"Room for two?" the receptionist asks, smiling brightly at us as we enter the foyer.
"Yes please," Shayne says, smiling as I rest my head sleepily on his shoulder.
"I somehow doubt you’ll be getting much out of her tonight," the receptionist laughs. My eyes fly open at the tone of her voice.
"She’s a Christian," Shayne says quickly. The woman looks at him sceptically. "You know, Chastity, no sex before marriage, silver ring thing?" He asks, holding up my left hand to reveal a simple, silver ring on my third finger.
"Let it go," I murmur, yawning silently.
"Okay then, one room for two. See you in the morning," she says, handing us a key.
"Any chance I could persuade you to break the rules?" Shayne asks, only half joking.
"Shut up," I tell him sternly.
"I’m joking," he says defensively.
"Kay then."
"But if we got married?" He asks.
"Sure," I murmur, not even noticing what I’m saying.
Shayne takes a deep breath. "Then marry me," he says calmly.
"No."
"Why not?"
"Because you’re tired and happy and you’re being impulsive."
"I am not being impulsive," he tells me, pulling a beautiful engagement ring out of his pocket. I gape at it.
"We’ve been dating for two days," I remind him.
"Lila, I love you. Do you love me or not?"
I bite my lip. May as well admit it now. "yes."
"So what’s the problem?" Shayne rests his forehead against mine, breathing down my cheek.
"We’re too young."
"You’re 17. You can get married with your parents’ permission," he tells me.
"Have you met my dad?"
"I have. He adores me," Shayne says smugly.
Then it occurs to me that I’m making up excuses. None of them are valid. And the question races through my mind. Why not? He’s perfect for me.
"Li, hear me out," he says, cutting through my train of thoughts. "I’ve loved you for a long time; I never want to leave your side. I want to marry you, and live with you and have a family with you."
I gulp. "I don’t want to have kids."
He knows what I mean, and smiles. "Then we’ll adopt."
"Okay," I say, resting my head against his warm chest.
"Okay what?"
I roll my eyes and pluck the ring out of his hand, sliding it onto my finger.
"Yes, Shayne Benedict, I will marry you."
"Really?"
I giggle and he picks me up spinning me around as the lift pings to a stop. An elderly couple looks at us with surprise on their faces.
"She said yes," Shayne explains, hugging me close to his side.
The strangers smile at us, tell Shayne he has great taste in women and rings and wish us luck in life.
"You said yes," Shayne tells me, smiling as he opens the door to the suite.
"I remember," I giggle.
"Can I persuade you to go to sleep now?"
"Just don’t carry me," I say sternly.
"Hey, wait," he says softly, catching my wrist as I walk towards the bedroom. He tugs me towards him and folds me against his chest, kissing me deeply.
"I love you," I whisper as he pulls away.
He smiles down at me, brushing a kiss across my forehead. "And I love you."
As he leans away from me there a bang, and a bullet lodges itself in the door behind us.
"Now? Now!? Really!?" I shout.
"These hit men sure now how to time it," Shayne mutters.
"I’m going to fucking kill them," I say to myself, pulling out my gun.
"Li, don’t shoot them," Shayne shouts.
"I have a license to kill," I mutter.
He has the gall to laugh. "No you don’t. I do. Don’t shoot them, that’s an order," he says, turning into my boss again.
"Fine," I say, crossing my arms as I sit down on the floor.
"Just stay still, I’ll be right back," he tells me, racing out of the door.
There’s a shout across the hallway and a lot of thudding, a lot of screaming. The door to my suite is kicked through and I glance up, not really bothered.
Nick stands in the doorway, looking quite bemused.
"You look pissed off," he says, throwing himself down on the floor next to me.
"He wouldn’t let me shoot them," I say sulkily.
He squints at my leg. "Li, you’ve been shot!" He says, panicked.
"Don’t be bloody stupid, I’d know if I’d been…I was shot?" I look at the bullet hole in my leg, horrified. "How the fuck did I miss that?" I wonder.
"Does it hurt?" Nick frowns as he punches 999 into his phone.
"It does now that you made me notice it. What was that for?" I demand, punching his shoulder. He just laughs at me again and calls for Shayne.
"You got shot!?" He squeals, dropping down next to me.
"Apparently I did," I sulk.
"Apparently?" Shayne quirks one perfect eyebrow up.
"I didn’t notice until that idiot told me about it!" I complain, throwing a sofa cushion at Nick. He swats it away, still laughing.
"Your girlfriend’s extremely amusing," he says to Shayne.
"She’s not my girlfriend," he tells Nick, smiling smugly.
"What?"
"She’s my fiancée," he says with a proud nod.
"Really?" He looks shocked.
I sigh. "Really," I say, showing him the ring.
"Pretty," Nick says, smiling fondly at us.
"He has good taste," I shrug.
"Er, hello? Bullet wound," Shayne reminds me frantically.
"Right, yeah," I mutter. "Now is probably not the best time to tell everyone."
"Probably not," Shayne admits. I close my eyes and let myself drift for a minute, searching for a way to stop the pain.
