Chapter 6

Simi looked out the window of the room inside the suite. It was beautiful. The snow covered peaks in the distance, the frozen lake not too far away from the resort, the pine and firs surrounding the area dusted with white. The lights were on around the walkways on the ground below. The sky was grey with dark clouds. It was scary and yet it was gorgeous. The view on the inside of the suite was no less enchanting. With a big Douglas fir tree covering a sizeable portion of the living room along with all the Christmas trimmings and decorations, it was absolutely beautiful. The furniture was luxurious and comfortable at the same time. She had even spotted the big champagne bottle along with two flute glasses on the side table in the bedroom. She sighed as she turned to put away her clothes in the wardrobe. Lucky for her there were two. And while one was already in use by Neil she was free to use the other. It made up for the lack of privacy otherwise.

Her two big disappointments in the absolutely perfect suite were the presence of only one bathroom, though too big and gorgeous, she was unhappy about sharing it with Neil, and the other was no lock on the door to the master bedroom. Made sense if the suite was actually being used by a married couple. Who would they need to lock out? But in her case it would have been beneficial if Neil did try to make a move on her. Not that she should be worried because since the second she had walked in he had made himself busy with his work. He hadn't even glanced towards the room she was in. Maybe he was serious about work. But who worked during the holidays? Almost the whole of US was in celebration mode with mandatory shutdowns across the country. Not that she was going to ask. If he wanted to work it was his problem. And it was good. He wouldn't bother her. Coming to the problem of the shared bath, well, she will just have to get used to it.

She turned to place her clothes neatly recalling the casual way Neil had introduced her as his wife. Even as the receptionist had eyed her with surprise and pointed out her name on her license, Neil had handled the conversation pretty well, explaining they had just gotten married and most of Simi's documents still had her maiden name. All Simi had done was smile. She had turned red. Had it been her she knew she would have stammered out the lie or blurted out the truth. She was kind of awed by the smoothness of Neil's voice. And then she had been irritated when the receptionist had laughed at the explanation and given Neil a coy smile. Had Simi really been Neil's wife she would have taken an offense. But she wasn't. So she had just banked down on her irritation.

The bellboy had carried her luggage up to the room. Neil had walked with her with his hand lightly behind her back. And his touch had scorched her through the layers of her clothes. She knew she didn't look like someone Neil would fancy. And yet he had made sure that she looked the part. Simi knew why the receptionist had seemed surprised to see her. Because she looked so plain and drab in comparison to the well dressed and charismatic man who had stood there with her. Wasn't that why she had faced endless rejections from various suitors her mother had picked. Simi sighed. Then decided to have fun and not really go over morose thoughts. The suite was well stocked and perfect for a Christmas holiday. And she didn't have to venture out at all. It would be great to be able to just sit on the couch and read a book. She had already spied the bookshop near the main lobby. She could go check it out. She loved reading. Anything and everything included her list.

With that thought in mind, she took out her wallet and went out of the room. For a second she was tempted to tell Neil where she was going. Then decided against it. His nose was buried in his laptop and he had asked her to not disturb him once the bellboy had left. She felt a twinge of guilt because he will have to sleep on the couch and though it looked comfortable and big enough to fit his tall frame, a good night's sleep on the bed was always a better option. Maybe if he maintained his boundaries she might switch places with him the next day. A sudden excitement gripped her. She was finally, doing what she had never had the courage to do. Being carefree. She picked up her keycard and humming to herself left the suite.

Not realizing that the soft humming sounds she had made had disturbed the man who had been trying hard to ignore her presence in the suite since the time she had stepped in.

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