“Physio. Cool. I could use a little physio myself after racquetball. You do massages as well?”
“Yes.”
“Wow.” He seems impressed.
She blushes again. Stop being a schoolgirl! You’re twenty-four years old!
“So what do you do?” she asks.
She doesn’t expect him to reply with an affirmative profession, being in a family of multimillionaires, and so she is surprised when he says, “I’m in real estate.”
“Selling properties?”
“Yeah, buying and selling properties and stuff. My family owns a real estate agency. We buy houses and buildings, refurbish them and sell them for a profit. Or else we rent them.”
Figures.
“That sounds interesting.”
“Not really.” He laughs. “But it’s what keeps the Walkers going.”
And they are kept going very nicely, she thinks.
“And you run the hotel as well?”
“We have a manager to run the hotel and the other hotels we own in Oregon State.”
“Where do you live? In a hotel?” she teases.
“Actually, I do. It’s called the Chatterly, and I live in a suite pretty much like yours. I like the convenience and the room service.”
Yes, she can quite see him living the bachelor life in a hotel where he can come and go as he pleases.
“What about your family?”
“They live in their own little house on a hill. It’s just my Dad and my sister, Margarete. My Mom died when I was in my teens.”
“I’m sorry.”
His handsome face clouds for a second. “Yeah.” Then it passes as soon as it appeared. “The Chatterly is where we are going now.”
“Oh?”
He wants to get me into bed so soon? she thinks, disappointed.
“Yes. It has a killer Italian restaurant called ‘Figo’s’. The best in the state, quite honestly, or maybe I’m biased. I hired the chef myself from Sardinia. He does the meanest fish soup I have ever tasted outside of Italy.”
“Fish soup?” She wrinkles her nose. Being brought up in the desert, fish is not that appealing to her tastes.
“You’ll see what I mean.”
The rest of the ride is filled with amiable ‘getting to know you’ banter. Shannon is completely at ease. She has not enjoyed being with a man in such a long time. Maybe it’s because he’s so handsome and personable and he is flattering you with so much attention.
They arrive at the Chatterly, which is another old-style mansion with multiple branching wings which has been converted to a boutique hotel. Again, the gardens are resplendent with lush blooms.
“It’s beautiful,” she says in wonder.
“I have an excellent horticulturist. We grow our own flowers in our own greenhouses.”
Is there nothing his family doesn’t own?
He parks the car in a reserved parking lot amid the other cars in the crowded parking area. Then he comes around again to open the door for her. He has amazing manners, she decides. He probably uses them to charm a lot of girls into his bed.
He escorts her into the hotel, whose reception area is crowded tonight with a whole lot of well-dressed people. The air rings with their chatter and occasional laughter.
“We are hosting a wedding party tonight, but that would be in the ballroom.”
He steers her into the direction of a restaurant done in white, green and red colors – the colors of the Italian flag. A sign in gold lettering says ‘Figo’s’.
He makes a face. “Tacky, I know, but this is a small town and sometimes you have to practically beat folks here over the head to let them know this is an Italian restaurant. Subtlety just doesn’t do it.”
Inside, the restaurant is filled with patrons. The tables are lined with white paper instead of cloth, and Shannon sees some people scribbling onto the paper with provided crayons. The low bustle of dining chatter fills the dimly lighted atmosphere.
“It’s full,” she notes, disappointed.
“No worries.” Lucien smiles at the maître ‘d, who is hastening through a path between the tables to come to him. “Full house tonight, Gino?”
“Indeed, Mr. Walker. But there is always a table for you and your lovely lady friend.” Gino appraises Shannon as though to say, Good choice. Or he might have been thinking, Poor girl will be dumped after tonight.
They follow Gino to the back of the eatery behind a screen. Here, some discreet tables have been set up. Oak paneling separate these into booths, and the plush red berth chairs are affixed to the dividers. The same paper covers the tables. Neatly folded paper napkins are placed for two persons per table.
“It’s more private here,” states Lucien.