Page 23 of Last Minute

She’s right. It’s not like we’ll end up in the tabloids because one hotel receptionist mistook us for a couple.

The elevator doors part, and a group of people filters off. Ellie steps closer to me, and I reach up to cover the hand she has on my elbow with my own.

We step in, and as we wait for the elevator doors to close, a rogue thought hits me.

“If we were married,” I begin, my chest tightening with each word. My heart becomes a racehorse jockey, hanging on for dear life as my pulse shoots off like a Kentucky Derby winner. “Wouldn’t it be Mr. and Mrs. Donovan?”

The reflective doors slide shut, trapping me and Ellie. I watch her face in the reflection, not daring to look at her directly, as she mulls over my question. Her eyes meet mine in the reflection, still full of twinkling amusement.

“Nope.” She pops the p for emphasis. “I would keep my family’s name, which you could adopt, if you wished. Or you could keep your own last name.”

Silence falls as we ride up two floors, walk down the hallway, and shut ourselves in the room.

I study Ellie’s body language as she sets her luggage on the end of the bed.

“I swear, I booked a double room,” she says as I step into the room behind her. Her arms hang loose at her sides, and she doesn’t seem bothered that I posed a theoretical Erik-and-Ellie relationship question. The tension in my chest eases as Ellie turns to me with a smile and leans back against the bed.

“Don’t worry about it,” I say as I tuck my bag into a corner of the room. “I’ll take the floor. It’s not the worst place I’ve ever slept.”

Ellie tilts her head to the side. “I’d offer to give you the bed, but I know you won’t let me.”

“Princesses shouldn’t have to sleep on the floor.”

Ellie rolls her eyes, but softens the expression with a smile. “But what about incognito princesses?”

I snort. Ellie scoots to the side, leaving a space on the end of the bed for me, which she pats in invitation. Instead of joining her, I cross my arms and stay put. “What are your plans for today?”

When she realizes I’m not going to join her on the bed, she slips her phone out of her pocket and pulls up her list.

“Well, there’s watching a movie in a theater and college football.” Ellie lowers her phone to look up at me. “Are there college football games on Wednesdays at eleven in the morning?”

I shake my head. “Not usually.”

“So that leaves a movie.” Ellie flips to a different app and starts typing away on her phone. “Are you a fan of horror movies?”

“No.”

Ellie looks up at me, her eyebrows raised. “Really?”

“Really.” After five years in law enforcement, and then my time with Black Swan, I don’t need unnecessary stress triggers like jump scares and fabricated fictional suspense.

“What about Oppenheimer?”

I mull it over for a second, but then shake my head. That’s sort of a depressing movie for someone who is on vacation to do new and exciting things.

“Well, all that leaves is Barbie.” Ellie squints one eye at me, her mouth twisting into a smirk. “Surely, you’d like to go see Barbie.”

There’s a reason I don’t go to movies on my days off. I’m picky.

But I feel bad about being the one preventing Ellie from crossing something off of her list. This isn’t my vacation, it’s hers. When I open my mouth to tell Ellie I’ll go to Barbie, she shakes her head.

“I’m kidding, Erik. We don’t have to go see a movie. I’m already making you go to the wedding. We can find something else that you don’t mind to fill the time. I can pull something up on my phone, or the hotel TV. It’s fine.” With a smile, she scoots herself fully onto the bed. “How about you go downstairs and grab us some lunch from the restaurant next door, and I’ll pick a movie to watch here.”

When I don’t move, Ellie shoos her hands at me. “Go! Lunch! I’ll be fine right here for the ten minutes it will take.” She crosses her heart. “I promise I will stay right here.”

I do a quick lap of the room while Ellie watches, making sure it’s secure before I take a key card from her and hustle down to get us lunch.

It takes twenty minutes to get our food. I’m antsy to get back to the room, even though I know Ellie will most likely be fine. We haven’t had any incidents yet, and although I know better than to say something and have karma bite me in the butt, it’s shaping up to be an incognito trip for Her Royal Highness.

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