Impossible To Resist (BWWM Romance Book 1)(64)

The hotel was enormous; five floors and designed with a luxurious style. It was ideal for the political event taking place in the city, especially for hosting the banquet at the end of the run of the event.

Connor and Catalina moved carefully through the throng of people who filled the lobby, and stood in line at the front desk. Connor looked at Catalina in surprise and leaned toward her, whispering, “I didn’t realize it was going to be quite this busy here. I mean, I knew they’d probably be full, but this is incredible!”

She looked around them and agreed. “I’ve never been in a busier hotel.” After a fifteen minute wait, they finally made it to the front desk to check in, and the harried desk clerk gave them a tired smile.

“Welcome!” he told them politely. “How may I help you?”

“We’re here to check in. Connor James and Catalina Marshall,” Connor said with a sympathetic smile for the man who was helping them.

The clerk turned toward the computer screen and tapped away at his keyboard for a moment. Then he looked back at them with his weary smile. “Your room is ready for you. It’s on the main floor here, just through that hallway at the end of the foyer. It’s right by the pool and courtyard.”

Connor nodded. “Great! That sounds good. Where is Catalina’s room?”

The man frowned slightly. “We have you both in one room. I see that you were down originally for two rooms, but due to the storm and the road closures, we’ve had to consolidate as much as we can to accommodate as many people as possible. These reservations were made together at the same time with the same credit card, so they have been combined into one reservation.”

Connor felt his heart launch into his throat. There was no way he could share a room with Catalina, for so many reasons.

“That won’t work for us. We’re definitely going to need two rooms.”

The desk clerk sighed and shook his head. “I’m sorry, sir, but it’s just not possible. Every room in the hotel has been consolidated to make room for people who have been stranded by the storm. There’s just no way to offer you another room. They are all taken.

“Your only option is that you would both be staying in the room down the hall on this level. All of the hotels in town have had to do the same thing; with the political event and the weather, every place is booked as all the hotels try to accommodate everyone,” he told Connor apologetically.

Connor tried to swallow the lump in his throat as he turned slowly to look at Catalina. He looked into her eyes and felt everything in him tighten, including his throat as he tried to speak.

“What do you want to do? It’s totally up to you,” he said in a strained voice.

She heard everything the clerk said, and the whole time he spoke about them staying in the same room, her heart pounded in her chest and she felt heat flowing all through her. She was going to have to stay with him in his room. There was a feeling of awkwardness in her that was trumped only by her nervousness and both of those feelings were bound up in intrigue and curiosity.

“It’s fine with me.” She shrugged. “We don’t really have a choice, do we?” she asked, without really making it a question.

The clerk pursed his lips and shook his head. “You really don’t. I’m very sorry about that,” he said with a disappointed look on his face. “I can give you two free meals each as a form of compensation, if that would be alright.”

Connor sighed and turned back to the clerk, wondering how in the world he was going to manage sharing a room with Catalina for four days. “It’s going to have to be.” He handed his card to the clerk.

They finished checking in and walked to their room. Neither of them said a word about it, and both of them were thinking about the experience they were headed for with every step forward that they took.

When they entered their room, Connor groaned as he looked around and saw that there was only one bed. Catalina’s mouth fell open as she stared at it. There was no way that would work for them.

Connor went straight to the phone and called the front desk. The phone at the desk rang several times before the clerk picked it up.

“This is Connor James. We just checked in and you had us consolidated down to one room from two. We’ve just gotten into our room and I see that there is a single bed in here. We are going to need a room with two beds.” He said it seriously, his brow furrowed and his hand over his eyes as he sat in the chair at the desk.

He was quiet a moment and Catalina watched and listened to him.

“Well, can’t you switch us with someone else who has two beds but might only need one?” he pleaded insistently.

More silence, and Connor leaned back in the chair and looked at the ceiling as his hand dropped heavily on the desk in frustration.

“Listen, there has to be something that you can do. We booked two rooms and you put us into one room, the very least you could do is make sure that we have two beds! This just isn’t going to work with one bed!” His voice grew sharp.

Catalina turned away from him and looked at the rest of the room. It was an exceptionally nice room, with a large well-appointed bathroom, a small kitchenette area with a sink, refrigerator, and microwave, and the office area featured a desk, chair, and lamp.

Then there was the bed. It was a queen sized bed, so there was room for two people, but not much room. It would be very close quarters indeed for them if they were to remain in the room.