Page 21 of Journey to You

“It’s not that simple.” She sank into the nearest chair, tired after their long day, annoyed he’d made them miss the train, and afraid of spending the night in this romantic hotel with Ethan.

There was a difference between not acknowledging the newly awakened awareness that shimmered between them hotter than the Indian sun, and trying to ignore it in a place like this.

“We’ll miss the next stop tomorrow and that leaves the last day, the most important of the whole trip.”

“Because of the Taj?”

She nodded, a tiny pinch of latent grief nipping her heart. “And the birds. My mum was obsessed with birds. She collected figurines of anything from geese to cranes and she always wanted to visit Bharatpur’s bird sanctuary.”

He must’ve caught the hint of wistfulness mingled with sadness in her tone, because he slid his phone out of his pocket and leapt to his feet. “I’ll handle this. We’ll stay here tonight and tomorrow we’ll head to Bharatpur, then Agra.”

Before she could respond, his thumbs tapped furiously on his phone. “Don’t worry, you won’t miss a thing.”

“But all my clothes are onboard. I don’t have—”

“I’ll sort everything out. Trust me.”

He held up a finger as someone answered on the other end and she snuggled into the comfortable lobby sofa, grateful to be stuck with someone so commanding.

Making all the decisions over the last year had been exhausting: when to return to work, what to do with the house and with her stock inAmbrosia, whether to take this trip. She’d appreciated the independence, especially since she’d been robbed of it for so long, but here, now, with Ethan taking charge, she was happy to sit back and go with the flow.

Strangely, she did trust him; with their travel arrangements, at least. He’d make things happen, he was that kind of guy.

“Right, all taken care of.” He thrust the phone into his pocket and dusted off his hands, mission accomplished.

“With one call?”

He grinned and held out a hand to help her up from the sofa. “My PA’s handling all the arrangements. In the meantime, let’s grab a room.”

Her heart stuttered, her pulse skipped, and she broke out in a cold sweat before realising it was a figure of speech. He meant two rooms, he’d said as much earlier.

“Or we could get the Honeymoon suite if you’re feeling particularly adventurous.”

Her shocked gaze flew to his, only to find his too-blue eyes twinkling adorably.

With a shake of her head, she waved him away. “As tempting as that sounds, I’ve already told you, I’m not another statistic.”

His mischievous grin had her wishing she could throw caution to the wind and become just that. “Too bad, my bedpost needs a new notch.”

“You’re—”

“Adorable? Endearing? Growing on you?”

Biting the inside of her cheek to stop from laughing out loud, she said, “Pushing your luck. Now, I’m beat. How about we get acoupleof those rooms?”

He grinned and muttered “spoilsport” under his breath, before charming the check-in staff as easily as he did everyone else.

Glancing around at the marble floor, the majestic columns, the sweeping staircase, and the shimmering chandeliers, Tamara couldn’t help but be glad.

Spending the night in a beautiful palace on a world famous lake with the most charming man she’d ever met would be memorable. And while she could vehemently deny her insane attraction to a guy so totally wrong for her, it didn’t hurt to let some of the romance of this place soften the edges of her hard resolve, right?

There was a difference between Tamara’s resolve softening and it melting clean away, and staring at Ethan in her doorway, withchampagne in one hand and a glossy Taj Mahal brochure in the other, her resolve had flowed into the lake.

“Mind if I come in?” He asked.

Yeah, she minded, especially since she’d rinsed her dress and underwear and was in a fluffy complimentary hotel robe. If she felt vulnerable to him in her clothes, what hope did she have naked?

Yikes, she couldn’t think about being naked under her robe, not with him staring at her with those twinkling cobalt eyes, as heat crept into her cheeks.

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