Page 14 of Beached Wedding

FOX

Sandy was deeply upset on Ashley’s behalf and wanted to see her. She and Eddie had eaten breakfast at the Barnes’ villa this morning so they knew where they were going.

I probably owed Ashley’s family an apology, but doubted Ashley wanted to see me. Also, despite passing out on the plane and napping in the car, I was gassing out. I went as far as the lobby with the Holloways then veered toward the concierge desk to retrieve my luggage, planning to check in and get a shower, then catch a nap in a real bed.

“Hi. The valet said he’d leave my luggage with you. It came out of a red Audi. Shane Holloway?” I remembered it had his name on it.

“Right. Barnes-Holloway. You were already checked in so we put it in your room. Do you need a key?” The concierge offered me a card in its little folder with the room number and the wifi password.

“Yeah, but—” Shit. I was too tired to say,I was drunk. Mistakes were made. I offered a half-hearted, “Thanks, mate.”

I would fetch my useless luggage before Ashley got in there and read the tag and thought Shane had shown up after all. ThenI would drag my sorry ass back down here to check into my own room.

I had booked a standard room for myself. One where I had expected to listen to parents yelling at their kids in the pool, maybe have someone next to me play their TV too loud and complain it was too hot to go to the beach.

Ashley had booked her and Shane on the Vista level. I stepped out of the elevator and walked through the Vista Club lounge on the way to the room. A young woman in a housekeeping uniform looked up from replacing a carafe of complimentary coffee and greeted me with a warm, “Aloha.”

“G’day.” The view through the floor to ceiling windows was nothing but ocean and sky. Whitecaps speckled the water and a few wispy clouds floated near the horizon. Directly below, frondy palms danced above a rocky point where the surf smashed itself into sparkling drops.

This level was way too nice for my tight fists, but Shane loved his creature-comforts. Oh, right. I turned back to the woman.

“There was a problem with my luggage. I’m going to need a toothbrush and a razor. Is there a disposable one the hotel offers or do I have to go to the gift shop?”

“I can help you.” She disappeared into a housekeeping closet and came out with a selection of toiletries. “Anything else?”

Thank you, Vista level.

“This will do for now, thanks.” I needed underwear, but I’d check the gift shop for that. At least Shane and I were roughly the same size. I could wear the rest of his clothes until I bought my own.

I carried on to the room, tapped the lock with my card, and entered.

I honestly hadn’t believed there was more shit that could hit any more fans, but I was wrong.

The ocean view suite was big enough for a king bed, a full lounge, a small dining table and a wall of windows onto a lanai that ran the length of the oversized room. There was a full outdoor lounge and a small breakfast table out there.

Ashley sat up on the bed. Tears were running down her flushed, persecuted expression. Her surprised kick knocked over one of the towels sculpted into a swan that sat in the middle of the bed. There were two of them. They encircled by rose petals that had been shaped like a heart that—yep—was now broken.

The door fell closed behind me with an overly loudclunk.

I took in the rest of the purgatory I had underwritten. A bottle of champagne sat in a sweaty bucket in a stand beside the sofa. On the end table stood a pair of champagne flutes. One glass wore a bow tie, the other had a small bouquet tied to its stem.

Over on the desk, a cellophane wrapped basket held water bottles, more wine, chocolates and protein snacks to fuel active honeymooners. A heart-shaped, cellophane balloon floated above it, imprinted with a scrolling,I Do!

The honeymoon package add-on had sounded like a great wedding gift two weeks ago, when I hadn’t had a clue what else to get them.

“This room is on your card, isn’t it?” Ashley said. “They told me it was prepaid when I checked in, but I didn’t think about that at all. I just got my key, walked in, and fell apart.”

“It’s fine,” I assured her, eyeing her warily. “I accidentally grabbed Shane’s luggage. They brought it up here. I was afraid you’d see it and think he was here.” I set the toiletries on the dresser beside the printed note that read,We want your stay to be memorable!

Job done.

“I’ll grab it and go sort it.” I glanced for the bag, but wound up looking at Ash. I got tangled up in the shattered misery of herdoe-eyes. The ceiling pressed down on me. I wanted so badly to be fix this for her.

“Um.” I cleared my throat. “Closet?” I paused on my way there to look through the door-less archway into the bathroom. It was cavernous with a double-sink vanity and a bathtub separate from the shower. There were shutters in the wall over the tub. They were open, framing Ashley on the bed.

“So you can watch your wife have a bath?” she guessed with a dubious wrinkle of her brow.

“I think it’s so you can enjoy the view from the tub.” I bit back my grin as I nodded at the windows beyond her, not wanting to laugh at where her mind had gone. Especially because I was titillated by the idea of watching a woman in a tub, soapy bubbles slithering down narrow shoulders to the tops of small breasts that?—

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