Made my way through the crowded pavilion toward the exit.
Nodded to Eleanor, who raised her eyebrows but said nothing.
Three minutes.
The path to the hotel was lit with vintage lampposts, the gravel crunching beneath my shoes.
The night air had cooled, carrying the scent of roses and distant woodsmoke.
Music faded behind me, replaced by the chirping of crickets and the soft rustle of wind through the vineyards.
One minute.
I paused in the hotel lobby, momentarily questioning the wisdom of what I was about to do.
At my age, with my position, I didn't do impulsive.
Didn't risk complications.
Didn't follow mysterious women to hotel rooms based on nothing but chemistry and a dance in the dark.
Yet here I was, stepping into the elevator, pressing the button for the third floor.
Watching the doors close on the life I'd carefully constructed—the life of Lucas Turner, CEO, businessman, pillar of the community. The life where control was paramount and surprises were eliminated before they could take root.
Zero minutes.
The elevator doors opened. I stepped into the corridor, moving past identical doors until I reached the one marked "Vineyard Suite." I hesitated, my knuckles poised to knock.
Last chance to walk away.
Last chance to be the man I'd spent decades becoming, rather than the one I'd glimpsed in her eyes.
I knocked.
The door opened immediately, as if she'd been waiting on the other side.
She'd removed her jewelry and kicked off her heels, making her seem smaller, more vulnerable.
But her eyes were steady, her decision made.
"I wasn't sure you'd come," she said.
"I wasn't sure you'd still want me to."
She stepped back, allowing me to enter.
The suite was elegant but impersonal, with windows overlooking the moonlit vineyards.
An open champagne bottle stood on the coffee table.
She closed the door behind me. "I almost talked myself out of this."
"Why didn't you?"
"Because," she said, moving closer, "for once in my life, I want to do something reckless. Something that's just for me." Her hands came to rest on my chest.
"Something that feels like freedom instead of another cage."
