Page 55 of Host for the Holidays
It only takes a second—the collective intake of breath behind us tips Madi off to the fact that something’s happening. I don’t even look at the Eiffel Tower. I don’t need to. I can see it all reflected in Madi’s eyes.
Her head turns, her jaw slowly opens, and she goes completely silent, grabbing me by the arm like she needs something to stabilize her. I’m not even sure if she’s breathing right now.
This. This is why I came. I would have hated to miss this.
“This is so much better than Edward Cullen,” she says in a reverent whisper, her eyes glued to the tower.
I want to give her this moment, but I can’t let a comment like that go. “Um . . . what?”
Her eyes finally break away from the tower to look at me. “Please tell me you’ve seenTwilight.”
“Nope.”
She looks at me like I’m some alien creature. “But you’ve read the books, at least.”
I chuckle.
“Rémy. This is no laughing matter. I thought you were well-versed in American pop culture. Do you know whatTwilightis?”
“Yeah, of course. But what does it have to do with the Eiffel Tower?”
“I feel like the connection is obvious.”
I just look at her.
She sighs. “In the books, you learn that vampire skin sparkles in the sunlight. It sounded okay in theory, but it’s a painfully awful moment in the movies—one I’m determined you’ll see, by the way. If you know demo day, you should know sparkling vampires. Anyway, when people mentioned the Eiffel Tower sparkling, I worried it might ruin it like sparkling ruined vampires.” She turns her head forward, and her voice is full of awe again. “It definitely doesn’t.”
I look at it too, and I have to admit, it’s pretty amazing. “This is my favorite time to see it sparkle.” I glance at her. “Twilight.”
Her mouth pulls into a huge, appreciative smile, and she looks over at me.
I’m done for. I can’t blame Josh for falling in love with Madi if she’s ever looked at him like that.
“Wanna come with me to the top?” she asks. “I have an extra ticket.”
I raise my brows, hoping that looking surprised is covering the happy dance happening inside me right now. “To thetoptop?”
“Yup.”
“I thought you were afraid of heights.”
“Not tonight.” She tips her head back and puts her arms out, looking up at the sky. “I’m ready to take onallthe elevators in Paris.”
I’m still thrown off by this mood she’s in. It’s certainly not the way most people would react after losing out on a desired job and having to postpone a proposal.
She sways a bit, and I grab her arms to stabilize her. “Whoa there. There is no elevator out ofthat.” The river is a dark abyss with a sprinkling of lights across it.
She drops her arms and looks at me like she’s extending me a challenge. “So are you coming?”
I meet her gaze and lean into her so our shoulders press against each other. “I’m coming.”
If Josh showed up right now, he’d have to fight me for that ticket.
* * *
The Eiffel Toweroffers a couple different ticket options, and Madi’s aren’t the ones that have you take elevators all the way to the top. That means we’ll have to walk up the 674 stairs to the second level.Thenwe take an elevator up to the top.
I nudge Madi with my elbow as we start our trek. “What happened to five o’clock Madi, ready to take on all the elevators in Paris?”
