Chapter 28
Today is a travel day. The entire morning is spent checking out of the hotel, transferring to the airport, flying to Phuket, transferring to the new hotel, and getting checked in.
But nothing ever goes smoothly on travel days.
I shouldn’t even be surprised when Samorn, the hotel coordinator in Phuket, tells me we’re one room short.
“But yesterday, when you emailed me the final room assignments, there were enough for our group.” I hold up her printed email as proof.
“Yes, but you showed up today with one extra person,” Samorn says. At least her English is excellent, hopefully cutting down on further miscommunication. “I don’t have room for an extra person. We’re all booked.”
“How is that possible? I did the room list myself. Did you forget to add the last-minute add-ons? Mack and Connie Farnsworth?”
“No, their names are on the list,” Samorn says after she checks.
“What about Isaac Levy and Lauren Ashley?” Nate was in charge of adding them to the trip. Surely, this is his fault.
“I counted them as well.”
“Okay, so we’re one room short?” Nate skips to the point.
Samorn nods. “Yes.”
“Who’s missing?” He glances around the empty lobby. “All the guests have received keycards and have left for their rooms.”
“Yours.” I look at him like he’s stupid.
“No, I have a room.” He holds his key up to prove it.
I’ve been so busy getting everyone else situated that it didn’t dawn on me that I was the odd man out. I frantically search the list for my name, but it’s not there.
“It’s me.” My shoulders sink. “I don’t have a room. I accidentally left off my name from the list.”
Nate begins to laugh, but I shoot him a sharp glare. “Don’t you dare.”
“Sorry, but it’s kind of funny.” He covers his mouth with his fingers. “The queen of organization made a mistake.”
“Are you trying to get me to knee you in the groin? Because if you keep this up, that’s exactly what’s going to happen.”
He rolls his lips together, reining in his amusement.
I turn to Samorn. “What can be done? Don’t you have a room with maintenance issues or something you can give me?”
She shakes her head, slashing my hopes. “We’re fully booked.”
“Where’s the closest hotel? There has to be something around here.” I say the words even though I know it’s useless. Pureskin specifically chose a hotel far away from everything in a private inlet that you can only access by boat.
“Twenty minutes by boat.”
Not an ideal distance when you’re trying to run an event, but what other choice do I have?
“Fine. Can we call them? See what they have available.”
“Hold on.” Nate stops Samorn before she picks up the phone. “This is ridiculous. You’re not going to stay twenty minutes off-site.”
“There’s no other option.” I lift my chin, taking the punches with grace. “This is my mistake. I’ll deal with it, even if that means going off-site.”
He drags a frustrated hand down his face then looks up at the ceiling. “I can’t believe I’m saying this,” he says under his breath like he’s not talking directly to me. His brown eyes meet mine. “You can stay in my room.”
“Nate, I can’t take your room. This is my fault.” Although, bonus points for offering. First, giving me the flight upgrade, and now, offering me his hotel room. It looks like he’s finally learned how to be a gentleman since the Egypt pyramid fiasco.
He shakes his head. “Not take my room. Share it.”
The amount of blinking I do while I wrap my head around sharing a room with Nate Farnsworth could give me a world record.
“Absolutely not,” I say when I finally snap out of it.
“That’s what you said about the fake-dating thing, and here we are.”
“That was different. I had no other choice.”
“And you have so many choices right now?” I don’t appreciate the level of sarcasm in his voice. “Besides, it’s a villa. I’m sure there’s tons of room, and nobody will even bat an eye about us rooming together, because we’re dating. Optics, remember?”
I wish I could forget.
“I’ll figure something else out.” Anything else is better than rooming with Nate—tons of room or not.
“Instead of shooting down my ideas when I first suggest them, how about you just say, ‘Gee, Nate, thanks for solving all my problems’?”
“This doesn’t solve anything. It just creates more problems.”
“Fine.” He steps back, picks up his bag, slings it over his shoulder, and grabs his suitcase handle. “You seem to have everything under control here. So I’ll leave you to it. I’ll be in my room if you need me. Let me know where you end up.”
He turns to leave.
Three seconds pass as I watch him walk out of the lobby.
My eyes drift to Samorn. She lifts her brows as if saying, He’s your last hope. You better not let him walk away.
I draw in a sharp breath.
“Nate!”
His footsteps pause, but he doesn’t turn around.
“Wait. I’m coming.”
Grabbing my bags, I run after him.
I just hope I don’t regret it.
* * *
A golf cart drives us to our private villa. From the outside, it looks pretty big, which eases the doom in my chest. Only slightly . The bellhop swipes the key, opening the twelve-foot wooden door.
“After you.” Nate gestures for me to enter.
“It’s your room. You should go first.”
He rolls his eyes as he steps past me. “Not everything has to be a fight, Carly.”
Yes, it does, because if we’re not fighting, I’d probably be falling, and that’s a million times worse than our little arguments.
I follow Nate inside, glancing around the dim room as the bellhop struggles with the patio doors. Sunlight cuts through as he slides the curtains back and pulls the glass open, revealing two lounge chairs and a small private pool. Beyond the pool, there’s a perfect view of the ocean and a few limestone rocks that jut out of the water. I’m impressed with the room, but I keep my face even because this is no holiday—I don’t care what Madonna says.
As Nate tips the bellhop, I continue my tour of the villa. There’s a small chaise lounge where I’ll be sleeping. It’s the literal manifestation of, You made your bed, now lie in it. My eyes drift longingly to the king-sized bed and fluffy pillows. I could’ve had it all if it weren’t for one stupid mistake.
I keep walking but immediately stop when I notice the bathroom. I’m standing at the foot of the bed and have an unobstructed view into the bathroom, the glass toilet room, and the glass shower. Nate joins me by my side, tilting his head as he examines the six-foot cutout between the bedroom and the bathroom where there should be a wall.
“That’s a problem for privacy.”
“You think?”
He turns to me with a smug expression. “Well, typically, this room is occupied by honeymooners and couples in love.”
I give him a tight smile. “Not this week.”
“I guess we’ll have to take turns using the bathroom. Only shower when the other person is out of the room.”
“What if I need to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night?”
“Go to the bathroom.” He shrugs.
“The walls are glass. You’ll see me.”
“No, I’ll be asleep, so I won’t see anything.”
I grab my suitcase and head for the walk-in closet. “I hate this arrangement.”
“You only have yourself to blame.”
Then I hate myself as well.
After unpacking my stuff, I pull out my phone. It’s been such a busy day that I haven’t had the chance to check my messages yet. There’s a reminder notification that my period starts tomorrow, which I swipe away, and then another notification from Mr. International that I promptly click.
@worth_traveling_to:
Do you have a good relationship with your parents? Assuming you have parents. Sorry if you don’t and I just made you feel bad.
Grateful for the distraction, I take a seat on the bench in the closet.
@girl_sees_the_world:
You’re fine. I have parents. I wouldn’t say I have a great relationship with them. But that’s mostly on me. I’m the one who pulled away.
I scroll through Instagram, hoping he answers soon. My eyes peek at Nate in the mirror. From my spot in the closet, I have an angle of him. He’s lying on the bed with his feet crossed, looking at his phone. When I look down again, there’s a notification that Mr. International messaged back.
@worth_traveling_to:
Do you regret pulling away from them?
@girl_sees_the_world:
I had to pull back for my own mental sanity. But I love them, and I know they love me. They’re good people, and they only want the best for me, so I can see myself, in the future, letting past hurts go and putting in a greater effort. What about you? Do you have a good relationship with your parents?
@worth_traveling_to:
Yes and no. My mom is amazing. I’d do anything for that woman, but the relationship is rough with my dad. Always has been. I don’t know if things will ever be good between us. There are just some things that can’t be repaired. Unless I take a page from your book and let past hurts go and then ignore everything else that comes out of his mouth after that.
I glance up at Nate again, feeling the familiarity between what he told me about his relationship with his dad and what Mr. International said. Family relationships are just complicated, no matter who you are.
@girl_sees_the_world:
Siblings?
@worth_traveling_to:
One. You?
@girl_sees_the_world:
A few more than that.
@worth_traveling_to:
How cryptic of you.
@girl_sees_the_world:
That is the name of the game between us, isn’t it?
@worth_traveling_to:
True, but just so you know, barely getting to know you has been my favorite thing these past ten months.
@girl_sees_the_world:
I feel the same way.
“That’s quite the smile. What’s his name?”
“What?” I jump to my feet, fumbling with my phone. “Who?”
Nate leans against the door frame with his arms folded. “The guy you’re texting. What’s his name?”
There’s no way I’m telling Nate. One: because I don’t even know the name of the guy I’m falling for. And two: having a pen pal is a humiliating admission I’d rather not say out loud.
“It’s no one.” I tuck my phone into my back pocket and push past him, taking my makeup and self-care bag into the bathroom.
He spins, following after me. “He’s definitely not no one. You wouldn’t smile like that unless you really liked him.”
“How do you know?” I point my glare at him.
“Because you never smile at me like that.”
“That’s because I don’t like you.”
“Exactly,” he laughs. “Anyway, I need to get a new toothbrush at the gift shop. Do you need anything there?” His brows stay lifted like there’s a hidden message behind his question.
“No.”
“I’ll just see what they have and grab the… basics .”
“Okay.”
“Then I might head to the beach and go for a run before dinner.”
“Your minute-to-minute itinerary is unnecessary, but thanks.” I open the shower door and put my razor, shampoo, and conditioner inside.
“It’s not an update; it’s a courtesy announcement that I need to change into my running shorts. But if you don’t care, I’ll just drop my trousers right here.”
“No, thank you.” I hold a hand up. “I’d have to bleach my eyes afterward, so I’ll just leave to avoid that painful experience. I want to check out the spa anyway.”
I hear Nate snicker behind me as I grab my fanny pack and room key, but I don’t look back.
There’s nothing there I want to see.