They’d had a moment on the carousel when he’d felt as though her guard was down, and then again, after the incident at Coleman’s. She’d bared herself to him as she demanded he take every sign featuring her down. She’d been assertive then. Self-assured. Why didn’t she allow herself to be that way all the time? What happened in her past to make her so timid, so afraid of people?
More than anything, Maddox wanted Adelie to feel secure around him, to open up to him. To be his friend in addition to his sudden wife. Considering the way those men had treated her at Coleman’s, this was the whole reason Maddox hadn’t kissed her at their wedding. He was nothing like those losers. He wanted to make it clear he would push nothing on her.
Kirk turned into the airport and pulled up next to a small plane. Adelie rested a hand on the window the way a child would and scooted forward, as though taken by surprise. This couldn’t be her first time seeing an airplane.
“Have you flown before?” he asked.
“Never,” she said without looking at him.
“Then this should be a real treat for you.” It was too bad, in some ways. If she’d never been in a commercial plane, she couldn’t fully appreciate how spacious the jet Duncan’s assistant, Rosabel, had chartered would be.
Maddox had considered purchasing his own plane, but he didn’t fly all that much, not really. He usually chartered one through a private company, and they’d always been readily available whenever he’d needed it.
The aircraft, with its pointed nose, sleek, thin wings, and angled tail that had always reminded Maddox of a dorsal fin, remained ready with its side door hanging down and serving as a staircase for their entrance.
“Is this yours?”
Her awe over what seemed to him to be simple things put everything in a new light. He’d flown in a jet like this so many times he couldn’t count, but with her, this seemed like the first time. Had the plane always been this small? Had he ever paid this much attention to its smooth design and tiny windows?
“No, I prefer to charter one when I need it,” he said. “Are you ready?”
“To see Paris? I’ve always been ready.”
She exited the car, and Maddox slid out behind her, chuckling at her guileless pronouncement and enjoying the opportunity to stretch. That was one thing about using a smaller jet for a long flight like this. Compared to a commercial flight’s cramped seats, this jet had only a handful, leaving space to roam around. They would have more room to spread out as the hours dragged on.
The pilot strolled toward the plane, wearing the uniform that bespoke his profession and added a touch of class to his posture. Maddox shook his hand.
“Hey, there, Anthony,” he greeted.
“Maddox.” His brows lifted as Adelie approached and joined Maddox’s side. “Looks like you’ve got some company this time.”
“I do. This is my wife, Adelie.”
The most becoming shade of pink touched her cheeks. She offered a hand to Anthony.
“Nice to meet you,” she said.
“You as well. I didn’t even hear there were wedding bells for you. Congratulations. Paris sounds like a great destination to celebrate.”
“It is,” Adelie agreed. Behind her, Kirk passed their bags toward a man in a vest who helped load them into a cargo hold beneath the jet.
“Shall we?” Anthony gestured for Adelie to board first. Lowering her chin, she turned and made the small incline up the ladder and into the plane. Maddox followed and nearly stumbled into the back of her, she’d stopped so suddenly.
“Oh, wow,” Adelie said with a hand to her chest. The luxurious cabin was spacious, offering two plush, leather chairs beside a leather couch that covered the length of the jet’s right-hand side.
“Like it?” Maddox said softly into her ear. He took satisfaction in the goosebumps rising on the skin at her neck.
She turned toward him, close enough for the skin of her cheek to brush his. Startling, she stepped forward. A flush of color climbed into her cheeks again, and she tucked her hair behind her ear and hugged one arm to her side as she looked everywhere but at him.
“It’s amazing. It feels more like a hotel room or something than an airplane.”
“I think you’ll really like that,” Maddox said, sizzling at her response to him. If he had only one goal from now on, it would be to make her blush like that again. “It’s nice to travel in something that gives you a little breathing room.”
“Can I—can I sit down?”
Maddox laughed. “Sure, you can. You think I’d make you stand the entire time? Besides, I think we need to be buckled in for takeoff.”
Adelie didn’t notice him teasing her. Instead, she settled onto the cream leather seat facing the front of the plane. Maddox sank into the one across from her. She immediately buckled her seatbelt and then sat rigidly, again as though unsure how to behave.
Was she nervous about the flight? Many people got airsick or claustrophobic on planes. Maddox tried to think of something that might put her at ease.
“I like to leave this time of the day,” he said. “You know, mid-afternoon. That way we fly all night and get some sleep, and then it’s almost evening when we get to France. Easier to deal with jet lag that way.”
“I never would have thought of that,” Adelie said, her shoulders relaxing just enough. “I’ll have to tell my cousin Ella.”
“Oh? Is she going to Paris as well?”
Adelie lifted a shoulder. “I’m not sure about Paris, but she will be heading for her own honeymoon soon.”
“What a coincidence.” He wondered if she’d chosen Paris because she really wanted to go there or because she hadn’t been able to think of anything else.
Maddox crossed an ankle onto the opposite knee. “Are you close with your cousin?”
Again, Adelie’s posture relaxed enough to be visible. “We
