“We have two rooms.” Vishal seemed undeterred. “I mean, we have adjoining rooms for the week. Roshan is joining us tonight. His flight was delayed. But we’re happy to let you have one of them for however long you need.” He chuckled and looked at Karan. “Roshan doesn’t really need his own room.”
“Thank you.” She found herself unable to feign friendliness with them. She really was working on fumes. “As much as I appreciate the offer, I couldn’t do that. The three of you in one room is crowded.”
Vishal grinned. “We’ve been friends since we were four. We’ve slept in the same bed. It’s all good. And the rooms aren’t small. They’re suites.”
Even if she wanted it, she couldn’t afford that.
“Roshan just gets his own room so he can work,” Karan said with a boyish eye roll. “On our sacred guys’ trip.” He nudged Vishal. “See? It’s a sign that he shouldn’t work.”
Vishal nodded sagely.
Nimita pressed her lips together. That checked out with her memory of the boy she used to tutor. Intense. Focused. Rude.
“Take it,” Leilani said softly, her dark brown eyes wide. “We really have nothing.”
The last thing Nimita wanted was to take anything from the likes of Roshan Dave. She had all but wiped him from her brain. He was just another horrible part of high school that she’d put behind her after graduation. She opened her mouth to say no, and her stomach growled again.
She looked at the two men. Vishal and Karan had always been nice enough.Theyweren’t the rude, self-important jerks that Roshan was.
With a pop, the one heel she still had, the one she’d had all her weight on, gave way, too, and she stumbled. That was literally the last straw.
“Fine.” She sighed and then found a smile. “Thank you. Just transfer the room to my name.” She would put it on her card and figure out how to pay for what must be an expensive suite later. Hopefully, her credit card could at least take the charge.
“If I do that, the system might kick you out. Better to leave it as is,” Leilani said. “Under their name.”
“It’s fine.” Karan handed her a key card. “All yours until you head back.”
“Shouldn’t be more than a couple nights. My flight is in a day and a half.” Nimita interjected.
Vishal nodded. “Sounds good. Let us know when you check out, and we’ll get new keys.”
“I’ll just add my card to the reservation.” She was sure she couldn’t afford it, but that was a problem for another day.
Vishal waved his hand. “Don’t. Not just yet.” He glanced at Karan. “I, uh… I overheard you saying that you are a flight attendant?”
Nimita squirmed.Was.“Okay.”
“So, you probably know the island pretty well? Stuff to do, places to eat, all that?” Vishal looked hopeful.
“Which one of you was in charge of activities and food?” She narrowed her eyes to hide her grin, catching on.
Karan nodded at Vishal.
Vishal inhaled. “I just want to be sure I got the highlights.”
Nimita raised an eyebrow.
“Okay, fine. I had two huge cases and a—whatever. I have no plan.” Vishal glanced at Karan, and then back at Nimita. “How about you give us an itinerary, and we give you the room for free?”
She studied both men. They seemed desperate. She sighed. She was also desperate, and not having to pay for a fancy hotel room really would help her. She remembered them being kind to her the few times their paths had crossed. “Fine. I’ll have one ready for you by breakfast.” Hard to believe that Roshan Dave had such nice friends.
“You are the absolute best!” Vishal grinned from ear to ear. He smacked Karan on the chest with the back of his hand. “I told you it would work out. It always does.”
“You got lucky,” Karan said.
Vishal ignored the comment, turning to Nimita. “We’re going to grab some lunch if you want to join.” He nodded toward the hotel restaurant. “Don’t worry. We won’t ask you to hang out once the Grump arrives.”
“The Grump?” She raised her eyebrows at them.
