“But you shouldn’t have to. Look,” she said, facing the front deskagain. “You have to have some room with two beds available? Or at least a rollaway cot?”
The man looked at his computer screen and clacked his keyboard for a few seconds. “I’m sorry,” he finally said. “We don’t have anything else. I can go talk to our manager and see if there’s—”
“Please, yes. Anything you can do,” Meghna said hurriedly. The man walked away in a huff, and Meghna swiveled back to Karthik.
“Maybe we can get you another room,” she said.
He raised an eyebrow. “Wouldn’t that defeat the whole purpose of the trip? Convincing them we’re a real couple?”
“You’re right,” she said. “I’m not thinking straight.” She shook her head. “Honestly, I’m a little nervous about all of this.”
“Really?” he asked, trying to make his voice even more monotone than usual. “I had no idea.”
She stared at him for a moment. “Are youteasingme?”
The corners of his mouth tilted up.
“You are. You’re teasing me.” Her mouth stretched into that familiar, wide smile, and pride flared in Karthik’s chest. His words had produced that look on her face. She was directing that joy at him and him alone.
“Hello, lovebirds,” a voice called out behind them.
Meghna’s smile disappeared.
A sandy-haired man in a floral-print shirt, navy swim trunks, and Birkenstocks walked toward them. Once he was in front of Meghna, the man threw his arms around her and hugged her tightly, almost lifting her off the ground. “You’re here!” he exclaimed. He held her for what seemed like several minutes before finally letting go and shaking Karthik’s hand. “And you must be Karthik. I’ve heard so much about you.”
Can’t say the same. “It’s nice to meet you, Seth. Congratulations on your upcoming wedding.”
Seth grinned. “And same to you.” He turned to Meghna. “And you! I can’t believe I didn’t find out about this sooner.”
Meghna snorted. “You’re one to talk. I didn’t find out until I got your invitation in the mail.”
“Well, we always were too similar for our own good,” Seth said, his grin taking on a new dimension, almost as if he was referring to some secret or joke between the two of them. Karthik gritted his teeth.
“Have you guys checked in?” Seth asked. “We got here about an hour ago and were thinking of going down to the beach for a bit—”
“I’m sorry about that, ma’am,” a voice from the front desk cut in. “We had an issue with our system, but we have a room with two queen beds available for you. I have your room keys ready and—”
“Oh, no,” Meghna said quickly. “You must have us confused with somebody else. We have the king suite.”
The manager furrowed his eyebrows. “I was told you needed two beds…”
Karthik placed an arm around Meghna’s shoulders, pulling her into his body. “Nope. Must have been a miscommunication.” Meghna’s entire face froze except for her eyes, which were growing wider than he’d ever seen them. He squeezed her shoulder.
“You can’t keep me away from this one,” he said, letting out a louder-than-normal laugh. Meghna seemed to get the hint. Her body relaxed slightly, and she let out a strained laugh of her own.
The manager looked puzzled, but apologized and handed them their room keys. Seth watched them oddly, his eyes glued to Karthik’s hand on Meghna’s shoulder. Karthik instinctively dropped his hand and tucked it into his pocket, which seemed to shake Seth from his thoughts.
“Glad that all got sorted out. Y’all take your time getting changed and stuff. We’ll be at the beach,” Seth said. “Text me if you have any problems, okay?”
After promising to meet up with everyone later, Meghna and Karthik headed toward the elevators. As soon as the doors slid shut, Meghna dropped her head into her palms.
“We can’t do this,” she said, her voice muffled by her hands. “We should just leave.”
No.Karthik started, surprised by how strong that thought had been. He didn’t even know where it had come from.
“What are you worried about?” he asked.
She lifted her head, disbelief etched across her features. “Are you kidding me? Were you not just there?”
