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Smart dog.
I rose to shake Hubricht’s hand. “Thanks for having us.”
“My pleasure, son. Zeke seems to approve of you, a point in your favor. He’s an excellent judge of character.”
“I’ll take it as a compliment,” I said. “Hubricht, I’d like to introduce you to my girlfriend, Amy Hudson.”
“A pleasure, and please call me Hue,” he replied, taking Amy’s hand as she fended off Zeke.
Hue introduced us to his wife, Felicia.
“Felicia, what a wonderful name. It has a Latin origin, if I recall,” I told her. “It meanshappiness. I love it.”
Felicia blushed. “Why thank you, Liam. I didn’t know that.”
“And what does my name mean?” Hue asked me.
“He with a bright heart,” I told him. It was one I’d had to look up before coming over.
A proud smile grew on the old man’s face. “So how long have you two been seeing each other?”
One minute inside the door and the inquisition had begun.
“Seven months now. Christmas roughly,” I answered.
Hue turned to Amy. “I asked for this private room so we could bring Zeke along. I hope that’s okay. Sorry about his manners.”
Amy touched his arm gently. “I love Labs. We had two of them when I was growing up. He’s really nice. And don’t worry, he’s better behaved than Liam is half the time.”
Hue laughed and went to the sideboard. He picked up the phone and asked for the waiter.
Felicia took Amy aside. “Amy, I have to say your necklace is simply stunning,”
Amy glowed. “Why thank you. Liam got it for me.”
Felicia glanced at her husband, who was still on the phone ordering appetizers and wine for us. “I’m so envious. I wish Hue would get me something half as beautiful.”
“I heard that,” he said from across the room. “Liam, you’re making me look bad.”
“Sorry, Hue, when I look at Amy, I can’t control myself. I just thought it would compliment the beauty of her eyes.”
Hue joined us and got a nudge from his wife. “You could learn a thing or two from this man, Hubricht.”
“I keep trying to get him to stop that,” Amy told Felicia with a warm blush rising in her cheeks.
“Stop what?” Felicia asked.
“The gratuitous compliments. He’s always trying to embarrass me,” Amy complained.
“We could trade problems,” Felicia suggested. “Then you might miss it.”
Hue chuckled, but wisely nodded and avoided responding. Instead, he welcomed us over to the window to take in the view of the city. The hotel wasn’t tall enough to get a really good view, but it beat out street level.
Amy put her arm around me. “Liam tells me you're originally from South Africa. I hear it's a breathtaking country.”
“Yes, it is,” Felicia answered. “But we haven't been back in thirty years. This is our home now.”
Amy held me tight. “But you must still love it. You named your company after the national animal of South Africa.”
