Chapter Fifty-Six

~ Nikki ~

There are rose petals everywhere. Dozens and dozens of them. Red, cream and yellow, all scattered about as though they were loaded into a cannon and discharged. I envision, for a second, how this scene would look as they rained down on the suite, with me standing beneath the delicate barrage.

I’m not one to fantasize about roses and candlelight and sensuous music. But I’ll willing admit… I’m totally into this visual.

I lie a little to myself and simply consider that it’s only because we’re in Paris that I’m so captivated and euphoric. I won’t feel this way in Italy or Zurich or anywhere else. Not even if there actually was business to tend to in Hawaii or the Maldives.

Unfortunately, I’m not the least bit convinced of my tiny fabrication. We could be in a roadside motel in the middle of nowhere—no ambience whatsoever—with coyotes howling in the distance, and I’d still luxuriate in the ripples of delight through my body. I’d still feel my skin tingle. I’d still experience the