Rock Wedding (Rock Kiss #4) - Nalini Singh Page 0,113
him again.
She knew she was the one who should ask since she was the one who’d effectively turned him down by never giving him an answer, but the romantic girl in her clung to the dream of being asked by the man she loved. “Should I take some clothes?”
“No, I already packed for you.”
Her mouth fell open. “Did you pack purses to match the clothes?”
“Who the hell do you think you’re talking to?”
Laughing at his insulted tone, she padded down the stairs with the makeup kit and her current everyday purse. “Here, put this with the other stuff.” She handed the makeup bag to him. “Are you going to tell me where we’re going?”
“Nope.”
Sarah decided to go with it. “One last adventure before the peanut arrives?”
“Something like that.” Abe helped her into the passenger seat of the SUV, then went around and tucked her makeup kit into the luggage he had in back.
Flossie was already in the backseat. When Sarah asked if Flossie was going with them, Abe told her their pet would be jumping off at her favorite doggie hotel. “Don’t stay up too late,” Sarah told Flossie as Abe locked up the house.
It was as they were pulling out of the gate that she frowned. “Hey, where are all the photographers and reporters?” They’d been on her like white on rice for months, would hardly disappear when she was only weeks away from giving birth.
Abe’s grin was smug. “We have good friends.”
“What did you get them to do?” Sarah pushed at his arm when he just chuckled. “It must be one heck of a photo opportunity if they drew away the entire crowd.”
“Oh, it is.” Abe smirked. “You can read all about it in the tabloids tomorrow.”
Amused by his smugness, Sarah decided she could wait and settled in for the ride after they dropped off Flossie. Of course, she had to keep making him stop so she could visit the restroom, and they’d only been gone maybe two hours when he pulled into what appeared to be a little family-style hotel.
“Here?” Wildly curious, she took it in. The hotel was pretty and old-fashioned with its wooden frame and climbing roses, and even as they stopped, a well-dressed couple stepped out as if to welcome them.
Opening her door, Abe got her safely on the ground. He grabbed their bags with the help of the male half of the couple she’d seen—who turned out to be the owners—while the woman walked with Sarah. “We’ve put you in a downstairs room,” the other woman said with a smile. “I know when I was pregnant, climbing stairs got old fast.”
“Tell me about it.” Sarah patted her abdomen to reassure the peanut of her love; difficulty with stairs or not, Sarah adored her and Abe’s baby.
“Here we are.” Opening the door to what proved to be a lovely suite decorated in rich blue and white with creamy yellow accents provided by roses placed in a glass bowl, the other woman walked in. “We prepared a little tray of snacks.” She gestured to where that tray sat on a coffee table with curved wooden legs. “Just light things—crackers and fruit and chocolate. Our kitchen is full-service twenty-four hours, so just pick up the phone when you’re ready for dinner.”
The other woman opened the folding doors at the back of the living area. “This leads into our private garden. Many of our guests enjoy sitting here for breakfast or after dinner.”
Sarah could see why—the bougainvillea was colorful even in the soft lighting created by the old-fashioned lamps, and she could see palms as well as a thick carpet of velvety green grass. “It’s beautiful.”
A deep smile from her blond host, the woman’s glossy bob shining in the light. “Anything you need, anything at all, let us know.”
The hotelier couple departed soon afterward, leaving Abe and Sarah alone in the living area. She explored, with Abe following lazily. The bedroom was spacious, the four-poster bed huge and covered with an ivory-colored spread. There was also a window seat tucked below a curved window, books on honey-colored shelves. In the bathroom, she found lovely little toiletries.
“This is wonderful, Abe,” she said, trying not to be disappointed that he didn’t appear to be setting things up for a proposal.
Take charge of your own happiness.
Nodding inwardly at the piercing thought, she decided she’d ask him as soon as they returned home. She’d get candles, roses, make it romantic, surprise him. “How did you find this place?” she asked, smiling