Page 6

JACOB

I pulled into the car park of the small hotel that Ella had hired for the weekend. Or more accurately, Nadia had hired. My sister was often generous with the people she loved, but there was no way she could afford this. Luckily for her, her fiancée didn't seem to mind.

I spotted the two of them waiting at the entrance, giggling away to one another.

A strange feeling passed through me that was somewhat akin to jealousy, but wasn't at the same time.

It wasn't that I resented Nadia for taking my sister from me, it didn't work like that, and Ella and I had been messaging even more than before since the two of them got together.

It was because there was a part of me that wanted something like that. Someone who understood me so completely. And someone who didn't want to celebrate something without me, even when people would expect them to celebrate separately.

A car door slammed shut, and I automatically looked over in that direction to find Tesha getting a suitcase out of the boot of a tiny blue car. The wind caught her hair and blew it into her face, causing her to sigh and push it away from her eyes.

I raised my hand to wave at her, and she responded immediately, making me glad that I hadn't imagined how well lunch had gone between us. I wasn't sure what had possessed me to ask her to join me, there was just something about her that made me want to get to know her better.

It took me a moment to realise that I was lingering in the car park weirdly, and headed towards my sister who seemed to have noticed my arrival.

"Hey," she said, pulling me into a hug. "I'm so glad you came."

"You know I wasn't going to miss it," I reminded her. "I'm always going to want to celebrate my little sister getting married."

She grinned. "I am." She reached out for Nadia's hand and gave it a squeeze.

The other woman smiled at me. "Hello, Jacob."

"Good to see you again, Nadia," I responded.

"Oh, and Tesha," Ella said, a twinkle in her eye that couldn't be ignored. "That's good, we can send the two of you in to explore together."

Nadia chuckled. "You're not being very subtle."

"I'm not trying to be," Ella sing-songed.

I turned my attention to the approaching goddess without acknowledging my sister's clear attempts to try and set us up.

"Afternoon," she said as she reached us. "This place looks beautiful."

"And it's all for us," Ella said. "Reception is right inside. You just need to tell them your names, and they'll give you a key."

Nadia smiled and held out a packet to each of us. "That's got everything you need to know. Meal times, events, information on the spa and amenities. It's all fair game, but we do ask that everyone is on time for meals."

"You'll have more of a problem with Ella being late than either of us," Tesha joked.

"I'm going to be doing what I can to keep her on time," Nadia said, giving my sister a stern look.

Ella just shrugged. "It's our weekend. So what if we're late because we're..."

"That's my cue to go inside," I said.

Tesha laughed. "I'll come with you and leave the lovebirds to it."

"Good idea." I dragged my suitcase behind me as we entered the hotel. It was small and cosy, more like a country home than a hotel, but that made it perfect for the event that it was supposed to be. "You should go first," I said, gesturing to the check-in desk.

She nodded and exchanged a few words with the person behind it, taking a key on a small wooden keyring. Despite the fact she could go off in search of her room now, she hung back, waiting for me to talk to the receptionist and get my key too.

"What room have you got?" she asked.

"Ten. What about you?"

"Twelve. What's to bet your meddling sister has something to do with that?"

I chuckled. "My sister, your best friend. Which is the most meddlesome?"

"That question would only work if they were different people," she responded. "Do you really think she's trying to set us up?"

"Definitely. I've seen her do this before. And she's only going to get worse," I said. "Don't be surprised if she tells us that she wants us to dance together at the wedding."

"Are you a bad dancer?" she asked.

"Is that important?"

"If you're going to step on my toes all night, then I should find myself a date in time for the wedding. If you're a good dancer, then I don't see the need."

I pushed open the door and held it open for her. "I'm fine at dancing."

"Then that saves me a lot of time finding the perfect fake date."

"Could it not be a real date?"

She shrugged. "Seems like a lot of effort just to get out of dancing with you. It would probably be easier to try and find you someone at one of my Lock and Key parties."

A strange feeling came over me that had nothing to do with thinking about a relationship.

I pushed it to the side and got into the lift alongside Tesha.

It was strange how quickly it had become comfortable to call her that, especially when she was a goddess, but there was something about her that put me at ease.

Maybe it was just that I knew something about her that most people didn't, but I wasn't convinced.

"I'm looking forward to hitting the spa," she said. "It's been too long."

"I know what you mean. I spend a lot of my work time on my feet, it'll be good to relax."

"You know the Jinx hotel has a spa too, right?"

"I do," I said.

"And that you get to use it?"

I chuckled. "Yes, I know that too. But there's something weird about getting a massage from someone when you're their boss."

"Okay, fair point."

"Do you use it?" I asked.

"I haven't had a chance to yet."

The lift came to a stop with a ding, announcing that we'd arrived on the floor with the bedrooms. It wasn't a huge corridor, and it appeared as if there were only a dozen rooms on this floor.

"All right, so I'm going to head in here," Tesha said, gesturing to door twelve. "I guess I'll see you down in the spa."

"Is there nothing else on?"

She shook her head. "Ella told me the other day. The first event for everyone is dinner tonight."

"Then down to the spa it is." I flashed her a smile. "Though if you'd rather I stayed at the opposite side of the room to you, I'd understand."

"Why would you do that?"

"Maybe you don't want someone you work with to see you in your swimsuit."

"I'm several thousand years old," she reminded me. "I think I'll survive you seeing me in my bikini. Unless this is your way of telling me that you don't want me to see you like that."

"It's fine," I promised.

"Then I'll see you down in the spa. I'll be the one in the polka dot bikini and ignoring everyone."

"Sounds good to me."

I watched as she disappeared into her room, feeling a strange kind of kinship to her, even if we'd only just met. Though with the way Ella and Nadia's pre-wedding celebration weekend was going to go, Tesha and I were going to be fast friends by the end of it.