Chapter 13
“Ms. Hudson?”
Ciara looked at her phone in surprise when the front desk paged her.
“Yes, Ms. Walker.”
“You have a delivery here. Would you like to come down and get it, or should I have it sent up?”
Shock filled Ciara. “I’m sorry. Did you say a delivery?”
“Yes. A beautiful bouquet of flowers.”
Confusion surged through her. Who had sent flowers to her and why? The past two weeks had been such a whirlwind she could hardly keep up, but this was especially surprising.
“Ms. Hudson?”
“Sorry, Kay. Please go ahead and send them up,” Ciara answered.
“Okay and good luck.”
Good luck?
Ciara stared at the phone, tempted to call Kay back about the cryptic statement. Instead, she shook her head and went back to reviewing the report in front of her.
A few minutes later, a knock sounded on her door. She looked up to find Tamika standing there. Then her mouth fell open when the young woman stepped aside.
“Maddox?” Ciara pushed to her feet. “How? What? Um...”
She stopped trying to find words as she stood there dumbstruck. Maddox took over the situation by stepping forward with the large bouquet of flowers mentioned.
“Hello, Ciara,” he said as Tamika closed the door behind him.
She stood there for several seconds, unsure of how to greet him. Fortunately, Maddox took the decision out of her hands by setting the flowers aside. He extended his hand to her. Tears filled her eyes as she rushed forward. He caught her and held her tightly as she began to tremble.
“I’ve missed you, beautiful.”
She fought to hold back her sobs at his whispered words. The emotion behind them couldn’t be denied. She lost track of how long they stood there before he finally pulled back. He brushed the moisture off her cheeks before lowering his mouth to hers.
In that instant, everything that had seemed to go wrong over the past two weeks seemed to right itself. When he pulled back, she stared up at him in wonder.
“How did you find me?” she whispered.
“Jean, the housekeeper found your business card, a receipt, and a lip gloss tube under my bed when she cleaned the room.”
She frowned. Then laughed in amazement when she realized how it had happened. “I dropped my purse the morning that I had to leave. I must not have collected everything. I was so frantic that I was in a rush.”
Maddox studied her. “I gathered as much from your note. A family emergency and that you hoped to see me in Nosy Be again next year.”
She looked away from him guiltily. “Sorry about that. I didn’t know what else to do.”
“You could have woke me up and explained face-to-face.”
His words were like a shot to the heart. She took a few steps back before walking over to the window. Her office window looked out onto the downtown area.
“I could have,” she admitted. “But that would have made it harder than it already was to leave. You would have pushed for a conversation that was too heavy to have at that moment, and then I would have made an impulsive decision.”
“Is that not what you did?” he quipped.
She shook her head. “No. I made the least difficult decision I could at the moment.”
“That’s not how relationships work,” he replied.
“We aren’t in one,” she protested.
“But you want to be, which scares you,” he guessed.
She turned to look at him. “No. What frightens me is that you don’t know me. You don’t understand the stress that I have in my life. The responsibilities.”
“Then tell me,” he said as he crossed the room to stand in front of her. “Allow me to decide if it’s too much. But I can tell you right now that it won’t be.”
She studied him for several minutes before shaking her head sadly. “Remember, you asked for this.”
He cupped her cheek in his hand. She leaned into his touch and closed her eyes briefly before stepping away. This time she walked over to her desk and grabbed a notepad. After scribbling down her information, she tore off the sheet before walking back to him.
“This is my home address. Be there tonight around seven. I will show and tell you everything you want to know. If you still feel the same afterward, we’ll talk about what an us looks like.”
Maddox looked as if he wanted to say something, but instead, he nodded as he slipped the piece of paper into his pocket.
“I will be there. Do I need to bring anything?”
She shook her head. “No. Just you.”
“Okay,” he replied before picking up the flowers again. “These are for you.”
She accepted them before inhaling deeply. It had been so long since she’d received flowers that she couldn’t recall the last time.
“Thank you.”
“I will see you tonight,” he said before pressing another kiss to her lips.
She stood there for several long seconds after he’d left her office. When she’d started her day, this was not how she’d expected it to end. Then again, it was over. No, it was just getting started.
* * * *
Maddox exited his carand made his way up the walkway to Ciara’s home. It suited her. He hadn’t expected the amount of noise coming from the inside. As he raised his hand to ring the doorbell, he could hear the television warring with the sound of kids yelling.
Kids?
Did Ciara have kids?
That left him feeling a little unsettled as he pressed the button. As if it was possible, the noise volume rose even higher. A second later, the door swung up, and Ciara stood there looking pensive.
“Hey. Glad you could make it,” she greeted as she stepped aside to let him enter.
As he stepped over the threshold, he saw that he had been correct in his guess of the causes behind the noise. The television was on in the background. But what captured his attention was the three kids that stood near an entryway.
Two girls and one boy.
The boy looked had an arm in a cast being supported by a sling and a few scrapes and cuts that still had a little while to go before they were completely healed. He’d clearly been in an accident. Based upon Ciara’s note, he guessed this was the family emergency she’d had to rush home to.
He turned his attention back to Ciara, who looked even more apprehensive than when she’d first opened the door.
Instinct made him pull her close and press his lips to hers. He was interrupted by the sound of a giggle.
“Aunt Ciara has a boyfriend.”
He lifted his head and looked at the kids again. The youngest of the trio had been the culprit. Then her words hit him.
Aunt Ciara?
He looked back at her.
“We will talk after dinner,” she murmured. “Okay, savages, time for dinner now that our guest is here. But first, let me introduce everyone. Maddox, this is Rachel, Benny, and Nadia. Kids, this is Maddox.”
“Nice to meet you,” he called out.
Rachel offered a wave and a smile. Benny remained quiet while studying him suspiciously, and Nadia hid behind her older sister.
This was definitely going to be an interesting evening.
“Everyone go wash your hands,” Ciara instructed.
To his surprise, the kids left the room without complaint. Ciara picked up the remote and turned off the television before focusing her attention to him.
“I’ll let you wash your hands in the kitchen since the kids are using the guest bathroom.”
“That’s fine with me. What’s for dinner?”
“Meatloaf, potatoes, and spinach,” she replied as she led the way to the kitchen.
He followed her, taking in the décor. Her home was clean but looked well lived in. There were touches of the kids all over. Nadia appeared to be an artist judging by the art on the fridge.
He made quick work of washing his hands. “Is there anything I can help with?”
“Help me set the table,” she instructed.
They had just put the last food platter on the table when the kids returned. While they were chattering playfully amongst themselves, their noise volume was more subdued. That told him that the kids were feeling out the situation as much as he was.
He took the seat that Ciara suggested he take next to her. As much as he’d been looking forward to his conversation, he needed more time to get his thoughts together before he voiced any of them.