"This is my favorite spot," Ida said, taking a deep whiff of the floral-scented air. "I feel like I'm in my own garden instead of a courtyard surrounded by two hundred bedrooms."
"That's part of the charm of the Stratton. It feels a lot like home, or, in some cases, better than home."
Ida crossed her arms as the breeze lifted her hair. "Fall is definitely in the air."
"I'm ready. I love this time of the year."
"Me, too." Ida gave her a smile. "I have a favor to ask of you, Maggie."
"I'm happy to help."
"Good. I was hoping you would say that. My nephew is in town, and he's a wonderful boy, but I find I just don't have the energy to take him around and show him the sights." Ida sighed wearily. "My age is catching up with me, you know."
Maggie looked at her doubtfully, remembering two days earlier when she had seen her playing an active game of tennis with one of the resident pros.
"I hate to impose," Ida continued, "but I wonder if you could meet him for breakfast tomorrow and show him around downtown. I'll be tied up with the convention until the afternoon, and I really don't want him to be stuck in the hotel all morning. He'll be so bored and then he'll never come visit me again. Your shift doesn't start until three. I know it's a lot to ask, but I promise to return the favor."
Maggie thought of all the things she had planned for Saturday morning. But Mrs. Stratton rarely asked her for anything. How could she refuse such a simple request? Plus, she might need that favor one day.
"I'd be happy to compensate you for the time," Ida added.
"You don't have to do that. It's not a problem. I'd be happy to show your nephew around."
A smile spread across Ida's face. "That's wonderful. You're such a charming girl and always so friendly to everyone, I know he'll have fun with you. Why don't I drop him off at your house tomorrow morning around nine? Would that work? He's a sweet boy. I'm quite sure you'll like him."
"If he's anything like you, I'm positive I will."
"Good. How is everything else going?"
"It's great," she said, opting for the simplest answer. In truth, her life at the front desk had gotten worse and worse the past few months, but going against her boss would not get her anywhere.
"That's good to hear. I'll let you go then." As Ida stood up, she said, "Do you have a date tonight?"
"With my PJs and a good video."
"It's Friday night, dear. You should be getting romanced by some gorgeous man."
"I should be," she said with a laugh. "Unfortunately, there seem to be a lack of gorgeous men in my life."
"Well, you never know when that will change."
Thinking back to the crazy kiss she'd received earlier that day, she had to agree with Ida. "That's true. But I'm not worried about dating. It's all about work for me right now."
"Well, I appreciate your drive, dear, but a happy life should be filled with both work and play. Don't forget that."
"True." While she wasn't averse to playtime with a gorgeous man, she hadn't met anyone she really liked in a long time. She was beginning to wonder if she ever would. Five of her best friends had recently fallen in love and were now either married or engaged, so she was starting to feel the pressure of her late twenties. Her bridesmaid budget was also getting strained once again with the wedding of her friend Julie Michaels to Matt Kingsley in early December.
As she said good-bye to Mrs. Stratton and headed to the employee parking lot, her phone rang, and Julie's name flashed across the screen.
"Hi, Jules," she said, as she got into her car. "It's so weird; I was just thinking about you. How are the wedding plans going?"
"To be honest, they're a little overwhelming."
"Really?" She was surprised at the tension in Julie's voice. Julie was a fundraiser. She threw huge events all the time. A wedding should be a piece of cake. "What's going on?"
"Kate is going a little over the top with the wedding plans," Julie replied. "I hate to complain because she's doing everything for free, but this morning she told me she found this amazing horse and carriage she thinks I should ride away from the church in. Can you imagine me in a horse and carriage?"
Maggie laughed, thinking it was romantic, but didn't really fit the more practical Julie. "So tell her no."
"I tried. She said, 'just see it, you'll love it.'"
"Maybe you will love it."
"I don't think so. I want a small, intimate wedding, Maggie. Matt's professional life is so big. I want the wedding to feel personal. I want it to be just friends and family, the people who really matter to both of us."
That made sense. Matt Kingsley was the star player for the San Francisco Cougars baseball team, and fans often approached him and Julie for autographs and photographs. They rarely got through a restaurant meal without an interruption, and she couldn't imagine what it felt like to live in that kind of a fishbowl. But Julie had grown up in the world of pro baseball so at least she was familiar with the world.
"Don’t worry, Jules. Your wedding will be perfect, and it will feel personal. We'll make sure of that. Do you want me to talk to Kate?"
"No, I just wanted to vent for a second. I'm fine. I'm happy to be marrying Matt, and I shouldn't be complaining."
"You're allowed. And you're certainly not the first bride to get a little tense. Liz was completely stressed out the month before her wedding. Just remember that it's not about the day; it's about the life you're going to have with Matt."
"I know. I never thought I could love a man this much," Julie said, her voice filled with emotion.
"He loves you, too. You should see the way he looks at you when you're not looking at him—like he's been in the desert for a long time, and you're a beautiful shimmering waterfall."
Julie laughed. "Okay, that was good."
"It was, wasn't it?"
"Thanks for cheering me up, Maggie. So, it looks like the Cougars will be playing at home on Monday in the first game of the playoffs. I've reserved a box, and I want you to come. You're off on Mondays, right?"
"Yes, that sounds like fun."
"Good, Jessica is going to come, too. She's thinking of moving back to the Bay Area with Brandon. She wants to be closer to her family. I think it's really difficult being a single mom."
"I'm sure it is. It would be great if she were closer." Jessica had been living in San Diego the past several years and they only got to see her for the occasional weekend.
"It would be great if you were closer, too," Julie said pointedly. "Why do you have to live in Napa? There are luxury hotels in San Francisco."
"I like the Stratton and I love Napa. I'm not a city girl anymore. I like space around me. I like to be able to park in front of the drugstore."
"That is a luxury," Julie said with a laugh. "Anyway, I have to run. Matt and I are going to meet Isabella and Nick for dinner."
"That will be fun." Despite her defense of Napa, she did feel a little sad that she didn't get to see her friends as often as they saw each other. Not that she didn't have friends in Napa, but her group of college friends was special. They were the ones who knew her the best, who'd seen her at her best and at her worst and loved her unconditionally as she loved them.
"What are your plans tonight, Maggie?" Julie asked.
"It's been a long day, so I'm going to have a quiet night."
"You've been having too many of those lately. You're twenty-seven. You should be dating and dancing till dawn."
"Been there, done that—not all that exciting anymore."
"So there's no one new in your life?"
She hesitated, but couldn't stop herself from saying, "Well, a sexy stranger did walk into the hotel today and kissed the life out of me, so I guess that's new."
Julie gasped. "Seriously? Who? How? What?"
She laughed at the onslaught of questions. "He thought I was someone else."
"That sounds like a line."
"It does, doesn't it? I'm sure that's exactly what it was."
"He's staying at the hotel for the next week, so it's possible. But don't get too excited; he's not at all my type. He's a biker with long hair and a scruffy beard, and I'm betting there was at least one tattoo under the sleeves of his leather jacket."
"That sounds exactly like the type of guy you went after in college."
She winced at the reminder. "That was when I was young and stupid."
"And sad," Julie said quietly.
"That, too. But I learned my lesson. I stay away from bad boys now."
"What if they don't stay away from you?"
Julie's question sent a tingle down her spine. "I doubt he'll come looking for me. A man like that could have any woman he wanted."
"Except you, apparently. How was the kiss?"
"Pretty spectacular," she admitted. "What else would you expect from a sexy bad boy? I'm sure he's had lots of practice."
"Well, let me know if anything else happens."
"I will, but I wouldn't hold your breath."
"We'll talk soon. Love you, Mags."
"Love you, too," she said, as she ended the call.
She'd met Julie freshman year in college. Their dorm floor had provided the seven best friends of her life: the twins Andrea and Laurel, Julie and Liz, who'd grown up together, Isabella, Jessica, and Kate. Three of those women were already married and Julie and Isabella were engaged. She had a feeling she was going to be the last single woman standing in the not so distant future.
As she started the car and drove through the parking lot, she couldn't help glancing up at the third-floor hotel window where Cole Hastings was stashed in the worst room in the place. "No more bad boys," she muttered as she forced herself to look away.
* * *
Saturday morning, Cole stepped off the private elevator that led to his aunt's two-bedroom apartment on the top floor of the Stratton and knocked on the door. It was half past eight, and he was hungry and a little grumpy, which was often his usual state in the morning.
"Hello, honey," Ida said cheerfully as she opened the door. She stood on tiptoe to kiss his cheek. Then she shook a finger at him. "Did you forget to shave?"
"I didn't forget. This is the new me. It's part of my cover."
"I see. Well, come in. I have something to discuss with you."
Cole halted halfway through the door. "That sounds ominous."
She laughed. "I thought you stopped worrying when you quit your big job."
"Good point."
Ida took his hand and pulled him over to the couch in her living room. "When we were talking last night, I got to thinking about how best to use your sharp eye, and I think I have a plan. I don't want Mr. Stone to know who you are or what you're doing here, at least not yet."
"That's not a problem. I can observe a lot without involving him."
"Yes, but observation today may be a problem and tomorrow as well. We're hosting a conservative women's convention this weekend, and there will be hundreds of lovely but very proper women in the hotel. I don't think you're going to fit in. I'd like you to disappear for the morning. We can meet back up around two for tea."
"All right. I can do that," he said warily, quite certain his aunt had more to say.
"Good. I'd love for you to take a look at the downtown area. You haven't been to Napa in years, and I'd love for you to get a better picture of the town and how we might enhance our hotel offerings to both locals and tourists."
"Fine. I'll hit the hot spots. But first, I'm going to grab breakfast in the café."
Ida grabbed his arm as he stood up. "The café is hosting breakfast for the convention."
"Then tell me where the nearest doughnut shop is, and I'll get out of your hair."
"One-twenty-five Paloma. I'll give you directions."
Cole's eyes narrowed. "You know the address to the doughnut shop?"
Ida laughed. "Of course not. I've arranged for you to meet one of my friends. She's going to have breakfast with you and show you the town. I want you to be polite. She's a very nice woman."
"You hooked me up with one of your lady friends?" He ran a hand through his hair. "Do I have to change and shave?"
"Only if you want to."
"I don't."
"Then go as you are. I don't want to make things difficult for you."
"Sure you don't." Cole shook his head warningly. "I'll do this, but no more plans, please. I'm here to check out operations in the hotel, and if you're not going to let me do that, I'll call Uncle Bill and tell him his sister is being difficult."
"My brother may oversee the hotel chain, but at the Stratton, I'm the boss." Ida pushed him out the door of her suite. "Thanks, honey, I really appreciate this. See you this afternoon."
* * *
Paloma Street was located a few blocks from downtown and the Napa River. Small, charming cottages sat on large lots filled with trees, greenery, and other vegetation, giving a somewhat rural vibe to the neighborhood. He couldn't quite imagine one of his aunt's cronies living here, but at least his motorcycle didn't look out of place.
As he paused at a stop sign, two male teenagers working on a beat-up car gave his bike a long look, and he couldn't help but smile to himself. A few years ago, he would not have thought one second about impressing a couple of kids with the roar of a motorcycle. Entrepreneurs and big-business CEOs had been his targets. He'd certainly come a long way from his days of expensive Italian suits, private planes, and high-end cars.
Some of his friends would say he'd gone down—way down. Maybe he had, but it felt a lot better to have the sun on his skin and the wind at his back than to be sitting in an office fifteen hours a day making another buck to spend on something he wouldn't have time to enjoy.
This was the life. No strings, no attachments, no messy personal relationships...and nothing to tie him down. He would not get caught up in the trap of commitment again. Now, the only thing he valued was freedom.
As he continued down the street, he checked the addresses, realizing that the house he was looking for sat at the end of the cul-de-sac, fringed with a thick patch of tall eucalyptus trees. The one-story home was painted bright white with blue shutters adorning the windows. There were tall hedges on both sides of the property. A large utility truck blocked his view of the driveway, and he took the turn a little faster than he should have. Although he'd gotten used to the bike on his long ride up from LA, he still wasn't an expert, and the wheelbarrow in the middle of the driveway took him completely by surprise.
Swearing under his breath, he pulled the bike quickly to the right, and hung on tight as the powerful machine ran off the driveway, through a garden and finally came to rest on the middle of the front lawn. He hoped Aunt Ida's friend had a sense of humor.
The front door opened, followed by a feminine shriek of alarm and the sound of the screen door banging in disapproval. He winced to himself and slowly removed his helmet, then turned his head, prepared to offer a heartfelt apology.
"Oh my God, you've killed Henry," she said.
He didn't know which surprised him more—her cryptic words, or the fact that the woman his aunt had sent him to meet was the beautiful redhead from the hotel, who had appeared in a few of his dreams the night before.
"I can't believe it," she muttered, her gaze meeting his. "You? What are you doing here?"
"My aunt sent me here, and who's Henry?"
"I hope to God you missed him, because there is no way I could grow another one like him in a week."
Cole followed Maggie across the lawn to a garden not only thick with vines but also covered with sheets. "Who is Henry?" he asked, really hoping there wasn't a body under those sheets.
Maggie knelt on the ground and pulled the sheet away to reveal an incredibly massive pumpkin. "This is Henry and he looks okay, thank goodness." She patted the pumpkin with her hand. "No scars or scratches." She blew out a breath of relief.
Cole squatted down next to her. "Do you always nam
e your vegetables?"
"Only my favorites, and this one is very, very special. He's going to win me a blue ribbon in the Harvest Festival next week. I've entered the pumpkin growing competition. I can't compete with the giant pumpkins, but I think I have a chance in the next division down. Henry looks to weigh about a hundred pounds, and he's pretty, too, so he should get high marks on symmetry and color. I just hope the trauma of having your motorcycle almost run him over won't stunt his growth. He grows about two inches every night."
Cole smiled, thinking the redhead might be pretty but she was apparently also a little crazy. "Maybe you should send old Hank to a pumpkin doctor just to be sure there are no long-lasting effects."
Maggie sent him a disgusted look. "Ha-Ha. You obviously don't appreciate a good pumpkin."
"I prefer my pumpkin in a pie. I'll bet Hank would be tasty. What do you say we just cut him open?"
Cole teasingly reached for the pumpkin, but Maggie grabbed his wrist. "Don't you dare!"
Her abrupt move sent her tumbling against him. He lost his balance and ended up flat on his back in the dirt. There was a hard rock under his spine, but having Maggie on top of him was pretty damn hot. Her full breasts pressed against his chest. Her cheeks were red with anger, her blue eyes parking with indignation, and her beautiful strawberry blonde hair tumbled around her shoulders.
Her mouth called to him as it had the day before, her soft lips beckoning with a sweet sensuality that was both enticing and terrifying, because as much as he liked to have fun with a beautiful woman, he had the feeling that having fun with Maggie would take him places he did not want to go.
It was that self-preservation instinct that made him set Maggie to the side and get to his feet.
He held out his hand and helped Maggie up. "I was just kidding," he said.
She brushed the dirt off the back of her shirt and jeans and gave him an irritated frown. "Tell me again why you're here."
"Aunt Ida told me you were going to take me to breakfast and show me downtown Napa."
"Aunt Ida?" she echoed with a raise of her brow. "You're Mrs. Stratton's nephew?"
Falling Into You (Bachelors & Bridesmaids Book 5) Page 2
