Texas Ransom. Amanda Stevens

I should never have been so resistant.”

      “And Terry shouldn’t have been so pushy. I know how he gets. Especially with you. He’s like a bulldozer.”

      “It’s not just him. We rub each other the wrong way. Always have and probably always will.”

      “That makes me so sad.”

      Graham smiled. “Don’t let it get to you. It’s just the way things are.”

      “But it shouldn’t be that way. You two are brothers. You should be closer. Especially now that—”

      “Now that what?” Graham asked curiously.

      She hesitated, her gaze scanning the crowd. “Now that you have a new niece or nephew on the way,” she murmured.

      “I can still be a doting uncle, just like I am with Ashley and Caitlin.”

      Ellie and Terrence’s two daughters were ten years apart. Ashley was fifteen going on thirty, a blue-eyed blonde who looked just like her delicate mother but with her father’s propensity for hell-raising. That she was causing Terrence the same kind of grief he’d put their mother through at the same age was completely lost on him. It was strange because when they’d been teenagers, Graham had never been able to relate to Terrence’s rebellion, but now he was often the one Ashley turned to for advice.

      The younger girl, Caitlin, not only looked like her mother, but also had Ellie’s sweet disposition. Nothing ever seemed to faze the five-year-old, even the occasional scream fests between her father and older sister.

      And now they had another one on the way. Graham loved his nieces dearly, but sometimes after they’d all been together for a holiday or birthday, he was left wondering if he was cut out to be a father. He hadn’t said anything to Kendall about his doubts, but he might have to because lately she’d been bringing up the subject of children a lot.

      “Where’s Kendall?” Ellie asked as if reading his mind.

      “I’ve been wondering the same thing. She went to powder her nose a little while ago and I haven’t seen her since.”

      “Is she okay?”

      “Why wouldn’t she be?”

      Ellie hesitated. “We had lunch today and she seemed—I don’t know—quiet. She said she felt fine, but I thought she looked a little stressed.”

      “She’s probably just worn herself out making all the arrangements for our trip.”

      “Oh, yes, that trip.” Ellie sighed. “I’m so envious. What I wouldn’t give if Terry and I could get away for a whole month. But once you have kids, everything changes. I doubt we’ll be able to manage more than a weekend getaway for the next eighteen years.” She adjusted her beaded jacket over her stomach. “Sometimes I wonder what we were thinking. Then again…thinking had very little to do with it.” She paused with a chuckle. “You know, a trip like that…just the two of you…I wouldn’t be surprised if Kendall came home pregnant.”

      Graham almost choked on his champagne.

      She laughed again. “You’d better get used to the idea of being a daddy, Graham, because I think your lovely wife is ready. More than ready.”

      Graham felt a sinking sensation in the pit of his stomach. Was that why Kendall had been so emotional recently? “She’s not…she didn’t tell you…”

      “Listen to you stammer! She didn’t tell me she was pregnant, no. But I don’t know why you’re freaking out at the possibility. You’d be a terrific father.”

      “Not every couple wants to have children,” Graham said with a scowl.

      “That’s true. But I’m pretty sure Kendall does.”

      “She said that?”

      Ellie shrugged. “Not in so many words, but I can tell. It’s none of my business, of course…”

      “Oh, come on,” Graham said dryly. “Since when has that ever stopped you?”

      “True. Okay, I’ll just say it. Is everything okay between you two? Is there some reason why you don’t want to start a family just yet?”

      “Everything’s fine. We’ve never been better. And maybe that’s what scares me,” Graham admitted. “Things are so good between us, I don’t want our relationship to change.”

      “It could be a change for the better, you know. I may complain about being tied down, but I wouldn’t take anything for my girls. And Terrence…well, you know how he feels about them.”

      “I’m not Terrence.”

      “No, you’re not.” She gave him an amused look. “I wonder if I should tell you something.”

      Graham groaned. “Why do I feel as if this conversation has led me straight into a minefield?”

      “Relax. It doesn’t have anything to do with having babies.” Her blue eyes sparkled. “Did you know I used to have a little crush on you in high school?”

      “Oh, right. Your boyfriend’s geeky younger brother.”

      “You weren’t geeky. You were deep. And don’t think I didn’t notice how you looked in that football uniform.”

      “How could you tell? I never got off the bench. Whereas Terrence—”

      “Oh, your brother was something all right and I was crazy about him. But you had something special. A quiet kind of confidence that made me think you’d be the person I’d run to if I were ever in trouble. You still have that quality, Graham.”

      He gave her a rueful look. “You give me far too much credit. Terrence is the hero type, not me.”

      She reached up and patted his cheek. “That’s one of the things I’ve always adored about you. You’re totally oblivious to your appeal. Kendall is one very lucky woman. I hope she knows that.”

      No, I’m the lucky one, Graham thought, his gaze returning to the crowd. And now if he could just find his wife, the evening would be perfect.

      A LITTLE WHILE later, Graham finally spotted Kendall in the crowd. Her red dress stood out like a beacon amidst the sea of black tuxedoes and ball gowns, and his focus vectored in and lingered for the longest moment as he sipped his champagne and tried to hide a sudden impatience.

      He would have preferred to do more than admire his wife from afar, but anything other than a smile would have to wait until they got back to the hotel.

      He shifted restlessly as he continued to watch her. She was tall and elegant and so graceful she appeared to float through the room. Up close, the scars from the accident were still visible, but rather than detracting from her looks, the imperfections gave her a fragile, ethereal beauty that served to remind Graham of how fleeting life could be. How important it was to live each moment as though it were the last.

      Ellie and Terrence had disappeared a few minutes ago, and now Graham stood alone and pensive. He’d lost his enthusiasm for the event and wondered when he and Kendall could slip away. It was all he could do to keep from glancing at his watch, but he told himself that he should just relax. After all, it wasn’t every day a man realized a lifelong dream.

      As the architect on record for the project, Graham had been invited to say a few words to the crowd, but he’d declined so that the guest of honor—the Mexican ambassador to the United States—would have more time at the podium. Manuel Garza was just winding up his speech. He had close ties to PemCo Oil and had been a strong advocate of deregulating Mexico’s petroleum industry to allow in foreign investors. He’d seized the opportunity to stress the necessity of developing a regional energy program and cited the PemCo Tower as a symbolic merger of the two great neighbors. It was a gutsy speech, considering the protests back home.

      As the ambassador began to close, Graham’s attention drifted