“Are you sure you want to share a room with her?” Lucas says with a grin. “I might snore, but she’ll keep you up all night with her chattering.”

“You have a point.” I smile. “I’ll think about it.”

Kate walks over to us with two keys in her hand. They’re the old-fashioned kind, on big keychains. Most hotels use keycards these days, but everything about the Riverside is traditional.

“Got the keys! Are you coming? We need to go to the top floor.”

My stomach flips when Kate walks to the elevator.

“I…I’ll take the stairs,” I say quickly.

“The stairs?” Lucas looks at me in surprise. “Why would you want to do that?”

“It keeps me fit. Anyway, the five of us will never fit inside that elevator.”

“Five?”

“Us and the bear.”

Lucas and Kate laugh, but Fender just raises his eyebrows. His gaze moves away from my eyes and down. The way he looks at me…

I can feel the blood rushing in my ears. Why do I let him get to me like that?

As I walk to the stairs, I glance at the exit. What I really want to do is run outside.

How am I going to survive a whole weekend with Fender?

But he’ll still be here after this weekend too. He’s at school every day, in every class, during every break. As long as I hang out with Kate and Lucas, I’ll get Fender thrown in for free.

When I turn around, Kate gives me a little wave. She looks radiant, as if she’s giving off light.

I can’t leave. She’s so happy we’re all here. I think she really was afraid Fender wouldn’t show.

If I go now, I’ll spoil her birthday weekend, and she doesn’t deserve that. She was there for me on my very first day at school, and now I have to be here for her.

I turn onto the stairs, but then I bump into someone, really hard. It’s so painful that my eyes fill with tears, and I stand there, rubbing my shoulder.

Then I look back, but to my surprise no one’s there. Whoever it was just went on walking.

“I’ll let you do the honors.” Kate hands me our key and steps aside. I can already hear Lucas’s enthusiasm all the way from the boys’ room.

My heart is pounding as I turn the key in the lock. It’s like I’m a kid again and unwrapping a big present.

As the door opens, I actually feel my jaw drop. The room has a golden glow, which almost hurts my eyes. Cream-colored carpet covers the floor, and there are paintings of historical hunting scenes on the walls.