Expecting...in Texas Read Online Free PDF Page A

guarantee you’ll earn your pay. My father doesn’t let anyone coast along, not even his own kids. Especially hisown kids,” Dallas amended. But there was no bitterness in his voice. “A little hard work never killed anyone, but I did want you to know what you were getting yourself into.”
    “Information duly noted,” Savannah said, growing a little breathless. Dallas was far more taken with the execution of fancy footwork than Cruz, had been. With Cruz she’d been more aware of bodies moving than flying feet.
    He looked down at her face. “In that case, may I be the first to welcome you aboard, Savannah. We’ll be seeing a lot of each other. I’ve had to temporarily move back into my father’s house while my roof damage is being repaired.”
    The room began to spin just a little, and she held onto his arm as much for support as for form. “I’m sorry about your house, though it will be nice to spend some time with you. But don’t I have to get approved by your father, first before the bookkeeping job is officially mine?”
    Dallas shook his head. “Just technically. Nothing more than rubber-stamping at this stage,” he assured her. “He trusts Vanessa’s judgment. We all do.”
    “Then I guess I’m hired.” One huge weight off her shoulders, she thought. At least for the time being. The rest of the future was just going to have to take care of itself.
    As the pace picked up again, Dallas glided her around another couple. “I guess you are.”
    Savannah was smiling at Dallas. Now she was laughing at something he’d just said. Cruz found himself taking in every movement. The woman in his arms was vivacious and had eyes only for him, but he was oblivious to her and her blatant attempts to snare his interest.
    His attention was on the couple across the floor. His grip on the woman’s hand tightened slightly as he watched Dallas bend his head and whisper something into Savannah’s ear. She laughed in response, the sound muted by the music. Cruz heard it in his head, anyway.
    What the hell were they talking about?
    Again he found that he had to bank down the strange, hot feelings that threatened to take control of him. He muttered an oath under his breath, turning his partner so that he could get a better view of Savannah and her companion.
    “What’s the matter, darlin’?” the woman purred. “You look like your mind’s a million miles away.”
    Cruz looked at his partner. The lopsided grin that followed covered a thousand transgressions. “Just thinking of you and the night ahead, Gia.”
    The blonde snuggled against him, her sigh warm on his chest. “Tell me more.”
    Watching Cruz and the blonde who hermetically adhered herself to his body, Savannah struggled not to let a new wave of sadness engulf her. For now, things were as good as they could get. Better than she’d hoped.
    She was just going to have to content herself with that.
    Savannah had no idea why she couldn’t.
    Pride filled Rosita Perez’s ample bosom as she watched Vanessa dance on the arm of her new husband. It was the kind of pride a mother might feel on the day of her daughter’s wedding. The kind of pride Rosita had felt watching her own daughters when they were married.
    Her body swaying ever so slightly in time with the music, Rosita continued watching from the sidelines. Vanessa Fortune might as well have been her daughter. She had helped raise the girl and her twin sister, Victoria, from the time both were babies. She’d stepped in on a full-time basis when the twins’ mother, Janine, had died, filling the huge gap as best she could so that the Fortune children would always know that there was someone around who cared for them.
    Ryan Fortune did care, of course, she thought asshe helped herself to a small canapé, but he was only a man, and men were inept when it came to showing their feelings for their children. And then, of course, he’d made the mistake of marrying that woman, Sophia. His second wife had gotten