master suite at the end of the upstairs hall. He might have to nix the hot chocolate and down a gallon of coffee instead, otherwise his mom might find him sleeping in his soup tonight. Maybe a fifteen minute power nap would help.
Collapsed on his bed, eyes closed, he had no idea if he’d fallen asleep or not when a rap sounded at his bedroom door. “Come in.”
The door swung open and carrying a tray, Mary smiled at him sweetly. “Your mother asked me to bring you some hot chocolate. I thought you might prefer coffee. Brought the whole carafe.”
“Bless you.” He pulled himself upright. There were many things in life he had no doubt about, but he wasn’t so sure this house could run without Mary. He knew she was getting up there in years. She’d lost her only son and daughter-in-law in a car accident a few years back and was now raising her only grandson. Some days he thought the responsibility of raising a young boy and taking care of him was more than a woman of her age should take on, and then there were times he was convinced with a heart of gold that woman would outlive them all. At least for tonight, coffee pot in hand, she was his knight in shining armor. Hopefully, for his mother’s sake, consumption of the liquid caffeine would be enough to convert him from an exhausted cowboy into Prince Charming.
“What you need is a man.”
Standing over her latest compound mixture, the dropper in her hand fell to the floor as Eve Baron snapped her head around to face her assistant. “Excuse me?”
“You work too hard.” Isabel Santorini had been the best compounder, assistant that Eve had ever worked with. The standard white lab coat did little to hide the woman’s gothic wardrobe, complete with heavy combat boots that thudded their way across the commercial linoleum floors. Nor did the plethora of strategically pierced studs along with raven black dyed hair and striking makeup choices give any hint of the brilliant mind that had worked beside Eve since the day she started Le Perfumerie. “I can sense your tension the minute I cross the threshold. You need a good roll in the hay.”
“What I need,” Eve spun around and handed Isabel a list of her latest choices, “is for you to compound these and leave my love life alone.”
“Would love to. If you had one.” Isabel flashed a toothy grin. “Love life, that is.”
“My love life is just fine. Thank you.”
Isabel set a dish of cheese and fresh finger fruits in front of her. “Sure it is. That’s why you’ve been sleeping on the sofa in your office all week.”
Eve could do little more than roll her eyes. The woman was right. Eve loved her work, loved being her own boss. From the moment she’d discovered the art of mixing perfumes and that she was darn good at it, better than creating adhesive compounds for safety stickers, she’d strived to build her reputation and her own business. Now it wasn’t uncommon that when she worked on a particularly enchanting scent, time would get away from her and she’d crash on the sofa. On the bright side, working crazy long days for stretches at a time kept her from remembering basic necessities like food, which helped keep her in the same size clothes she’d worn since high school. A caring nagger, Isabel made sure that Eve at least didn’t starve to death.
“Thanks. I didn’t realize I was hungry.” Eve popped a morsel of cheese in her mouth.
“For food or men?”
“Will you stop that!” The last thing Eve needed now was a romantic liaison.
“I’m serious. Never mind the roll in the hay. When was the last time you went out on a date?”
“Two weeks ago, at the Shelters for Women annual gala.”
One pitch black eyebrow lifted high on Isabel’s forehead and her charcoal lips pursed in bitter disagreement. “Jack Preston doesn’t count. Even though the man is sexy as hell, he might as well be your brother. Heaven knows no honorable man would be willing to cross the line with his best friend’s little sister. Especially when the brother is a Baron and has two more brothers to back him up in a brawl.”
There wasn’t much of an argument she could give. Jack Preston, her brother Kyle’s college buddy, had been her go-to date for charity events and weddings for some time now. It made for great photographs, fed the gossip mill to keep her preferred charities in the news, and repelled unwanted gold-digging male attention. Too bad he wasn’t available for tonight’s Housing for Heroes event. The entire evening was planned around her joint donation with a major cosmetics company of the naming rights to a recent scent creation. Everyone expected the fundraiser to be a bumper crop night for the non-profit that had done so much for struggling veterans. At least for tonight her grandparents would be in attendance. Not the same as an escort on her arm, but a safe haven nonetheless. Speaking of which, she glanced down at her wrist watch. Three o’clock. If she high-tailed it out of here she’d be able to beat some of the miserable Houston traffic. One of these days she’d move the operation out of downtown, sell her townhouse in the Heights, and set up in a cheaper, less congested northern suburb. Some day.
She tossed a grape in her mouth and a morsel of mozzarella, then scooped the dish into her hand to finish nibbling on her way out the door. “Thanks for the snack, but I need to get moving if I want to wear something other than my lab coat to tonight’s banquet.”
Isabel stepped back and nodded. Eve was almost out the door when her assistant shouted after her, “If you find a hot bachelor, take him home with you!”
* * * * * *
Pepper limping home was the crown on a miserably hot and unproductive day. If today’s mishaps were an indication of how tonight would go, Jared Gold was in serious trouble.
“Uh oh.” Older than dirt, with legs as bowed as the St Louis arch, there was no man on this planet that Jared would trust with his horses as much as he trusted Randy. “What happened?”
“Good question. We’d barely ridden the first small section of fence on the east pasture when she started favoring one side. I climbed off and checked her shoes, but didn’t see anything. I’m guessing she’s got a stone bruise. Before we went out this morning I cleaned out some pebbles from her shoes, but you know how it goes.”
Salt and pepper brows buckled under loose locks of cayenne red hair. “You wear your boots out walking her all the way back?”
“Just about.” Jared patted the horse’s neck and scratched under her jaw. “Didn’t want to take any chances.”
“Smart man.” Randy smiled and reached for the reins. “I’ll take a look at her. You’d better be gettin’. Your mama has called me three times in the last hour, looking for you.”
“Blast.” Jared snapped his fingers and glanced at his phone. Almost five thirty and two missed calls from his mother. “Tonight’s that stupid gala. Promised Mom I’d step in for Dad.”
“So she said, but isn’t this the fundraiser for building homes for troubled or disabled vets?”
Jared nodded.
“Doesn’t sound stupid to me.”
“No.” Jared blew out a long sigh. He stood corrected. The ranch foreman had been like a second father to him for as long as he could remember. Jason Gold was a great dad but had no interest in the ranch that had been in his family since Texas was its own republic. Everything Jared knew about horses and ranching he’d learned first from his Pawpaw, and then from Randy. Everything he’d learned about being a man and a decent human being had come from both his biological and ranch families. “It’s a great cause. One I’d be happy to cut a nice check for. It’s the dinner and endless superficial chatter that’s going to be a stupid way to spend my night.”
“Understood.” Randy was a cowboy through and through. He’d never survive a night buttoned up in a tuxedo and sipping champagne. Though the way Jared felt at the moment, he wasn’t all that sure he’d survive a night dressed like a penguin, making nice to Houston’s social elite either.
Handing his horse over, Jared spun around in the direction of the main house. The day he had graduated from A&M, his dad handed him the keys to the front door, all the books for the ranch, including his name on all the banking accounts, and moved himself and his wife into a lush little four thousand square foot house nestled in the heart of a two acre treed lot in the burbs. Both his mom and dad had never been happier.
His next thought was how hard would it be to talk his mother into finding a last minute replacement. Even she would understand any human being would be dead to the world after walking for hours across the ranch on foot with a lame horse. Expecting him to dress up and be social was asking a lot under the circumstances.
“About time.” The front door barely latched behind him, his mother appeared in the library doorway. “You’re not answering your phone.” She sniffed the air. “And you need a shower. A long shower.” Despite her announcement of his less than pleasant odiferous contribution to the room, she marched straight up to him and kissed him on his cheek. “We don’t want to be late.”
All dolled up in a sleek black evening gown, her favorite sapphire and diamond earrings with matching necklace, and her hair high on her head in a simple style that showed off the depth of her sparkling sky blue eyes, he remembered how excited she’d been when he agreed to share a night out with her only son. He simply didn’t have the heart to confess how bone tired he was. “I need a few extra minutes.”
Her gaze softened and her hand gently cupped his cheeks. “Hard day?”
“You could say that.”
Love and concern shone clearly in her eyes. “What happened?”
He shook his head. “Had to walk Pepper home. She’s limping.”
“Oh, dear.” Her expression crumpled with concern. His mom may not have been cut out to be a country girl, but her kindheartedness extended from animals to humans alike. Tonight’s charity du jour was for veterans, next week it could be for stray cats. “Nothing serious, I hope.”
“Me too. Randy will let me know, but right now a long hot shower would do me good.”
“Take a soak. We can be a little late.” She rubbed her hand along his cheek again.
Strangely enough, even though he was a grown man who didn’t need or want coddling, his mom’s loving touch still had a way of making him feel better. There was no way he could disappoint her by asking to skip tonight. Maybe if he were lucky he could avoid all the annoying people and just spend the night dancing with his mom.
“I’ll call for Mary. Have her make you some hot chocolate. Good for the soul after a hard day.” Mary had been the family housekeeper since before Jared was born. She was as devoted to the Gold family as she was to her own.
“Thanks, Mom.” Offering a return smile and gentle squeeze of her hand, he proceeded up the winding staircase to the master suite at the end of the upstairs hall. He might have to nix the hot chocolate and down a gallon of coffee instead, otherwise his mom might find him sleeping in his soup tonight. Maybe a fifteen minute power nap would help.
Collapsed on his bed, eyes closed, he had no idea if he’d fallen asleep or not when a rap sounded at his bedroom door. “Come in.”
The door swung open and carrying a tray, Mary smiled at him sweetly. “Your mother asked me to bring you some hot chocolate. I thought you might prefer coffee. Brought the whole carafe.”
“Bless you.” He pulled himself upright. There were many things in life he had no doubt about, but he wasn’t so sure this house could run without Mary. He knew she was getting up there in years. She’d lost her only son and daughter-in-law in a car accident a few years back and was now raising her only grandson. Some days he thought the responsibility of raising a young boy and taking care of him was more than a woman of her age should take on, and then there were times he was convinced with a heart of gold that woman would outlive them all. At least for tonight, coffee pot in hand, she was his knight in shining armor. Hopefully, for his mother’s sake, consumption of the liquid caffeine would be enough to convert him from an exhausted cowboy into Prince Charming.
E-Books
|
|
|
|
|
|
Save 10% on E-Books when you buy direct from Chris !
