I look down, suddenly coy under his appraising eye.

“Thank you.”

“How was your bath?”

“Wonderful.” I sigh, dreamily. “The jets of water massage everywhere. Oh my God, my whole body thoroughly enjoyed it.” My words catch up to my ears and, realizing how they could be misconstrued, I blush. “I mean…not like…just my…ugh. You can stop smirking now.” I give up, realizing I’m just making it worse.

“Smirking? Me?” He adopts a radiantly innocent expression. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Let’s try this again.” I close the door.

He knocks.

I open it.

“Evening,” he says. “You’re looking very beautiful. Enjoy your bath?”

“Yes, thank you. It was very relaxing.”

“I bet it was.”

I give him a sharp look but he just stares innocently back at me. Then he holds out his arm. “Shall we?”

I accept it. “If you mean let’s eat, then, yes. Please. I’m starving.”

“Good. I’ve asked the chef to prepare his best dishes.”

“You know the chef personally?” I ask as we walk along the wooden walkways that connect the buildings. In the four hours since we have arrived it has started to darken, and lights now guide our way along.

He nods. “I know all the staff. Not well, but on a friendly enough basis. When I’m on assignment somewhere like this, I like to get to know the people behind the scenes. It gives you a better sense of the place.”

“You take your work very seriously, don’t you?”

“It’s not work when you’re passionate about it.”

“I suppose not. You’re lucky, finding that thing in life that makes you happy. Your parents must be proud.”

He stiffens slightly, then comes to a stop. “We’re here.” He opens the door we saw earlier that Mary casually indicated was the restaurant, and gestures for me to enter. I do, but stop just inside the door to exclaim softly. That simple word “restaurant” doesn’t come close to doing justice to what I’m looking at. Not at all. I feel a little nudge on my back as James pushes me out of the doorway so he can enter and stand beside me.

“Well?” His face is excited, like he is a parent showing a child their new puppy.

“You know how I said my room was the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen?”

“Yes.”

“I think it was just beaten.”

The dining room, because with only the one table in the center it deserves a more intimate title than restaurant, at least in my opinion, is alight with the cozy glow of fairy lights woven around small branches and a large tree trunk, and candles placed strategically (and carefully) around the room to create a welcoming and romantic ambience. The table is large and natural wood, the chairs the same. In the center is a large arrangement of flowers, and I’m pleased to note it’s an eclectic assortment of colors and types, because a prim and proper bouquet just would not have suited this room at all. Everything is designed to blend into and enhance the natural environment, and it works perfectly. The other side of the room, as in my bedroom, is floor-to-ceiling glass doors. These ones are open to the air, and the breeze that wafts in carries with it an anticipatory air. Outside stretches a canopy of green, and a sky the color of ripe apricots. I feel like I am on a movie set.