I ushered people to the car, eyes traveling over the group for the cute redhead. She hadn’t come down yet. And when Lily Hastings, the youngest of Gemma’s three daughters, close in age to Lucy and me, asked for the front seat because she was still feeling a little queasy, I couldn’t exactly say no, even though I wanted to.

Lucy was the last to arrive. She took the lack of available front seat in stride, tossing her overnight bag into the back and climbing to the van's third row with her laptop and purse like she’d planned it all along. I bet she was even a little relieved not to have to sit and talk with me the whole time.

I scowled at the radio, debating whether or not to turn it on. And then went through the same runaround with the AC. In the end, I left the latter off but turned on a 90s station in the background. Lily chatted with me but spent most of her time staring out the window or fielding questions from her family in the back. The drive was about forty minutes away—plenty of time to have made some headway with Lucy—if she hadn’t been two bodies behind me.

We made it to Cavendish just in time for our check-in. I went ahead of the group to get everyone’s keys and book an extra room for Lucy. She hadn’t been part of the group when the reservations had been initially made so it was likely she wouldn’t even make it onto the same floor as us.

Again, she probably didn’t care. But I did. Maybe I could move my room next to hers.

Was that creepy? That was probably creepy.

“I’m checking in for the Hastings group. And I need to add a room.”

Gemma and her grandson fell into the lobby in a tangle of little shrieks, arms, and legs. I looked back to check on her, but she gave me a thumbs-up that they were fine.

“Okay, I’ve got you checked in, but we are at capacity for the night. I apologize, but we won’t be able to add a room.” The front desk lady tried to hand me several key cards, but I was still computing what she’d said.

“You don’t have any extra rooms?”

She shook her head. “I’m so sorry. We just had a large conference group check in—we are at capacity.”

Crap. I should have planned ahead for this one.

“What’s wrong?” Gemma had untangled herself and stood next to me, coming up as high as my shoulder.

“I was trying to add a room, but they’re full.”

Lucy walked into the lobby behind me. I thought fast.

“But it’s okay. My room is a double, so Lucy can just stay with me.” I squirmed under Gemma's look. I wasn’t even watching her, but I could feel it burning into the side of my face. I wasn’t up to any funny business; I just wanted Lucy to have a place to sleep. And this was my fault for not calling earlier.

Plus, if it meant getting to spend some time ingratiating myself to Miss Lucy Sinclair, I wasn’t complaining.

Lucy’s head shot up at my statement, brows lifted. Gemma offered, “We have an extra bed in our room too—she can stay with us.”

I met Lucy’s eyes. “The hotel is at capacity,” I said by way of explanation.

Her eyes widened, and I could see her mind working. What would it be? Me or the old married couple? I felt like one of those might be a little more awkward than the other, but what did she think?

Her head swung between us as she adjusted the strap on her shoulder. “No, I don’t want to impose… I can… Is there another hotel nearby?”

The restof the Hastings made it in. Mar and her husband, who had the baby’s stroller, were followed by Ciara and her husband, who grabbed their son, while Lily came up to her mom. Seeing them all in a line emphasized how much they looked like Gemma. Petite, light hair, big smiles. Poor Hank’s genes just hadn’t been able to compete.

“Yeah, there are a few,” I said, slowly. “And I can help you get into one of them if you’d like. But we have the extra beds, just not a room.”

She seemed frozen in indecision. I didn’t blame her. She was probably imagining what the night would look like with either of us. Cute, snoring old couple or guy she’d just turned down. Incredible options.

“Oh, do you need a room? I’m in mine alone… is it a double?” Lily asked, looking over at the front desk employee.

“Yep,” the woman said brightly. “All of our standard rooms have two queens.”

I was a little disappointed. I’d had the slightest likelihood of convincing her to stay with me over the elderly couple. But a single woman with an extra bed? That was a no-brainer.

Lucy clearly agreed. “That would be amazing, Lily, thank you.” Then, to the rest of us, she said, “I’m sorry to cause a big hiccup.”

“This is nothing. There’s almost always some sort of snafu when checking in,” Gemma said with a pat to Lucy’s arm. It looked like the little old lady had adopted Lucy into their family. And when Lucy and Lily grabbed their keys and started for the elevators, talking about some book they’d both read recently, it was clear she wasn’t the only one.

I stayed behind, ensuring the rest of the Hastings made it okay before grabbing my own key and going for the hall. Apparently, I was on a different floor than everyone else. Great, even less reason to see Lucy.