I take her hand, help her out of the car. "Terrible decision? You wound me."
"I drugged you, Ilay."
"I fell in love with you anyway."
She shakes her head but she's smiling as I lead her through the lobby toward the elevator.
I press the button for the top floor. When the doors close Iris turns to me.
"The penthouse?" she asks.
"Did you think I would book anything less?"
"I don't know why I'm still surprised by anything you do."
The elevator rises smoothly. I can feel her anticipation building beside me, her fingers tightening around mine. When the doors open directly into the suite she gasps at what's waiting for her.
The entire room is filled with candles. Hundreds of them, flickering on every surface, casting a warm golden glow across the space. Rose petals are scattered across the floor in shades of red and pink and white, creating a path that leads toward the bedroom. On the table near the window sits a bottle of champagne in an ice bucket with two crystal glasses, a small velvet box. The curtains are open. The city lights are beginning to twinkle outside as the sun sets.
But that's not what makes her freeze in her tracks.
It's the music.
A soft melody begins to play through hidden speakers. A piano at first, then strings joining in. Then a woman's voice begins to sing words that Iris has never heard before.
"Before you, I was empty, a man without a soul..."
Iris listens, her hand tightening around mine.
"You saw through the darkness and somehow made me whole..."
"Is this..." She turns to me with fresh tears in her eyes. "Did you write this?"
"I had some help with the melody, but the words are mine."
"I loved you from the moment you crashed into my world, my angel, my obsession, my reason to exist..."
She covers her mouth with her hand as the song continues, the woman's voice soaring over the strings. I watch her cry, laugh, shake her head in disbelief as she listens to every word I wrote for her.
"You gave me a daughter, you gave me a home, you gave me a reason to never be alone..."
The song builds to its final chorus, then fades away softly. The last notes linger in the air. When it ends Iris throws her arms around my neck, holds me so tight I can barely breathe.
"I love you," she whispers against my neck. "I love you so much it hurts."
"I love you too." I pull back to look at her face. "Times a million."
She laughs through her tears. "You really went beyond this year."
"I go beyond every year."
"This is different."
"This is Valentine's Day."
She looks around at the candles, the petals, the champagne, the city lights twinkling outside the window. "You really planned this."
"With some help from a three-year-old who has very strong opinions about flowers and vases."
