Antoine laughs but says nothing to that, holding my hand firmly in his.
In a couple of seconds, we reach the library. I know this room perfectly; it's the most beautiful room in the whole building. He opens the door and gestures for me to come in.
"Do you trust me?" he asks playfully, that sly smile not leaving his beautiful face and those huge brown eyes glittering in the moonlight.
He's the most handsome guy I've ever seen in my life: tall, fit, tanned. His thick brown curly hair slightly covers his ears, and those deep chocolate eyes melt my heart.
"No," I lie, unable to hide a smile.
I do trust him. I don't know why. For some reason, with Antoine, I feel completely protected, in a way I've never felt before in my life.
"Liar." He smiles back, and we enter a room.
He leads me to the vast marble fireplace at the center of the farthest wall; he lets go of my hand and turns to face the vases on it.
I've been in this library like ten times in the last two days. Firstly, I like to read, but mostly, of course, because almost no one from my family comes here, preferring to tan on the beach.
I look around again. I've explored every corner of this library, but I never really paid attention to the paintings hanging on the wall. I know this hotel has existed for over a hundred years. I guess it's been inherited and passed down from generation to generation.
There's a whole family depicted on canvas: an older man with a woman, their younger son with his wife (or their daughter with her husband?), and their three little grandkids; the boy is approximately ten years old.
I look closely at the picture. It is hard to say in this lighting, but it feels like I’ve seen them somewhere before, especially that little boy. Maybe they are staying in this hotel right now? Or what if they live here all the time?
The moment I want to ask Antoine about it, he exclaims enthusiastically, "Here we go!"
I look at him and see him pull his hand out of the biggest vase, taking out something that looks like a key. And then he comes to one of the bookshelves and pulls out the fifth book from the left.
I see a small hole in the wall, like a secret lock, hidden behind a book. Antoine puts the key inside it and turns it three times clockwise, then he slightly pushes the whole shelf, and it opens, like a door, with a secret room behind it.
I hold my breath. I've never seen anything like this before, only in the movies. My heart is beating faster with excitement and anticipation about what is in there.
"Let's go." He takes me by the hand again, and we enter the dark secret room.
"Now it reminds me even more of a horror movie," I say, and he only laughs in response.
As we enter the narrow corridor, I see that it goes to a much bigger room than I've imagined.
Antoine closes the door behind us and turns on the lights—just two small lamps from both sides of the room—but it is enough for me to start squinting, trying to adjust my sight after darkness.
I do not understand where we are at first. Still, when my eyes finally adjust to the lighting, I open my mouth in surprise and delight.
The room is full of books, from the bottom to the top. There are shelves everywhere, and even though this room is smaller than the hotel library, it contains a much more extensive collection.
"Wow" is the only thing I can say as I look around.
"I know," Antoine agrees with me as he walks to the dark brown grand piano standing in the middle. He gently brushes his fingers over its wooden surface. It feels like maybe he hasn't been here for a long time.
"Are we allowed to be here?" I ask as I keep looking around. I've never seen so many rare, collectible books in one place; many look like first-editions, and they probably cost a fortune.
"Well, you are innocent until proven guilty," he says playfully, avoiding the straight answer.
Of course, we are not. Most of these books cost thousands of dollars, and I can't even imagine how much the whole library is worth. No wonder they are hidden; most of them should be locked away somewhere.
"How do you know about this place?" I ask and look above, expecting to find the painted ceiling like in the main library.
I gasp in surprise, seeing that the ceiling is made of glass in a dome shape; I can't believe it! I can see the sky standing in the middle of the library! This place is magical. It feels like I happened to dive into a fairy tale.
"I've worked in this hotel for so long that I know all the hidden places," he says and takes a step closer to me. I feel his gaze on my skin as I keep looking around. "The owner of this hotel asks me to clean this place twice a month."