“You’re making me sound like a stalker.”
“I’m just stating facts. If those make you sound like a stalker...” He shrugged.
She huffed out a breath. “Okay, yes. I did know which house was hers. I wanted to talk to her about buying her company. And yes, our night”—she gestured between them—“together was an accident. I definitely did not know you were hernephew.”
“For someone who makes her living off cell phones, you’re really weirdly committed to in-person meetings.”
She bristled but caught the teasing glimmer dancing in his eyes. “Going to Cayucos was a desperate move. Annabelle hadn’t responded to my phone calls or messages. I thought... there might be a reason for that.”
“What reason?”
Ah, damn it. She didn’t want to reveal that part of her past if he was untainted, and also because she had a standing rule not to speak of it with anyone. But then again, if Annabelle did listen to gossip about her unchallenged, she’d lose her last shot with Matchmaker.
Practicality won out over her pride, and she took a calculated risk, first glancing around to ensure no one was lurking behind a perfectly manicured bush or tree. They stood by a fountain, the closed doors of the restaurant within sight. “This is a small industry. I used to work for Swype. WhenI left them, there were hard feelings. They spread rumors about me. Some people believed them.”Theywas reallyhebut Peter had been significantly assisted by others at Swype to shut her down and out. No need to let his bro friends and colleagues off the hook.
Samson swayed toward her, his concerned frown so real and authentic she wished she could believe that anyone cared that much about past Rhiannon. “What kind of rumors?”
“Not important.” When he looked like he might press, she played on his empathy. “I don’t like to think about it or talk about it. In any case, my name isn’t totally blemish-free. So I wondered if Annabelle had heard those whispers, if that’s why she wasn’t responding to me and I... I took some more drastic measures than I otherwise would have.”
He studied her for a long minute. She didn’t mind his hesitation. Whether he did owe her or not, she was also asking him to trust her.
With hisaunt. What pure luck, stumbling upon Annabelle’s nephew.
“Annabelle isn’t the type of person to believe rumors if she hasn’t met someone yet. And she’s not technically my aunt. She’s more of a common-law aunt,” he said, finally. “She and my uncle Joe were together for almost forty years.”
“I didn’t know she had a long-term partner.” Lakshmi was good at ferreting out information, too, so it must have been super well-hidden.
“No reason you would have. Annabelle’s always been private. To answer your question as to why we weren’t staying in her home: my uncle and I lived in my childhood home.”He squinted at her. “What interest is Matchmaker to you? Aren’t you outperforming us?”
Us.He might have only a small financial stake in Matchmaker, but he felt proprietary toward it. She filed that away in her little box of red flags, though she’d already decided to proceed as though Samson was a competitor. “I want to outperform everyone,” she said mildly. Which wasn’t a lie. She didn’t have to tell him how badly she wanted to crush Swype, specifically. “Give me twenty minutes with her. Lunch, dinner, coffee, whatever she wants. Let her hear me out, and then if she’s not interested, I’ll vanish.” Rhiannon snapped her fingers. “I only want a shot. That’s all.”Stop.She was coming perilously close to begging, and she wasn’t about that.
He hesitated and looked out at the lush greenery. “I don’t think Aunt Belle’s in a rush to sell Matchmaker, but to be honest, we haven’t exactly discussed it.”
Rhiannon tugged her sweatshirt down over her hands so she could stick her thumbs into the holes. It hadn’t occurred to her before, but what if he demanded something in return for this favor? Another date, or a kiss, or sex. She’d have to be ready for him to be awful. A dozen snappish retorts rose on her tongue.
“You know what? I don’t see the harm of an introduction. Okay.”
She opened her mouth and then closed it again. “I beg your pardon?”
“I’ll ask her if she’ll meet with you.” He leveled a stern look her way. “But like I said, she’s private, so anythingI’ve told you about her relationship with me or Joe isn’t for public consumption. And if she does meet with you, you will treat her kindly and fairly. No hardball business tactics. Aunt Belle is a sweet woman and she’s lost her sister and her partner in the same year. She might be an entrepreneur, but there’s a reason she leaves the actual running of the company to others.”
Don’t get too excited. He could flake on you.“No hardball,” she said quickly. “I know you may have heard differently, but I promise I play fair.”
“The only things I’ve heard about you, Rhiannon, have been admiring.”
She licked her dry lips. If she thought too hard about what Peter might still be saying about her, she might pull her sweatshirt hood up over her head and never come back out. She nodded. “Okay. Well. Thanks.”
“It’s the least of what I owe you.”
Yes, good. That’s how you want him to feel, like he owes you.
Now, though, the thought of him feeling indebted to her left a bad taste in her mouth. She knew grief. She’d been too young when she’d lost her father, but she had experienced loss.
The last of that knot eased up in her chest. “You don’t owe me anything,” she said gruffly. “Consider our past in the past. We’re colleagues now.”
His eyes darkened, and he took a step closer. She felt small and dainty with him so close. “Colleagues,” he murmured.
“Competitors, actually, I guess.”
