Lily’s voice was as emphatic as could be, but Noah was stuck on her words. He was the guy in that video. They hadn’t said a single untrue thing. And maybe he was like his father, which he didn’t want to be. That left him even more convinced that he must be an absolute gentleman with Lily this weekend. They would put on the show of doting couple when they were in public, but in private? He would keep his hands to himself. He would sleep on the couch. On the floor, if needed. Lily would know exactly how much he respected her as a partner in Locke and Locke. She would know he revered her as a businessperson and a friend. He would suppress his more lustful feelings. He wouldn’t think about what it was like to kiss those petal-soft lips. He would try very hard to erase all memory of his hand on her thigh and his thumb rubbing across the lacy top of her stockings.
Marcy patted Lily’s hand. “Of course that’s not the real Noah. And it doesn’t even matter, does it? You’re getting married. That’s all you need to think about right now.”
Lily smiled thinly. “Yes. I know.”
Married. Funny, but Noah had only thought about their arrangement in terms of being engaged. After this weekend and the deal was done, they’d quietly call it off.
“I want you both to know that we’ve taken extra good care of our newly engaged couple for this weekend,” Marcy said.
“Indeed we have,” Lyle added. “The staff knows to give you two the royal treatment. We don’t want you to miss out on a single romantic moment.”
“That really isn’t necessary.” Noah cleared his throat when he realized how quickly he’d blurted his response. “I mean, thank you, but don’t go out of your way.”
Lily elbowed him in the stomach. “It sounds truly lovely. Thank you so much.”
Sawyer and Kendall walked up behind them and Noah took the chance to get away. They followed a bellman along a circular wood-planked walkway, which had paths spoking off to the individual thatch-roofed bungalows. Off in the distance, in a clearing, was the larger main building of the resort, which was presumably where much of the wedding would take place.
Noah and Lily were in bungalow eight. They entered a stone-tiled foyer that opened up into an expansive sitting room with high wood-beamed ceilings and a fan whirring overhead. On the coffee table in front of the sofa was a bottle of champagne on ice and a beautiful arrangement of tropical flowers in purple, orange and pink. There was even a note.
Don’t forgot to put out the Do Not Disturb sign!
Love, Marcy.
“What does it say?” Lily plucked the card from his hand.
It says that I’m in deep trouble. He only wished that he could put out the Do Not Disturb sign and leave it there for days. That would be a vacation.
She smiled and put it next to the champagne bucket. “That was very thoughtful of her.”
“Yes.”
“Let’s check out the rest.” Lily led the way into the master bedroom. They both gasped when they stepped inside—through a full wall of accordion doors open to the ocean air was a small black-bottomed plunge pool surrounded by a lush garden. Beyond it was a full view of the stunning turquoise sea. The bedroom had a sprawling king bed with crisp white linens and mosquito netting draped overhead. “It looks like something out of a magazine or a movie. We can sleep with the windows open.”
Noah nearly laughed. This place was perfect. If he were to take Lily somewhere to seduce her, this would be the ideal place. They wouldn’t even still be wearing clothes right now. The special allure of hotel sex was too great and in a setting like this? It would be impossible to not be in the mood. Too bad that wasn’t going to happen.
“I can sleep on the couch out in the living room.” He stared at the bed, trying not to imagine Lily lying on it, waiting for him.
“No. It’s too small. I’ll sleep there.”
“I’m not letting you sleep on the couch. That hardly seems fair. I’m the one who got us into this.”
“We can’t call the front desk and ask them to bring in a rollaway. Then they’ll know the jig is up.”
Noah sat down at the foot of the bed. Lily sat right next to him. They were inches apart, both staring out at the water. He glanced over at her, noticing for the one hundredth time that day how exquisite she was in that dress. He would have emptied his entire bank account to kiss her. He racked his brain for any lame excuse to revisit the notion of practicing.
“Compromise,” Lily said. “We’re both adults. It’s a big bed. We sleep together. I will keep to my side. You won’t need to worry about me.”
Why was fate being so delightfully cruel to Noah? “Are you sure?”