CHAPTER EIGHT

He returned to the hotel after the concert, noting that he had one hour before he had to meet Isabelle. He made his way to the bathroom, taking off the robe he put on after the concert along the way. He peeled back the shower curtain and turned on the tap water. When he glanced up, he saw it. A note encased in a clear plastic bag, taped underneath the showerhead. He opened the package, and found that she had written on handmade-antiqued paper. Hundreds of tiny, gold stars tumbled out when the note was unfolded.

If I could reach up and hold a star for every time you made me smile, the entire evening sky would be in the palm of my hand.

Come find heaven with me.

Love, Isabelle

He showered and changed quickly, pausing for only a few moments to tie his hair back. He chuckled to realize that no one would believe that he was not about to spend countless hours playing with his hair in the bathroom. He noticed a few bodyguards and dancers in the hallway and waved a greeting, but kept walking swiftly to her room.

He knocked but there was no answer. He knocked again, thinking that perhaps she was in the bathroom or on the balcony. There was still no answer. In desperation, he turned the knob on the door, finding that it easily swung open.

He entered the room, calling out her name. She was nowhere to be found. But, on one of the pillows on the bed, he saw another note, written on that same, handmade-antiqued paper. The pillow and bed linens were covered with small, glossy red hearts.

Forgive my eyes for admiring you, but you stole my heart from the moment you looked at me.
Call me crazy, call me insane, but each time my heartbeats, it calls out your name.

Find our stairway to heaven.

Love, Isabelle

He glanced around the room for other clues, but found none. His brows furrowed in concentration as he thought about her last comment. Then, he ran out of the room and down the hotel hallway to the sign marked, "Exit." He opened the door to the hotel stairway and found hundreds of rose petals at his feet. They marked a path up the stairs, and he followed them, until they ended at the roof of the hotel.

Dangling through the loop of a red ribbon was the key to the rooftop door, and her final note.

Love is an endless dream.
My love for you will always be like a bright shining star.
I hope it always leads you home to the one who loves you most.
Time will never change how I feel about you, except to make my love deeper still with everything you do.
In all my dreams of coming years, you play the greatest part.
You are the only one who captured my love, my soul, and my heart.

Welcome to heaven.

He used the key she had given him and he opened the door.