Page 4 of Then There Was You

“Were you leaving?” she asked, hoping to draw his attention to the fact that he’d blocked the entrance and she had an armful of shopping bags she’d like to put down.

“No.” He shook his head, as though clearing cobwebs from his mind, then backed away to let her in. She couldn’t help but notice that his cheeks were red and his breath was coming quickly. What was up with that? “I was looking for you, as a matter of fact.”

“For me?” she asked, surprised. Brooke should have been taking care of guests while Kat was gone. She looked around, seeing no sign of her friend. “Did you want to book a room for the night? I think we’re nearly full, but I should be able to find a place for you somewhere.”

She mentally ran through the rooms, starting at the distant end of the east wing and working her way toward the foyer, which occupied the center space between the two wings. The rooms on the end were full, but the third along may be free if the elderly chap who’d been staying there for his niece’s wedding had checked out.

But then her new guest spoke again. “I’m not interested in checking in.”

Kat’s eyes jerked up to his. The words were a little too abrupt.

“Oh, Katarina! There you are, dear.” Betty, the president of the local Bridge Club, and her fellow club member, Mavis, hurried in, both ruffled and out of breath. Mavis still wore her gardening gloves. The stranger shrank away from them, placing Kat between him and the women, like a human shield.

Something was fishy here. Kat looked from Betty to Mavis to the blond man and her eyes narrowed. “Someone better explain what’s going on. Fast.”

The man stuck out his hand. “I’m Sterling Knight from Lockwood Holdings.” He looked at her as though she were supposed to know what that meant.

“Never heard of it.”

His jaw dropped and he raised an eyebrow at Betty, who put her hands on her hips and lifted her chin in a gesture of defiance. Kat was both intrigued and exasperated. It wouldn’t be the first time Betty had gotten herself into more trouble than she could handle.

“You haven’t?” he asked. “Fancy that.”

“Betty,” Kat said sternly. “Explain.”

Betty squirmed and studied the floor. “We were only looking out for you, dear.”

“Mavis?” Kat asked.

“This gentleman wants to buy Sanctuary, bowl it down, and replace it with a five-star resort,” Mavis said bluntly.

Kat choked, her throat seizing in horror. Demolish Sanctuary? Her Sanctuary? The home she’d made livable with her own hands? Over her dead body.

“Mavis!” Betty gasped, clasping a hand to her heart as though she’d been personally betrayed. “You’ve done it now. She’s going to pass out.”

Mavis shrugged. “She would have found out the minute this scoundrel opened his mouth.”

Kat closed her eyes, hauled in a deep breath, and circled over to stand next to Betty and Mavis, reminding herself that no one could take Sanctuary away from her. She owned it outright.

“I take it you didn’t know,” Sterling Knight said, cool and unaffected by her display of emotion.

Kat swallowed, her throat tightening dangerously. “No.”

“I emailed, and when you didn’t reply, I wrote several letters, and arranged a meeting with you.”

Kat nodded. The emails had probably gone straight to the trash folder. She tended to delete anything that wasn’t clearly related to her accommodation business, especially if it looked like someone trying to sell her something. She didn’t have the mental capacity to deal with them.

Sterling glanced at Betty. “At least I thought I had. Betty met with me instead and said that she was your representative and you weren’t interested.”

Despite herself, Kat chuckled. “Oh she did, did she?” She leveled a look at her friend, who blushed.

“Well, it’s true,” Betty muttered. “You’re not interested.”

“Mavis, were you involved in this, too?”

Mavis held Kat’s gaze like the little bull terrier she was. “Yes, and I don’t regret it. You’ve got enough on your mind. The last thing you need is to deal with someone like him, so we took care of it.”

Kat’s lips twitched, but she flattened them into a line. Best not to give Betty and Mavis any sign that she appreciated their support or was amused by their efforts on her behalf. They’d never behave if she encouraged them.

Source: www.allfreenovel.com