Fated Hearts (Southern Bride 8)

He laughed. “No worries. Whoever he is, it’s his loss.”

Okay, that was sweet, and I could admit it made me swoon the tiniest bit.

“I’m Annalise Michaels, the general manager at The Montclair.”

His brows shot up. “Just the person I was looking for.”

“Really?” I asked as I started toward the hotel, the stranger walking alongside me. The urge to turn and glance back at Roger and Lucy was strong, but I ignored it. I would pat myself on the back later. For now, I needed to figure out what this man wanted with me.

“Yes,” he said. He placed his hand on my lower back, gently leading me toward the back steps—the second time this man had placed his hand on my body without permission. “The name is Rick Klien.”

I stopped and faced him. “Patty’s nephew. She told me you were coming to town.”

He laughed. “Yes, my mother is her sister. I’m a little bit more than just her nephew, though. I’m also her lawyer.”

I instantly frowned.

Rick drew his head back. “Yikes. By that look on your face, I see you don’t like lawyers.”

“What?” I asked with an amused laugh. “Don’t be silly. I just don’t trust them.”

He raised his hands. “Fair enough.”

We started walking again, and I asked, “What brings you to Boerne?”

“My aunt and uncle are thinking of purchasing the land across the creek. They asked me to look over some paperwork. Instead of doing it back and forth, I thought I’d just come to town.”

Turning, I glanced back toward the creek. I could no longer see the part of the trail Roger had been on, but I could see the land across the creek. Well, at least a little of it through the trees. The large cypresses blocked most of the view. “Why would they want that land?”

“They’re thinking of building a house there, above a potential wine bar. That way, they can be close to the hotel and indulge in one of their favorite pastimes: wine.”

I chuckled because Patty mentioned her love of wine often. She had already signed me up for a wine-of-the-month club. I didn’t have the heart to tell her I hated wine. “That would be lovely, to have a little wine bar for the hotel guests to walk over to.”

He nodded. “Yes, it would.”

“You mentioned you live out of town. Where do you live?”

“Not far, just a couple hours away in Austin.”

“I haven’t been to Austin yet. I just bought a car the other day, finally, and made my first trip into San Antonio.”

“Where did you go?” Rick asked as he opened the door to the lobby and motioned for me to go in first.

Sighing because my life was so completely pathetic, I replied, “The Riverwalk and the Alamo.”

“Did you enjoy yourself?”

With a half-shrug, I looked up at him. He had eyes like the color of honey. They were pretty. I forced myself to stop staring and cleared my throat.

“Um, yes, I did.”

“Why the long, dramatic sigh then?”

“Oh,” I said with an embarrassed laugh. “No reason. It’s just…it would have been more fun to go with someone and not by myself.”

His eyes seemed to sparkle as he nodded and then said, “Well, when you decide to come to Austin, call me. I’ll show you all the best places to eat and all the hot spots to hit.”

I gave him a polite smile. “Thanks, but I’m actually planning on going next month with my parents. They’re flying down and staying a week.”

“Bring them along.”

I walked around the front desk and stood next to Elizabeth, suddenly feeling like I needed to distance myself from Rick. “Thank you, that’s nice of you. Let me go grab Patty from the back office for you.”

He waved me off. “Don’t bother. I’ll just head on back.”

I stepped to the side while he made his way around the desk and through the doorway. Once he was gone, I glanced at Elizabeth. She gave me a knowing smile.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

She lifted one shoulder. “No reason.”

“Liar.”

Giggling, she glanced over my shoulder at the office doorway and then back at me. “He likes you.”

I gave a humorless laugh. “Don’t be silly. He’s simply being nice.”

She rolled her eyes. “Maybe he’ll still be in town tomorrow night to attend the charity dinner.”

Groaning, I walked back around the counter and headed over to the sitting area of the lobby. I picked up a pillow from an antique sofa and punched it. “Ugh, I don’t want to go to that thing.”

“Why not? It’s the perfect place to meet people. And we bought you an amazing gown. The single guys in Boerne aren’t going to know what hit them when they lay eyes on you.”

I worried at my lower lip, and Elizabeth walked up to me and squeezed my arm. “Are you afraid Roger will be there?”