Heart of Stone

Breakfast

The next morning, Eloise woke nestled in Alexander's arms. Instead of having to try to quietly flee like the first morning, this time she was able to revel in the scent of him, the warmth of his body pressed against hers, and she found herself smiling sleepily. She snuggled into his chest, and she felt him tighten his hold on her. He made a soft rumbling sound as he breathed in the scent of her hair. She stretched languidly in his grip and arched into his touch as he ran his hand up and down her side.

"Good morning." She said sleepily, opening her eyes.

"Good morning." He repeated, brushing his lips against her forehead.

"Did you sleep okay? I don't even remember falling asleep." She admitted.

"I did. You must have been very tired. I came back from my phone call to find you in bed already." He said, running his fingers through her messy hair.

"Sorry. I guess it's been a long couple of days." She said, her face tinting pink.

He gave her a slow smirk and a chaste kiss on the lips.

"Would you like to have breakfast together again?" He asked, leaning up on one elbow to look down at her.

"I think that sounds lovely." She said, smiling.

Reluctantly, Eloise slipped out of bed. Alexander watched her as she rummaged through her bag, looking for a set of clothes to change into. He felt grateful, somehow, that this woman had just bumped right into his life so unexpectedly, just like she described last night. It had only been a few weeks, but he felt himself inexplicably drawn to her and whenever she was near, it was as if all the stresses and hard things in his life just fell to the background; the cacophony of noise that was his mind finally coming to a quiet. He didn't know what he had done to deserve her, but he wasn't going to question it.

When she disappeared into the bathroom, he slipped out of bed to dress for the day as well. She wore a dark flowing floral dress with a little white flower pattern and a slit that went up the side, pairing it with a black t-shirt that she slipped on over top of it. Alexander wore dark blue slacks this time, with a light blue shirt with white pinstripes and a dark blue tie to match. Rarely did she ever see him in anything other than black, but she rather liked the change.

Luna greeted her with kisses and a wagging tail when she exited the bedroom. She greeted Alexander a bit less enthusiastically, but he didn't seem to mind, understanding they didn't quite know each other yet.

"Good morning." Eloise said, petting her and scratching behind her ears.

She took Luna's food out of the fridge to warm up on the counter and they decided to bring her down with them to take her outside. Alexander was continuously impressed by the dog's obedience and loyalty to LouLou. She never put Luna on a leash, yet the dog always stayed close to her side and never strayed. She waited patiently in the elevator and never rushed in front of LouLou. She always calmly waited for her to move and then followed closely behind or beside her.

As they walked Luna outside, they chatted, LouLou keeping one eye on the dog the whole time. She found conversation came easy with Alexander, even idle small talk, but it had been that way since they first met. She also liked the way she was able to get him to smile that dazzling smile of his, the one he rarely showed to anyone. It made her heart feel light.

Once Luna was done doing her business, they decided to try out the hotel buffet this time. Eloise was going to take Luna back upstairs to the hotel room, but Alexander told her it would be fine to bring her with them to the buffet. He explained his company did a lot of business with this particular hotel, so they allowed him to do as he pleased.