When they reached the end of the hall, they turned right. But before they reached the elevator, Keith stopped next to a glass door.
“That’s the Roman bath. We can come down later and check it out if you want.”
Maddie paused near the glass door long enough to peek inside. At the moment, two guests occupied the large whirlpool with waterfalls situated in the center of the room. Lounge chairs lined the walls, and various indoor plants brought nature inside. Floor-to-ceiling windows along the outermost wall gave the room’s occupants a pleasant view of a flower garden. In one corner, there was a sauna, and a steam room in the other completed the room.
“Sounds like a great idea to me.”
It didn’t matter if it was the tub in her bathroom or an indoor hotel pool. Something about being in the water always relaxed her. Since this was a mini vacation for her, relaxation was a top priority.
When the elevator doors opened, they stepped inside, and Keith pressed the button for the fourth floor.
“Or we can use the hot tub in our suite and not worry about bathing suits,” Keith said, putting his arm across her shoulders and kissing her cheek.
There was nothing quite like sex while submerged in water, and they couldn’t do that in the Roman bath or the hotel pool.Well, technically, they could, but they’d risk getting kicked out of the hotel and possibly arrested. Maddie enjoyed seeing new places, but the inside of a jail cell wasn’t one of them.
“I like that idea even more.”
The elevator doors opened, and Maddie stepped into a foyer with a hallway leading off to the left. “Now that is art,” she said.
A sculpture of a young girl rested in the center of a dark green, circular sofa. With her arms raised and braids flying behind her, it appeared as though she was running through the waves crashing over her feet. According to the small plaque nestled among the flowers planted around the sculpture, the piece was calledDancing In The Waves.
Not quite halfway down the hall, Keith stopped in front of a door marked 406. “Didn’t like what you saw in New York?” he asked, placing his card near the door lock and turning the handle.
Besides saying she was glad to be home, Maddie hadn’t talked about her most recent trip to the Big Apple.
“You could probably paint something better than what I saw.” Maddie preceded Keith into the suite as soon as he opened the door and made a beeline for the bathroom.
When she emerged, Keith stepped back inside and closed one of the sliding glass doors that led to their private balcony. While not as luxurious as the suites she’d stayed in with the countess and her granddaughter, it was a hundred times nicer than what one would find at one of the many roadside motels they’d passed on the way here. It was also far nicer than anything she would’ve booked for herself.
The king-sized bed faced the sliding glass doors and a small table with two chairs. A vase of long-stemmed roses, an unopened bottle of champagne, two wineglasses, and a box of chocolates currently occupied the table. All of which Keith must have arranged beforehand because Maddie doubted the hotel left the items in every room. The decorators had positioned two armchairs near the gas fireplace at the far end of the suite. A two-person hot tub occupied the corner opposite from the fireplace, allowing guests to watch the flames while soaking. Assuming they weren’t occupied by other things, of course. And without a doubt, later, they would find themselves in it, with the fireplace on while drinking champagne. Maybe or maybe not eating the chocolates.
“Remind me to have you book all my getaways.”
Maddie picked up the silver box with the name Favre printed on the side. Made in Europe and only recently sold in the US, she’d only had chocolate from the company once, and that had been while in France.
“Let me guess, these are for you, and the flowers are for me?” She’d always believed she had an unhealthy love of chocolate. Then she met Keith, and he proved her wrong.
After taking the box and setting it back down, Keith wrapped his arms around her waist. “I might be willing to give you a piece. Maybe even two, if you ask nicely.”
“Then maybe I’ll let you have half a glass of champagne. A whole one, if you ask nicely.”
A smile tugged at the corners of Keith’s mouth. “Who said the champagne is for you? Maybe that and the chocolates have my name on them.”
“Well, I’ll get my own and bring it back in that case. Same with the chocolates.”
Pulling her closer to him, he kissed her forehead. “All three are for you.” He brushed his lips across hers. “But if you want to share the chocolate, that would be great.”
She’d never pegged Keith as the romantic type. The evidence around her suggested she’d been wrong. “I’ll think about it. But just in case, pick up some when we go to the store.”
* * *
Since today wasa picture-perfect fall day, something they wouldn’t get too many more of, they opted to walk to Marginal Way rather than drive. And roughly fifteen minutes after leaving their hotel, Keith and Maddie approached Shore Road and one of the cliff walk’s two entrances.
He’d once read an article about Ogunquit in some travel magazine while in the doctor’s waiting room. In it, the author referred to Marginal Way—which connected Perkins Cove to Ogunquit Beach and was one of the few paved public shoreline paths in New England—as a gorgeous tightrope strung along the Atlantic Ocean.
Keith had to agree. Whenever he came to the area, he walked the path regardless of the weather. Others might disagree, but he found the ocean mesmerizing even during a rainstorm or below-zero temperature.
“Dogs are only allowed during certain times of the year,” Maddie said, pausing to read a sign posted at the start of the path, listing all the things prohibited from the area.