The night was supposed to be simple. Maya would retreat to her modest single room, and Julian would vanish to his. But as they walked into the lobby after the rehearsal dinner, the manager was sweating."I am so sorry, Miss," the manager stammered. "A pipe burst on the third floor. Your room… well, it's currently a swimming pool. And the entire town is booked for the Harvest Festival."Maya felt a twitch in her eye. "So I'm sleeping in the lobby?""Actually," the manager looked at Julian, then back to Maya. "Since your… fiancé booked the Executive Suite, and it's the only room with dry carpet left, we've moved your luggage there."Maya spun to Julian. "You booked the Executive Suite? I told you to get a standard!"Julian shrugged, looking unbothered.
"I don't do 'standard,' Maya. It's bad for the brand."They rode the elevator in a suffocating silence. When the doors opened to the suite, Maya's heart sank. It was beautiful. Rose petals. Champagne. A fireplace. And exactly one king-sized bed sitting in the middle of the room like a challenge."One bed," Maya whispered. "The cliché. The absolute, bottom-tier, romance-novel cliché."Julian tossed his blazer onto a chair and started unbuttoning his vest. "It's a King, Maya. I've slept in smaller tents during Himalayan treks. Stay on your side, and I'll stay on mine.""You're taking your clothes off?!""I'm taking my vest off. I'm not sleeping in a three-piece suit for your modesty." He paused, his grey eyes pinning her to the spot. "Unless you're worried you won't be able to keep your hands off the 'Premium Package'?"Maya scoffed, though her face was burning. "In your dreams, Thorne."She grabbed her silk pajamas and locked herself in the bathroom for forty minutes. When she finally emerged, the lights were dimmed. Julian was propped up against the headboard, a pair of reading glasses on his nose and a laptop on his knees.
The sight of him—usually so armored in wool and silk—looking relaxed in a simple black t-shirt made Maya's stomach do a nervous somersault."Lights out in five," he said without looking up. "I have a merger to review."Maya climbed into the far edge of the bed, hugging the mattress corner like a life raft. "You're working? It's midnight on a Friday.""Success doesn't have a weekend, Maya.""Neither does being a jerk, apparently."Julian closed his laptop and pulled off his glasses. He turned to face her, the shadow of the fireplace dancing across his sharp jawline. "You're very prickly for someone who just spent three hours bragging about how I saved her from a burning building in Bali.""I had to make it sound exciting!""You made me sound like a superhero," Julian murmured, his voice dropping an octave. He leaned over, crossing the 'invisible line' in the center of the bed. For a second, Maya thought he was going for a kiss.
Her breath hitched.Instead, he reached past her and tucked the duvet closer to her shoulder. "Go to sleep, Maya. You have a wedding to survive tomorrow."He snapped the lamp off. In the darkness, Maya could hear his steady breathing. It was the most terrifyingly intimate moment of her life. She closed her eyes, telling herself it was just business.But as she drifted off, she felt the mattress shift. In the middle of the night, cold and seeking warmth, Maya unconsciously rolled toward the center—and found a very warm, very solid chest waiting for her.The Morning AfterMaya woke up to the smell of expensive coffee and the feeling of someone watching her. She opened one eye to find Julian already dressed, standing by the window."You snore," he said simply."I do not!""You also talk in your sleep. Something about 'experimental jazz' and 'stabbing Liam with a cake fork'." He turned, a ghost of a smirk on his face. "Get up. The makeup artist is downstairs. It's game day."