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The bed is the room’s crowning glory, though, facing the windows, with a large white duvet and numerous white pillows that makes it look as if it’s made from clouds. It’s a super king. And there’s no other bed in the lodge.
The porter retreats and closes the door behind him, and finally, we’re alone.
Leia’s woken up and she’s beginning to grizzle, so I unbuckle her and lift her out, then take her over to the window.
James joins me, and we look out at the view.
Eventually, he turns to me. “I’m so sorry,” he says. “I didn’t think it through. For some reason I envisaged us having separate rooms. I didn’t realize Alex was only going to book two lodges.”
I take a deep breath and let it out slowly. Am I really going to act affronted when I get to stay in such a beautiful place?
“Oh, it doesn’t matter,” I reply. “Come on, we’re friends, right? It’s only one night, and he was right—we couldn’t get married and then spend our wedding night in separate rooms! That wouldn’t look very good. And anyway, I’ve never stayed anywhere like this.” I turn and look at the room. “It’s absolutely amazing.”
He smiles. “Trust you to see the positive side of things.”
“Of course. Life must be very tough for people who are glass half empty. I’d much rather be glass half full.”
He follows my gaze to the bed, then looks at the suite to one side. “I’ll take the sofa tonight.”
“Okay.” I smile. “Something tells me Alex is having a little too much fun with this situation.”
He chuckles. “Yes, me too.”
“At least there’s a bassinet.”
“He asked for one to be brought in.”
“Well, that’s something. I might change and feed Leia now, so she’s all done before the ceremony.”
“Okay. Would you like a coffee?”
“I’d love one.”
As if we’ve been married for ten years, we move around each other, me retrieving Leia’s bottle, boiled water, and formula and making it up, while James works out the coffee machine and makes us both a cup.
I change her and then sit in one of the armchairs to feed her, and James brings the cups over and sits in the chair next to me.
“It’s a wonderful place to stay,” I say as Leia sucks contentedly at the teat. “Have you been here before?”
“No, but I’ve heard about it. There’s a five-star restaurant here. I think Alex has booked us in for dinner.”
“Oh,” I say, feeling a flutter of panic. “Um… I’ve never eaten at a posh restaurant. I wouldn’t know where to start with ordering or what the cutlery is for.”
“Start from the outside and work in,” he says. “And anyway, this is New Zealand. Nobody cares what fork you use. Half the clientele will be in shorts. And don’t worry about the food. We often have platters to share, or we’ll order several different dishes, and you can try a bit of everything.”
“That would be nice.”
He tips his head to the side and studies me for a bit.
Eventually I say, somewhat self-consciously, “What?”
“I’m just thinking how different you are,” he says.
“From your other wives?”
His lips curve up. “From the other women I’ve dated.”
“We’re not dating,” I point out.
