Page 41 of An Engagement Pact

I’m even able to doze for an hour or so, which is remarkable as far as I’m concerned.

If I was the kind of person who looks for signs and portents, I’d have to say that the gods must be smiling on our enterprise.

I’m in a pretty good mood as we get a rideshare over to the conference hotel, which is a casino on the main strip. I don’t care for the overall feel of the place—way too disorienting on the senses with all its flash and glitz—but it doesn’t take us long to check in and head up to our room.

I’m relieved to walk in to a quiet, calmly decorated hotel room. There are two nicely made queen-size beds and a large window looking out on the city. I set my suitcase on the long, low dresser and sigh in relief at being here.

I’m not the worst traveler in the world, but the actual travel part of a trip is pretty far down on my list of enjoyable and comfortable things to do.

“Does this look okay?” Dan asks, glancing around before focusing on my face.

“Sure. It looks nice.”

“Which bed would you prefer?”

“Oh, I don’t really care. I’m not picky. Do you have a preference?”

He shakes his head. “I’ll leave it up to you. Do you want to be close to the window or the bathroom?”

I really have very few opinions on such things, but I usually sleep on the right side of the bed, so I choose the bed on the right. The one near the window.

Dan appears perfectly fine with my choice. He hefts his suitcase onto the other bed and toes off his shoes.

It’s not until he sits down on the foot of the bed that I get a little clench in my gut.

We’re going to be sharing this room. Not the bed—at least that helps—but even sharing a room might feel intimate.

We had sex five weeks ago, and I’m just as attracted to him now as I was back then. We’ve done good about avoiding anything too physical or sexual between us. Dan has clearly curbed his behavior so that particular tension hasn’t been igniting as often between us as it was before.

But still...

This might be a recipe for danger. Sharing a room with him for the next three nights.

I’m standing next to my bed, trying to rein in my spiraling thoughts, and Dan must notice something of my mood.

He lifts his eyebrows. “You okay?”

“Yeah.” I smile, shrugging off the worry. “Fine.”

“You nervous about this?” He nods toward the beds. “Because I’m happy to get us a second room—”

“No, no. That would be silly and a waste of money. We’re both adults. I’m sure we can handle this situation with appropriate restraint and maturity.”

His eyebrows arch even higher. “You think?”

I choke on a laugh. Obviously his intent. “Yes, I think so. What time does registration begin?”

“It started at two, but it goes through six, and the opening banquet at six is the first thing on the schedule. So there doesn’t seem to be much reason to go down for a couple of hours. So we have time to rest for a while unless you want to visit the casino.”

I give him a stern look to convey what I think about that last suggestion. “A rest sounds good. Have you looked over the whole schedule yet? We’ll have to decide what sessions to attend.”

“Oh, I already know which ones I want to attend.” He slants me a mischievous look.

Intrigued, I sit down next to him so we can review the schedule on his phone. Predictably, Dan is prepared and organized. And has chosen the wackiest of all the sessions to attend.

I giggle through the various titles and agree to all his choices. There are a few that are pseudoscientific but nothing that will be of any real help in my future career.

We might as well have fun while we’re here.

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