Free Dream Lover by Nicola Peterson

watch and listen tell me what you think.’
    ‘How long for?’ she asked.
    ‘Three nights, that’s all.’
    ‘Definitely no Giles Rothwell’s on this trip?’
    He shook his head, ‘None I promise, plus you can have the last day to yourself,’ he added casually, ‘you could go sightseeing.’
    Quinn thought for a moment, there were a few cities on her list she would love to visit and Paris was at the top, and if he kept to his promise she would have at least one day to explore. ‘When would you want to leave?’
    ‘Tomorrow,’ he said not quite meeting her eyes.
    ‘I’ll have to ring my neighbour and see if she will look after my cat, if she will I’ll go with you,’ Quinn stood up and walked toward her office, quite unaware her boss watched her every step. Quinn had just reached the door when he called out to her once more.
    ‘Have you been sick again?’ when she shook her head he looked relieved and smiled.
    The following morning at six thirty he knocked on her door, she was surprised when she opened it to find him standing on her step and realised why when she saw he had driven himself.
    ‘How are you?’ he asked looking obscenely fresh and wide-awake for such an early hour in the day.
    ‘Tired,’ she replied looking soft and sleepy.
    Fighting the urge to pull her into his arms he asked her, ‘No sickness today?’ as they walked toward his car, when she told him no he looked pleased. ‘You can have a nap on the plane if you’re very tired,’ he told her while treating her to one of his rare smiles.
    ‘Oh yes, are you going to knock me out or get me drunk?’ she laughed knowing she would never relax enough to sleep.
    But once on the plane he kept her occupied for the whole of the flight, when she gripped the armrest he covered her hand with his own and smiled reassuringly.
    Their hotel was situated on the banks of the River Seine. It was discreetly extravagant and breathtakingly romantic not at all the type of hotel she would have imagined him booking into for a business meeting. Her brow creased as she wondered why he had chosen this particular hotel, he had been quite adamant about which one it should be when she had been booking it although at the time she had no idea it was so impressive.
    This time they had adjoining rooms; hers was cream and gold, with a lace canopy above her bed, the cream coloured carpet was so thick she almost lost her feet in it. She had just finished unpacking when Maxwell knocked at the adjoining door.
    ‘Is everything alright?’ he asked peering over her shoulder.
    ‘I’ll say, this is a lovely room, something less splendid would have been fine.’
    He shook his head, ‘All of the rooms here are the same standard,’ he explained, ‘I’m off to my meeting, it finishes at five,’ he paused for a moment. ‘I was wondering if you would join me for dinner. There is nothing arranged for this evening so it would just be the two of us,’ he added quickly.
    No was the word that formed in her head, ‘Yes, okay that would be nice,’ was what she told him.
    ‘If I knock at seven will you be ready?’ when she agreed he nodded before striding back into his own room.
    There was not much work for her to do until later so after double checking the information Maxwell would need for the following days meeting she went down to the hotel beauty salon and had her hair washed and dried.
    When he called for her at seven she was dressed in a short sleeved cream dress. Quinn thought she looked more formal than casual and she had asked the hairdresser to secure her hair back with a bow the same colour as the dress. She had been going to leave her hair loose but thought it made her look a little too un-business like, she didn’t want him to think she was thinking of their dinning out together as a ‘ date, ’ because it definitely was not and the last thing she wanted was to give him the wrong idea.
    Maxwell was dressed in a casual deep blue silk shirt and while the colour