“I think that if we are all honest here, we are all more than a little happy that they showed up,” I reply.
“I guess we are just as bad as the guys,” Mackenzie says laughing.
The traffic is horrendous, even at this hour, and it takes us a bit to get back to the hotel. We head straight to the bar where all the guys are waiting. It only takes me two seconds to notice that River isn’t with them.
“Where is River?” I ask Mika.
He chuckles. “Well hello to you too, big sis.”
“I’m sorry. Hello little brother. Where is my guy?”
Mika hands me a white envelope with a big smirk. I take it and extract the note inside. All it says is to head to the lobby and meet Eddie.
“Why am I meeting Eddie in the lobby?” I ask, admittedly a little confused.
“Go meet him and find out,” Mika replies teasingly. “Sean will escort you,” he adds as he gestures at his head of security.
“It’ll be my pleasure Ms. Kingsley,” he says with a pleasant smile.
Sean gestures at me to start leading the way and I oblige. My pace increases when Eddie comes into view. He stands by the entrance, stoic and expressionless as ever. I thank Sean and he heads back to the bar.
“So, I guess you’re going to take me to River then?” I ask.
“Yes, ma’am. Please follow me.”
He turns and starts the walk outside where a sleek black town car is waiting. Eddie opens the door and I slide into the car as gracefully as I can manage in the gown. I want to ask where we are going, but I already know the man is as tight-lipped as a vault. Luckily, the drive is short. We arrive at our destination seventeen silent minutes later. River is standing at the curb and opens the door. He holds out his hand and it feels like there are thousands of butterflies swarming deep inside my belly as I take it.
“Hey there,” he says, flashing those dimples.
“Hey there, yourself,” I manage to croak.
“Have I told you how beautiful you look in that gown?”
I lean in and whisper. “I bet you’ll like what is under here even more.”
“I can’t wait to see if that’s true,” he replies with a wink. “But first, I need you to turn around.”
“Turn around? Why?”
He holds up a red silk scarf.
“Because, before we head inside, I have to put this on you,” he tells me as he wiggles his eyebrows.
“You’re going to blindfold me?”
“I am.”
“Well, color me intrigued.”
I turn around and allow him to put the scarf over my eyes. My heart rate spikes as he leads me into the building.
“Are you ready?” he whispers into my ear as we come to a halt.
I bite my lip and nod. River tugs at the blindfold to remove it. My eyes flutter open and I gasp as I look at everything he’s done here. We are in a large studio and from the looks of things, River has been busy. The space looks amazing. In the center of the room is a large four-poster bed, and the entire space is filled with so many candles, it looks like a stunning ocean of lights. On both sides of the massive bed are small tables, a large vase filled with long-stemmed white roses on each of them.
“Oh my God, River. This is stunning,” I gush.
He smiles and pulls me further into the room. Since his eyes are glued to mine, he walks backwards as he leads me to the bed. When we reach the bed, I notice rose petals cover the entire bed.