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He took my hand and forced it around his back. “Trying to get in bed with me already?”
“That’s right. It would have been mighty suspicious if we, the loving couple, had booked a two-bed room.”
“You think Allie and Jamie are checking?”
“Allie? No. Jamie? I wouldn’t put it past him.” Harris’s brother had never really liked me. He’d seen straight through me, that I was always trying to be someone I wasn’t. I wouldn’t have been surprised to learn he’d given Harris the advice to ghost me post-breakup. He was a bastard like that.
Check-in was a breeze. With our keys in hand, Alex and I headed to the elevators. We were on the third floor, and because I’d been feeling quite extra when I made the reservation, I chose a suite in the turret.
Hey, a girl only gets the chance to sleep in a castle once or twice in her life. I was taking full advantage.
“Yael!”
I whipped around, and before I could register who had just screeched my name, I was enveloped in a bone-crunching hug. Thankfully, Allie still wore her signature, hand-mixed vanilla and jasmine perfume so she was easy to identify.
“Hey, bride,” I said into her hair.
She pulled back, beaming wider than I’d ever seen. “You made it. I know you RSVPed, but I didn’t believe it until now.”
“We’re here. And you’re getting married in an actual castle.”
Her eyes rounded with excitement. “It’s so me, right?”
“Very you,” I agreed. Allie had never been a pearls and cardigan girl. She was a sunshine punk, but she also liked the finer things in life, and fortunately for her, her family’s pockets were deep. We’d talked weddings a few times back in college, and she’d always wanted hers to be uniquely grand. My ideas had mostly come from websites. I’d thought I’d marry Harris, but I had never been able to really picture what that would look like.
Allie’s eyes alighted on Alex and she sucked in a breath. “Oh my goodness, you’re here too!” She threw herself on a bemused Alex, and he patted her back like he was humoring a crazy person.
“Thanks for having me,” he said.
She let him go, and if possible, her smile grew even wider. “Of course. I’m thrilled the two of you have buried the hatchet and fallen in love.” She covered her mouth. “Oh no, I hope I’m not speaking out of turn.”
“Nah.” Alex tugged me close and pressed his lips to my temple. “This girl is supremely loveable. The hatchet is burned to cinders.”
“So rad.” Allie turned to me again, clutching my elbows. “All the girls are doing a spa day tomorrow. Tell me you’re in.”
“Can I think about it? Alex doesn’t know anyone here and I’d hate to leave him alone for the entire day.”
Allie’s expression transformed into one of concern. “That is so understandable. The guys are going out on the lake during the day, but that could be weird for you, huh?”
“Could be, but honestly, do your bride thang and don’t worry about me,” Alex said.
Once she’d extracted a promise from me to call her, Allie went on her way, and Alex and I took the elevator to our room.
“She’s not as terrible as I remembered,” he remarked.
“She isn’t. And when every single person I thought was my friend ghosted me right along with Harris, Allie stood by me. The girl has her faults, but she also has balls of steel to stand up against her man to be by my side.”
“And why haven’t you seen her in years?”
I blinked up at him as he opened the door to our room. “Because I am a terrible friend who is entirely too self-centered. Why do you ask?”
He chuckled and bent down like he was about to tell me a secret. “I don’t believe that.”
I tapped my fingertips on his bearded chin. “It doesn’t matter what you believe.” Then I brushed by him, eager to see my castle room.
And I wasn’t disappointed.
The ceilings were vaulted with wooden beams. In the center hung an ornate chandelier, which seemed out of place with all the woodwork, but thiswasa castle. Castles should have chandeliers everywhere.
