Page 19 of A Heart to Find
As if by divine intervention, Keira spotted Hannah Willows walking on the path ahead of them.
“I don’t mean to ditch you, but I really need to ask Hannah something. Talk to you later?”
“No problem. But please reconsider your dinner plans. Please?”
Keira smiled, hugged Megan goodbye, and jogged ahead to catch up with Hannah.
“So sorry to disturb you on your walk.”
Hannah’s grin was as bright as her hair in the sunlight. “It’s no disruption at all, daffodil. I hope you and that handsome match of yours have been making it work.”
“That’s actually what I needed to talk to you about. Kind of. Don’t worry, I’m not going back on what I agreed to. It’s just—well, he sent me a text this morning, and I was a little confused because I don’t remember authorizing the resort to share my personal contact information. I just thought you should know in case someone else has an issue with this and makes a bigger deal.”
Hannah’s lips formed an O. “We never share private information! We take our guest’s privacy very seriously. In fact, exchanging phone numbers is an important step in the dating process, and we wouldn’t want to interfere with that.”
“Oh, wait. You don’t give out numbers?”
Hannah laughed. “No, lily of the valley. I don’t know how he got it, but it wasn’t from us. Didn’t you say you had a history with him?”
“Yes, but?—”
“I’m guessing he kept your number after all these years, buttercup.” The older woman had the nerve to wink at Keira. “I’d say that’s a sign of how he truly felt about you.”
Without another word, the founder of the matchmaking resort strolled away as if walking on clouds.
And Keira was left on her own to figure out how to manage this new information.
Keira arrived in the lobby half an hour before she was scheduled to meet Jared. She needed the time to collect her nerves. Something about knowing he kept her number in his phone had shifted the way she was feeling about him, and she knew she was entering dangerous territory.
She wouldn’t get attached. She couldn’t. She didn’t want to waste any more time than she already had. Listening to Megan talk about how she and her new match were on the same page about kids, a home, and all that other stuff had created a yearning in Keira. She had to keep her mind on the prize—a lifetime of shared goals. Jared would be a distraction.
But still. She couldn’t help the warmth that spread across her belly and chest when she thought of him keeping her number. And he had been nothing but kind and patient with her, even though she had been treating him like a beast.
She could be nice. She could have fun. And since setting appropriate boundaries was a new thing for her in her life, she might as well practice now before getting into her forever relationship where boundary setting would be even more crucial.
She noticed him strolling through the lobby before he caught sight of her on the leather sofa near the enormous fireplace. She enjoyed having a little time to observe him without his knowledge.
He pulled on the bottom of his sweater as if nervous. Jared? Nervous? She’d never seen that in him before.
He scanned the room and finally spotted her. She stood as he approached, and before she could talk herself out of it, she leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek as a greeting.
A hello. Nothing more.
Seemingly caught off guard by her action, Jared stuttered out a “hello.”
She filled in the awkward silence as they made their way out of the hotel and started down the street. “Are you ready to show off our amazing cooking skills? Do you think this is another competition? If so, we need to win.”
“You’re mighty chipper this morning. Slept well?”
She sighed dreamily. “I’m not sure I’ll transition back to my apartment very well. This place is spoiling me.”
“Agreed. Makes me think I need to upgrade my mattress at home.”
“They should offer a special deal on mattresses at checkout time.” She didn’t know why this giddiness was bubbling out of her, but she’d go with it. For the time being, anyway. “Sort of like a really fancy goody bag.”
Her stomach grumbled, reminding her that her anxiety had kept her appetite at bay last night and this morning. “Mind if we stop at the coffee shop? I believe there’s a really cute one on the way to the kitchen.”
“I wouldn’t dream of denying you a caffeine fix.”
