“I haven’t,” Adelie admitted. “At least not one like this.” The only time she’d stayed in a hotel had been at the Motel 6 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, when her parents still had custody of her and Suzie, before her mom had left and before they’d been taken from their father. And that was nothing compared to this.
“The Elir Paris,” Maddox said. “It is something.”
“You act like you come here all the time,” Adelie said, walking with him toward the check-in desk.
“I’ve been here a few times. Once during college, to attend a friend’s wedding. And once with…well, it doesn’t matter.”
“With whom?”
“Just some friends,” he said distractedly, pulling out his wallet to show his ID to the woman behind the desk.
Her stomach fisted. Was he keeping something from her? Why not just tell her who he’d been with? She supposed she had parts of her past she’d rather forget—mostly regarding her parents. Maybe it was one of those instances.
The woman at the desk handed Maddox a key, and he bid her, “Merci,” before turning to Adelie.
“Sounds like our room is ready. Come on.”
“Our—room?” She scurried to keep pace. After a brief elevator ride, the busboy led the way down a decadent hallway, pausing to open door 401 for them.
Adelie lingered in the hallway, not only distracted by the way he inserted the room key into a nook on the wall to have it power the lights in the room, but by the fact that he brought both her and Maddox’s suitcase into the same space.
“Have a good evening,” he said in a decidedly French accent that kinked inside her stomach, before tipping his hat and leaving her alone with her husband.
Several ticks passed as realization dawned. He hadn’t guided her to a separate room because there wasn’t one. Maddox had booked only one room for them. For their honeymoon. The thought heightened every one of her senses and she suddenly felt too warm.
They were married. They should share a room, right?
Tucking his wallet into his back jeans pocket, he turned. With the door closed behind her, and the open living area behind him, the space between them shrunk. Maddox seemed to catch on to her surprise as evidenced by the slight jump in the muscle of his jaw.
“I hope this is okay.” He gestured to the ornate but comfortable room. “Duncan’s assistant didn’t know our marriage was anything but impulsive ecstasy, so she booked a single room. I can get another one if you’d like.”
Adelie’s throat closed. Sharing a room with Maddox. It wouldn’t be what others thought it was, and not only that, but she wasn’t sure she wanted to be apart from him in a foreign city. Closer brought more comfort. At least, that was what she told herself.
“No, this is fine.”
“The suite setup here is great. We can each have our own area. I’ll just camp out on the pullout couch.” He gestured to the ornament behind him, bedecked with silver pillows. “You can have the bedroom.”
“No—I can take the couch.”
Bemused, Maddox crossed the few steps toward her and touched a finger to her elbow. “Mrs. Hatter, take the bedroom. It’s okay.”
Adelie attempted to wet her lips. He’d never called her that before.
“Are you tired? Maybe we can grab some dinner, though I do have to warn you, it won’t be quick. The French don’t do fast food the way we do in America. At least not where I prefer to eat. They like their courses, and if you know what’s good for you, you’ll enjoy every bite.”
She was too exhilarated to feel tired. She’d flown on a jet and was in France. France! This was a dream come true. Now to eat their food? She’d never had French cuisine.
“Sure, I’d love to grab some dinner.”
“Perfect. I’ll make sure the restaurant is open.”
Adelie took a minute to freshen up, changed her clothes, and met Maddox outside the bathroom door.
“I’m just finishing up,” he said, bending to rinse his mouth after brushing his teeth.
She peered around, taking in the light switches and electric plugs. It didn’t seem that much different from home and yet was completely new, from their placement on the wall to their shapes.
“Come on in,” he said.
Feeling strange about sharing a sink with him, she shuffled in, hoping to skirt past him before he finished. Mid-stride, Maddox turned for his towel hanging on the rack near the mirror and brushed against her.
“Cramped quarters,” he said.
“I don’t mind.” Momentarily mesmerized by the field of green in his eyes, she hurried to clarify. “I had to share a bathroom with Suzie until we got the plumbing fixed.”
Though something told her this was going to be a lot different than sharing with her sister.
Smirking, and keeping his eyes on hers, Maddox reached for the towel once more. The smell of his cologne wafted to her. Her entire body stiffened. This was the closest to him she’d ever been. Even at their wedding there had been a good two feet between them. And though he’d stood beside her as she’d ridden the peacock on the carousel, they’d been out in the open air. This was a confined pocket of the universe, a place where neither of them seemed all that eager to move from.
Adelie managed to find her voice. “This has happened more and more since I met you.”
“What has?”
“The feeling that I’ve changed size,” she said. “When you look at me that way, I feel like—”
He lowered the towel. “What do you feel?”
Words dangled from the tip of her tongue. She wanted to tell him he gave her courage, he made her bold and adventurous, and she envisioned herself as the kind of woman she’d always wanted to be, the one who wasn’t afraid to take risks, to put herself out there, to speak to someone new or assert herself the way she knew she’d like to.
As a nurse, bedside manner was important. She knew she needed to have a little more
