18

The next day, I got up early and called Crystal to confirm the time and place for our triple date. She quickly sent me the directions, and I showed them to Cole when he got up.

"Good morning to you too," he responded with a frown and made a call to the receptionist for breakfast and room service.

Cole was not a morning person and it had not taken long to figure it out. His face was nearly always contorted in a frown when he arrived for work, and everyone who faced him between the hours of nine and eleven got an earful of negativity.

"Must we go?" He asked, glancing at his phone.

"Yes, we should," I insisted, already dressed for the outing. "We will be making our marriage more public, and besides Beth's husband is currently looking into companies to invest in."

His ears perked up at that, and he turned to me with total focus. "Is that so? You should have said that since." He got up instantly and began to prepare.

The breakfast came, our usual order placed on the tray while the room ser