Page 86 of The Mistakes I've Made
She joined in my laughter but grabbed my hand before finally stepping up to the check in counter. I caught her eyeing the gorgeous wood desk, probably making a mental note to research it online later.
“Can I help you?” a friendly young woman asked, her smile so wide that I could see every last one of her teeth.
I opened my mouth to respond, the gentlemanly manners my mother had instilled in me kicking in, but Lani beat me to it. “Hi. Yes, we’re checking in.”
She gave me a sideways glance that said she had this, and I could stand down.
So, stand down I did.
It was her father’s hotel after all.
“Great!” megawatt-smile girl replied. “And what is the name on the reservation?”
I smiled wide, preparing for the stunned look on the woman’s face when Leilani dropped her name.
“Taylor and Leilani Sutherland,” she answered.
I coughed, nearly swallowing my own tongue.
“Oh, honey,” Lani said. “Are you okay?” She patted my shoulder, as she gave me a wide eyed glare.
“Yep,” I answered. “Totally fine,Pookie Bear.”
A slight smirk tugged at her lips. “Sorry,” she apologized to the woman across the desk. “We’re newlyweds. We just can’t help ourselves with the adorable pet names.”
“Newlyweds! Really?” The woman was so excited; you would think she’d just had her own damn wedding instead of us.
Except we hadn’t had one either.
Damn, I was confused.
“Just yesterday!” Lani said, perfectly playing the blushing bride. “We eloped! Can you believe it?”
She looked at me, and I found myself smiling, hopefully not awkwardly.
“We didn’t even have rings, but none of that matters, does it?”
“It sure doesn’t,” the woman replied, completely enamored by our totally bogus story.
I had absolutely no idea why we were doing this or what the point was, but I had a feeling, that where Lani was concerned, I’d go anywhere and do just about anything.
“Well, I don’t normally do this, but I’d love to offer you an upgrade as congratulations on behalf of the resort.”
Lani reached across the counter. “Oh, wow. Thank you!”
“Of course.” The woman smiled. “It’s my pleasure!”
We finished up, and I handed over my credit card, not wanting to blow our cover by Lani giving hers and revealing her real last name. Soon, we had room keys for a swanky suite with sweeping ocean views.
“Nice job, Mrs. Sutherland,” I said, taking her hand as we made our way to the elevator.
“Why, thank you, Mr. Sutherland.”
“Was that just for fun or—”
“Oh, it was definitely fun,” she said, a tiny snicker escaping her lips. “But I grew up in a hotel, remember? A Hart hotel to be exact.”
“So, you knew that would get us an upgrade?”
