Page 80 of Pretend Girlfriend

“It’s not your fault,” I repeated. “But if you really want to make it up to me, you can buy me breakfast.”

“Breakfast is included.”

“Exactly! And right now you’re delaying my path to pancakes.”

Downstairs, before we reached the breakfast room, the resort manager quickly intercepted us. “Mr. Cozart. Ms. Pullen. On behalf of the resort, let me extend our deepest apologies for what transpired last night.”

“It’s fine…” I began.

The manager shook his head emphatically. “It is certainly not fine. We take these incidents with the utmost seriousness they deserve. To help make up for this unfortunate situation, we have refunded your room and resort fee for the entirety of your trip. I have also authorized the resort sommelier to make available a variety of select wines that we typically reserve for high-profile guests, including a bottle of 1996 Dom Perignon which will be brought directly to your new room.”

“New room?” I asked.

“We have taken the liberty of upgrading you to one of our penthouse suites.”

“That’s really not necessary…” I began.

“My girlfriend is still dizzy from the drugs she was slipped last night,” Landon quickly explained. “We would love an upgrade.”

“I don’t really care about the room,” I told Landon while eating breakfast. “We’ll be spending almost all of our time at the beach or by the pool, anyway.”

“Speak for yourself,” he said around a mouthful of eggs. “I want to see how much nicer the rooms can get. We should probably give the bottle of Dom to my brother and his wife, since it’s their honeymoon.”

“Probably,” I agreed. “Or, we can drink the whole thing ourselves and not tell anyone.”

Landon gave me a cutting grin. “That’s also an excellent idea. You probably need to wash the taste of roofies out of your mouth.”

“I really do!”

“Hey, uh, Joanna,” came a smooth Texas voice. Austin approached our table.

“There’s the man of the hour,” Landon said. “How’re the blisters this morning?”

“I’ve had worse.” Austin cleared his throat. “You mind if I chat with Joanna for a sec?”

“Go nuts. I’m getting another serving of waffles.”

As soon as he left, Austin sat down in his seat. “How’re you feeling today?”

“I feel fine. I heard your blisters broke open last night and you left bloody footprints all over the resort, like a cartoon crime scene.”

“Heh, I guess I did.” He ran a hand through his blond hair and looked down at the table. “I owe you an apology, Joanna. This is all my fault.”

I sighed. “For fuck’s sake…” Why was everyone so intent on taking the blame for this?

“I’m the one who convinced you to quit your job and come on the honeymoon. If not for me, that wouldn’t have happened last night.”

“And if not for you,” I pointed out, “I wouldn’t have known I was drugged, and would’ve drank the entire beer. You saved me, dude.”

Austin shook his head and stared off at nothing. “I should’ve been faster. I saw the guy drop something in your drink. I know I saw it. But I still hesitated before saying anything. I second-guessed myself. That’s not the kind of accusation you randomly make. If I’d been quicker, you wouldn’t have drank anything.”

“Apology accepted,” I said. “Now, you can make it up to me by not feeling so guilty about the whole thing. You look like a goddamn puppy who got into a box of chocolates. You did the right thing last night. Act like it. All right?”

“Yeah, all right,” he begrudgingly said, rising from his chair. “I just want you to know I won’t fuck around with you anymore. No jokes, no blackmailing, no nothing. I’ll let you and Landon pretend to be what you are, and you can have all the fun you want with Theo, and I won’t get in the way or tease you about it.”

He started to walk away, but I jumped up and grabbed his arm. Austin blinked at me in confusion until I wrapped him in a warm hug.

“Thank you,” I whispered. It still felt inadequate after he had saved me, so I kissed him on the cheek. His skin was smooth; he must have shaved this morning.

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