“What’s going on?”
“I thought Mom made a reservation for us separately. I mean, I know the chapel had one room reserved, but I thought Mom made a separate reservation. Obviously, she skipped that step when she found out they did that, so we just have the one suite.”
“Oh.” Unable to think of anything else to say, she snapped her mouth shut. While the thought of spending the night with Nolan would have fulfilled her teenage dreams, now it was simply... awkward. Especially since it appeared sharing a room with her was the last thing he wanted to do. It was obvious he was not happy about having to spend the night with her. She followed as he stalked down the hall toward their door. Even though she had no illusions of being with him, the sting of rejection hit once again.
He unlocked the door and threw it open, stepping in. She followed, looking around. While she would not call the accommodations luxury, they were certainly nice. They stepped into a room complete with a deep-cushioned sofa and two chairs facing an entertainment center with a wide-screened TV. In the corner was a wet bar and refrigerator. As Nolan stalked over to the windows and drew them open, she spied a view of the thick mountain forests. A door led into the bedroom, with a king-sized bed centering the space, complete with the requisite nightstands and chest of drawers with another wide-screened TV on top. To the left was a large bathroom, beautifully appointed with a soaking tub and a massive shower.
When she walked back into the living area, Nolan was standing at the room-size window looking out at the view. His back was straight, and his hands were on his hips, but she had no idea how to read his body language.
“Listen, Nolan, I know it was weird to run into Mr. Hightower downstairs. That kept you from getting another room. I certainly don’t need all this space, so we can go back down and ask them to get another room for me.”
First, his head turned slowly to capture her gaze, then his body followed. “I’m not sure that would be wise, Lynn. It threw me that we’d only have one room, but I got the feeling from the look Errol shared with the receptionist he’s well known to them. I don’t think we should take a chance to have him question our motives.”
She nibbled on her bottom lip, then cocked her head to the side. “Our motives?”
“We’re supposed to be on our honeymoon, so we need to keep up the appearance in case he’s around. Plus, I’m sure it’s already crossed your mind that we now have a birds’ eye view into what his gambling habits are like.”
He stepped away from the window, moving closer until he was directly in front of her. Her head leaned back so that she could keep her gaze on his face. She found it difficult to think straight when he was so close but forced her mind back to the reason they were here. “Ye…” She cleared her throat. “Yes, I’d thought about it.” She glanced around to the side and asked, “Are you okay here? Here with me?”
“Yeah, sure, of course.”
His gaze was intense and she looked toward the sofa. “It’ll be easy for me to sleep out here. I’m certainly not tall, so I’ll fit. Plus, I might be up late going through the records—”
“Abso-fucking-lutely not!”
Startled, her gaze shot back up to his face, not knowing how to interpret his mood.
“If you think for one minute that I’m gonna let you sleep on the couch while I take a king-sized bed, you don’t know me.” He dragged his hand through his hair again and continued, “I’ll be fine out here.”
She thought about arguing but decided against it. Wanting to change the subject, she said, “How about that meal? Are you still hungry?” His shoulders relaxed and his scowl slid away.
“Yes.” Turning, he walked over to the desk in the corner and grabbed the resort notebook. Looking over his shoulder, he said, “Come take a look and let’s figure out where we want to eat.”
She hurried to his side, and they spent a few minutes familiarizing themselves with the resort’s facilities. “Oh, my goodness, they have an all-you-can-eat buffet! Look at these pictures!”
“It looks amazing, but remember that all the guests and families will pile into it.”
Scrunching her nose, she nodded. “You’re right. How about the steakhouse restaurant here? That’s listed as their premier restaurant.”
“Sounds perfect.” He cast his gaze over her. “I know it’s a little early, but why don’t we go on? We’re dressed for it and it shouldn’t be crowded for a late lunch or early dinner.”
It was obvious his mood had shifted back to a happier Nolan, and she decided to go with the flow. Smiling up at him, she said, “Just let me run to the bathroom and freshen up. It’ll just take me a couple of minutes.”
She turned and grabbed her overnight case and walked into the bathroom, shutting the door. She stood in the middle of the room for a moment, her eyes closed as she tried to settle her nerves. The day had been a whirlwind of activity, and her brain was desperate to play catch up. She walked over to the sink and stared at her reflection. Her makeup still highlighted her delicate features. Her hair held its wave, the front having stayed in its clip. Her super-powered deodorant had performed well. The wrinkles in her dress were minimal. At first glance, she looked very much like she had the first thing that morning.
Her gaze dropped to her hands resting on the
