Adelie almost laughed at this. His line of work was totally different.
“You appeal to crowds,” she argued.
He rested his hands on the desk’s edge on either side of him. “I do, but if the individuals in those crowds aren’t enjoying themselves, then I haven’t done my job. Everything in Wonderland was designed to appeal to the individual’s experience. And considering that expression about how no two people have ever read the same book…”
“Edmund Wilson,” Adelie said. “Nice.” She’d heard the adage before. People were so different, even reading the same words, their experience in a story would vary based on their own personal experiences and tastes. It meant her experience reading Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland would never be the same as anyone else’s, because there was no one else like her.
“The individual,” Maddox said pointedly with a smile.
Her unease lifted just enough.
Silence basked in the sunlight between them. Adelie chewed her lip, trying to think of something to say, a new topic they could pass back and forth that would keep him here.
“I’ve been having a thought,” Maddox said, saving her the trouble.
“Oh yeah? What’s that?”
He rested his weight on the desk and crossed his ankles on the carpet. “How would you feel about a honeymoon?”
Okay, not what she’d expected him to say. “A honeymoon?”
“Sure, why not?” he said. “We could get out of Vermont. Go somewhere exotic, where you won’t have to worry about being recognized. At least for a few days. We could get to know one another better. What do you think?”
Adelie waited for the joke to follow, but Maddox’s gaze was focused and serious, and if she didn’t know any better, hopeful. He wanted her to say yes.
She scooted to the edge of the bed. “Where would we go?”
“Wherever you want.”
“You mean—?”
Inhaling, Maddox rose, crossed the room, and settled onto the edge of the bed beside her. Adelie’s insides went into instant alert. She couldn’t think with him this close to her, not when they were talking about something like this.
Either Maddox was unaffected, or he handled their proximity better than she did.
“Where have you always dreamed of going?”
Adelie didn’t have to think. “Paris. I’ve always wanted to go to France.”
His brow lifted. “You got it,” he said. “Paris, it is.”
“Just like that? You can snap your fingers and we’ll head out?” She had schoolwork to keep up with, but they had computers and internet in Europe, didn’t they? How long were they going to be gone?
“Do you have a passport?” Maddox asked.
“I—I do,” she said. “Suzie got one for a school trip and talked me into getting mine at the same time.” Though she had yet to stamp anything into it.
“And your classes?” he asked. “Do you need to attend anything in person?”
She swallowed, attempting to rein in the giddiness sweltering in her chest. “It’s all online. I’ll be able to manage.”
Maddox’s smile shot heat through her. He pulled his phone from his pocket and began typing. “I’ll have Duncan’s assistant set everything up. She helps me out sometimes when stuff like this comes up.”
Adelie grew fidgety. She glanced at her suitcase, still trying to come to grips with the fact that Maddox could call someone else’s assistant to help him. Why didn’t he have one of his own? Maybe he and Duncan were better friends than she’d originally thought.
“Good thing I haven’t unpacked yet,” she said.
Maddox rested his hands on his thighs. “You’ll be all set. Although, I hope you know you can make this space yours. I want you to be comfortable here.”
Adelie cleared her throat and stood. She wasn’t sure how to explain her feelings to him. With time, she was sure he might be right. She could be settled here, but she wasn’t to that point yet. And until she was, her clothes would remain in the suitcase.
He was preoccupied with his phone for several more moments before lowering it again.
“Looks like we can leave tomorrow. How does that sound?
She exhaled through a small part in her lips. Tomorrow.
“Sounds unbelievable,” she said.
Maddox stood, lingering near her for several more ticks of the clock. “Okay, then.”
She clasped her hands in front of her. “Okay.”
It was all she could do to remain standing until he turned and strolled from the room. The moment he closed the door behind him, her knees buckled. She crumpled onto the bed behind her. How could this be happening? She was married to a billionaire, and now he was taking her on a honeymoon. To Paris.
It wasn’t only the total recognizability of the Eiffel Tower, or the fact that the city was some sort of central hub for fashion, food, music, and art. It was the romance of the place, the architecture, the language she loved and had tried learning more than once but always ended up forgetting because she had no one around to speak it with.
Paris. The corner cafes she’d yearned to sit at, the bridges, the token walk down the Champs Elysée.
Adelie wasn’t entirely sure what to expect, but then again, her entire relationship with Maddox had been that way. Unpredictable twists and turns at every corner. Not to mention theirs was a marriage in name only. He hadn’t even kissed her for goodness’ sake. This wasn’t going to be a honeymoon the way others celebrated them.
Still, he’d said he wanted to get to know her. Would a kiss be part of that?
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Maddox tapped his hands on his knees in a quiet rhythm, uncertain of what to say. Adelie sat on the backseat across from him as Kirk neared his private airfield, but she hadn’t uttered a single word to him since they’d left home.
She’d been so reticent about this entire trip, from the minute he presented it to her yesterday. Did she really want this, or was she just going along because he’d suggested it?
He got the feeling this was typical of her. To sacrifice her own needs in order to please others. What could he
