38
ADAM
I drew in a deep breath. Held it for a few seconds. Then slowly released it through my nose. My heart was pounding wildly, furiously trying to escape the confines of my chest. Even my palms were sweaty.
About a million ants crawled over my skin while I was acutely aware of all the eyes on me. It'd taken every ounce of willpower I had to walk through the doors and search the crowd for Maddie.
There were a thousand things I'd wanted to say to her. Hell, I'd even rehearsed this wonderful speech on the way over. But now that she was standing in front of me, looking like my every dream come true, the words remained trapped on my tongue.
Not that she was doing any moving or talking either. With her eyes taking up half of her face and her hands covering the rest, she was staring at me like she couldn't decide whether I was real or not.
My throat felt impossibly thick as I tried to work down a swallow. Slowly, I parted my lips to speak but before I could utter a single word, an older man with thick gray brows pulled tightly appeared at Maddie's side .
I didn't need to ask how I'd missed him in the first place. The instant I'd spotted her, Maddie had been the only person in the room to have my full attention. Shifting my gaze to the man, it only took a few moments to see the resemblance.
Eyes that looked so much like his daughter's looked me up and down before he thrust his hand toward me. "Fraser Young. And this here is my lovely wife, Carolynn."
Straightening my spine, I pressed my palm against his. "Adam Carlisle. A pleasure to meet you, sir." I traded his hand for his wife's. "Happy Birthday, Mrs. Young. It's good to meet you."
Touching her free hand to the edges of her shoulder-length hair, Maddie's mom graced me with a sweet smile. "Thank you." Gently pulling her hand from mine, she turned to her husband. "Come on, dear, I want to show you the lovely cupcakes Franchesca made."
Mr. Young looked at his wife like she had a third eye. "Didn't you just—"
"Fraser," Mrs. Young said sternly, eyes not-so-subtly bouncing between Maddie and me. "Come look at the cupcakes with me."
She didn't really give him the chance to respond before she slipped her hand in his. "So lovely to meet you, Adam." And then she was off, dragging a grumbling Mr. Young behind her.
My gaze followed them for a bit before slowly shifting back to Maddie. Eyes wide, she was still staring at me. So damn beautiful. All I wanted to do was take her in my arms and never let go.
But I probably needed to say something first. "Hi."
Pulling her hands away from her lips, she slowly started shaking her head. "You're here." It was barely above a whisper. "I can't believe you're here." Her hand was trembling slightly when she lifted it to tuck a few strands behind her ear.
Fighting the need to reach for her, to slip my fingers through hers, was almost impossible. It was like my body knew it needed her to stay sane.
"Neither can I."
Although, from the moment I'd figured out what I had to do to make it right between us, not coming hadn't even been an option. Even if it was the last thing I ever did. Yes, it felt like the scariest, most daunting thing I could possibly do, but I'd happily do it ten times over for her .
I took a small step forward. "You look stunning.
" At my compliment, she bowed her head and smoothed her hands over the front of her pretty dress.
I couldn't hold back anymore, I needed to touch her.
To feel some part of her. I tucked my fingers beneath her chin and gently guided her gaze back to mine. "I'm sorry, Maddie. So damn sorry."
My hand moved to cup her satiny cheek and her eyes immediately fell shut as she pressed into my touch. When her lids slowly parted again, the sadness shining in her eyes felt like a slap to the balls .
I'd put it there and I sure as shit was going to do whatever the hell I could to take it away again. Before I could tell her that, she pulled my hand from her face and stepped closer. The space between us was so little, I could've easily bent down and touched my lips to hers.
And damn it, that's exactly what I wanted to do.
"There's a gazebo outside," she said softly. "It's not completely private, but it's a lot less crowded than in here."
My heart almost couldn't handle her words, the thoughtfulness behind them. Stooping, I looked straight into her beautiful eyes. "I'm good exactly where I am."
With her gaze frantically searching mine, Maddie's tongue darted out and slicked over her bottom lip.
"I shouldn't have put you on the spot like that.
It was very unfair of me." Her breathing picked up and she shook her head.
"I don't care, Adam. Not about dinners or movies or whatever the hell else I said. I just care about you. About us."
The grin lifting my lips couldn't be helped. Wasn't that the exact same thing I'd come here to tell her? That our relationship was the only thing that mattered to me, too. Instead of saying any of those words, I closed the distance between us and touched my mouth to hers.
Never before had a kiss tasted as sweet as this. Like a soothing salve to a gaping wound. Food for a dying man's soul.
Like coming home.
Not even considering we were in the middle of a fairly crowded room, I licked at the seam of her lips; begging for entry.
She parted them on a sigh, her hands sweeping up the back of my neck and pushing into my hair.
A deep groan vibrated through my chest the moment my tongue touched hers.
I tasted, savored like I was a starved man.
Because I was.
I wanted more. More of her kisses. More of the way she was holding on to me like she couldn't stand to let me go. More of the life I'd gotten a glimpse of since Maddie showed up.
I wanted it all.
When we finally broke apart—with great reluctance—Maddie's cheeks were flushed and her lips my favorite shade of thoroughly-kissed. Her gaze flicked to the side before settling back on mine. "I think we've attracted an audience."
Curling my fingers into her waist, I brushed my nose along hers. "I don't care." I pulled back and pinned her with a stare. "Do you?"
Her answering smile was big, bright, and wonderful. "I still can't believe you came here…for me."
"Believe it, baby. I'd walk to the ends of the earth for you." I laced our fingers together and turned my head to scan the crowd. "Now, we better go find your parents. I don't want them thinking I only came here to devour their daughter."
Maddie dropped my hand and threw her arms around my neck. "I love you, Adam. "
My arms banded tight around her. Angling my head, I spoke low against the shell of her ear. "I feel everything for you, Maddie, everything ."
And then just because I could, I pulled her in for another kiss. My tongue had barely slipped into her mouth when we were interrupted by a woman, an unmistakable hint of amusement in every word she spoke.
"I'm all for public displays of affection, but the two of you seriously need to cut it out."
Drawing back, I groaned. Maddie laughed. Because I couldn't stand to let her go, I slipped my arm around her shoulders and tugged her close to me as we turned. The moment my eyes landed on the raven-haired woman, I immediately recognized her from the pictures hanging on Maddie's wall.
"Frankie, I presume."
One corner of her red-stained mouth curved upward. "And you must be Adam." Her eyes narrowed into thin slits as she looked me up and down and then flicked her gaze to Maddie. Whatever Frankie saw on my girl's face had her features softening in an instant.
Then her attention was back on me. Smile wide, she took a step forward and held out her hand.
"It's great to finally meet you." Before I could take her offered hand, I noticed her eyes on my scars.
In a blink, my heart found a new gear. The collar of my dress shirt wrapping around my neck like a noose.
Who the hell was I kidding? I couldn't do this.
My nerves were hanging on by a thin thread, and just when I thought I was going to crack, I felt Maddie's arm tighten around my waist. My eyes found hers. So much love and understanding shining in those whiskey irises. And that was all it took to calm the restless beast.
Grinning, I took Frankie's hand. "Likewise. I'm looking forward to—"
"Mister Adam!"
I barely had time to look to my right when a little person skidded to a stop in front of me. I remembered him. He'd been at Maddie's place a while ago, talking a mile a minute about airplanes.
"Hey, buddy."
His face lit up, lips parting like he was about to speak. Before he could utter a single word, our little gathering grew. Maddie's sister—I recognized her from the other night—came to a stop behind her son.
With her hands perched on his shoulders, she bent forward and whisper-shouted next to his ear, "When I tell you to stop running, you stop running, mister."
She was still hunched over when Frankie elbow-jabbed her in the side. "This is Adam ."
I heard Maddie's soft laugh as her sister's eyes shot to me.
Even though I didn't feel remotely comfortable, I smiled and held out my hand. "Nice to meet you."
"Jennah." Shaking my hand furiously, she turned her attention to her sister. "This is him, huh?"
Leaning in closer, Maddie's hold on me tightened even more. "Yes, this is Adam. My Adam. And he was about to kiss me stupid before all of you rudely interrupted. "
It was a bit comical how quickly Jennah slapped her hands over her son's ears and muttered, "Little ears."
Even more funny than that was the boy's dramatic eye roll and his whiny, "Mooooom."
A laugh rumbled from my chest, surprising me for a moment before I realized how good it felt to be around people.
Or maybe it was good because the woman I loved, loved me back.