"Yes, we did have a reservation for two rooms for Mr Hawk and Mrs Hawk. But... it seems there was a communication from your office earlier today," the receptionist said, her voice tinged with hesitance. "There was a mistake in the booking, and they asked that you be upgraded to one of our cottages instead. It’s one of our best, right on the shore. So, we’ve made that adjustment for you."
Serena immediately turned to Aiden, her eyes narrowed in suspicion. Aiden met her glare with one of his own, before he turned back to the receptionist. "I’m certain my office didn’t make that call. Are you sure there hasn’t been some kind of miscommunication?"
The receptionist quickly checked the details and shook her head,"No, sir. It’s definitely not a mistake. The call was made by a Miss Vera from Mabel Hawk’s office. She mentioned that the cottage upgrade was a gift from your grandmother."
Aiden grimaced as he resisted the urge to curse. It was his grandmother’s doing! Dam* it!
He should have known better than to mention their planswhen she innocently asked where they were headed. How could he have been so foolish to think that she would not interfere? This was a reminder to him that he needed to be very careful of his grandmother’s machinations. Each question, however innocuous, needed to be answered warily.
Serena, catching on, turned back to the receptionist with a smile while Aiden was still cursing on the inside. "That’s alright. You can change the rooms back now. We won’t be needing the cottage."
The receptionist hesitated, then shook her head with an apologetic expression. "I’m sorry, ma’am, but we can’t do that. Since your booking was changed, we reassigned your original rooms to other guests."
This time, Serena’s expression darkened and she was almost tempted to stomp her foot! Why did grandma have to be so devious?
Before she could respond and throw a tantrum, Aiden jumped in, "Then just give us another cottage."
Serena nodded, thinking the cottages could be on different ends of the hotel for all she cared! She just needed space from this man!
But if she was forced to spend all her waking moments with that ’ice block’, it would be a waste!
"I’m truly sorry, but we’re fully booked for the week. All of our cottages and rooms have been reserved," The receptionist explained.
Serena’s thoughts were shattered in that instant.
So what you’re telling us," he asked slowly, as if trying to process the absurdity of it all, "Is that we have no choice but to stay in that one cottage?"
"Yes, sir," the receptionist confirmed sincerely. "But I assure you, the cottage is one of our finest. It has all the amenities you could need, and it’s very private. I think you’ll both find it quite comfortable."
***
"What are you mumbling about?" Aiden asked in irritation as they were being taken to their cottage on the golf cart.
As always, he received a glare from her before she answered," I am thinking that this can’t be real, it’s like a scene from a bad novel or something. One room means one bed. One bed means we’re going to argue about who’s going to get to sleep on it. Then, I’ll have to fight you for it and you can sleep outside for all I care. Then you’ll be like this is a big beg, and I have no interest in you so we can share..".Aiden shook his head in amusement as he listened to her rant," You have a vivid imagination."
Serena snorted but did not reply. She wasn’t only worried about the sleeping space but other things... like her luggage...
If grandma had changed their bookings, then had they done something to her clothing as well? Like it usually happens in such novels? Was she going to find that all her comfortable clothing had been changed into some sexy numbers? After all, Vera had insisted that she would pack the clothes for her.
As they arrived at the cottage, Serena’s worst fear seemed to materialize. The exterior was charming enough, nestled right on the shore with a view of the ocean that was breathtaking despite the circumstances. But as they stepped inside, she realized that she had been wrong about some things—and disturbingly right about others.
The first thing that caught her eye was the bed. It wasn’t the spacious king-sized bed she had envisioned and even considered being generous to share, but rather a small, modest one that looked like it could barely accommodate one and a half people, let alone two.
The sight of it made her heart sink.
The cottage itself was sparsely furnished, with only the bare essentials—a couple of chairs, a small wardrobe, a worktable, and that infernally small bed. There wasn’t even a couch where she could push that man for the night.
There was no way she was sleeping here!
As she watched the concierge walk away, she was tempted to insist that they go back right away but stopped when she noticed Aiden taking something out of the cupboard. She sighed in relief. It was an extra set of bedding.
He then proceeded to spread it out on the floor, as if he had already resigned himself to the makeshift sleeping arrangement and spoke calmly, "I’ll sleep here."
Serena stared at him, caught off guard by his sudden change in demeanor. She had been so certain that this situation would devolve into a battle and yet here he was, taking the high road without a hint of complaint or argument. It was almost... annoying. And she realized that she did not like this one bit! He really needed to throw a fit so that she would be able to let off some steam...
She stared at the bed on the floor before looking at him... What was he upto?
"Why are you staring at me?" Aiden asked as he looked up from where he was squatting on the floor.
"You’re not trying to win the bed... Something is suspicious..." Serena added with narrowed eyes.
Aiden rolled his eyes at her and refused to engage her. He could guess already that if he got into an argument just now, there was no way he would win.