Fated Hearts (Southern Bride 8)

“I don’t know. I think he told me, but I was so stunned he was there, I don’t remember. This morning, I figured I’d never see him again. I’d prepared myself for it. And now, he’s not only in the same state, but also the same damn town!”

“Oh, no, Anna. Have you fallen for this guy?”

I swallowed hard. “No.”

“You are such a terrible liar. And can we get back to the fact that he had to share not only his hotel room with you but his rental car as well? Oh, and he lives in the same town that you’re now living in? If destiny isn’t playing her hand in this, I don’t even know what’s happening. What are the odds?”

“Um, one in a billion?”

“It’s like your hearts are fated.”

I sighed. “What do I do?”

“What do you mean, what do you do? It’s easy—pick up where you left off. Except now you know you’re having hot sex with a cowboy. Please tell me if he wears a cowboy hat.” My sister made some sort of growling sound before she started laughing again. “This could only happen to you!”

I dropped down onto the sofa and closed my eyes. “He doesn’t want a relationship. He told me so the last night we were together. If Mrs. Montclair knows him, other people will know him too. What if I find out he’s an absolute asshole? Oh, my God, what if he’s married! Or has a girlfriend?”

“He doesn’t have a girlfriend, and I doubt he’s married.”

“But how do you know?” I asked as I stood and paced. “I can’t deal with this right now. I need to get to the hotel lobby so that I can meet the rest of the staff. I need to change.”

“Wait, what about Roger?”

Sighing, I replied, “I just…I just can’t with that right now. I’m here to start a new job, and that’s what I need to focus on.”

“But—”

“But nothing, Meg. I had a wonderful few days with Roger, and I’ll never forget how he made me feel, but it ended this morning. We agreed no strings attached, so this changes nothing. It changes nothing.”

It was Meg’s turn to sigh. “Like I said, you’re a terrible liar.”

Roger

“YOU SEEM DISTRACTED.”

I glanced over at my brother as he handed me a bottle of beer.

“Nah, I’m good.”

Truitt sat down and gave me that look that said he knew I was lying. “Want to talk about it?”

“Just tired, I think. The rental car company was late picking the car up.”

“Told you I could have picked you up from the airport—you’re the one who insisted on a rental.”

My mind drifted back to earlier this afternoon when I saw Annalise standing at the rental car counter. I took a long drink from my beer and looked back at my brother. “Do you believe in fate, or do you think everything that happens is all a crazy coincidence?”

He smiled and leaned back. “I’m a firm believer in fate. Why?”

“Well, you’re not going to believe what happened to me today,” I said, rubbing at the ache in my neck.

“Try me. Dad’s still on a call so he won’t be joining us for a few more minutes anyway.”

I set my beer on the side table, then leaned forward and rested my forearms on my knees. “Annalise, the woman I was forced to bunk with in Chicago…”

He laughed. “You regret not getting her number now, don’t you?”

“I don’t need her number.”

“You sure about that?”

“I don’t need her number because she’s here.”

Truitt’s eyes went wide. “She came home with you? I thought you said she was starting a new job.”

“She is, but her new job is here. In Boerne. At The Montclair Hotel. She’s the new general manager. And to make it even more bizarre, she was at the rental car place trying to get a rental. I got the last one. I gave her a ride to the hotel.”

Truitt’s mouth fell open. “You’re shitting me. What are the odds of that?”

“I don’t know what to do, Truitt.”

He frowned. “What do you mean? About what?”

“Annalise. What do I do about Annalise living in Boerne?”

“You said it was no-strings. It’s not like you haven’t slept with a woman before and nothing has come of it. Look at Lucy. Y’all have hooked up more than once, and there isn’t any problem there.”

“I haven’t been with Lucy in at least a year and a half. Maybe even two.”

“Really? I didn’t know that. Okay, well, what’s your heart telling you to do?”

I let out a gruff laugh. “My heart? When in the hell have I ever followed my heart?”

Truitt leaned forward and pierced me with a look. “You know it’s okay to want something more than sex.”

Narrowing my eyes, I gave Truitt a hard stare. “I don’t want anything more. I have no desire whatsoever to settle down with anyone.”