“Of course,” I muttered.

Bane gave me a careful glance before asking Sam, “So you’ve heard all about me, then?”

“Well, not much and that’s disappointing,” Sam replied with an elbow to my gut. “How are you going to leave a girlfriend off the chat?”

I scratched my ear. “I thought you’d be more upset that I have a surprise plus one.”

“Nah, man. We have plenty of room and food. When did you—” He stopped himself, turning to Bane with a bow of the head. “I’m sorry. Sunny can be closed off sometimes. My bride and I are very happy to have you with us. You’re in for a blast!”

“Oh, no,” she insisted. “I’m just tagging along. I don’t want to intrude—”

“Nonsense! You’re Sunny’s girl! He brought you all the way out here.”

“Actually, I came to see my sister, and this is all a coincidence. I don’t want to end up in your wedding pictures and forever memories.”

“Okay, listen. I can stand here all day and try to convince you, but once you meet my bride, she’s not going to let you go. I promise you.”

Bane looked to me, silently asking, “Are we doing this or what?”

Maybe I could’ve tracked down my ex and had a private conversation, taking the brunt of the humiliation to keep this between the two of us, but damn, she’d already gone to the group chat and now everyone knew. And now Sam was excitedly insisting on having Bane present, which was a big deal. This wasn’t a huge wedding. This would be small and intimate, and being my girlfriend meant he expected Bane to be at all the pre-wedding events. As in an entire vacation together. Dinner, drinks, outings.

I didn’t have much of a choice, seeing that the awkwardness of the truth would be a low-hanging cloud over everyone anytime I was near. Seemed like a huge damper for a wedding week.

Damnit. I heaved out a breath and gave Bane a short, almost imperceptible nod.

In a matter of nanoseconds, she went from friendly stranger in our midst to fake girlfriend on overdrive. She batted her lashes and sank against my side, slipping one hand down to mine, and beamed up at me. “Are you sure? I want you to have time with your friends.”

I swallowed hard, my mind blanking.

She turned to the guys and said, “He’s being shy.”

Aamar quirked a brow. “Sunny? Shy? This guy?”

She laughed and it sounded like angels blessing us with their presence. She’d never laughed like that in front of me before. Who was this woman turning on the charm so high that my friends were instantly eating out of her hands?

Bane shrugged and patted my chest. “Maybe he’s just shy with me. It’s very cute,” she said with a sultry, flirty tone that had Aamar tilting his head and silently relaying in our age-old telepathic bro speak: Damn, bro. You getting that?

“Then it’s settled! Sunny has a plus one! From henceforth, Bhanu will be joining us for everything. Right?” Sam asked, hopeful and a bit too eager.

Bane’s dazzling smile was blinding. How often did she smile that big? She could stop entire worlds looking like that, but how much of it was genuine? The configuration of this ploy led to zero being the most probable answer. Because this wasn’t real. She was faking it. But damn, was she good at this.

“What room are you in?” Aamar asked, pulling out his phone to take note.

With my lips compressing, my brain fidgeted with how to relay my answer without sounding like Sejal and I were at each other’s throats, but also where exactly was I staying?

“The villas,” Bane replied, looping an arm through mine while I stood in silence, dumbfounded and unable to add anything to her response, much less correct it. I didn’t have much of a choice.

“Fancy,” Sam said. “Like a honeymoon suite?”

Bane laughed that angelic laugh, a melody chiming in the breezeway. “Of course not. We’re not on a honeymoon. No, just the quaint villas; a sister property of the hotel. It’s on the other side of the golf course.”

The guys jerked their heads at me. I shrugged. I had no idea what she was talking about, but apparently they did.

“The ones that look like actual houses?” Sam asked.

“Yes. Hence the name, I guess. Not very creative,” Bane said, sounding like a designer. She had probably looked at the hotel’s website and clucked her tongue, skimming down every page making mental notes of what she’d change in the overall UX design of it all.

Sam whistled.

Her shoulders scrunched up, a movement of friction against my arm. I’d never noticed how preferable our height difference was. She was on the taller side, but several inches shorter than me so that whatever little motions she made were brushes against unsuspecting places. Nothing dirty, or even remotely arousing—this was Bane after all—but surprisingly not irritating.

Her delicate shrug and innocent but overtly pleased expression said it all, and the boys seemed to catch her nonverbal exclamation.

“They look extremely nice,” Sam commented, then whispered, “But, uh, don’t tell my bride. She’s going to wonder why I didn’t splurge that hard.”

I managed a chuckle. Sure. I could only assume these villas were expensive. Sam was well off as an engineer for Boeing back in Seattle, so for him not to splurge on the best room at this weirdly arranged multi-location-in-one-hotel was saying something. I had to remember to check out the pricing later. If I couldn’t get a room, even for one night, and I had to crash on Bane’s couch (presumably an expensive villa had a couch), then I should at least know what monetary amount to give her for my part.

Aamar’s phone pinged and he told Sam, “The wedding planner is ready. Wants to meet at the beach gazebo.”

“We better get going,” Sam said, taking an awkward step toward Bane as if he weren’t sure if he should shake her hand or hug her or…

She offered a fist. A fist bump. Of course she would. “I’m not much of a handshake or hugs type of person, so please don’t take offense,” she explained with that kilowatt smile that had disarmed my friends yet again.

When the guys had disappeared into an elevator, she slipped her arm out of mine and I said, “You don’t have to cross your comfort zone by playing along.”

“What?” She looked up at me with those soft eyes.

“The touching.”

She waved me off and scrolled through her phone. “I know you, it’s fine. Unless you prefer that I don’t?”

I glanced at her. I had no qualms about her touching me.

Bane’s lips slowly tugged up into a baiting smile. “In case the mere touch of my hand on your arm should make you combust?”

I groaned. “All right. Let’s move on.”

“Okay. What time and day do we meet for the wedding? Better add that to my incredibly packed schedule.”

“Saturday early evening. They have this thing about sunset pictures.”

“Cool. Guess I better acquire a dress? Is it formal?”

“Casual. But not like…” I swept a hand down the length of her body.

She deadpanned. “Joggers are in. Haven’t you seen women wearing these with high heels? It’s all the fashion rage.”

“A casual dress or slacks and a blouse would be preferable. You’re going to be in their wedding pictures.”