“You look so beautiful, Kiley.”

He stepped just inside the door to take her in his arms and give her a soft, lingering kiss. “I’ll be the envy of every man at the ball.”

“I was just thinking something very similar about you and the women attending the ball,” she said, smiling.

“Is the pony princess okay with staying at your folks’?” he asked, as he helped her with her evening wrap.

Nodding, Kiley picked up her sequined clutch. “I don’t know who was more excited about her spending the night with them, Emmie or my parents. She has them wrapped around her little finger.”

Josh laughed as he placed his hand to her elbow and guided her out to his car. “She has that effect on just about everyone. She’s an adorable little girl.”

“Thank you,” Kiley said, wondering when and how she was going to tell him that Emmie was his daughter.

* * *

It Happened One Night is a Texas Cattleman’s Club: The Missing Mogul novel:

Love and scandal meet in Royal, Texas!

It Happened One Night

Kathie DeNosky

www.millsandboon.co.uk

KATHIE DENOSKY lives in her native southern Illinois on the land her family settled in 1839. She writes highly sensual stories with a generous amount of humor; her books have appeared on the USA TODAY bestseller list and received numerous awards, including two National Readers’ Choice Awards. Kathie enjoys going to rodeos, traveling to research settings for her books and listening to country music. Readers may contact her by emailing kathie@kathiedenosky.com. They can also visit her website, www.kathiedenosky.com, or find her on Facebook, www.facebook.com/Kathie-DeNosky-Author/278166445536145.

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Contents

Prologue

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Prologue

When Josh Gordon let himself into his girlfriend’s apartment, he wanted two things—to make love to Lori and get some much-needed sleep. He’d spent a long day preparing job bids for Gordon Construction and an even longer evening wining and dining a potential client, who couldn’t seem to make up his mind whether to give the contract for his new office building to the construction business Josh and his twin brother, Sam, co-owned or to one of their competitors.

Josh wasn’t overly proud or happy about it, but they’d had enough to drink to float a fleet of ships before the man finally gave the nod to Gordon Construction. That’s why Josh had made the decision to spend the night with Lori. The wine had dulled his normally sharp senses and he didn’t think his being behind the steering wheel of a car was in anyone’s best interest. Since she had given him a key to her apartment a few weeks back and it was only a couple of blocks from the restaurant, walking to Lori’s place had seemed wiser than trying to drive the five miles to his ranch outside of town. Besides, he hadn’t seen her in a few days and missed losing himself in her soft charms.

The fact that their relationship was more of a physical connection than it was an emotional attachment should have bothered him. But neither he nor Lori wanted anything more, and he couldn’t see any harm in two consenting adults spending their time enjoying each other for as long as the attraction lasted.

As he made his way across the dark living room and headed down the hall toward her bedroom, he decided not to turn on a lamp. The headache that had developed during the last few rounds of drinks already had his head feeling like his brain had outgrown his skull. The harsh glare of a light certainly wouldn’t make it feel any better.

Loosening his tie, he removed his suit jacket as he quietly opened the bedroom door and, stripping off the rest of his clothes, climbed into bed with the feminine form he could just make out beneath the covers. Without thinking twice he took her in his arms and teased her lips with his to wake her.

He thought he heard her murmur something a moment before she began to kiss him back, but Josh didn’t give her a chance to say more. He was too captivated by her. Lori had never tasted as sweet and the scent of whatever new shampoo she had used caused him to ache with the urgent need to sink himself deep inside of her.

When she ran her hands over his shoulders, then tangled her fingers in the hair at the nape of his neck as she kissed him with a passion that robbed him of breath, a shaft of longing coursed through him. She needed him as badly as he needed her. He didn’t hesitate to slide his hand down her side to her knee, then, catching the hem of her nightshirt, he brought it up to her waist. Never breaking the kiss, he made quick work of removing the scrap of silk and lace covering her feminine secrets and nudged her knees apart.

His heart felt like it might jump right out of his chest when he rose over her and she reached to guide him to her. Her desire for him to join their bodies was as strong as his and, giving them what they both wanted, he entered her in one smooth stroke.

Setting an urgent pace, he marveled at how much tighter she felt, how her body seemed to cling to his. But the white-hot haze of passion was stronger than his ability to reason and he dismissed his confusion as a result of too much wine.

When she clenched her tiny feminine muscles, he knew she was poised on the edge, and deepening his strokes, Josh pushed them both over the edge. As he emptied himself deep inside of her, her moan indicated that she was experiencing the same mind-blowing pleasure that pulsed through him, and feeling drained of energy, he collapsed on top of her.

“Oh, Mark, that was incredible.”

Josh went completely still as his mind tried to process what he had heard. The woman he had just made love with had called him Mark. If that wasn’t enough to send a cold sense of dread knifing through him, the fact that it wasn’t Lori’s voice sure as hell was.

What had he done? Where was Lori? And who was the woman he had just made love with?

Sobering faster than he could blink, Josh levered himself to her side, then quickly sat up on the side of the bed to reach for his discarded clothes. “I...um...oh, hell. I’m really sorry. I thought...you were Lori.”

The woman was silent for a moment before she gasped and he heard her jump to her feet on the other side of the bed. “Oh, dear God! No, this can’t be... We didn’t... You must be—”

“Josh,” he finished for her, since she seemed to be having problems conveying her thoughts.

He kept his back to her as he pulled on his pants and shirt. Not that she could see in the dark any more than he could. But all things considered, it just seemed like the right thing to do.

“I really am sorry.” He knew his apologies weren’t nearly adequate enough for the circumstances, but then he wasn’t sure anything he could say or do would make the situation any less humiliating for either of them. “I swear to God, I thought you were Lori.”

“I’m her...sister,” the woman said, sounding like she might be recovering her ability to speak in a complete sentence.

He knew Lori had a sister, but since their relationship was mostly physical, he and Lori hadn’t delved too deeply into the details of each other’s lives. And if she had mentioned her sister by name, he’d be damned if he could think of it now.

“I’d give anything if this hadn’t—”

“Please, don’t,” she said, cutting him off. “Just leave...Josh.”

He hesitated, then, deciding that it was probably the best—the only—thing he could do, he walked to the front door and let himself out of the apartment. He had no sooner pulled the door shut than he heard her set the dead bolt and slide the chain into place.

His heart stalled for a moment, then began to beat double time. He had been just drunk enough and she apparently had been sleepy enough for both of them to forget the use of a condom. It was something he had never forgotten before and he couldn’t believe that he’d done so this time.

Completely sober now, he shook his head as he walked the short distance to his Mercedes still sitting in the restaurant’s parking lot. He was going to drive home and when he woke up in the morning, he hoped to discover that he’d dreamed the entire incident.

But as he got into the car and started the engine, he knew as surely as the sun rose in the east each morning that wasn’t going to be the case. Nothing was going to change the fact that he had done the unthinkable. He had made love to his girlfriend’s sister—the most exciting, responsive woman he had ever met. And what was even worse, he had no clue what she looked like and didn’t even know her name.

One

Three years later

Standing in the hallway outside the meeting rooms at the Texas Cattleman’s Club, Kiley Roberts sighed heavily. If she hadn’t had enough problems dealing with the vandalism of the club’s new day care center a few months ago, now she was about to face the funding committee to ask for an increase in funds to run it. Unfortunately, from everything she had heard, she was facing an uphill battle. Several of the committeemen had been extremely vocal about not seeing the need to provide child care for club members, and among them was the chairman of the funding committee, Josh Gordon.

They had never been formally introduced and she didn’t even know if he knew who she was. But she knew him and just the thought of having to deal with the man made her cringe with embarrassment.

Every detail of what happened that night three years ago had played through her mind since discovering that Josh was a member of the club. But when she learned he was chairman of the funding committee—the very committee that controlled the money to run the day care center—she felt as if she’d been kicked in the stomach. Being the center’s director, she had to go to the committee for approval on everything outside of the budget they had set for it. That meant she would frequently have to deal with him.

She took a deep fortifying breath. How could fate be so cruel?

If she hadn’t been half-asleep and wanting so badly to believe that Mark—her then-boyfriend and now ex-husband—had followed her to her sister’s apartment to apologize for the argument they’d had, the incident three years ago would have never taken place. She would have realized right away that Josh wasn’t Mark and stopped him before things went too far.

Kiley shook her head at her own foolishness. She should have known when Josh kissed her with such passion that the man in bed with her wasn’t Mark. The only thing Mark had ever been passionate about was himself.

Sighing, she straightened her shoulders. There was nothing she could do about it now, and there was no sense in dwelling on something she couldn’t change. She just wished anyone other than Josh Gordon was heading up the funding committee. Aside from the humiliating incident, he had broken her sister’s heart when he abruptly ended things between them a month or so after that fateful night, and Kiley simply didn’t trust him.

When the door to the meeting room opened, interrupting her tumultuous thoughts, a man she assumed to be one of the members motioned toward her. “Ms. Roberts, the committee is ready to hear from you now.”

Nodding, Kiley took a deep breath and forced her feet to move forward when what she really wanted to do was turn around and head in the opposite direction. “Thank you.”

As she walked toward the long table at the head of the room where Josh sat with three men and a woman, she focused on them instead of Josh. The only two she recognized were Beau Hacket and Paul Windsor. Great. They seemed to be the unofficial leaders of those opposed to the day care center and it was just her luck that they both happened to be on the funding committee. Kiley’s only hope was to appeal to the lone female member and the man sitting next to her.

“Good afternoon,” she said, forcing herself to give them all a cheerful smile when she was feeling anything but optimistic.

“What can we do for you today...” Josh glanced at the papers on the table in front of him as if checking for her name “...Ms. Roberts?”

When their gazes finally met, she felt a little better. She had been hired by the club’s personnel director and had managed to avoid coming face-to-face with Josh in the short time she had been working at the Texas Cattleman’s Club. But now, she realized her nervousness had been unfounded. Apparently Lori had never mentioned her by name and thanks to the blackout curtains her sister preferred, neither of them had been able to see the other that night. Deciding he was either a good enough actor to deserve an Academy Award or he had no idea who she was, her confidence returned.

“As the director, I’m here to ask the committee to consider appropriating additional funds for the day care center,” she stated, surprised her voice sounded strong and steady in spite of her earlier case of jangled nerves.

“What for?” Beau Hacket demanded. “We’ve already budgeted more than is necessary to babysit a bunch of little kids.”

“I can’t believe you just said that,” the middle-aged woman seated to Josh’s right said, glaring at Beau.

Kiley watched Josh give the man a disapproving glare before he turned his attention back to her. “What do you think you need the additional funds for, Ms. Roberts?”

“The club members’ response to the day care center has been so positive, we have more children than we first anticipated,” she answered, already knowing from the negative expression on his face how Beau Hacket would be voting on the matter.

“All you’re doing is watching a handful of little kids for a couple of hours,” Beau spoke up. “I don’t see where you need more money for that. Sit them down with a crayon and a piece of paper and they’ll be happy.”

“Beau.”

There was a warning in Josh’s tone, but Kiley knew it was more a rule of order than any kind of support for her. Josh Gordon had been almost as vocal in his objections to the day care center as Beau Hacket and Paul Windsor had. Since the club started admitting female members a few years ago, the TCC had experienced quite a few growing pains as it made changes to accommodate the needs of women in its ranks, the most recent change being the addition of the day care center.

Focusing her attention on the others seated at the conference table and off the committee chairman, she decided it was time to set them straight. “I think some of you have a few misconceptions about the day care center. Yes, we do provide a safe environment for the members to leave their children while they attend meetings or events at the clubhouse, but we’re more than just a babysitting service. Some of the members depend on us for early childhood education, as well.”

“My granddaughter is one of your students and in the short time she’s been attending, we’ve all been amazed at how much she’s learned,” the woman seated beside Josh said, smiling.

“Why can’t they teach their own kids how to finger-paint at home?” Beau demanded, his disapproval evident in the tone of his voice as he glared at her.

“I’m trained in early childhood education,” Kiley explained, hoping to convince the man of the importance of day care, but knowing she probably wouldn’t. “The center’s programs are age appropriate and structured so that the children are engaged in learning activities for their level of development.” When the committee members frowned in obvious confusion, she rushed on to keep one of them from cutting her off. “For example, the toddlers learn how to interact and share with other children, as well as begin to develop friendships and basic social skills. The preschool class learns to recognize and print the letters of the alphabet, as well as their names. And in addition to teaching them how to count, my assistant and I play learning games with both groups designed to pique their interest in things like science and nature.” She shook her head. “The list is endless and I could stay here all day outlining the importance of early childhood education and the benefits to a child.”

When Kiley stopped to take a breath, the woman on the committee nodded. “My granddaughter has not only learned a lot, she’s conquered some of her shyness and has become more outgoing, as well.”

Appreciative of the woman’s support, Kiley smiled. At least she had one advocate on the committee.

Josh glanced down at the papers on the table in front of him. “You’re not asking for more space, just additional money for the center?”

“No, the size of the room isn’t a problem. We have enough room for the children we have now, as well as many more.” She could tell he wasn’t paying much attention to what she had to say and would probably like to deny her outright. But protocol called for the committee to hear her out, discuss her request, then take a vote on the issue. “All I’m asking for is additional money for the day-to-day operation of the center.”

“Since you don’t have utilities or rent to worry about, what specifically would the funds be used for?” Paul Windsor asked, giving her a charming smile. A ladies’ man if there ever was one, the older gentleman’s flirtatious smile didn’t fool Kiley one bit. He was just as opposed to the day care center as Beau Hacket.

“Some of the children are with us for the entire day, instead of a half day or just a few hours, Mr. Windsor,” she answered, relieved she wasn’t having to focus on Josh, even though she didn’t like Paul Windsor. “We need the extra money for the materials for their activities, as well as the additional lunches and snacks. We also need to hire an extra worker for the infants we occasionally have when their mothers have a tennis match or engage in some of the other activities here at the clubhouse.”

“We wouldn’t have this problem if we hadn’t let women into the club,” Beau muttered as he sat back in his chair to glare at her.

“What was that, Beau?” the woman demanded, looking as if she was ready to do battle.

Beau shook his head as he belligerently folded his arms across his barrel chest. “I didn’t say a damned thing, Nadine.”

Kiley wasn’t the least bit surprised at the man’s comment or the woman’s reaction. Beau Hacket was one of the men still resentful of women being permitted membership into the prestigious club, and the female members had quickly learned to stand up to the “good old boy network” and demand the respect they deserved.

“Is there anything else you’d like to add?” Josh asked, clearly ready to dismiss her and move on to the discussion phase.

“No, I believe I’ve adequately outlined the purpose of the day care center and the reasons we need the extra funds,” she said, knowing in her heart that her plea had fallen on deaf ears—at least where the male members of the committee were concerned.

He nodded. “I think we have more than enough information to consider your request. Thank you for your time and detailed explanation, Ms. Roberts.”

Looking up at her, he smiled and Kiley felt as if the floor moved beneath her feet. His bright blue eyes and engaging smile sent a shiver of awareness coursing from the top of her head to the soles of her feet and, as much as she would have liked to forget, she couldn’t stop thinking about what happened that night three years ago.

“I’ll drop by the center later this afternoon to let you know the outcome of our vote,” Josh finished, oblivious to her reaction.

Feeling as if having to listen to her had been an inconvenience for them, Kiley nodded and walked from the meeting room. There was nothing left for her to do now but await the committee’s decision. She wished she felt more positive about the results of their vote. Unfortunately, with three of the center’s biggest opponents on the committee, a favorable outcome was highly unlikely.

But as much as she feared hearing their decision, Kiley dreaded having to see Josh again even more. Why couldn’t he send one of the other members to let her know what had been decided? Didn’t she already have enough on her plate without having to worry about seeing him again?

She had a two-year-old daughter to care for and a house that seemed to be in constant need of one repair or another, and, if the additional money for the day care didn’t come through, the center might have to close due to a clause in the club’s amended bylaws assuring that no member’s child would be turned away, and she would be out of a job. And even if he didn’t know who she was, she certainly didn’t need the added stress of being reminded of the most embarrassing incident of her entire life.

* * *

As Josh walked down the hall toward the day care center, he couldn’t for the life of him figure out why he felt as though he knew Kiley Roberts. He didn’t think they had met before she walked into the meeting room earlier in the afternoon. If they had, he knew for certain he would have remembered her. A woman that attractive would be damned near impossible to forget.

Normally he preferred his women tall, willowy and with an air of mystery about them. But Kiley made petite and curvy look good—real good. With her chin-length, dark blond hair and the prettiest brown eyes he had ever seen, she looked soft, sexy and very approachable.

He frowned as he tried to remember if he’d even seen her before this afternoon. She might have been at Beau Hacket’s barbecue a few months back. It seemed that Hacket had invited the entire membership of the Texas Cattleman’s Club, as well as most of the residents of Royal. Or more likely he’d seen her somewhere around the clubhouse, maybe in the restaurant or the bar. But he couldn’t shake the feeling that there was more to it than that.

When he reached the door to the old billiard room—now renovated to house the day care center—he shrugged. It really didn’t matter. Once he gave her the news that she wouldn’t be getting any more money from the club, he would go straight to the top of her Grinch list and that would be the end of that.

Looking through the window in the door, he noticed that the room looked much nicer now than it had a couple of months ago when vandals broke in and tore up the place. They still hadn’t caught who was behind the destruction or their motive for doing it, but Josh felt sure the culprits would eventually be caught and dealt with accordingly. Royal, Texas, wasn’t that big of a town, and many of its residents were members of the TCC. It was just a matter of time before someone remembered seeing or hearing something that would lead the authorities to make an arrest.

He would hate to be in the vandals’ shoes when that happened, he thought as he opened the day care center’s door. Whether the place was wanted by all of the members or not, nobody came in and destroyed any part of their clubhouse without the entire membership taking great exception to it.

“I’ll be right with you, Mr. Gordon,” Kiley said from across the room.

“Take your time,” he said, looking around. Several children sat in pint-size chairs at tables that were just as small. He couldn’t imagine ever being little enough to fit into furniture that size.

As he watched, Russ and Winnie Bartlett’s youngest little girl got out of her chair and walked over to hold up a paper with crayon scribbles for Kiley’s inspection. She acted as if the kid had just drawn the Mona Lisa, causing the toddler to beam with pride.

Josh had never taken much to little kids. For one thing, he had never been around them and didn’t have a clue how to relate to them. But he found himself smiling as he watched Kiley talk to the child as she pinned the drawing to a bulletin board. Only a coldhearted bastard would ignore the fact that she had just made the little girl’s day.

“Carrie, could you take over for me for a few minutes?” she asked a young woman Josh assumed to be the day care worker Kiley had hired not long after the center opened. When the woman nodded, Kiley walked over to him and motioned toward a door on the far side of the room. “Why don’t we go into my office? Otherwise, I can’t guarantee we won’t be interrupted.”

As he followed her to her office, he found himself fascinated by the slight sway of her hips. He had to force himself to keep his eyes trained on her slender shoulders. But that only drew his attention to the exposed skin between the collar of her red sweater and the bottom of her short blond hair—a spot that looked extremely kissable.

His heart thumped hard against his rib cage and heat began to fill his lower belly. What the hell was wrong with him? Had it been that long since he and his last girlfriend parted ways?

“Please have a seat, Mr. Gordon,” Kiley said, walking behind the small desk to sit down in an old wooden chair.

He recognized both the desk and the chair as having been in the storage room for as long as he had been a member of the club and probably for decades before that. If circumstances had been different, he might have felt guilty about the funding committee insisting her office be furnished with the club’s castoffs. But considering none of the members on the panel, with maybe the exception of Nadine Capshaw, expected the center to remain open past spring, it had been decided that the used furniture would be good enough.

“Call me Josh,” he said, sitting in a metal folding chair across the desk from her.

“I assume you’ve come to tell me the funding committee’s decision on my request...Josh?” she asked, sounding as if she already knew the outcome of the vote.

There was something about the sound of her voice saying his name that caused him to frown. “Before we get into the committee’s decision, could I ask you something?”

“I...uh, suppose so.” He could tell by the hesitation in her voice and her wary expression that she didn’t trust him.

“Do we know each other?” he asked, realizing immediately from the slight widening of her expressive brown eyes that they did.

“No,” she said a little too quickly.

“Are you sure?” he pressed, determined to find out what she knew that he didn’t.

“Well, we...um, don’t know each other formally,” she said, suddenly taking great interest in her tightly clasped hands resting on top of the desk.

She was hiding something, and he intended to find out what it was. “So we have met?” he continued.

“In a way...I guess you could say that.” Her knuckles had turned white from her tight grip and he knew whatever she hid was extremely stressful for her. “It was quite by accident.”

Every hair follicle on his head felt as if it stood straight up, and he suddenly wasn’t so sure he wanted to know what she obviously didn’t want to tell him. “Where would that have been?” he heard himself ask in spite of his reservations.

Getting up, she closed her office door, then slowly lowered herself into the chair when she returned to the desk. “You used to date my sister.”

A cold, clammy feeling snaked its way up his spine. “I did?”

When she finally raised her head to meet his gaze head-on, a knot the size of his fist began to twist his gut. “I’m Lori Miller’s sister. Her only sister.”

Josh opened his mouth, then snapped it shut. For the first time in his adult life, he couldn’t think of a thing to say. But his unusual reaction to her suddenly started to make sense. From the moment she’d walked into the meeting room to plead her case to the funding committee, he had been fighting to keep his libido under control. Now he knew why. He might not have realized who she was, but apparently his body had. The chemistry between them that night three years ago had been undeniable and it appeared that it was just as powerful now. Unless he missed his guess, her nervousness had just as much to do with the magnetic pull between them as it did with her reluctance to admit what had taken place.

As he stared at her, it occurred to him why Kiley seemed familiar to him. Although it had been too dark to tell what she looked like that night, he could see the resemblance between her and her sister now. Kiley had the same extraordinary brown eyes and flawless alabaster skin that Lori had. But that seemed to be where the similarities between the two women ended. While Lori was considerably taller and had auburn hair, Kiley was shorter and had dark blond hair that looked so silky it practically begged a man to tangle his fingers in it as he made love to her. When his lower body began to tighten, he swallowed hard and tried to think of something—anything—to get his mind back on track.

“Your last name is different,” he stated the obvious.

She straightened her shoulders and took a deep breath. “I was married briefly.”

“But not anymore?” he couldn’t stop himself from asking.

“No.”

He swallowed hard as a thought suddenly occurred to him. “You weren’t married—”

“No. Not then.”

Relieved that he hadn’t crossed that particular line, Josh released the breath he hadn’t been aware of holding. “That’s good.”

“Look, I’m not any happier than you are about having to work with you on the day care center’s funding,” she said, her cheeks coloring a pretty pink. “But this isn’t the time or the place to get into what happened that night. I think it would be for the best if we forgot the incident ever happened and concentrate on my request for the day care center and the committee’s decision not to give me the extra money I need to keep it running.”

He knew she was right. A day care center full of little kids certainly wasn’t the place to talk over his mistakenly making love to her. And she had a valid point about forgetting that night. It would definitely be the prudent thing to do. But some perverse part of him resented her wanting to dismiss what had arguably been the most exciting night of his life. He’d never been with a woman, either before or since, as responsive and passionate as Kiley had been.

“I agree,” he finally said. “We can take a trip down memory lane another time.” He could tell his choice of words and the fact that he thought they should revisit the past wasn’t what she wanted to hear.

She folded her arms beneath her breasts, causing his mouth to go dry. “Mr. Gordon—”

“I prefer you call me Josh,” he reminded her.

“Josh, I think you’d better—”

“I have good news and bad news,” he said, thinking quickly. If her body language was any indication, she was about two seconds away from throwing him out of her office.

Whether it was due to the lingering guilt he still harbored over his part in the incident or the distrust he detected in her big brown eyes, he wasn’t sure. But he suddenly felt the need to prove to her that she had the wrong opinion of him.

“I’m going to give you a month’s worth of the funding you requested in order for you to convince me that the day care center is worthwhile and a needed addition to the services the club provides to the TCC membership,” he stated, before she could interrupt.

She frowned. “That isn’t what the committee decided, is it?”

“Not exactly,” he said honestly. “The committee voted four to one to deny you the extra money. But after seeing the way you were with the Bartletts’ little girl, you’ve got my attention. I’ll be checking in periodically to see for myself that the money was needed and put to good use.”

If anything, she looked even more skeptical. “What happens at the end of that time?”

“If I determine that you do need the additional funding, at our meeting just before Christmas I’ll give my personal recommendation to the committee that we add the amount you asked for to your yearly budget,” he finished.

“If my request was turned down, where is this money going to come from?” she asked, looking more suspicious by the second.

“You let me worry about that,” he said, rising to his feet. “I’ll see that the appropriate amount is added to the day care’s account as of this afternoon. It should be accessible for whatever you need by tomorrow morning.”

Before she could question him further, he opened her office door and left to go to the TCC’s main office to make arrangements for the funding to be put into the day care’s account. He was going to be taking the money out of his own pocket to subsidize the center for the next month, but it would be worth it. For one thing, he wanted to prove to her that he wasn’t the nefarious SOB she apparently thought him to be. And for another, it was the only thing he could think of that might come close to atoning for his role in what happened three years ago.

Two

Kiley spent most of the next day jumping every time the door to the day care center opened. True to his word, Josh had added money to the center’s account and she did appreciate that. But it was his promised visits to observe how she ran things and to see what the funds were being used for that had her nerves stretched to the breaking point. She didn’t want to see him again or have to jump through hoops to get the money the center needed. Besides, every time she looked into his blue eyes, it reminded her that they shared a very intimate secret—one that, try as she might, she couldn’t forget.

“The children have put away the toys and I’ve finished reading them a story. Would you like for me to take them outside to the play area for a bit before we start practicing their songs?” Carrie Kramer asked, walking over to where Kiley had finished putting stars by the names of the children who had remembered to wash their hands before their afternoon snack.

“That would be great.” Kiley smiled at the young woman she’d hired to be her assistant after meeting her at the Royal Diner. “While they expend some of their excess energy outside, I’ll get things ready for us to practice their songs before they go home.”

As she watched Carrie help the children get their coats on and form a single line by the exit to the play yard, Kiley turned to go into her office for the things they would be using for the holiday program they were putting on for the parents the week before Christmas. Gathering the props, she decided she would have to make two trips as she turned to retrace her steps back into the main room. Distracted as she tried to remember everything they would need, she ran headlong into Josh standing just inside the doorway to her office.

“Oh, my dear heavens!” The giant jingle bells in the box she carried jangled loudly as she struggled to hang on to it.

Placing his hands on her shoulders to steady her, he frowned. “I didn’t mean to frighten you. I called your name when I found the other room empty.”

The warmth of his hands seemed to burn through her pink silk blouse. Kiley quickly took a step back. “I must not have heard it over the sound of these bells.”

“Let me help you with these,” he said, taking the box from her. “Where are the kids?”

“My assistant took them outside for playtime before we start practicing for their Christmas program,” she said, picking up her CD player and several large plastic candy canes.

Their arms brushed as she walked past him, and an awareness she hadn’t felt in a very long time caused her heart to skip several beats. She did her best to ignore it.

“I intended to stop by earlier in the day, but I got tied up at one of our construction sites and it took longer than I anticipated,” he said, following her over to the brightly colored carpet where the children gathered for story time. “I wasn’t sure anyone would still be here. When do the kids go home?”

“Normally, all of the children get picked up by five-thirty,” she answered, setting the candy canes and the CD player on a small table. “But Gil Addison sometimes gets detained by club business and runs a few minutes late picking up his son, Cade.” A single father, the current president of the TCC had been one of the first to enroll his four-year-old son in the preschool class. Unlike the members of the funding committee, Gil seemed extremely enthusiastic about having the center at the clubhouse. “No matter what time it is, I stay until every child is safely in the care of their parents or someone they’ve designated to pick up the child.”

“So this isn’t just a nine-to-five job, then?” he asked, placing the box on the carpet.

“Not hardly.” Shaking her head, she removed a disc from its case to put in the player. “I have to be here at seven each morning to get things ready for the children’s arrival.”

“When is that?” he asked, his brow furrowing.

“A couple of them get here a few minutes after I do, but they’re all here between eight and eight-thirty,” she said, wondering why he was so interested in the hours the day care center operated. “Why do you ask?”

He ran his hand through his short, light brown hair. “I realize you’re working on contract with the club and aren’t paid overtime, no matter how many hours you work, but doesn’t that make for a pretty long day?”

She couldn’t help but smile. Being able to be with her daughter while she did her job was well worth any extra time she had to put in at the center. “I don’t mind. This is my dream job.”

“I guess if that’s what makes you happy,” he said, looking as if he couldn’t understand anyone feeling that way about working those kinds of hours with a group of small children.

When the children began filing into the room from outside, Kiley breathed a sigh of relief. It wasn’t that she was afraid of Josh. But being alone with him made her feel jumpy and she welcomed the distraction of a roomful of toddlers and preschoolers. She wasn’t at all happy about the effect he had on her and refused to think about why he made her feel that way. She was almost certain she wouldn’t like the answer.

“After you’ve hung up your coats, I want you all to come over to the carpet and sit down, please,” she announced to the children. “We’re going to practice our songs for your Christmas program before you go home this afternoon.”

Her daughter ran over to wrap her arms around one of Kiley’s legs, then looked up at her and giggled. “Me sing.”

“That’s right, Emmie,” Kiley said, stroking her daughter’s dark blond hair as she smiled down at the only good to come out of her brief marriage. “Can you go over and sit with Elaina and Bobby so we can get started, please?”

Emmie nodded, then hurried over to join her two friends where they sat with the rest of the toddlers.

“Miss Kiley, Jimmy Joe Harper pulled my hair,” Sarah Bartlett accused, glaring at the little boy seated beside her.

“Jimmy Joe, did you pull Sarah’s hair again?” Even before he nodded, one look at the impish grin on the child’s face told Kiley that he had. “I’m sorry, but I told you that if you pulled Sarah’s pigtails again you’d have to sit in the ‘time out’ corner for five minutes.”

Without further instruction, the child obediently got to his feet and walked over to sit in a chair by himself in the far corner of the room. When she noticed Josh glancing from her to Jimmy Joe in the “time out” corner, Kiley raised an eyebrow. “Is there something wrong?”

“You didn’t even have to tell him to go over there,” he said, sounding as if he couldn’t quite believe a child would willingly accept his punishment. “And he didn’t protest at all.”

“Jimmy Joe is no stranger to the ‘time out’ corner,” Kiley answered, smiling fondly at the adorable red-haired little boy. “He loves aggravating Sarah.”

Josh looked confused. “Why?”

“Because he likes her.” Kiley turned to her assistant. “Could you please pass out the bells and candy canes, Carrie?”

“I see,” Josh said as a slow grin curved the corners of his mouth. “In other words, he’s teasing her to keep her attention focused on him.”

“Something...like that,” Kiley said, her breath catching at how handsome Josh looked when he smiled.

As her assistant finished handing each child an oversize bell or a giant plastic candy cane, Kiley queued up the music on her CD player and purposely avoided looking at Josh. He made her nervous and she wished he would leave. But it appeared as if he intended to stay for a while.

Deciding that as long as he was there, he might as well participate, she picked up one of the bells and shoved it into his hand. “I assume you know the words to ‘Jingle Bells’?”

He looked surprised, then determined as he shook his head. “Yes, I’m familiar with the song, but I’m afraid I can’t stay. I promised a friend I would stop by his place this afternoon and I’m already running late.”

“That’s a shame,” she lied. She had accomplished what she set out to do. He was going to leave. She couldn’t help but smile. “Maybe another time.”

“Yeah, maybe,” he said, sounding doubtful. He reached out and, taking her hand in his, placed the bell in the center of her palm, then gently folded her fingers around it with his other hand. “Will you be free tomorrow evening?”

Startled by his unexpected question and the warmth of his hands holding hers, she stared at him a moment before she managed to find her voice. “Wh-why?”

“I’d like to discuss a couple of things with you,” he said evasively. He gave her a smile that made her insides flutter. “Unfortunately, I don’t have time to talk to you about it now. I’ll come by here around five-thirty on Friday evening and we’ll have dinner in the club’s restaurant. They have an excellent menu and we’ll be able to talk without interruption.”

Kiley opened her mouth to refuse, but when he tenderly caressed her hand with his, she forgot anything she was about to say. As she watched him walk across the room to the door, she shook her head in an effort to regain her equilibrium.

What was Josh up to? And what did he think they needed to discuss? She had been quite clear when she spoke to the funding committee about the use of the extra money for the day care center. Surely he couldn’t want to talk about what happened that night....

“Miss Kiley, can I go back to the carpet now?” Jimmy Joe asked from the “time out” corner.

“‘May I go back to the carpet,’” Kiley automatically corrected.

“May I?” the little boy asked, flashing his charming grin.

“Yes, you may,” she said, deciding that she could give more thought to Josh and his dinner invitation after the children had gone home for the day.

Kiley went through the motions of rehearsing the Christmas show the children would put on for their parents in a few weeks. But her mind kept straying back to Josh and his ridiculous invitation. Even if she were willing to go to dinner with him—which she wasn’t—she didn’t think he would be all that enthusiastic about dining with a two-year-old.

It wasn’t that Emmie wasn’t well-behaved. She was. But by the end of the day, she was tired and wanted nothing more than dinner, a bath and to go to bed. Besides, there was absolutely nothing Kiley felt the need to discuss with Josh. Now or in the foreseeable future.

* * *

As Josh drove his Mercedes through the gates of Pine Valley, the exclusive golf course community where several of the TCC members had built mansions, he couldn’t help but wonder what he’d been thinking when he asked Kiley to dinner. Why couldn’t he just drop what had happened that night three years ago?

He knew that would be the smartest thing to do and what Kiley wanted. But for reasons he didn’t want to delve into, some perverse part of him wanted her to admit that, although the circumstances that brought them together that night might have been an unfortunate accident, their lovemaking had been nothing short of amazing.

“You’ve lost your mind, Gordon,” he muttered as he steered his car onto Alex Santiago’s private drive.

Doing his best to forget the matter, he parked in front of the palatial home, got out of the car and climbed the steps to the front door. Before he could ring the doorbell, the door opened.

“Hello, Señor Gordon,” a round-faced older woman with kind brown eyes said, stepping back for Josh to enter. “Señor Alex is in the sunroom.”

“How’s he feeling today, Maria?” Josh asked as the housekeeper whom Alex’s fiancée, Cara Windsor, had recently hired led the way toward the back of the elegant home.

Maria stopped, then, turning to face him, gave Josh a worried look. “Señor Alex still has headaches and can’t remember anything before he was found.”

“I’m sure it’s just a matter of time before he recovers his memory.” Josh wasn’t entirely sure who he was trying to reassure—the housekeeper or himself.

Alex had been missing for several months before being found, suffering a head injury, in the back of a truck with a group of migrant farm workers smuggled across the border from Mexico. No one seemed to know how he wound up across the border or how he got into the back of the truck with the workers, and he couldn’t tell the authorities anything. There was strong evidence that he had been beaten several times and one theory was that he had been kidnapped. But no matter what had happened, Alex still had amnesia. It had only been recently that he’d been released from Royal Memorial Hospital. With Cara’s encouragement, Alex’s friends from the TCC had been taking turns dropping by to check on his progress. No one had said as much, but Josh knew they all hoped to help him recover his memory so they could find whoever had done this to him.

“How are you feeling today, Alex?” he asked, walking into the sunroom where his friend sat reading a book.

Alex smiled and slowly rose to his feet to extend his hand. “Josh, isn’t it?”

Nodding, Josh shook Alex’s hand. The man’s grip was firm and Josh took that as a good sign that his friend was regaining some of his strength. But he was still cautious about making sure he called his friends by the correct name, which indicated his memory wasn’t much better.

“I wanted to stop by and let you know that we’re all hoping to see you and Cara at the Christmas Ball.” Before his disappearance in the summer, Alex had been on the planning committee for the annual holiday gala. Josh hoped that referring to the event might spark a memory.

“Yes, Cara and I discussed it and we’re hoping that being at the Texas Cattleman’s Club with all of my acquaintances will help me remember something,” Alex answered. He sighed heavily. “It’s damned irritating not being able to remember anything about my life before waking up in the back of that truck.”

“I’m sure there will be a break in the case soon,” Josh said, hoping he was right. “The Royal Police Department’s detective unit is one of the best in the entire state and they’re letting Britt Collins, the state investigator, take the lead. With her FBI training and specialty in kidnapping cases, they’ll have whoever did this to you behind bars in no time.”

“I was told this morning they intend to send my picture to the national television networks in an attempt to find anyone who might have seen who I was with while I was missing. It might also help locate any family I have,” Alex added. “Apparently none of them live close by, because there haven’t been any family members respond to the local news reports about me.”

Josh smiled. “I’m sure the news of all this going national will help to escalate the investigation.”

As they continued to discuss Alex’s frustration with his lack of memory and the possibility of the police turning up something that would give them a clue who had beaten him, Josh’s mind kept straying back to Kiley and his invitation to dinner the following evening. It suddenly occurred to him that she hadn’t said no.

Of course, she hadn’t exactly accepted his invitation either. But he decided not to give that a second thought. As far as he was concerned they were having dinner tomorrow evening and he fully intended to discuss that night three years ago. He needed for her to understand that he wasn’t in the habit of making love to a woman he didn’t know, then leaving her like some kind of thief in the night. He also wanted her to admit that she had played a part in the incident when she had been so receptive to him. Then, as far as he was concerned, the matter would be closed for good.

Satisfied that he had a viable plan, he filled Alex in on things that were going on at the clubhouse. “The day care center is open and has quite a few kids attending.”

“I am sure the female members are happy about that,” Alex said, smiling. “But Cara tells me her father and a few others are less supportive.”

Josh nodded. “I wasn’t entirely sure it’s needed, but after the director’s request for more money to operate the center I’m taking the time to learn more about it before I make up my mind.”

“It is always good to keep an open mind and get the facts before one passes judgment,” Alex said, nodding.

As Josh listened to Alex, he appreciated the wisdom in his friend’s quietly spoken observation. “Thanks for the advice. I’ll be sure to do just that.” Rising to leave, he shook Alex’s hand. “You know if you need anything, all you have to do is give me a call.”

“I appreciate that, Josh,” Alex said, following him to the front door. “I will certainly keep that in mind.”

As Josh descended the front steps, he noticed a car coming up the long drive. When it pulled to a stop behind his and the driver got out, he recognized Alex’s former housekeeper, Mia Hughes.

She waved. “Hi, Josh. How is Alex doing today?”

“He’s frustrated with his lack of memory, but that’s to be expected.” He smiled. “I hear that congratulations are in order.”

The pretty young woman beamed. “You heard about my engagement to Dave Firestone?”

“Yes.” He laughed. “News like that travels through the TCC like a flash fire through a wood pile.”

She laughed. “Thank you, Josh. I’ve never been happier.”

“If the smile on Firestone’s face these days is any indication, I’d say he’s just as happy,” Josh said.

“It was nice seeing you again, Josh,” Mia said as she started up the steps to the front door.

Josh nodded. “I’ll see you in a few weeks at the Christmas Ball.”

Getting into the car, he drove away from the Santiago mansion feeling pretty good about the day. He had successfully straightened out a problem with the work crew on one of the Gordon Construction job sites, had a nice visit with his friend and had set up dinner with Kiley Roberts for tomorrow evening.

“A very good day,” he said aloud as he drove across town to his ranch just outside Royal.

* * *

The next afternoon, Kiley tried to remain focused and not think about Josh stopping by, expecting her to go to dinner with him. But try as she might, every time the door opened, she looked up expectantly. So far, it had been parents arriving to pick up their children, but she knew it was just a matter of time before she looked up to find Josh entering the day care center.

Of course, she had no intention of going anywhere with him. But how could she anticipate and dread him stopping by all at the same time?

“Kiley, would you mind if I leave now?” Carrie asked, looking hopeful. “There are only two more children to be picked up by their parents and I have an appointment at the hair salon in fifteen minutes.”

“Do you have a date with Ron tonight?” Kiley asked. From the time the young woman started working for her, Carrie had chattered nonstop about her boyfriend and Kiley expected any day to hear that they had become engaged.

Her assistant nodded. “He’s taking me out to dinner and then we’re going to see the new Channing Tatum movie.”

“You can only leave early on one condition.”

“What’s that?” her assistant asked cautiously.

Kiley grinned. “You have to tell me all about the movie and how many times Channing takes his shirt off.”

Carrie laughed as she grabbed her coat and purse from the closet by the door. “I can do that.”

“Have a nice evening, and I’ll see you tomorrow morning, Carrie.”

As her assistant rushed out the door to get her hair done for her date, Kiley’s heart skipped a beat when Josh walked in. Dressed in a black suit, pale blue shirt and navy tie, he looked more handsome than any man had the right to look outside the pages of GQ.

“Instead of making a reservation for us in the restaurant here at the club, I thought we might try that new place on the west side of town,” Josh said, flashing her a smile that sent goose bumps shimmering up her arms. “Have all of the kids gone home?”

“Not yet.” She collected the Santa Claus faces made of construction paper and cotton balls that the preschool class had made during their craft time. “But I’m afraid I won’t be able to...” She let her voice trail off when Russ and Winnie Bartlett entered the day care center to pick up their two little girls.

While Josh shook hands with Russ and talked about the upcoming meeting of the general membership, Kiley and Winnie chatted about the children’s holiday program.

“It’s all Sarah can talk about,” Winnie said, smiling at her little girl. As she helped her youngest daughter into her jacket, she laughed and smoothed her toddler’s straight dark hair. “And Elaina tells me she’s going to be one of the ‘kidney’ canes.”

Grinning, Kiley nodded. “She calls them ‘kidney’ canes and Emmie calls them ‘kitty’ canes.”

“Isn’t it fun deciphering what a two-year-old means as they learn new words?” Winnie asked.

“Oh, yes.” When Emmie toddled over to give Elaina a goodbye hug, Kiley smiled fondly at her beautiful little girl. “At times it feels like they speak a foreign language.”

After the Bartletts bid them a good evening, Kiley and Emmie were left alone with Josh. Turning toward her office to retrieve her purse, Kiley heard Emmie start chattering about her toy ponies. Glancing over her shoulder, she almost laughed out loud at Josh’s perplexed expression.

“Me pony,” Emmie said, reaching up to wrap her little hand around one of Josh’s fingers to tug him in the direction of the play area.

“What does she want?” Josh asked, sounding a little alarmed. He might have been bewildered about what Emmie wanted, but to his credit, he followed her over to the toy box on the other side of the room.

“She wants to show you her favorite toys,” Kiley said, quickly grabbing her things and switching off the office light.

“That’s nice.” Josh smiled when Emmie held up a purple pony with a flowing white mane and tail. “How much longer before one of her parents arrives to get her?”

“Emmie goes home with me,” Kiley said, taking their coats from the closet. “She’s my daughter.”

“I didn’t realize you had a child,” he said, glancing down at Emmie digging through the toys to find more ponies.

When he looked back at her, Kiley could tell by his expression that Josh realized her going to dinner with him wasn’t going to happen. But as they continued to stare at each other, a mischievous spark lit his brilliant blue eyes.

“So you like ponies and horses, Emmie?” he asked.

Emmie vigorously nodded her little blond head. “Yes.”

Squatting down to her level, he handed the toy pony back to her. “I like horses, too. I have several of them at my ranch.”

Emmie’s little face lit up. “Me wanna see.”

“I think that can be arranged,” Josh said, giving Kiley a triumphant grin.

Kiley didn’t like the idea in the least. “I don’t think that would be—”

“Why don’t you ask your mother to bring you over to my ranch on Saturday afternoon so I can show you my horses?” he asked before Kiley could stop him from making the offer.

“Pease, Mommy?” Emmie asked, skipping over to her. “Pease. Wanna see ponies. Wanna see ponies.”

Kiley was fit to be tied. Josh had deliberately manipulated the situation and now her daughter looked so hopeful, she hated to refuse. But on the other hand, she didn’t want to spend more time with Josh than she had to. Nor was she overly happy about his taking control of the situation.

“Is this retaliation for not going to dinner with you?” she asked, delaying her answer. A thought suddenly occurred to her. “You aren’t going to let this influence your decision about the funding for the day care center, are you?”

“Not at all.” A frown creased his forehead as he rose to his full height and walked over to her and Emmie. “I just thought your little girl might like to see a real horse.”

“You knew she would,” Kiley accused.

“Not really,” Josh said, rocking back on his heels. “I don’t know enough about little kids to know whether she would or not.”

She wasn’t buying his innocent expression for a minute. “This is punishment for not going to dinner with you and we both know it.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t go so far as to call it that.” Standing closer than she was comfortable with, he leaned over to whisper, “And no. I won’t let this influence my recommendation to the funding committee. Although you could have told me sooner that dinner wasn’t really an option.”

“You didn’t give me a chance yesterday afternoon,” she said defensively. “And you didn’t come by the center earlier for me to tell you.”

“We both know you could have called my office or left a message for me here at the clubhouse,” he reminded, his voice so intimate it sent a tiny shiver of awareness straight up her spine. “So what do you say?” he asked, smiling. “You just said yourself that Emmie would like seeing the horses.”

The woodsy scent of his cologne and the fact that he stood so close were playing havoc with her equilibrium. Taking a step away from him, she looked down at Emmie. Her daughter looked so excited and happy, how could Kiley possibly disappoint her?

“Oh, all right,” she finally conceded. “But we’ll only stop by for a few minutes.”

“Good.” Josh gave her directions to his ranch just outside of town. “I’ll expect you and Emmie around one.” Bending down, he smiled at her daughter. “I’ll see you in a few days, Emmie.” Straightening, he lightly touched her cheek with his index finger. “Have a nice evening, Kiley.”

As she watched him stroll to the door, a shiver coursed through her at his light touch and the sound of his rich baritone saying her name. She shook her head to clear it.

“This is ridiculous,” she muttered as she put Emmie’s coat on her, then stuffed her arms into the sleeves of her own.

Josh Gordon was the very last man she should be shivering over. He couldn’t be trusted. He might have given her a month’s worth of extra funds for the day care center, but that didn’t fool her for a second. She had overheard enough comments from some of the other members to know that he would like to see it fail—almost as much as Beau Hacket and Paul Windsor did.

So what was he up to? And why?

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