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"By pretending to be a statue." Callie looked up at her friend. "Everyone thinks that he does that to look intimidating. The truth is that he needs to retreat into himself for self-preservation."
"Ha." Wonder pursed her lips. "It's so obvious now that you say it. I remember him pulling the statue routine when Tim had me describe that woman Anandur had been with. What was her name? Was it Rosie?"
"How should I know?" Carol waved the curler in the mirror. "Does it matter what her name was for the sake of your story?"
"Not really," Wonder admitted. "Anyway, he looked so damn scary. I wish I had known it was an act."
"Well," Callie scrunched her nose. "It's not entirely an act. Brundar can be scary sometimes. He's not the soft and fuzzy type."
"Not even when the two of you are alone?" Carol asked.
"Not even then. If I get a smile out of him, I feel like it's a great accomplishment."
"And yet, you are marrying him." Wonder put a hand on her shoulder. "It must be love."
"It is." Callie smiled. "Brundar is a work in progress, and the road to recovery is still long, but I wouldn't trade him for anyone else. I love him so much."
10
MARGO
"Wow." Margo turned in a circle, taking in the luxurious suite. "I've never been in a presidential suite before. This is amazing."
The opulence was intimidating.
The entrance led to a sprawling living area with floor-to-ceiling windows. Two plush purple sofas faced each other with a massive black marble coffee table between them. The artwork on the walls looked original, probably done by local artists.
"Do you want a tour?" Jasmine asked.
"Of course. Can I take pictures? I want to send them to my besties on the cruise ship."
A brief shadow passed over Jasmine's eyes, but it was gone almost as soon as it appeared. "Of course." She smiled. "Take as many as you want."
As they moved through the suite, Margo was struck by the sheer size of it. There were two master bedrooms, each with a king-sized bed, and the linens and pillows were of much better quality than what she had in her room.
Running her fingers over the fabric of the duvet cover, she marveled at its softness. "I wish all the rooms in this hotel came with this kind of luxury bedding."
Jasmine arched a brow. "They don't? I was sure that hotels used the same linens for all their rooms."
"I thought so too, but I was obviously wrong."
Each of the bathrooms was like a private spa, equipped with rain showers and Jacuzzi tubs that gleamed under the soft lighting. Designer toiletries were lined up neatly on the vanities, and the towels looked so fluffy that she had to run her fingers over one of those, too.
She cast an apologetic look at Jes. "I hope you don't mind that I'm touching your stuff."
"Not at all. Everything in here is clean. The housekeeping comes twice a day to replace all the towels and the toiletries."
"Impressive," Margo murmured under her breath. "I bet this suite costs thousands of dollars a night."
"I have no clue." Jasmine leaned against the vanity and crossed her arms over her chest. "Alberto doesn't share details like that with me. He tells me not to worry my pretty little head over stuff like that."
"Ugh." Margo grimaced. "I like him less and less with each new thing you tell me about him. Does he have any redeeming qualities?"
"He's a generous tipper, and he's friendly and polite toward the staff." Jasmine closed her eyes and sighed. "He's also awesome in bed. In fact, he's one of the best I've ever had, but that's probably because I like dominant assholes. It's a terrible character flaw."
"Which is the character flaw?" Margo put down one of the little soaps that was shaped like a mermaid. "Alberto being a dominant asshole or your attraction to the type?"
"The second one." Jasmine pushed away from the counter. "I should find myself a nice accountant or engineer who will worship the ground I walk on and answer every question with 'yes, honey,' 'of course, honey,' 'as you wish, honey'."
