“Delilah Green,” Astrid said to the unfortunate receptionist, enunciating every syllable. “Look again. I know it’s there.”
“I’m so sorry, Ms. Parker,” Hadley said, “but the reservation here clearly says that you called on April 4 and booked three rooms for one night, one for yourself, another for a Ms. Iris Kelly, and a third for a Ms. Claire Sutherland. I don’t see anything for a Ms. Del—”
“All right, I understand,” Astrid said, sighing heavily. “But surely there must be another room available.”
Hadley winced. Delilah almost felt bad for her. “I do apologize, Ms. Parker. Summer is our busiest season, and we’re all booked up tonight. But if anything becomes available, you’ll be the first to know.”
Astrid stared at the poor woman for a good five seconds, like the mere force of her gaze would make a vacant room appear out of thin air. Hadley, for her part, held her smile, but when Astrid’s shoulders slumped in defeat, the receptionist audibly released a breath.
“It’s okay. I’ll just sleep with the grapes,” Delilah said.
Astrid slowly turned but didn’t meet her stepsister’s cool gaze. Instead, she looked at the floor and inhaled several times in a row, like she was trying not to completely lose her shit.
Delilah folded her arms. She’d rather like to see Astrid lose her shit, right here in front of Hadley and the calming spa-blue color palette.
“It’s fine,” Claire said, laying a hand on Astrid’s arm. “It’ll be fine. The beds are king-size, right? Delilah can stay with me.”
Oh my god, this was too perfect. Astrid’s head snapped up, her eyes going wide.
“No, no, it’s my fault,” she said. “She can stay with me.”
“Astrid,” Claire said. “You deserve a room to yourself.”
“So do you,” Astrid said.
“Well, I sure as shit deserve a room to myself,” Iris said, and Delilah nearly laughed. Honestly, in another life, she probably would have liked Iris a whole hell of a lot.
“Astrid,” Claire said, closing her hands around Astrid’s upper arms. “I don’t mind. And I insist. It’ll be great.”
“Yeah, Ass, it’ll be great,” Delilah said. She met her stepsister’s gaze and lifted a single brow, something she knew Astrid couldn’t do and wished she could. They stared at each other, Delilah’s little bet about getting Claire into bed hovering between them. Granted, this wasn’t exactly what Delilah meant, but it was a start. It was a damn great start.
Astrid closed her eyes briefly, and in that tiny space of time, Delilah knew she had won.
There was something else there too though. Something other than the satisfaction Delilah felt knowing Astrid was inwardly seething, and she was pretty sure it was excitement. Claire was fun, sweet, and sexy as hell. She was interesting. And Delilah couldn’t stop thinking about last night in the foyer at Wisteria House, that split second where Claire could’ve walked away with Astrid, leaving Delilah to deal with her demons all by herself, just like Delilah was used to doing.
Only she hadn’t.
Claire had turned back, brown eyes wide open and honest, and she’d waited for Delilah. She’d walked her through what could’ve been the worst moment of her trip back to Bright Falls, and turned it into a simple stride down a hall.
And for the first time since her father died, Delilah hadn’t felt alone in Wisteria House.
Chapter Eleven
CLAIRE HAD NO clue what she’d been thinking.
Well, Help Astrid. That was the spirit behind her whole share a bed with Delilah Green idea—keep her best friend from completely melting down during the one pre-wedding activity Claire and Iris were actually looking forward to. She’d seen it brewing, the freak-out, Astrid breathing like a bull facing a matador, and she knew how terrible Astrid must be feeling for leaving Delilah out.
What’s more, Claire saw Delilah’s disappointment. Or, not disappointment so much as . . . she wasn’t sure. But something had been behind Delilah’s eyes when it was clear what had happened. Her face remained expressionless, bored even, but her eyes had flickered, like a strong wind nearly snuffing a candle out before the flame reared back to life.
So, of course, offering to bunk up with Delilah seemed like the best course of action. Iris surely wasn’t going to do it, and if Delilah and Astrid shared a room, the trip would probably end in some sort of bloodshed.
Claire was the obvious choice.