Page 51 of The Player in New Zealand
“Where do you live?” David asked.
“Welive in Wellington,” Tane answered.
Later: “How did we meet?” the British couple across the table asked.
“Wemet at his bar.”
“Are you Tane Taumata?” This at a whisper from a server crouching down between our chairs.
And once, during a lull in the conversation, Tane leaned toward me: “I can’t stop thinking about it.”
Our fingers were entwined under the table and Tane brought my hand discreetly to his lap to feel the thick erection behind his zipper. It shot a chill up my spine.
This time, it felt less fake. We weren’t doing it to trick anyone. We’d never see these people again. These touches, these quick kisses, were just for us. Just for anticipation.
There may not have been dwarves or elves, but it was still pretty magical.
SIXTEEN
“Hi,we’re checking in. We have a reservation for two rooms under Taumata, but we’re only going to need one,” Tane said to the receptionist at our hotel. It was late, and we both may have eaten too much food. The pavlova, a favorite dessert in New Zealand, was light and fluffy with meringue and fruit, but I ate three servings of it and the sugar rush crash was hitting me hard.
“Certainly.” The receptionist smiled at Tane, batting her eyelashes. “I thought that might be you checking in. My dad’s a huge fan.”
She’s a huge fan.
I was standing next to Tane, but my duffle bag was slung over my shoulder between us. For the first time tonight, someone wasn’t assuming we were a couple. Even though Tane hadjustsaid we’d be sharing a room.
“Tell him thanks for the support.” Tane smiled politely and then stifled a yawn behind his hand.
“Would you like some coffee?” the receptionist offered, gesturing to a machine to the side of the lobby. “I’m happy to make you one, and I’d love to hear what you’ve been doing since you retired.”
Tane winced. “Just the room, thanks.”
“No worries, let’s see here. Are you sure you don’t want to keep the second room?” She typed into her computer. “Oh wait, your reservation only has one room. And it’s a king-sized bed. Too bad we’re all full up.” She pouted.
Tane and I looked at each other and burst out laughing.
“Okay, wait, Nina definitely said I’d have my own room.”
Tane pinched the bridge of his nose. “She said you’d have your own room for the wedding.”
“But I assumed...” I trailed off, realizing Nina had done this on purpose. “Oh, she’s good,” I whispered, narrowing my eyes at Tane.
“She made her own loophole,” he agreed.
The receptionist passed two key cards over the counter and eyed us. We composed ourselves and moved over to the elevator to go up to our room. When the door closed, I turned to Tane.
“You should text Nina. Tell her there’s only one room at the hotel so you’re making me sleep in the truck.”
Tane shook his head, shoulders shaking in laughter again. “My sister. God, she’s such a busybody.”
“It almost kills me to admit that she’s getting her way here,” I said. “She didn’t need to short us a room; we would have been sharing one anyway.”
“I’m not telling her that.”
“You could tell her that you gave me the room and shacked up with the receptionist instead.”
Tane swiped his face with his hand. “I had literally just told you I haven’t dated in forever and then I immediately got hit on.”
