Theo shakes his head. “No, we have a sister, Kelsey. She’s the youngest out of the three of us. She works as an agent for a record label in LA.”
“Will she be here tonight?”
“Doubtful. Usually, my siblings leave it to me to be the tribute. I suppose I could have dealt with many worse things as the oldest.”
I laugh. “I don’t know, going to a fancy gala with an open bar seems a pretty difficult endeavor.”
His eyebrow twitches, and he fights off a smile. “I’m unsure how I would have gotten through it without you tonight.”
Though I know he’s teasing, I can’t help the flush that appears on my cheeks. I give him one more amused smile and then turn to look out the window, watching as the streets of New York pass us by.
After a bit of a drive, we pull up in front of our hotel doors. Theo and I enter as a bellhop waits beside the car to unload our luggage.
“Hello,” I say eagerly to the concierge at the hotel's front desk. I place my bag on the counter and dig around in my wallet, pulling out the black Amex business card Theo gave me. “We have a reservation for two king rooms under the last name Hurst.”
The woman behind the desk gives us a warm smile and then types on her keyboard, her eyes flying across the screen as she browses her bookings. Slowly her smile falls, and my stomach knots.
“Oh, I’m so sorry, it appears I only have one king suite booked for you tonight under that name.”
I frown at her, and Theo shifts on his feet behind me. “That can’t be right. I have the confirmation email. Can you check again?”
She gives me an apologetic nod and scrolls her mouse. Finding my phone, I pull up my email and type in a keyword to pull up my confirmationemail.
There.
I show the clerk my phone screen where it clearly saystwo conjoined king rooms.
Her face pales, and she rolls her lips together. “I’m so sorry; there must have been some mix-up on our end. Perhaps seeing the same last name on the rooms, someone thought it was a mistake.” She clicks a few times on the screen and then grimaces. “We are all booked up this weekend. We have a major charity event tonight and also two weddings this weekend. Unfortunately, I have no other rooms available.”
My eyes widen, and I spin around to look at Theo, silently asking him, "Can you believe this?”He shrugs and then looks back at his phone.
Taking a deep breath, I calmly fold my hands on the counter. “How can we fix this?”
The woman gives me a tight smile. “I’m sorry, there are just no other rooms to switch you to at this time.”
Frustration starts to bloom in my chest. “But I booked us for two rooms. I paid for two rooms.”
“I’ll issue a refund for the second room.”
“That doesn’t change the fact that I now only haveoneroom,” I say. Pinching the bridge of my nose, I exhale sharply. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t apologize. This is our mistake. Unfortunately, as I said, I don’t have any way to upgrade you or get you another room. The suite you booked has a pullout couch and the king bed if you need another sleeping space.” She looks between Theo and me, as if unsure of our dynamic. Can’t really blame her. SometimesI’mstill unsure of our dynamic.
At that moment, Theo decides to join the conversation. He steps up next to me and rests one of his large hands on my lower back. I momentarily look up at him to meet his gaze before he turns to the concierge. “That will be fine. Can you just make sure to refund us for the extra room?”
Thewoman looks a little starstruck by the intensity of Theo’s stare. “Of course, sir.”
“Thank you,” Theo says, effectively ending all discussion of the one room vs. two rooms.
We get our hotel keys, and then, with his hand still on my lower back, Theo guides me toward the elevators and presses the button to call the car. When the doors close behind us, I cross my arms and huff out a breath.
“I promise I booked us two rooms. I even have the confirmation email!” I shout, about to reach for my phone, before Theo grabs my hand and threads his fingers through mine.
“It’s not a big deal, Whitney. It’s for one night.”
I close my eyes and breathe through my nose, letting Theo’s hand be my grounding force. “You’re right. I’m just sorry for the inconvenience. I can take the pullout bed.”
He scoffs. “Don’t be absurd.”
