Riding in the elevator with the concierge to almost the top floor of the hotel seemed to take forever. Erin could not understand why David would have done this, or why he felt the need to follow her every move while she was here. Was he that worried about Ross? She would have to call him as soon as she got settled to sort all this out.

The ding of the elevator doors signaled that they had arrived at their selected floor. The concierge grabbed hold of her luggage and waited for the doors to open. Once they did, Erin stepped out into the hall and walked over to the large floor to ceiling window. She couldn't believe how breathtaking the view was. Being this high, she could see the White House, the Capitol, and National Mall. She decided that instead of spending the night at the hotel, she wanted to do some sightseeing.

Turning around, Erin walked down the small hall toward two double doors. She saw the concierge standing outside of them, so she assumed this was her room.

"Here we are, madam. Suite 4701," the concierge said as she approached.

He slid the master key into the reader and pushed the door open. He let Erin walk in first, and she was taken aback by the sheer size of the room. The main entrance led into a large parlor area with overstuffed couches, a fireplace, large television and shelves stacked top to bottom with books of every topic. In the corner of the room, there was a fully stocked bar. It did not go unnoticed by Erin that it was actually stocked with sparkling cider, water and other non-alcoholic beverages.

She wanted to explore the other parts of the suite, but wanted to do it in private, so she passed the concierge $20 and thanked him for his help as she showed him to the door.

Walking back through the small hallway, through the parlor, Erin entered the spacious master bedroom. The bed could have easily fit 10 people in it. It was dressed in luxurious silk linens and what had to be hundreds of pillows. French doors next to the bed led to a balcony, and Erin had the same amazing view of the sights of Washington, DC as she had in the hallway.

A door off the bedroom led into a bath with a marble Jacuzzi tub. Like everything else in the room, it was large and luxurious. Erin could not believe she was going to be staying here for the next two nights.

As amazing as this room was, her thoughts turned back to David and why he would have done this, and she also thought about the text he had sent her.

"Does this mean he is coming here? God, I hope not," Erin thought. Just then, the telephone by the bedside table started to ring.

Erin jumped on the bed and flopped into the large mass of pillows before answering.

"Hello, Erin Strauss."

"Ms. Strauss, this is Natalie from the front desk calling. I have Senator Ross Brannigan on the phone for you," she said.

"Thank you, Natalie, you may put him through," Erin replied.

She was hoping to not have to talk to Ross until the morning, but thought it would be rude of her not to accept his call, given his gift of a ten thousand dollar gown that was hanging over the door, just waiting for her to slip it on.

"Ross, I wasn't expecting to hear from you until tomorrow"

"I know, but I just wanted to call and make sure you've settled into the hotel and that you have everything you need."

"I have settled in quite nicely, and can I formally say thank you so much for the gorgeous dress. It was completely unexpected, and much too generous of you," Erin said sweetly.

"Erin, my darling, there is nothing too grand for you. Is there any chance that you would be available to have dinner with me tonight? I'll be driving by the hotel shortly."

Erin was disappointed that she would not be able to sightsee as she planned, but she felt an obligation to Ross and accepted his invitation.

"I would enjoy that very much. What time will you be here?"

"I'm about a half hour away. Meet me downstairs then. Oh, and look outside your door."

Erin walked to the hall and opened the door, but she saw nothing.

"Ross, there is nothing out here."

"Aren't you in Room 1495?" he asked.

"Actually, no, I am in one of the presidential suites. It is Room 4701."

"If the standard room was not going to be sufficient for you, you could have just told me, Erin. I wouldn't have made you pay for a suite."

"I didn't pay for the suite. Someone I'm sort of involved with did."

"Sort of involved with?"

"It's a long story."

"Okay then, I won't make you go into details over the phone, but we will have lots to talk about during dinner. Be downstairs in 20 minutes. I'll get to personally deliver my surprise to you. That's even better."

"Ross, you don't have to do all this, it's too much."

"Erin, I appreciate you coming all the way up to DC to accompany me. I'm sure you had plenty of other things you could have been doing this weekend, and I just want to show you how much your kindness means to me."

Erin thought about telling Ross she had absolutely no plans this weekend, and his invitation had kept her from going crazy thinking about David and why he was so hell bent on keeping her at arm's length. Instead, she decided on a much simpler response.

"I am always willing to help out an old friend," Erin told him sincerely. "I will be waiting for you in the lobby. See you soon."

Erin hung up the phone and rolled off the bed and out of the mountain of pillows with a deep sigh. She walked into the bathroom to check her hair and makeup.

"Ugh, less than 20 minutes to get ready and I look like I just rolled out of bed. Oh, wait, I did," Erin laughed at her mild attempt at humor.

She decided on a semi-casual outfit of black linen pants, an emerald silk blouse, and her ever reliable Prada pumps that she had comfortably broken in many years ago. She ran a brush through her hair and spritzed it with shine spray to keep it somewhat under control, since she didn't have time to pin it up. Unzipping her cosmetic bag and pulling out mascara, lipstick and eye shadow, she quickly refreshed her makeup.

"I suppose this will have to do," she said, examining her reflection.

Returning to the parlor, she suddenly remembered David's text message.

"Damn it, I completely forgot to call him. He better not be on his way here."

She ran to the table in the hallway where she had set her purse down. She grabbed her cell phone out of it and quickly dialed David's number. She waited anxiously as she heard ring after ring.

"Come on, David, pick up," she said frustratingly.

After the fifth ring, Erin heard the familiar recording of David's voice mail.

"You have reached the voice mail of David Rossi. I am unavailable to take your call at this time, but please leave me a detailed message and I will get back to you as soon as possible."

"David, it's me. I got your text message. I'm not sure what it means, but I hope you're not coming here. I also don't understand why you paid for this suite. Can you please call me back as soon as you get this? It's obvious there are some things we need to talk about."

Erin hung up the phone and let out a sigh as she checked her watch. She had to be downstairs in five minutes. Tossing her phone back into her purse and making sure she had her room key, she breezed out the door and headed to the lobby.

Stepping out of the elevators, she walked toward the restaurant. She could see Ross standing there talking to the hostess. His back was turned to her, but she knew it was him. He always had a bold presence and excellent posture. His hair was grayer thanthe last time she saw him, but she had no doubt he would still have the same handsome features.

When he turned around, a warm smile spread across his face, and Erin knew he had spotted her. She returned his smile with a megawatt one of her own, and she could see by the slight shift in his posture that she still had an effect on him.

"This is going to be an interesting weekend," she thought to herself, as she tried to ignore the butterflies currently fluttering in her stomach.

Ross walked toward her with his arms outstretched and wrapped her in a hug.

"Erin, sweetheart, you are as beautiful as ever. It is so wonderful to see you. A gift to go with your dress for tomorrow," he said, handing Erin a red jewelry box with Cartier embossed in gold on the lid.

Erin was flabbergasted as she opened the box and saw a glittering diamond hair pin nestled in the black satin lining.

"Ross, it's beautiful, I don't know what to say. Thank you doesn't seem like enough."

"When I get to see you all dressed up, that will be all the thanks I need," he replied. "I believe our table is ready. You must be starving."

Erin didn't know if it was hunger or something else that was causing her to feel a little lightheaded, but as she watched Ross pull her hand toward his lips and kiss it gently, out of the corner of her eye, she caught a familiar face staring at them from across the lobby.

David Rossi had made his appearance, and at the most inopportune time.