“Well, I’m going to have to confiscate this.” She took the offending item and placed it in a bin behind her.

Josh pretended to look contrite and apologised for the oversight while I shook my head at him and tutted, the finishing touches on my obviously credible performance. He took his backpack off the table, slung it over his shoulder and we walked away briskly. When we were out of sight of the security point, we burst out laughing.

“I think playing the nagging wife really sealed the deal.” He flung his arm around my shoulder and kissed the top of my head as we walked to our gate.

Wife. Coming from Josh, even in that context, it sounded odd—extremely odd.

*

“And here we are, the Honeymoon Suite,” said our bellboy as we followed him into the most beautiful room I’d ever seen. The surprise of the room wore off as soon as I realised what he’d said.

“Oh, we’re not—” I started to correct him, but Josh cut me off.

“We’re not used to such luxury,” he said to the bellboy. “This room is amazing.” The bellboy looked pleased and lifted our suitcases onto the luggage rack in turn. Josh pulled a five-dollar note from his money clip and handed it to the bellboy.

“Thank you, sir. Anything you or your wife need during your stay, just let us know.”

There was that word again, “wife”. Josh and I were barely boyfriend and girlfriend, so it didn’t sit well with me—at all.

The bellboy left, and Josh opened the sliding door and stepped out onto our balcony as though everything was exactly as it should be. “Uh, Josh?” I followed him out onto the balcony, needing to clarify something. “You didn’t book the Honeymoon Suite, did you?”

He laughed in a way that instantly told me two things. First, he did not book the Honeymoon Suite. And second, he thought it was preposterous that I thought he had. The second one annoyed me. Why was it so ridiculous for me to wonder if he’d done it as a romantic gesture? A misguided romantic gesture, but even so!

“It’s probably just an upgrade,” he explained. “It happens sometimes because I have platinum status—I think I told you about that.” I nodded curtly. “Anyway, I’m guessing he just assumed we were newlyweds. It may mean some perks, though. That’s why I didn’t correct him.”

“Oh,” I replied. Was I relieved or disappointed? Perhaps it was a little of both.

Josh, who had either missed my darkening mood, or was deliberately ignoring it, turned me towards the view, then stood behind me and wrapped his arms around me. “Look,” he said softly in my ear.

My annoyance dissipated instantly, and I leant into him, drinking in the view. The lush resort grounds lay before us, vast undulating lawns in vivid green punctuated by palm trees and bordered by native shrubs, each with vibrant bursts of flowers. Just beyond, there was a cove with lapping waves and white sand and in the distance, ocean spray rose from the jagged black rocks along the coastline.