TRAVIS
"Bonjour Mademoiselle," I greet Paige with my arms spread wide open as she steps out of her house.
When she sees me standing in front of the limo I hired she smiles, but it doesn't reach her eyes. Paige isn't much of a morning person.
I run up the stairs and give her a quick kiss then help her with her bags. Once I have all her luggage secured into the trunk of the limo I help her into the vehicle. I climb in after her and we're off to JFK.
I have a bottle of champagne on ice waiting for us in the back of the limo.
"Let the birthday festivities begin!" I say as I reach for the champagne, but Paige stops me.
"Actually, I've gone off alcohol."
My eyebrows draw together. "Since when?"
"Since last week."
"Why? And why didn't you tell me?"
"It's just something I've been thinking about for a while. There are a few people in my life who have given up alcohol,and they swear that their lives are so much better." She shrugs. "So I want to give it a try."
"Okay... That's fine. We also have nonalcoholic champagne." I reach into the mini fridge and pull a bottle out, uncork it and fill our flutes.
"Cheers..." I hold my glass up to hers and she clinks it.
"Thank you for this. I really appreciate it."
"Of course. Anything for you."
She looks at me contemplatively for a moment then downs her drink. She sets her empty glass aside and claps her hands together with a huge smile on her face.
"So what do you have planned for us for the week?"
"I'm not telling you. I told you it's a surprise."
She pouts. "I hate surprises."
"Well, too bad. I want to see the look on your face when you see everything I have planned. That will be my gift."
"I hate you."
I chuckle. "No, you don't."
She rolls her eyes at me, but moves into my lap and cuddles close to me, proving exactly what I just said.
We sit like this until we arrive at JFK. We are driven straight onto the tarmac and park at the foot of my jet.
I climb out of the limo and help Paige out. When she steps out onto the asphalt and gazes up at my plane, she whistles. "This is fancy. We don't have to go through security or immigration?"
"No, we don't. You don't have to do all that when you have your own jet."
"Huh... You know, I am aware that you are extraordinarily rich, but sometimes I forget just how rich you are."
"Well, it's just money."
"Only a mega wealthy person would say that." She chuckles.
Wanting this conversation to end, I grab her hand and walk us to the plane.
The seven hour flight to Paris feels more like 10 minutes. That's mostly because Paige and I spend most of our time on board naked in the back room. After a while we take a shower together then a quick nap, and before we know it we're touching down at Charles de Gaulle Airport.
It's 11 o'clock at night when we step off the plane. We are greeted by a tall, young and very blonde man who is wearing an impeccable suit, but I can tell it's airport issued.
"Bienvenue à Paris." the young man says.
I nod and Paige says, "Merci."
"Je m'appelle Basile. S'il te plaît, suis-moi et je t'aiderai à passer l'immigration."
At this point, I would've asked for a translation, but without missing a beat Paige says, "Très bien, ouvre la voie."
The young man turns and starts walking into the terminal.
"I didn't know you can speak French," I say.
"I had to learn because DeLisle does a lot of business here in France."
"The more I get to know you the more I realize just how much of a mystery you are."
She giggles.
"Anyway, what did he say?" I ask.
"He said his name is Basile and he asked us to follow him and he would get us through immigration. I said okay."
We do just that. It doesn't take long before we are on the road and headed to our hotel. Although it's night time, Paige is mesmerized by the beautiful city beyond her window. She spends the almost hour-long drive staring at the sights as we drive by, and I don't disturb her.
Once we get to our hotel,Château des Fleurs, we are given a warm welcome by hotel staff and are led to our suite. The second we walk in, Paige's jaw drops and she gasps at the sight of the Eiffel Tower sparkling in the distance through the main window of the room.
She turns to me. "This is such a beautiful view."
"I'm glad you like it." My hands go around her waist and I place a kiss on her lips.
I turn around, tip our bag boy, and he leaves.
Even though we are both excited to be here, we are exhausted from the long day of travel. So we get into bed not long after our arrival.
We startoff the next morning with a catered breakfast in our room, then head out to do all the touristy things. We go for a walk along the Seine, go rowing in Bois de Vincennes, climb the Sacré-Cœur and finish the day watching the sunset from the Arc De Triomphe.
It was a wonderful day, not because of all the things we got to do, but because we did them together.
That night when Paige and I have sex, it feels different. More intimate. We make love. Ever since we left New York, I've noticed that Paige has gotten a little more affectionate. I guess it's the Paris effect. I can't say I'm complaining.
The next morning it's Paige's 30th birthday. She wakes up to me serving her breakfast in bed.
"What's this?" She asks, as she sits up in bed with a smile and rubs sleep from her eyes.
"This is one of many stops along the ride that is your birthday extravaganza!"
She laughs as she plucks a strawberry off the tray in front of her and pops it into her mouth.
As soon as she's done with breakfast, I take her shoppingat Champs-Elysées. I head straight for a jeweler and tell her to pick whatever she wants as a birthday gift. She is hesitant at first but picks a modest diamond necklace. I try to get her to pick out more but she refuses.
"This is plenty." She places her hand where the pendant sits along her clavicle. "I love it."
I had planned to spend the afternoon carting her from luxury store to luxury store, but she insists she wants to spend the day with me, just relaxing. So it's time for my next surprise.
"Put this on," I say, holding out a blindfold to her.
"I'm not sure I trust you enough for that."
I roll my eyes. "Will you ever simply just do as you're told?"
"No." She smiles, then takes the blindfold from my hand and ties it around her eyes.
I steer her back to the car and our driver takes us to our destination.
Once we get there, I get her onto the elevator. "Brace yourself. We're in an elevator and we're going really high."
"Where are you taking me?"
"You'll see soon enough."
Once we get to our floor I maneuver her into the apartment. When the door is closed behind us, I park her right in front of the window and takeoff the blindfold and her hand goes to her mouth and she gasps.
All of Paris lays before us in each direction.
"Oh my God, Travis, this is gorgeous. Where are we?"
"The Eiffel Tower."
She turns her eyes away from the view and takes in the room we are in. It's very modern with sleek furniture both in the living area and the dining room. The floors are medium brown wood. Most of the walls are made of glassand steel. And one corner of the room is a foosball table and across the room is a stationary exercise bike.
"This looks like an apartment."
"That's because it is an apartment." I chuckle.
"There is an apartment in the Eiffel Tower?"
"Yes, there is. It was commissioned a few years ago for the UEFA EURO soccer tournament. I booked it for two days. I figured at some point during the trip you were going to want to relax, as you should. So I figured we could do that here."
"How do you know me so well?"
"It's easy. You're an open book."
She smacks me across the chest. "No, I am not. I'm an enigma." We both laugh. She closes the gap between us and hugs me. "Thank you for all this. This is way more than I ever could've expected for my 30th birthday."
"You're welcome. It's my absolute pleasure."
My goal was to please Paige with all this. Having gotten to know her pretty well, I know she isn't usually one for all this largesse. So I worried about how she would receive all this, but I'm glad she likes it. I would go so far as to say, it's one of my bigger accomplishments of life.
It's in this moment I realize that I am in love with her. The realization hits me like a freight train.
However, I don't tell her. I don't want to distract from her birthday. The moment doesn't seem right, but I will tell her the second it does.
I only hope she feels the same way in return.