Page 35 of Mating of Convenience
I dug into my bag that I’d shoved under my seat and pulled out a tourist guide to Paris that I’d picked up at the airport. Maybe I could find something fun for the two of us to do. And maybe if I observed Raph a little more I would figure out what his intentions were and then I could make my move accordingly.
Or not.
* * *
Once landedand done with immigration at Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris--holy shit we were actually in Paris--a shuttle bus took us and our luggage to the hotel. When we arrived there, Raphael watched me with a grin as I took both my heavy suitcases from the driver and pulled them up to the entrance of the hotel.
“Seriously, what did you pack?” he asked, following me with his own child-sized suitcase. It wasn’tactuallychild-sized, but compared to mine, it looked that way. It also had candy bars printed on the outer shell, which didn’t help.
“More than you, obviously. Did you borrow that thing from your little sister?” I asked, pointing at his luggage.
“Nope. It’s my brother’s,” Raph said easily. “It’s a short trip so I figured I wasn’t going to need too much stuff.” He eyed my suitcases again. “Looks like you’re prepared for a spontaneous outbreak of the zombie apocalypse, though.”
“Not zombies, but I was raised to always be prepared for everything.” I stepped into the brightly lit foyer of the hotel, hoping to leave this conversation behind. Really, Raph was going to thank me sooner or later when he realized I had an extra of something he didn’t bring at all.
“Okay, then, let’s get checked in. I can’t wait to see our room. Flying is exhausting. Even when it’s first class.”
That much was true. I nodded, and together, we approached the reception desk, a massive piece of furniture that seemed to be made from solid mahogany wood. Behind it worked three members of staff, one of whom turned to us with a friendly smile.
“Hello,” Raphael said. “We’re Nathan and Raphael Probst and there should be a honeymoon suite booked in our name.”
I couldn’t help but marvel at the way he said that like it was no big deal at all. He even leaned a little closer and hooked arms with me as if we were any other married couple. Was he a tattoo artist or an actor? For a moment, I wasn’t sure. All I knew was that I liked feeling the warmth of his body by my side.
I also liked hearing him pair his name with my last name. It suited him.
“What are you grinning at?” Raph poked me lightly in the side while the receptionist looked us up in the computer.
“Nothing,” I muttered. Had I really been grinning? While Raph handled the rest of our check-in, I focused on staying in control of my facial features until another employee had shown us to our room and went back to get our luggage up. I’d tried to carry my own, but they insisted.
I didn’t even want to know how much Raphael’s grandma had paid for our lodging here. Once we were left alone with our suitcases, we looked around the room. It was huge. You could have easily fitted ten people in here instead of just me and Raphael. In spite of this, though, there was only one bed. One big heart-shaped bed. It looked like something out of a movie.
Raph sat on it and smiled at me. “We’re gonna have to take a picture of this. It’s insane. I didn’t know they actually made beds like this!” He let himself fall back and spread his arms. “It’s super soft!”
“Yeah?” I wanted to say more but my mouth was dry. Why wasn’t Raph bothered by any of this? Or was he simply hiding it better than I was? He’d always been good at putting on a show. He’d learned to do that for his younger siblings after their mother passed away. Raph could smile no matter how dark the times were.
He used to let that mask fall around me, though.
“I’m gonna check out the bathroom,” I made myself say because I didn’t want to keep looking at Raph on that heart-shaped bed.
“Oh, the bathroom!” Raph jumped up from the bed to join me as I opened the door to the ensuite. “Jackpot!” he cheered as our eyes fell on the Jacuzzi. Which was also heart-shaped.
“Seriously?” I heard myself say under my breath. “Why does everything in here have to be heart-shaped?”
“Because it’s a honeymoon suite!” Raph explained to me as if he was talking to a four-year-old. “Don’t worry so much, and don’t tell me you don’t appreciate it. I know you’re a hopeless romantic. You would have booked this room in a heart-beat if it was your actual honeymoon. Hell, maybe you’ll come back here with whoever you end up marrying after me.” Raph’s face fell toward the end of that sentence. It took him less than a second to smooth his expression over, but I caught it anyway.
Hewasputting on a show.
I wished he’d stop, but I could hardly tell him to be a little more miserable, could I? Instead, I latched on to what else he’d said. “I doubt I’ll ever have enough money to take another date here and even if I did…” I looked around, at the heart-shaped tub and the rose petals that lined it. “This is a bit too much, don’t you think? It feels like a parody of real love.”
“Oh please, it looks like a picture from one of those magazines you used to read.”
“I’m not a teenager anymore.” These days, I didn’t care about heart-shaped tubs or beds or rose petals. I cared about spending time with the people I loved, wherever that was. “Romance isn’t about the location, it’s about how much you care about the person you’re with.”
“That’s… you’ve really grown, you know?” Raph gave me a smile that actually felt genuine. Genuine enough to warm my heart, anyway. “I really hope you find the perfect omega for you. One who makes you happy. You deserve that.”
“Thank you.” It was all I could think to say. I certainly couldn’t utter the first thought that had popped into my head, which was that I wantedhim.
“Yeah, whatever. I think I’m going to settle in and see how soft that bed really is.” Getting up from the tub, he left the bathroom. I studied the white wall tiles for a moment before following him.
