Page 33

‘Suite?’ Hannah choked out the word and Caleb had to smother a laugh.

The concierge nodded. ‘It’s the king suite. Two king-size bedrooms with a living room, kitchen and laundry facilities, priced at—’

Caleb raised a hand to cut her off. ‘The suite is fine, thanks.’ He leaned closer to Hannah. ‘Believe me, you’ll be glad of laundry and kitchen facilities after months of filming. It’s no different to having a flatmate. Better, actually. I promise I won’t sleep in your bed like Becky.’ He paused dramatically. ‘Unless you ask me to.’

He’d meant the last bit as a joke, but she’d swallowed nervously and stared up at him with such wide eyes that he’d been tempted to kiss her to see how open she actually was to the possibility.

‘It’s an ocean suite with a balcony,’ added the concierge cheerfully. ‘Beautiful views and plenty of space.’

‘Ocean views?’ whispered Hannah, as if hypnotised by both his and the concierge’s powers of persuasion.

Unable to resist, Caleb moved closer and whispered in her ear, ‘You can have that photo you always wanted – the balcony with a spectacular view, a ridiculously expensive croissant and iced coffee on your very own bistro table…’

Hannah’s chest rose and fell quickly, and with a heavy sigh of defeat, she gave a small flick of her wrist like a Roman empress. ‘Fine, we’ll take the luxury ocean-view suite.’

The concierge raised a brow as if to say, You’d be mad not to! and handed them both a keycard. ‘Enjoy your stay!’

‘We will,’ said Caleb, as he steered a dazed Hannah away from the desk.

‘Oh my God! It’s twice the size of Becky and Lindsey’s flat!’ cried Hannah as they stepped inside, walking straight into the main living and kitchen area.

A glass dining table and six sleek chairs surrounding it were to one side, while a cream, L-shaped leather couch filled the rest of the living space and faced a huge wall-mounted flatscreen TV on the opposite wall. The kitchen had an island sink, an oven, cupboards and a full-size stainless-steel fridge, as well as a washing machine and a dryer. He was used to these long-stay hotel suites, but Hannah was walking reverently around the kitchen as if she’d stepped into a cathedral.

She turned and groaned loudly at the bank of windows facing the turquoise ocean and golden beach, still visible despite the twilight. A narrow balcony with a pretty bistro table and four iron chairs sat waiting patiently for her to enjoy them. He couldn’t help but grin at her reaction, surprised when he saw her with unshed tears as she turned back to him and gasped, ‘Do you see that?’

‘You okay?’ he asked, knowing she was happy but feeling a little lost as to what he should do about it. He wasn’t used to dealing with emotional women; usually, that was when he called an end to a relationship. But Hannah wasn’t tearful over him – she was getting sentimental over a balcony.

The familiar blush he’d come to admire stained her cheeks, and she nodded, visibly pulling herself together again with a self-deprecating laugh. ‘I’m being silly. Probably tired from the drive. So, shall we check out the bedrooms?’

The first room they went into was by the front door and led to a corner bedroom. The large bed sat opposite a mirrored sliding wardrobe, with an expanse of high-rise buildings visible outside the windows.

‘If you don’t mind. I’ll take this one,’ said Caleb, already plopping himself down on the bed and kicking off his shoes.

‘Oh, sure,’ she said, probably confused by how quickly he’d marked his territory.

Shuffling out of his room, she headed to the other two doors of the suite. Caleb slowly followed behind. One door led to a large, windowless bathroom, which reminded him of her old bedroom, except it was much nicer as a bathroom.

‘Lovely,’ she said with obvious approval before moving on to the next door.

He grinned as he heard the loud gasp she made as she entered. ‘Caleb, you’ve got to look at this! It’s got its own balcony!’

‘Happy?’ he asked casually, hovering outside the doorway of her bedroom – he didn’t dare go inside without being invited. Weirdly, he felt a sudden kinship with the vampires of the film, not wishing to break an unspoken rule unless invited to do so.

Hannah spun around from the window and ran to face him, stopping short by a couple of feet. ‘Are you sure about picking that room? I mean, after seeing this, you might want to change your mind!’

Caleb nodded, taking a step forward so that he was on the very edge of her room, and leaned against the doorframe. ‘I’m sure.’

Recognition dawned on her face. ‘You knew this was the better room, didn’t you?’

He shrugged, and his heart kicked like a mule as she wrapped her arms around his body and pressed her chest against his, hugging him so tightly he felt his throat tighten with shock and an old ache.

‘Thank you!’ she mumbled against his chest, and an unexpected heat rushed from his head to his groin with dizzying speed.

‘No problem,’ he said, surprised at the rawness of his own voice.

After a tense moment, during which he hoped she might pull him to her bed, she stepped away and moved back towards the windows, hugging her arms around her waist as if she missed holding him. His own hands yearned to pull her back, but he let her go.

She laughed and flopped backwards on the bed. ‘Yeah, I think I’m okay to slum it here for a bit!’