12. Noah
12
NOAH
“ W hat time is it? Midnight? Six in the morning? I’m so exhausted I feel completely upside-down.”
It was hard to believe Maddy was tired when she looked so radiant. Sure, there were tiny blue half-moons beneath her eyes, but her gorgeous smile made them all but disappear. I was glad to see her smiling. Earlier, we’d both been rattled by Matthew’s call. I hated that I couldn’t be there to help see him through what was happening with his mother.
“It’s two o’clock,” I replied after glancing at my phone.
We were walking along Las Ramblas and I felt like I was in a trance, barely noticing the shops and restaurants as we dodged the crowds on the sidewalk.
Maddy reached out to grasp my arm. “Hey, are you okay?”
I started to answer with a typical “everything’s great” response but realized there was no reason for me to fake it with Maddy. If I was honest with myself, she didn’t feel like just my assistant. She felt like someone I could trust with the truth.
“Still thinking about Garrison. Obviously I’m worried about June. I should have some more information from my contacts shortly, but still. I didn’t realize he would consider changing his mind so quickly. I thought we were full speed ahead."
“Noah,” Maddy said as she gave my arm a gentle squeeze. “This is a potentially life-changing event. He’s not thinking straight. And she’s all the family he has.”
“You’re right, I get it. But still… this is his entire future and he’s ready to throw it away.”
“You have to remember, to some people, family is everything.”
She said it in a quiet voice, and I was instantly reminded of all she’d given up to be with her father as he passed. It wasn’t a sentiment I could understand given my history with my father, but I still admired it.
I glanced down at her and saw the furrow creasing her forehead. That wouldn’t do at all. “You mentioned you had plans to travel before… everything. Was Spain on your itinerary?”
Her face shifted into a smile again. “Oh, yes. And I can’t believe I’m here!” She made a sweeping gesture to the old buildings and flower stalls all around us. “Why don’t we explore a little? You’re the boss, you can play hooky.”
Impossible. There were more calls to make, meeting prep to tackle, and emails to answer.
“I wish I could, but we’ve got too much to do. This trip is overscheduled as it is.”
Her face fell, and even though she tried to cover it up, I could sense her disappointment. “Okay, you’re right. This is a business trip, not a vacation.”
A flower vendor stepped in front of us, pulled a tiny red rose from his wares, and presented it to Maddy with a bow. “ Amante , eres tan linda como una flor .”
She blushed since his flirtatious mannerism didn’t need translation. He pretended to faint when she smiled at him.
“ Gracias ,” she said with a little curtsy.
We headed toward the open square and found a busker playing guitar. A crowd of people were dancing and singing along, causing Maddy to add a little bounce to her step, in rhythm with the tune. The sun was shining and there was an infectious, carefree vibe in the air. Despite the stress we’d just faced, I felt inexplicably optimistic. I glanced at Maddy as she smiled and mouthed the words to the song the busker was playing. I realized he was singing in English, something about shivers and kissing in the moonlight.
“Okay,” I said, not sure what exactly was making me feel rash.
Maddy stopped singing and turned to me. “Okay what?”
“Okay let’s play hooky. The last thing I want to do is sit inside the hotel on a day like today. For today, we’re tourists.”
She squealed and clapped her hands. “Yay!”
It was a shock to realize just how easy it was to make the beautiful woman at my side happy. It was a bigger shock to realize how much I wanted to do exactly that.
“It’s a beautiful day, so let’s start with Park Güell. I’ve never had the time to explore it.”
“I have no idea what that is but I’m game,” Maddy exclaimed.
I glanced down at her feet. “Comfy shoes?”
“But of course,” she said proudly, showing off thick-soled shoes that looked more fashionable than functional. “I did my research and I know how much walking is required. Onward!”
I laughed at her as she started marching away from me and grabbed her shoulder. “This way. We need our driver for the first leg of the journey, then we’ll walk.”
The vast gardens and architectural elements of the park made it the perfect spot to start our afternoon. Maddy was in awe, snapping photo after photo.
“Here, let me take one of you in front of that mosaic,” I suggested.
“Thank you! I can send it to my girls at home. They’ll be so happy I got to do something touristy.”
Maddy handed me her phone, then ran to the blue and yellow section of the wall and posed prettily with a smile that nearly took my breath away. “Perfect, got it,” I said after taking the photo.
She ran and took her phone back. “Thanks. Now one with you.”
“What?” I moved a step away from her. “No, I don’t like being in photographs. Besides, why would you want a reminder of your boss when you look back at this day?”
Maddy locked onto me. “Because my boss made this day possible, that’s why. Now get over here.”
I chuckled at her tone. “Yes ma’am.”
I wasn’t lying about not liking being photographed and found myself crossing my arms and glaring at the camera in my go- to pose. Maddy snapped a quick shot and let out a long breath when she looked at it.
“You look miserable. Here.” She thrust her phone out at me and sure enough, she looked radiant, and I looked like a skulking shadow behind her. “We’re going to keep taking pictures until you smile naturally, like you’re actually having a good time.”
“I am having a good time,” I protested.
If Maddy only knew how true it was. It was so easy being with her. She wasn’t the kind of person who put on a show or tried to look cool. Maddy seemed to tackle life like it was an ice cream sundae to be relished as it was devoured, and she didn’t care if she wound up with whipped cream on the tip of her nose.
“Prove it, then. Smile.” She widened her eyes at me. “You can do it, Noah.”
I laughed at her earnestness, and she snapped a photo of me. “There it is! The elusive Parker grin. I knew you had it in you. Now let’s try to repeat that, but standing next to me.”
What Maddy didn’t realize was that being close to her, close enough so that we were both in frame in her camera, was hard for me. Because standing right beside her allowed me to catch a hint of her vanilla perfume, mixed with the scent of her sun-warmed skin. I wanted to move closer and drink her fragrance in.
“My arm isn’t long enough,” she grumbled, trying to get us both in the shot. “I keep cutting one of us off.”
“Photo? We help?”
An older couple smiled at us from a few feet away, the man in a dapper straw hat and the woman in a floral blouse. I was about to say no, but Maddy dashed over to them.
“Yes, please! And thank you. I mean gràcias !” She ran back and wagged her finger at me. “Don’t forget to smile.”
I managed what I thought was a genuine one only to get tsked by the couple. “Arm around her!” the man ordered.
I looked at Maddy, and she shrugged. “Fine with me.”
I draped my arm over her shoulder like we’d just clinched the office softball championship. It was safe. Friendly.
“ Bah !” the man shouted angrily.
The woman laughed at his outburst. “You are beautiful people. Now make loving together for the photo, yes?” she coached.
Maddy cackled nervously. “Oh, we’re not?—”
“Closer!” the man barked.
“Yikes,” Maddy said softly. “Let’s fake it, or we might get beat up.”
She pressed her body against my side, and I nestled her closer, my arm circling around her waist. My breath caught at how perfectly she fit there, how natural it felt.
“ Abrazar ! Hug !” the man commanded.
“Are you kidding me?” I complained under my breath, so that I could pretend I was protesting when in fact I was loving every second of the forced proximity. I looped my other arm around her, drawing her even closer until I could feel the press of her breasts against my chest.
“Yes, nice!” our angry photographer exclaimed, finally satisfied. “And another.”
I didn’t mind holding her for a few moments longer. In fact, I was reluctant to let her go as the man walked the phone back over to us. Maddy was smart enough to get some additional sightseeing recommendations from the couple before they walked away, as well as a suggestion of where we should go for dinner.
A few hours later, we were both slightly sunburned as we discussed our favorite parts of our adventures over the best food I’d ever tasted. Even though the day was nothing like what I would’ve planned for us if I’d intended from the start for it to be a touristy day—with landmarks mapped out, tickets pre-purchased and everything perfectly timed—the easy go-with-the-flow of it charmed me. Maddy was a spontaneous traveler, happy to abandon one plan if something more appealing came along. We finished our meal and headed out into the darkness.
“Thank you for going to my locals-only restaurant even though I lost our bet,” Maddy said.
“I’d planned to no matter what,” I admitted watching the light from the streetlamps shift over her face.
We strolled in silence for a few moments, and I realized that I was experiencing something that didn’t come over me often: contentment. I didn’t want anything other than this moment with Maddy.
But that was a lie. I did want more. And the way she was looking at me… it seemed like she wanted it, too. But I wouldn’t act unless I was sure. I would not be the boss who took advantage of an employee, putting her in a situation where she didn’t feel she had a choice. I needed a sign from her—some kind of signal that touching her would be welcome.
“Best day ever,” she said softly, looking up at me shyly. Her eyes dropped to my lips, as if she couldn’t help herself.
And there it was. I took a step in front of her and she stopped abruptly, inches away from me. “I’d like to make it even better.”
I circled my arms around her and pulled her close, dropping my lips to hers. Maddy arched up against me, every bit as eager as I’d hoped she’d be. My heart pounded as I got drunk on her taste, her scent, the little sounds she made. Suddenly all I could think about was getting her back to the hotel. The way she kissed me back told me she wanted it as badly as I did.
“Let’s go,” I managed in a hoarse whisper in the desperate moment while our mouths weren’t touching. “Back to the hotel.”
She nodded like she wasn’t capable of forming words. We stumbled along, stopping to kiss every few steps. Maddy pulled away and mumbled something.
“What?”
“Your phone is ringing.”
I slapped all of my pockets, taking care not to accidentally slap my raging hard-on, finally finding my phone in the breast pocket of my jacket.
“Parker here.”
It was my senior agent Gil calling to let me know that our client Alex D’Amato was having major baby momma drama that was about to hit the press. Alex was a megastar Major League player who’d never learned that “three strikes, you’re out” also applied to his public persona. We’d already cleaned up after his inappropriate Tweets to female sports reporters and some drug incidents. This could be the nail in his professional coffin. I sighed, realizing I had a long night of strategizing ahead of me.
Maddy could tell before I even said anything. We trudged back to the hotel, me doing damage control for an asshole I wasn’t sure deserved it while the beautiful woman beside me stared off into the distance.