That didn’t stop me from intervening on his behalf when I saw him facing off with his brother and his ex.
Of all the resorts in the world they could’ve gone to, why’d they pick this one?
I guess it tracks. Archer probably picked this one because they’d discussed coming here together at some point.
He’s sitting close to me, and his knee is resting against mine.
It’s exactly what I wanted, only he’s playing pretend. I don’t really care about that. I’m just happy he’s talking to me again.
“What are you going to get?” he asks.
“I haven’t tried the salmon yet, so maybe that. You?”
“I was also thinking the salmon.” His eyes meet mine, and I think I spot a hint of gratitude in them.
He tears his gaze away first, and as much as I want to ask him what he’s been doing the last week, I don’t. Instead, I make plans for the future that he can’t reject since he wants to play along with my little game.
“I was thinking we should do that sunset cruise we talked about tomorrow. You want me to book it?” I ask.
He looks somewhere between surprised and dazed at my suggestion, but he goes along with it. “Yeah, let’s do that tomorrow.”
“And sunrise yoga again. I think Anya is the instructor, so it should be the partner one again.” I offer a sugary sweet smile, and I think I can see steam coming out of his ears, but he’s not going to give up the act now.
“Perfect.” He clears his throat, and when our server comes over, he orders a double whiskey.
I giggle as I order an Aperol Spritz, and it’s like we’re back to the first night we met.
Except for the whole, you know, his brother and ex sitting right next to us.
“Give us the insider scoop on this place,” Ford says, clearly trying to diminish some of the tension between our two tables.
“Oh, we’ve been too busy to check much of it out,” I say, and then my eyes widen and I cover my mouth.
Archer chuckles wryly. “We’ve spent most of our time in the suite.”
Tatum presses her lips together but doesn’t say anything.
“Are you in this tower?” I ask.
Tatum nods as Ford answers in the affirmative. “Yes. It’s our first night here, so we’re just wondering if you have any tips.”
“Check out the aquarium,” Archer says without looking at them.
“And the spa.” I nudge his foot with mine, but he doesn’t respond to me, either. It’s like he’s shutting downeven more, if that were possible. I thought the spa comment would rile upsomeemotion from him, but if it does, he’s sure good at hiding it.
“We did the Queen’s Staircase, too, if you’re looking for an excursion. Nice views,” Archer says absently. “Not much about pirates, though.”
Ford focuses on me. “How’d you two meet?”
I glance up at Archer, not sure how deep we’re faking this.
“We ran into each other at a restaurant a while ago,” he says. “She didn’t make a reservation and couldn’t get a table, so she plopped down at mine, and the rest is history.” Oh, right. The truth. Sort of. He made it sound like we’ve been together longer than we have.
“What a story. So are you from Vegas, too?” he asks me.
I shake my head. “No, Chicago suburbs.” It slips out before I realize my mistake. “But I’ve been to Vegas a few times. Got lucky when I met this one, even if the slots treat me like trash.” I giggle at the end. All truths, too, and it’s up to them if they draw the wrong conclusion about what location I’m referring to.
See? This isn’t so hard.
