Page 55 of The Billionaire's Wife

Noah flicked his fingers at me. “Whatever. Cody and Wes are the card sharps of the group.”

“True. Although I think that term means they cheat, and I don’t think I’d go that far.” My ears clogged. I worked my jaw to clear them. “Feels like we might be starting our descent.”

As I finished the thought, the pilot came on over the speaker and said just that.

“Look at you. Psychic.” Jenna chuckled as she reached for her seat belt.

“Just sensitive ears.” I shrugged and leaned forward to get a better view out the window. “It’s still plenty light. We should be able to see the Eiffel Tower, I would think.”

Faith’s face brightened and she swiveled to press her nose against the window like a kid at a candy store display.

Jenna looked at me and sent a subtle thumbs-up.

I was glad for her approval, at least. The guys hadn’t loved the fact that I was willing to potentially sully my reputation to help Faith get out of her mess. They understood why. They even understood that I didn’t want a divorce. Would bringing Faith to Paris help her see that I still loved her? Or would she think I was trying to buy her? Because I definitely didn’t want that.

I sighed. Maybe this was all a dumb idea.

Faith glanced away from the window. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah. Tired. I don’t know what it is about air travel.” It was true. Maybe not the whole truth, but enough of it. For now, at least.

She nodded. “We can go for a walk after we’re checked in. That’ll help.”

“Ooh.” Jenna beamed and bounced slightly in her seat. “That’s a great idea. Can we come? Maybe we’ll find a nice outdoor seating area for dinner.”

Noah laughed. “If they say no, you and I can head off in a different direction. It sounds like the perfect way to spend our first evening in Paris.”

“I don’t mind if you join us.” Faith glanced at me. “Do you?”

“Nope.”

“Yay!” Jenna clapped her hands. “Even better. Maybe if we’re out long enough, we’ll see the Tower lit up.”

“We can make that happen.” Noah reached for Jenna’s hand. “It feels like a requirement for any trip to Paris.”

I nodded. It did. Also? I couldn’t help but be glad that Noah saw the fun of this trip. Of course, before he and Jenna got engaged, they’d taken a quick trip to Chicago for a date, so he wasn’t new to the over-the-top gesture. Cody had taken Megan to New York City.

Both of them had asked what the point of all the money was if they couldn’t use it now and then for something special. Maybe I hadn’t understood as well at the time, but I did now. One look at the unfiltered joy on Faith’s face made me want to promise her every weekend in Paris.

The landing was smooth and disembarkation quick and painless. There were benefits to private travel that extended beyond less cramped seating and good food. Noah had arranged for a limo to pick us up. The chauffeur loaded our bags in the trunk, and before long, we were whizzing into the city.

I tried not to look out the window. The man drove well, but he didn’t always seem to understand the size of the vehicle—squeezing it into breaks in the traffic that didn’t seem possible. Still, we arrived in one piece outside the exclusive boutique hotel just a block away from the Champs-Élysées.

Inside, I took care of checking us in while Jenna and Faith obviously tried not to gape. I couldn’t fault them. The lobby oozed opulence. Honestly, it was over the top. I was worried I was going to bump into a table and knock some priceless vase onto the floor. I could probably cover the replacement cost, but how embarrassing was it going to be?

“Your butler will bring your bags to the room. If you need anything at all, he’s at your complete disposal.” The man behind the counter slid a paper folder across the marble to me. “Enjoy your stay.”

“Thank you.” I took the folder. I assumed they were keys, but something about the whole setup suggested I didn’t want to look right then. Like I’d be exposing my ignorance and lack of class. I headed over to the rest of the gang. “We’re on the top floor.”

“This is amazing. Where’d you find it?” Noah’s voice was low as he fell into step beside me. The girls had made a bee-line for the elevator.

“Google.” I shrugged. How else did you find hotels? “I was going for fancy, but this might have exceeded my expectations. We have our own butler. Like just assigned to our suite.”

Noah’s eyebrows lifted. “Bougie.”

“Yeah.” I couldn’t decide if it was good or not.

Jenna pushed the elevator call button and the doors slid open immediately with a dignified ding.

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