Page 23 of Perfect Score

The hotel must have made a mistake.

Yeah… some kind of mix-up.

There's no way that Liam would have checked into the reservation I made for my sister's wedding for him and the woman he left me for. It's impossible—he'd never do something this cruel, not to me.

"Okay, do you have a second room booked for Liam Smith? They must have checked him into my room instead by accident. I’ll just take his, "I tell the hotel receptionist.

He barely even looks over the guest list on the computer before answering.

"I’m sorry, ma’am, but I don’t see any booking for a Liam Smith other than as the second guest for your room."

It’s an oversight, as simple as that. I’m not going to lose my cool over it.

"That little shit stole your room too? I’m going to kill him." My sister starts to turn around and heads for the bar to do something unsavory on her wedding weekend when I grip her arm and pull her to stop her from making a scene.

"It’s fine, Phoebe. It’s not a big deal. We can sort this out."

I’ll just book another room. No need to add unnecessary drama to this emotionally charged wedding weekend.Besides, Liam would never have done this on purpose. It had to have been an honest misunderstanding.

Maybe the hotel lost the reservation he made after he ended things with me and realized he would need his own room.

I hear the sound of the heavy luggage dolly echo off the travertine floors as it enters the hotel. Brent must have unpacked everything and is headed this way. What will he say when he gets here and finds out that my room was already checked into?

Phoebe huffs, not letting it go. “It is a big deal. There are no more rooms available. They’re booked. That’s why that little shit probably took yours. You were always taking care of everything. I bet he never booked his own reservation and then took yours when he showed up empty-handed.”

My chest tightens at the thought of no more rooms.

I forgot that Brent already said he couldn’t get a room here because all the rooms were booked.

"Are you sure that there are no more rooms?" I turn back to the hotel receptionist to ask.

He scrunches his nose, looking torn about it.

"Yes, I’m sorry. All of our standard rooms are booked up for this wedding and for Christmas travelers."

I can’t believe Liam would do that. He wouldn’t do that to me. It must be a computer glitch, and they lost his reservation.

Although Phoebe is right. I took care of everything that didn’t have to do with work at his father's firm.

"What’s going on?" I hear David’s voice as he comes from the bar to see what has Phoebe animated, Liam trailing behind him.

My belly flips at the sight of Liam standing there, his dirty blond hair styled the way I like, his deep blue eyes staring back at me with a slight smile across his lips.

I hate that my instinct is still to run into his arms and inhale his minty aftershave.

It’s been a year since I’ve seen Liam in person, but that doesn’t stop the feeling like no time has passed… except a little over eleven months, a move to Seattle, and his new fiancée.

I wondered what this moment would feel like, seeing him again. The butterflies that I knew would be there erupt low in my belly, but when a tall blond woman sitting at the bar catches my eye from where Liam came from, those flutters turn to nausea instead.

Shelby.

"Hey, man! You made it!" David says, walking over and patting Brent on the back. It's weird how much broader and taller Brent is than David and Liam. I don't think I noticed it before. David’s brandy sloshes a little in his whiskey glass. "The Hawkeyes let you out of your cage that they had you holed up in, huh?"

"Yeah, and don’t forget, I’m just on loan. I had to offer up a kidney as collateral to guarantee my return, but hey, I'm here," Brent teases.

Liam glances over at David and Brent, who are catching up a few feet away. His gaze lingers on Brent, but it's the sight of my camera bag hanging off of Brent's shoulder that has Liam zeroing in on him.

Liam's eyes narrow, locking with mine. There's no more need for words to be exchanged about the subject. I can tell from the squinting look that Liam sends me that he’s assuming a lot of things right now. If there were any way to signify that Brent and I are dating without using words, this would be it because Liam knows that I don’t let that bag out of my sight.

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