Michelle Major - Fortune's Special Delivery

“Alice, are you still there?” His crisp accent broke through her musings.

“I need to see you,” she blurted, then bit down hard on her lip as silence greeted her outburst. He was bound to think she was a stalker for calling him out of blue and making such a bold request.

“That’s a lovely offer,” he said finally, sounding every bit the aristocrat he was. How was it possible for him to sound more British than before? “But I’m fairly booked on this visit.”

“It’s important,” she whispered, swallowing back the emotion clogging her throat. “I promise I won’t take much of your time.”

“Can you give me a hint what this mysterious meeting might entail?”

“It’s personal and...” She paused, then added, “Please, Charles.”

There was another long moment of silence. Alice checked her phone to make sure Charles hadn’t hung up on her. She wouldn’t exactly blame him. He was handsome, rich, and famous around the world. She was nobody, yet was demanding precious time from him. But even if he said no now, Alice couldn’t give up. Seeing Charles again was too important.

“Tomorrow morning,” he said suddenly.

“Gr-great,” she stammered, shocked that he’d agreed. The fingers holding the phone trembled with both nerves and exhilaration. “We could meet in Zilker Park. Are you familiar with it?”

“I am.”

“There’s a bench under a big oak tree near the entrance of the Zilker Botanical Garden. How about ten o’clock?”

“Very good. I’ll see you in the morning, Alice.”

The way he spoke her name made sparks zing low in her belly. His accent made every word sound like a caress. She shook her head, needing to keep her wits about her. As good a time as she’d had with Charles, she hadn’t contacted him for her sake. “Goodbye, Charles. Thank you.”

As the call ended, she pulled the phone away from her head, her hand trembling as she stared at it. “I did it,” she whispered, glancing at the baby sleeping in the swing in the corner of the room. Her son, Flynn, was a champion napper at four months, which was one of the few things that had made being a single mom a tiny bit easier for Alice.

“Come here and tell me everything.” She turned to see her best friend, Meredith Doan, gesturing wildly from the galley kitchen in Alice’s two-bedroom apartment. Meredith was the only person who knew about Charles, and Alice had confided in her friend only recently, needing an ally to bolster her confidence.

“It went well,” Alice said quietly as she stepped into the small space. “We’re meeting tomorrow morning.”

“You look like you need this,” Meredith said, handing Alice a glass of white wine. “Your face is beet red. Charles remembered you?”

“Yes, after a moment.” Alice took a deep breath, her first since dialing Charles’s number.

“Tell me again how you ended up having an affair with Bonnie Lord Charlie.”

“It wasn’t exactly an affair,” Alice answered, taking a fortifying sip of wine. “It was one night. We met at the annual Texas tourism conference last spring. There was an international focus, so the board invited representatives from several European countries to attend. Charles has ties in Texas now through the Fortunes, so he came from Britain.”

Meredith wiggled her eyebrows. “And you snagged yourself a royal? Nice work, Meyers. I didn’t think you had it in you.”

“I didn’t,” Alice said quickly. “I don’t. It wasn’t like that, Meredith. It was special.”

“They all are, sweetie.”

Alice knew she would have a difficult time convincing her friend. She’d met Meredith her first day working at the Texas Tourism Board, and they’d struck up an unlikely friendship. Meredith worked in the marketing department and was as outgoing off the clock as she was on the job. Since Alice had known her, Meredith had dated a number of guys and even had a few random hookups. Alice, on the other hand, had no one.

Until Charles.

When they’d met at an industry reception the last night of the conference, Alice had expected him to look right past her. Almost everyone did, so she was used to it. There’d been a flurry of Texas women vying for his attention, flirting like they did it for a living. Alice had barely been able to make eye contact when she and Charles had been introduced. He was so handsome, several inches taller than her own five foot nine. His dark hair was expensively cut but perpetually tousled from his habit of running his fingers through it. His brilliant blue eyes seemed to see right into her soul.

It had been a silly thought, and she’d spent the rest of the party watching him laugh and joke with the crowd that constantly surrounded him. He was like a fun magnet and almost exactly her opposite in every way. As the dancing started midway through the evening, with conference attendees from all different countries and backgrounds letting loose in the hotel bar, Alice had been ready to leave. Before she could, Charles had slipped into the booth next to her. He’d told her he’d been watching her all night, waiting for a moment alone with her.

It had been difficult to believe, but he’d stayed at her side the rest of the evening. They’d talked about everything and nothing, and to her surprise, Charles had seemed as happy to escape the noise and bustle of the crowd as Alice. So when he’d invited her up to his room...

“What happened to the condom?” Meredith said, pointing a finger at her. “Your first time out of the gate and you don’t use protection? I thought I’d taught you better.”

“We did use protection,” Alice protested weakly. “I got pregnant anyway. They aren’t one hundred percent effective. And I guess saving the condom for a couple years wasn’t such a great idea, after all.”

After one too many cosmos at a happy hour shortly after she’d met Meredith, Alice had lamented her perennial virginity to her new friend. Alice hadn’t set out to still be a virgin at age twenty-five, but she’d been shy and awkward through her teen years and focused on her classes during college. She’d expected to meet Mr. Right at some point, but when he never materialized, decided she might have to settle for Mr. Right Now. She’d hoped gregarious Meredith could help her, and the first thing her new friend had done was give Alice a condom to keep in her wallet.

It had stayed there for two years, until the night with Charles. Of course, he’d had protection, but she’d insisted on using hers. It meant something to her, a rite of passage of sorts. Even though it had been only one night—well, twice in one night—when she’d left his hotel the next morning, her purse had felt ten pounds lighter on her shoulder.

Only six weeks later, when she couldn’t keep down her breakfast each morning, did she realize how foolish she’d truly been.

“You know this means Flynn is a Fortune,” Meredith said in an awestruck tone.

Alice set her wineglass on the quartz counter, her fingers suddenly unsteady again. “He’s my baby, Mer. Mine.” Flynn was everything to her.

“But you’re going to tell Charles.”

“He deserves to know.” She crossed her arms over her chest, the implications of what she’d put into motion settling like a west Texas dust storm on her shoulders. “I doubt he’ll even want to be involved. Everyone knows his reputation. I’m sure tomorrow will be the last time Flynn and I will ever see Charles.”

Chapter Two

The next morning was bright and warm, the exact weather Charles was coming to expect from Austin in April. He’d booked a room at the Four Seasons Hotel for the duration of his visit, even though Lucie had invited him to stay at the Parker ranch outside town. But Charles liked the vibe of downtown Austin, and despite his social nature, he also appreciated time alone. Later, the day would turn hot and humid, but it was pleasant enough now that he’d chosen to walk the few miles from his hotel, situated on Lady Bird Lake, the reservoir in downtown Austin, over to Zilker Park.