| "Wake up Eliza!" Shane kissed her, and turned on the light. "What?" she murmured. "It's sunny and warm outside, and it's the perfect day for doing a bit of sightseeing and shopping." he answered from the balcony. "Come out here and look." Eliza got up and walked out to join him on the balcony. "It's so beautiful," she looked at him. "What do you say we wake up Liz and Mark?" she asked. Shane smiled at her. "Great idea! We can do it from here. Look, they have their balcony door open." he said, pointing to the balcony to their left. "Oi! Wake up Mark! You too Liz!" they both shouted. Not long after Liz came out, and saw Shane and Eliza laughing. "Oh, it was you? We thought we heard crows fighting!" she said sarcastically and smiled. Mark came out and wrapped his arms around Liz. "Ha ha! Check out his hair!" Shane laughed. Eliza had gone in, but she came out again to see what he meant. Shane took her in his arms and pointed to Mark's head. "Nice hairstyle, don't ya reckon?" Liz looked up at Mark's hair and smiled. His hair was messy, and he had spikes all over his head. "What? Is it bad?" he asked her. She smiled and ran her fingers through his hair. "Nah, I think you look cute!" she said and kissed him. Shane and Eliza were still laughing. "Oh for God's sake! Take that inside! Now, let's go get some breakfast, then we'll hit the town." Shane said, and they went in again. One and a half-hour later the four stood outside the hotel. "Soo� What are we going to do today?" Eliza asked. "Well, I don't know about the two of you, but I was thinking sightseeing and shopping." Shane looked at Mark. "Sounds great. What do you think Liz?" She nodded, "Great! Let's do it." "Cool. The Eiffel Tower isn't that far away, we can start there." Eliza suggested. "Good idea. Let's go then." Shane smiled at her, and out his arm around her waist. Liz and Mark walked behind them, and Liz was rumbling through her purse. "What are you looking for?" Mark asked curiously. "What? Oh, my sunglasses. I think I might have left them in our room." He reached into his pocket and gave her a pair of sunglasses. "Here you are. They were on the dresser, and I figured you must have forgotten them, so I brought them with me." he explained. She took them and kissed him. "Thank you. You're such an angel!" They reached the Eiffel Tower, and took the elevator all the way to the top. "Look at this amazing view!" Eliza stood overlooking Paris. "It's beautiful." Shane stood behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. "It's even more amazing and beautiful with you in it," he said and kissed her cheek. "Aww! That is so sweet. Thank you Shane!" she gushed. "My pleasure, angel. It's all my pleasure." He kissed her. A few hours later they sat at a sidewalk cafe on Champs Elysees, watching the people go by. "Who's up for a trip to an amusement park after lunch?" Shane asked as the waiter brought them their lunch. "An amusement park? Where is that here?" Eliza looked around, and her eyes came to a rest on Shane. "Not that far from here. I saw it from the Eiffel Tower. We'll get a cab, the driver will know where it is," he explained. "Sure, it sounds like fun. I want to go. How about you guys?" Eliza looked across the table at Mark and Liz. "Yeah, it sounds like fun." Liz smiled. "Well�" Mark started. "What honey?" Liz took his hand. "Let's do it then, but I'm not riding anything that has a loop, or spins upside down." he laughed and kissed her hand. "Okay then. After lunch it's merry-go-round's and rollercoasters!" Shane laughed. They spent the rest of the day at the amusement park. Shane and Eliza screaming their hearts out on the biggest rollercoasters, while Mark and Liz stood on the ground laughing at them and their shrieks as the rollercoaster raced past them. They rode the "Tunnel of Love", kissing in the dark, and laughing when Shane and Mark started singing.It was close to 5.30pm as they returned to the hotel. "How about we meet downstairs at 7? Then we have enough time to change." Eliza said. "Okay, that sounds fine. See ya at 7." Mark said as he held the door to their room open for Liz. "Thank you." She went in and flung herself down on the bed. "I'm tired, and my feet hurt." Mark locked the door and came over to her. "Me too. I'm beat." he said, and took off her shoes. "Thank you. You're so nice to me," she said as he lay down on the bed beside her. Chapter 4. There was a loud knock on the door, and Mark sat up looking at his watch. "Oh no! It's 7.30!" he said aloud. The knock sounded again, and he went to open the door. "Do you know what time it is? We were supposed to meet at 7. We were getting worried." Shane said when he opened it. "I know, and I'm terribly sorry. But we were so tired that we fell asleep, and I only just woke up now." Mark explained. "Liz is still sleeping, so I guess you two should just go to dinner. I'm really sorry." Eliza and Shane smiled. "That's all right. Are you sure you don't want to come?" Eliza asked. Mark turned and looked at Liz sleeping on the bed. "Yes, sorry. But you guys go ahead, and we'll see you tomorrow." Shane looked at Eliza. "Looks like it's just you and me babe." he said. "All right. We'll see you tomorrow. Have a nice evening!" Eliza said and smiled. "Thank you. You too." Mark said, and closed the door again. He walked to the bed, and sat next to Liz. "My sleeping beauty." he said quietly, and kissed her forehead. She smiled in her sleep. He smiled back at her and picked up the phone. "Hello. Room service?" Shane looked at Eliza across the table. She really was beautiful; her long hair shone in the light, and her brown eyes had gold in them. He could swear he saw hints of gold when he looked into her eyes. She lifted her glass, and he watched her as she sipped her drink. Eliza put her glass down, and her eyes met his. "What is it, Shay?" she asked. He smiled at her, and she found herself remembering why she had fallen in love with him. He had the sweetest smile she had ever seen before, and his eyes. Oh, his eyes! She could look into his eyes for hours, and never grow tired. Every time she looked into his eyes, she discovered or saw something new. Like she did now; they had a certain glow to them. Like nothing she'd ever seen in his eyes before. "Nothing. I was just admiring you, that's all." he answered. "You know, I had a purpose for this trip." She looked at him, "You had?" she asked. Shane nodded. "Mhm. And I think I've almost got what I came here for." Eliza was confused. "What did you come here for? I don't understand." He laughed, and took her hand. "You'll understand soon enough." he said, and kissed her hand. "I don't think I've told you this lately." he started. "What haven't you told me lately?" she wanted to know. "That you look absolutely amazing tonight, and that I love you." he said and smiled. Eliza blushed and smiled back at him. "Thank you. And I love you too." Shane leaned over the table and kissed her. Back at the hotel Liz felt something tickling her feet, and she sat up. Her eyes were still closed, and when she opened them she gasped. "Oh!" she looked around the hotel room. It was lighted by lots of candles, and Mark sat at the end of her bed. "Good evening my dear. Care to join me for some dinner?" he asked. She quickly looked at her watch, it was 8.30. "Oh no!" she burst out. "We were supposed to meet Eliza and Shane at 7!" Mark took her hand and helped her down from the bed. "Don't worry. They came here at 7.30 looking for us, but I told them that they would just have to go to dinner alone. We both fell asleep when we got back and you were still sleeping when they came, and I didn't have the heart to wake you up. So I told them that they could just go to dinner without us." he explained. Liz sat down on the floor next to him. "Really? And then you did all this?" she said, pointing around the room. Mark nodded. "Yes. Are you hungry? I thought I'd make us a little picnic, or something like that." Liz smiled at him, and kissed his cheek. "This is the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me. Thank you, sweetheart." He smiled back at her, and lifted her up in his lap. "Now this is much better." he said, and held her in his arms. She laughed, and accepted the strawberries he handed to her. "I love this city. It's so beautiful," Eliza said, looking around her. "And romantic," Shane added. He put his arm around her waist, and they walked slowly down the paths in the park. It was dark outside, but it was a warm, clear night so they could see the stars. They passed another couple walking hand in hand, and Eliza smiled. "Come here, let's find a bench." Shane said, and they found one a little out-of-the-way from the main walk. Shane put his arms around her, and she tilted her head back to look at the stars. "Look at that one," she said. "It's so little, but it shines stronger than any of the other stars up there." Shane looked up to where she was pointing. "It's you," he said. "You're not as little as that star, but you certainly shine like it. To me you shine brighter than any other star up there. You're my little shining star." Eliza looked at him. "Shane, that is such a sweet thing to say." He played with her hair, and kissed her. "It's true," he said. Distantly they heard a clock strike midnight, but they didn't care about the time. Mark sat with his back to the bed, and Liz sat leaned with her back against his chest. Her eyes were closed, and she was drifting on the verge of falling asleep. "Honey," Mark whispered, and wrapped his arms around her. "Mhm." she answered. "I'm glad we didn't go to dinner tonight. I had a much better time here, alone with you." She smiled and opened her eyes. "Me too, I've had the best time ever tonight. Thank you, Mark." she said, and her eyelids were getting heavy. Soon she drifted into sleep, and Mark kissed her head. "I love you, Liz." he whispered before he joined her in dreamland. |