Page 93 of The Plus One Contract

The one I booked months ago, before I even considered needing a plus-one.

A room with exactly one bed.

Not two.

Not a pull-out sofa.

One.

Single.

Bed.

A cold wave of panic slices through me. My entire body lurches into a full-blown,this-is-a-disaster-code-redmeltdown, but I’m determined not to let it show on my face.

“Ma’am?” The desk clerk—an alarming ray of sunshine with a slicked-back ponytail—smiles up at me, waiting for me to confirm the reservation. I blink at her, mouth opening, then snapping shut like a fish on land.

I am not dramatic.

I am a problem solver.

So, I lean over the desk and drop my voice to what I hope is a discreet whisper.

“Hi. So, funny story.” I force a grin so wide my cheeks hurt. “Turns out I need two beds. Like…uh…do you have another room with two beds? Or maybe a second room?”

She tilts her head, still smiling with a level of enthusiasm I find deeply suspicious. “Let me check.”

I exhale, relief flooding me.

Thank God.

That’s what nice resorts do, right? They fix your oversights and save you from abject humiliation in front of your fake boyfriend?

She clacks away at the keyboard, eyes flicking across her screen. Slowly, her grin dims, replaced by the apologetic expression of someone about to ruin my day.

“I’m so sorry,” she says, “but we’re fully booked for the wedding this weekend.”

Fully. Booked.

For this wedding. The wedding I’m physically here to attend. A wedding that requires me to not share a bed with a man who makes my entire body sizzle.

My stomach plummets, but I stay calm. Logical. “All right, how about an upgrade?”

Her smile rekindles. “We do have one of our honeymoon suites available, but that also only has one bed because…well…it’s the honeymoon suite. Although it does have a couch.”

A couch.

I might be able to salvage my dignity and keep us at a safe distance. A couch is good. “Oh, perfect.” I perk up. “I’ll take that, then.”

She brightens. “It’s two thousand dollars a night.”

I choke on air. “Excuse me?”

She nods. “It’s one of our premium honeymoon suites.”

I close my eyes and inhale, counting backward from ten so I don’t keel over. Meanwhile, Nathan stands beside me, infuriatingly silent.

I spin to him, lowering my voice to a whisper. “One bed.Onebed. You don’t understand, we’re not—”

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