The first thing that Mark noticed when he opened the door was the scent of his wife's perfume, his favorite scent in the world wafted in the air. The lights were dimmed. Actually the lights were off the flickering glow in the house was the result of dozens of candles lit around the room and seemingly through the house. Something drew his eyes down to the floor where a collection of rose petals formed a path.
The first place the flowers led him was into the kitchen where to glasses sat waiting on a silver platter behind it was a bottle of merlot waiting in a bucket of ice. There were no instructions but the idea was clear enough. Mark poured the two glasses with the red wine and followed the trail farther through the kitchen and into the yard.
Even in the pale moonlight it was easy enough to follow the large petals but that wasn't what he was following that point. Mark was following the trail of clothing that started with a pair of high heel shoes and ended with a slinky black dress he'd bought for her birthday pointing the way to their gazebo. There was a note resting on the small table in the yard. It only had a single word on it.
Strip.
It was a simple enough command and Mark eagerly obeyed stripping off his clothing and leaving them in a heap before entering the gazebo. Again his senses were nearly overwhelmed by the scent of her perfume lingering in the air. His eyes immediately went to her though.