“Now do you believe me?” Maddox said moments later.
She rested her head against his shoulder. “I don’t want to be alone tonight.”
She wanted as much of his attention as she could get. She wasn’t ready to consummate anything—that kiss was enough for now. Baby steps, just like Maddox had said.
Rather, she yearned for the emotional support he was giving her. She’d never experienced anything like this. It wasn’t just the kiss. It was the promise that he was there for her. He was the shoulder she could lean on for support. And she wanted to be that for him too.
Maybe this was what love—what marriage—was all about. Being there for one another, in whatever way the other person needed.
“Then stay,” he said, holding her once more. Just holding her. And it was perfectly enough.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Sunlight gave gentle nudges to Adelie’s subconscious. Her body was warm and heavy, comfortable and relaxed in every way it could be. The blanket covering her, the pillow beneath her head, Maddox’s arm around her…
Maddox’s arm…
Her eyes shot open. She clasped her hands to her chest, frozen. His warm, strong hand rested on her stomach, while his soothing breath stroked the back of her neck. Memories of their conversation—of their kiss—from the night before flurried around her like a snowstorm, though they were anything but cold.
Maddox Hatter, billionaire owner of Wonderland Theme Park, had kissed her. She’d had her first kiss, with a guy more amazing than she could have ever hoped for.
And she had fallen asleep in his arms.
Disbelief overwhelmed her. She rolled slightly to her side, praying the motion wouldn’t wake him, and took advantage of his slumber to examine every inch of his handsome face.
His long lashes brushed chiseled cheekbones. Slight signs of aging lined his tanned forehead and near his eyes, just enough to be brushstrokes on an otherwise perfect canvas. She wasn’t sure how old he was; in his thirties, she would guess.
His lips parted, and Adelie found herself entranced by their shape, by their fullness and the memory of how they’d felt against hers. Invisible hands guided her nearer, tempting her to press a new kiss there now, a surprise kiss. A morning kiss.
Adelie hovered, allowing the image to faze her before she thought better of it. Overcome with emotion, she slipped carefully free of his lax embrace and tiptoed to her own room. The floor creaked, and she winced, hurrying to close the door so she could have her own space to process everything that had happened.
Sinking onto the bed, she stared at everything and nothing while her heart chugged in her chest. What was going on here? She’d never felt this way for anyone. This stirring newness, the sense that a version of herself was surfacing, one that could only be accessed by Maddox and would only be truly seen by him.
She was lighter inside, fairly flying with all the excitement of it, with the realization that, at least for a moment, she’d been precious, wanted, and loved.
Carefully, slowly, she lifted a hand and stroked her bottom lip. Her mind couldn’t completely make sense of how such a thing as a kiss could manage to imprint itself into everything she was, the direction of her blood flow and the strength in her muscles. It was artistic, the way it took the mold of her and reshaped her completely, into someone brighter. Was a kiss like this every time?
She had to talk to Suzie.
Morning Suz, she texted. Any crazy men attack last night?
Hundreds. Boyfriend did kung fu. You should have seen it. Of course, the house is a wreck now. There’ll be no living here after this.
Adelie laughed as her hair swooped and created a curtain between her and the window. She hugged the phone to her chest.
That’s okay, she replied to Suzie. I’m not sure I’ll ever leave now that I’m here.
Paris is everything you dreamed it would be?
That and more, Adelie replied, knowing there was no way to tell her just how much.
She started to text Suzie about her adventure the night before. Her romantic conversation with her new husband, the way Maddox had held her like an exquisite jewel, the way his lips had felt like the velvet skin of a peach against hers.
This wasn’t something she could send in a text. It was extraordinary, breakable, not meant to be thrust out without care the way the rest of their playful conversation was.
She’d tell Suzie the next time she saw her.
Adelie decided to get dressed. Where before she would have just thrown on the first thing her fingers found in her suitcase, now, she flipped through what she’d packed, selective about her attire more so than she’d ever been for any job interview.
She opted for a coral shirt with khaki pants. After talking to herself in the mirror for several minutes, she mastered the nervous hammering in her chest and opened the door.
Maddox was sitting up in bed, skimming through something on his phone. Adelie slowed. She’d been caught staring and didn’t mind in the slightest. In fact, Maddox seemed just as pleased to see her.
“Morning,” he said, blinking at her. Was he wondering why she wasn’t still with him? “You look incredible.”
Blushing, Adelie ran a hand over her hair. “So do you.”
He laughed and offered a hand in her direction. “Come here.”
Adelie treaded toward him, preparing to settle on the bed’s end. When he didn’t lower his hand, she followed his lead, not stopping until her hand was in his and he cradled her against his chest.
“Did you sleep well?” he asked.
His smell of musk and sleep numbed her. “I did. Thank you for last night,” she added. “You don’t know how much I needed that.”
“Are you talking about that kiss? Because that’s all I’ve been able to think about since I woke up.”
She chuckled. “That was…Yes. I guess that’s part of it. You
