It took much more effort than it should have to approach the enormous, mahogany door. More so to lift a hand and ring the doorbell, but she managed it. A grand sound pealed like a gong, as if meant to reach the expansive ends of such a huge dwelling.
“Though he probably has a butler or something,” she muttered to herself, fighting away the thought of Maddox Hatter leaping and sprinting from the far end of his house just to answer the door. The thought made her smile.
The door opened to reveal an older man with salt and pepper hair in a fine-fitted suit and a conservative brown tie. An earpiece coiled from his left ear and beneath his collar. Not exclusively a butler then, but more security.
“Miss Carroll? I’m Randy Kirk, but you can call me Kirk.”
“H-hi, Kirk.”
Unlike Juan’s stern, no-nonsense greeting, he smiled. The sight chiseled away at the hard nervousness inside her. “Please come in. Mr. Hatter and Mr. Hawthorne are waiting with the hairdresser, though I believe a wig-maker is on hand as well, if you prefer.”
Her mouth gaped. “A-a wig maker?”
She was having a hard time following his thought process and taking in the vaulted foyer at the same time. The white and cream interior was set off by dark wood along the ceiling’s edge, the window frames, and the doors. Swirled, wrought iron curled around the staircase and led to a magnificent window on the landing above. Adelie itched to explore, to venture through and investigate every nook and cranny in this incredible place.
Kirk gave her a knowing smile. “They’re just down here, if you’d like to follow me.”
Adelie forced her feet forward. This place was too perfect to be real, and so opposite from the blend of beauty and chaos in Maddox’s Wonderland she couldn’t keep her jaw from dropping.
The ceiling along the wide, bright corridor was curved, set off again by that dark wood. Fantastic chandeliers dangled and teased their light upon her, and she kept looking, looking, looking everywhere she possibly could. An elegant set up of tables and chairs here. A fireplace there. Vases of flowers, columns, and paintings, so much splendor in one place.
Kirk took a series of short stairs and turned down another hall leading to a widespread room. Windows splashed sunlight on every surface and left shadows nowhere to hide.
A pair of double doors led out onto what she assumed was a balcony. They were situated across from the stone fireplace, which stretched to high-five the vaulted ceiling above. Maddox, Duncan, and a woman Adelie hadn’t yet met chuckled in low tones beside the fireplace, and the sound fisted her stomach.
The woman’s hair was stylish, her clothes well-fitted and hip. Her jeans were cropped short, and she wore a shirt with tassels dangling along the hem.
Mid-laugh, Maddox turned, his face brightening at the sight of her.
“Adelie,” he said with delight.
Embarrassment bloomed in her cheeks, and a small firework exploded in her stomach. She hadn’t been able to stop thinking about the simmering effect he’d had on her during their tour, and especially the romantic moment they’d shared on the carousel. It had all seemed so surreal but seeing him here now cemented everything in like concrete.
She was at his house. And he was looking at her as though she’d been the reason for the sunrise that morning.
“Hey,” she said.
The woman closed in, arms folded, heels clacking on the floor. She analyzed Adelie from head to toe.
“You’re right,” she said, her expression growing more and more in approval by the minute. “She is going to be perfect.”
Maddox’s, Duncan’s, and the woman’s gazes each fixed on her. Her breathing accelerated and she fought the urge to chew on her fingernails. Oh boy. What was Adelie getting herself into? If she couldn’t handle the attention from Maddox and his wig maker—or whoever this woman was—how could she ever handle having so much attention on her everywhere else?
Her throat closed over every word as she attempted to push it out. “Sorry, I didn’t get ready or anything. I wasn’t sure exactly what I was supposed to wear.”
“You look amazing,” Maddox said. “Just how you’re supposed to. This is Cathy. She’s a genius when it comes to hair and makeup. The photographer will be here in two hours. Does that give you ladies enough time to do what you need to?”
Two hours? Photographer? That wasn’t enough time. She wasn’t ready.
“Should be enough,” Cathy said, sizing Adelie up with one hand gripping her chin.
Adelie wished she could get a handle on her thoughts. And her breathing, for that matter.
“I—”
“Do you need anything?” Maddox said.
Her vision blanked. The room shrunk, bringing a wave of irrational dizziness with it. She was thirsty, so thirsty. She needed some air, or perhaps a drink of water. That would help her quivering insides.
“C-can I talk to you for a second?”
Maddox’s face softened and he guided her to the opposite corner of the room. She ignored Cathy and Mr. Hawthorne’s puzzled exchange and tried not to trip over her own feet the way she had during a presentation in her English class last semester.
Her internal temperature had flared up, just like this. Her body had tingled, her mind turning white, just like this. She’d stumbled on her way out of the classroom, feeling more embarrassed than ever. It was one thing for her anxiety to flare up as a child, but as a grown woman? What was her problem?
“Is everything okay?” Maddox asked, tucking his hands into his pockets, as cool as a cucumber.
She really wished she could sit down for a minute. “I don’t know,” she said. “I thought I could do this, but now? Seeing where you live? Being in the moment? I just—”
As if reading her earlier thoughts, he reached for a bottle of water on a nearby end table and handed it to her.
“It’s normal to be nervous,” he said. “And you did sign the contract.”
She bobbed her head and took the water, broke it
