Page 54 of Lone Star Longing
He didn't know which would be the best hotel—the problem with a city the size of San Antonio, a lot of options were available. And he wanted a nice choice for her, someplace with a big tub she could soak in, a big bed, a nice view. And he wasn't lying about having points. He earned a lot on the road.
He pulled off the highway and into the parking lot of a restaurant.
She sat up beside him. “What are we doing? I thought we were going to a hotel first?”
“We are, but I’m going to look on my phone for the locations in town, see which one has the best reviews.”
“Oh, good idea.”
She pulled out her own phone while he scrolled, but he didn't know what she was doing. Texting, looked like, but who? Her dad? Poppy? What was she saying to them? Wouldn't she rather talk to them? Especially since her screen was cracked.
Of course she probably didn't want to talk to them while she was in the truck with him. She probably wanted to wait until she was alone.
He scrolled through the rating app and found just what he was looking for. He tucked his phone away, and put the truck in drive.
“You found one? That fast?” she asked.
“Yeah, my phone likes the reception around here,” he said with a grin, then wondered if he should be smiling when she was hurting. “You’ll like this place, I bet.”
The hotel he wanted wasn't close, and he had to set up his navigation app to find the best route through the thickening traffic.
“Do you think it’s like this every day?” Lacey asked, pressed back against the seat, her hands by her sides.
“Probably. This is one of the fastest growing areas of the country, and all the construction slows everything down even more.”
“We’ve probably passed half a dozen hotels we could stay at.”
“Believe me, you’re going to like this one best.”
Finally they reached the turn-in, just past the worst of the construction, where the streets were torn up and the sides of the roads were ground up, piles of rock in the median. He hoped they had a better view from their hotel rooms.
If they could get rooms. He should have checked that on the app too. But summer meant families on vacation, and this destination was ideal, since it had a lazy river in addition to the pools and recreation area.
He parked the truck, and when she got out, dragging her bag out behind her, her mouth was open as she looked up at the limestone facade.
“I don't think your points are going to pay for this.”
“You’d be underestimating how much I travel,” he laughed, grabbing his own bag from the back seat.
“I don't feel like I belong here.” She looked down at her sundress, a little rumpled from the trip.
“You belong here just fine, and they have a really nice pool area. In fact, I think they have a pretty good restaurant, too, so we don't have to get out and face the traffic again.” Truth be told, he had had his fill of driving today.
“That actually sounds really good,” she said on a sigh as they walked up the wide steps to the front of the hotel. “I don't have a bathing suit, but you think they’d let me go in the water in shorts?”
“I don't see why not. But they probably have a gift shop, too.”
“Yeah, for an arm and a leg, probably, and probably not maternity.”
“I think you could probably get away with just a little larger size for now.”
She shrugged and let him hold the door for her. “So the irony is, I wouldn't be here if I wasn't pregnant. But I’m pregnant, and now I can’t drink to calm down. Kind of sucks.”
“I imagine. That’s why I’m thinking the pool would be a nice outlet.” He led the way to the desk, and asked the clerk if two rooms were available.
“You’re in luck. We had a cancelation. But I don't think I have two rooms near each other. I have a suite, though.”
A suite would be perfect. They could talk, and each have their own space. “Can I use points on it?”
