I didn’t have time to find out as we pulled up to the hotel.
“Wow, Wyatt, you went all out,” she said as she took in the fanciest hotel I could find in the city. Lincoln was a great town, but it wasn’t New York. Still, the hotel offered a lot of great amenities a newlywed couple would want. “You didn’t have to.”
I shrugged. “I figured we’d live it up before we had to get down in the crap of dealing with Stark.”
She shook her head as she looked into the wide lobby area with its gray and chrome décor. “A new car, fancy hotel… Did you inherit money?”
I laughed. “No. Uncle Sam provides a lot for its soldiers so I was able to save some.” I put my hand on her lower back as I led her through the lobby to the front desk. We checked in and because I’d booked a suite, a bellboy took us up to the room.
I tipped the young man and ushered him out as I watched Sinclair take in the room, her eyes wide. No one had done this for her, I realized. No one had ever treated her to something special. Including me back when she was mine. I hoped I had many more opportunities to make her feel special.
“There’s just two of us. What are we going to do with all this space?” she asked.
“Whatever we want. Play tag. Do yoga.”
She laughed.
“There are two beds,” I said, wanting her to know I wasn’t expecting any traditional honeymoon activities. I noted a bottle of champagne on the table, compliments of the hotel. “How about some champagne?”
“Maybe we should save it for after dinner.”
“Dinner will still be there. We can order room service if you don’t want to go out.” I popped the cork on the bottle and poured us each a flute. “Cheers.”
She clinked her glass against mine. She took a sip and her nose scrunched up. “Bubbles.”
She was adorable and a wave of emotion flowed through me. I wanted to tell her about it. About all that was pumping in my heart. I wanted to kiss her and taste Sinclair mixed with champagne. Instead, I took a long sip of my drink.
“You seem to have thought of everything, but forgotten this is all fake.”
Inside, my heart felt squashed in my chest. It was followed by annoyance. “You can tell yourself that all you want, but it doesn’t change the fact that I’m married to the most beautiful woman in the world.”
She gasped, clearly not expecting that.
“I intend to make the most of the night, even if we end up sleeping in separate beds.” I refilled her glass. “By the way, not consummating a marriage isn’t grounds for an annulment. I checked.”
She looked up at me.
“So, if you do want to have sex, you don’t have worry about not being able to get an annulment.”
She swallowed and looked down. I noted a pink tinge coming to her cheeks. Was it the champagne or the talk about sex?
“How do we get an annulment?”
God dammit! That’s the thing she focuses on. The annulment, not that we can have sex?
I worked to loosen my jaw that tightened in annoyance. “You tell the court I tricked you into marrying me. Coerced or scam marriages can be annulled. Or you can say I’m crazy, which I suppose I am.”
“Good to know.” Her smile was beguiling.
Did that mean she was reconsidering her no-touch rule? Perhaps this honeymoon was going to be closer to real than I’d thought. I considered kissing her to find out, but then decided perhaps it was too early to test it. She needed romance. She needed me to show her that I didn’t see her as means to an end in saving my farm.
Ten years ago, we had a sweet secret summer, but I hadn’t been romantic. Sure, I picked a flower or two for her, but I never took her on a real date.
I frowned.
“What’s wrong?”
“This will be our first date.” Perhaps I shouldn’t have called it a date as that suggested a real relationship, something she was against having.