“Margaret went to the bathroom, but she should be back any minute. I can show you whatever ever you want to look at.”
“No, you can’t.”
Her brow furrowed. “Why not?”
“Because I don’t want you to earn the commission on this sale.”
And because of the clerk’s rudeness, there was no way in hell he was leaving without that ring, even if it did nothing more than sit in his pocket for the next thirty years waiting for him to find the courage to offer it to one special lady from Dallas, Texas.
Chapter Three
Madison clung to the armrests as the plane touched down with a harsh thud followed by several bounces. She was not a fan of flying and if not for the promise of seeing Adam, she wouldn’t have gotten on the plane in the first place. The man was a strong motivating force in her life. She couldn’t deny it.
Deceleration pressed the back of her head against the seat, but as soon as they were taxiing slowly toward their gate, she peered out the window, half expecting Adam to be waiting for her on the tarmac. Which was silly. She couldn’t imagine his desire to see her was half as strong as her need to be with him. The past week had been a true exercise in restraint. The man hadn’t been far from her thoughts for more than a minute at a time. When she wasn’t wondering what he was doing, she was thinking of all the things she wanted to say to him—and do to him—this weekend.
And after the terrible morning she’d had, she couldn’t imagine anything better than getting lost in him forever.
When the plane drew to a halt, Madison was the first on her feet. She yanked her purse out from beneath the seat and slung it over one shoulder. The college-aged man seated to her left looked up at her in surprise. He hadn’t even unfastened his seat belt yet.
“Got a hot date or something?” he asked, tugging open the clasp of the belt and fishing under the seat in front of him for his backpack.
Madison flushed and licked her lips self-consciously. Was she that obvious? “Yeah, actually, I do.”
The guy chuckled. “I wish I had a pretty girl that eager to see me. Any advice for a dateless guy?”
“Um,” she said, racking her brain for foolproof ways to land a date. “Learn to play guitar?”
Sole Regret’s music wasn’t the reason she’d fallen for Adam, but his talent hadn’t hindered her attraction, and she knew the thousands of women who lusted after the man were completely seduced by his skill on the guitar. Madison was looking forward to seeing him play live that night. Couldn’t wait. Of course, given a choice, she’d rather spend every moment alone with him, but she had to admit watching him play live was a potent aphrodisiac.
“I tried that,” the guy said. “It didn’t work out so well for me. What about trumpet? Any babe-magnet qualities in that instrument?”
She chuckled. “In New Orleans? Yeah, there just might be. Do you play jazz?”
“The Star-Spangled Banner mostly.”
“Maybe some extraordinarily patriotic woman will find that irresistible,” she said with a laugh.
The guy gave her the twice-over. “And would you consider yourself extraordinarily patriotic?”
Madison realized that the guy was flirting. She really could be clueless about those things. Sometimes she wondered if she’d have ever figured out that Adam was attracted to her if he hadn’t spelled it out so clearly by stealing that first kiss as she was showing him out of her office one evening. After months of counseling sessions, she’d still had no idea that his teasing was actually flirting. She’d wanted him, even though she’d known it was inappropriate to fantasize about a client, but she’d never thought for a fraction of a second that he reciprocated her desire until he’d pushed her up against the back of her office door and showed her otherwise.
“Not especially patriotic, no.” She focused her gaze on the aisle, wishing the hopeful trumpeter would take a hint and let her out. She didn’t want to flirt with the guy and was pretty sure he’d gotten the wrong idea just because she’d talked to him. For the duration of the flight, she’d been engrossed in a mystery novel. Okay, that was a lie. She’d reread every sentence dozens of times because she couldn’t stop thinking about Adam. When she’d managed to draw her thoughts from the man, they immediately shifted to the bombshell her boss had dropped on her hours ago. But pretending to read had kept the stranger next to her from engaging her in conversation. It hadn’t kept him from staring though. She’d caught him watching her every time she glanced his way.
When her row mate didn’t budge despite her intense staring at the line of passengers shuffling past, she said, “Can you let me out, please?”
“If you tell me your name.”
She sighed, figuring she’d get what she wanted more quickly if she just played along. “It’s Madison.”
“That’s cute,” he said, stepping into the aisle at last. “Just like you.”
She scrambled in front of him, and he trailed after her.
“I’m Chris. Are you from here? I could really use someone to help me find my way around.”
“No, I’ve never been to New Orleans before. I’m meeting someone. My boyfriend,” she clarified, smiling as she used the word. He really was her boyfriend now, though it sounded so seventh grade to call him that. Yet significant other sounded so cold and lover too risqué. So boyfriend would have to do.
“So that hot date comment wasn’t in jest?”
“I’m afraid not.”
As she exited the plane, Madison smiled at the friendly flight attendant and then hurried down the ramp toward the terminal.
“So what hotel are you staying in?” Chris asked, rushing forward to fall into step beside her.
“Not sure,” she said, hoping she didn’t have to get rude with the guy, but he couldn’t seem to take a string of very large hints that she had no interest in talking to him. She didn’t want to be mean, but he was starting to make her uncomfortable. “My boyfriend arranged everything. He said he wants to surprise me.”
She was sure all of Adam’s surprises would be exceptional. They always were. They were also guaranteed to take her mind off her troubles. All of them. Even the big one she was pretending to ignore. How could she have been fired? Her parents would be so disappointed in her. And she’d never live down the I told you so from her sister.
“I came to NOLA to unwind,” Chris said. “I just graduated with my bachelor’s degree and landed my first job. I figured I should blow off some steam before I have to play at being a real adult.”
Job. Madison’s stomach plummeted. No, she wouldn’t think about that now. She’d worry about it on Tuesday when her time with Adam was over and she returned to her stark, stark reality.
“That’s nice,” she said in a strained voice. She paused at the end of the ramp to scan the unfamiliar airport for directional signs to baggage claim. Chris stopped beside her. She glanced at him; the poor guy looked almost as lost as she felt. So maybe he really was just looking for someone to help him navigate a new city, but he’d latched on to the wrong person. She had an agenda and it involved only Adam.
“Congratulations on earning your degree and landing a job,” she added. “It’s not easy to do in this economy.”
She cringed at that reality too. Shoot! She might never find another job. Especially if Joanna gave her a crappy reference. Maybe she should try to fight Joanna’s decision to fire her. But then Madison’s affair would become very public knowledge and she might never find another job. Shit, shit, shit! What was she going to do?
Think about Adam, only Adam. He’d make all the crap fade into the background. At least for the weekend.
Madison took a deep breath and hurried off in the direction of baggage claim, following signs while avoiding collisions with other passengers who were also trying to find their way.
“I actually had two job offers,” Chris continued, still trailing her.
Madison stifled an annoyed sigh. Surely she could lose this guy in baggage claim. Adam would rescue her
.
“That’s nice.” For him.
“So which college do you attend, Madison?”
She laughed, her ego stroked despite herself. “I graduated years ago.”
“I don’t believe it. What, were you a prodigy or something?”
She lifted her eyebrows and shook her head. “No such thing. I’ve been playing at being a real adult for quite a while now.” And sometimes it sucked. But most of the time she loved her life.
“So you’re from Dallas?”
“Yeah. Well, a ranch outside of Dallas.” What was with the third degree?
“Oh, you’re a cowgirl.” He wiggled his eyebrows at her as if his every fantasy had just come to life.
“No, I’m a counselor.” Had been a counselor. She bit her lip and ducked her head so he wouldn’t see the absolute panic in her eyes.
Oh God, what was she going to do? How was she going to support herself? She didn’t think her sister would kick her out of the house, but she would feel terrible if she couldn’t contribute financially to their joint living situation.
“Like a marriage counselor?” Chris pressed.
Why wouldn’t this guy go away and leave her alone? “Addiction.”
Chris whistled. “I bet you meet some interesting people.”
There was no deterring this guy, but the last thing she wanted to talk about was her job—or lack thereof. She spotted a sign marking the nearest restroom and found her out. “Yes, I do. Good luck with your new career,” she said and ducked into the ladies room. She took her time relieving her bladder, washing her hands, checking her face and hair, applying lip gloss, and sending a text to Kennedy, telling her twin she’d made it safely to New Orleans. She didn’t tell her about her meeting with her boss—her ex-boss. Kennedy already disliked Adam. She’d really rip him a new one when she found out that he was the reason Madison had been fired.
Fired.
Oh God, what was she going to do?
Think only of Adam. He was worth barreling through any obstacle life tossed at her, no matter how hard she fell on her ass when a particular challenge blindsided her. She could get through this. She would get through this. She didn’t have a choice.
As soon as she sent the text to Kennedy, a message from Adam buzzed her phone. She hugged her phone to her chest and took a deep breath before reading it.
Meet you outside in passenger pickup. I have a surprise for you.
A surprise? Her heart thundered, and the flesh between her thighs began to swell with need. No telling what the man had in store. She was sure it was exactly what she needed at the moment.
Can’t wait, she texted. Be there shortly. Just getting my bag.
She hurried out of the bathroom and stopped dead in her tracks when Chris—who was standing just outside the women’s restroom—offered her a welcoming smile. The guy had just gone from annoying to stalkerish. She suddenly wished Adam was in the airport holding her hand—looking all hard and tough and completely unapproachable. Just because Madison knew better than to fear Adam, that didn’t mean Chris would. Fighting the urge to run, she turned on her heel and stalked purposefully toward baggage claim—avoiding Chris’s gaze and definitely not returning his smile.
“I get the feeling you don’t want to talk to me,” he said, nudging several people out of the way as he fell into step with her again.
“I don’t know you,” she said.
“I’m an okay guy, honest.”
“I’m sure you are,” she said, “but you’re making me uncomfortable. Please stop following me.”
She found the baggage carousel and prayed her suitcase was already off the plane. Surely her delayed—but apparently not delayed enough—sojourn in the restroom had given the crew time to unload the baggage.
“So where’s this boyfriend of yours?” Chris asked as he moved to stand beside her while she watched unfamiliar bags circle the conveyor.
“Waiting outside,” she said.
“Likely story,” he said. “You aren’t the first woman to blow me off, and I’m sure you won’t be the last. Have a nice life.”
Out of the corner of her eye she watched him leave, noting that he didn’t pick up any luggage before he left the baggage claim area. Madison blew out a calming breath. She didn’t like to be mean to people, but surely Chris understood that a woman traveling alone felt more than a little threatened when a guy followed her around an airport for no reason other than to follow her.
She tucked several stray curls behind her ears and smiled with relief when her pink suitcase plopped out on the conveyor and slid against the rail. Now she could see Adam and forget she had a care in the world. He freed her from all constraints, and that feeling was far more addictive than any substance she’d ever treated. At least it was for her.
Madison wheeled her suitcase to the passenger pickup area outside the terminal. She couldn’t help but sneak a glance at the hot biker parked on the sidewalk in front of the exit doors. Nothing hotter than a hot guy dressed in denim and leather straddling a Harley. The broad-shouldered man’s skin was decorated with tattoos, his dark hair had been cut in a shaggy, shoulder-length style that beckoned her fingertips, and his jeans drew attention to a pair of slim hips and a tight ass that begged to be squeezed. His head was turned away from her as he spoke to a cab driver parked beside the bike, but Madison would have known him anywhere. That wasn’t just any hot biker. He was hers. But how in the world had Adam gotten his motorcycle from Austin to New Orleans?
Plagued with a strange case of nervous excitement, Madison clutched her suitcase handle tightly and forced herself not to run toward him. She was sure Adam was much too cool to appreciate being tackled off his motorcycle or having every inch of his face kissed in front of a cab driver. The driver noticed her standing behind Adam and smiled at her.
Adam turned his head and before she could even form a greeting, his arm wrapped around her waist and she found herself sideways on his bike seat, wrapped in his strong arms. His lips moved against hers as he claimed a deep kiss. He pulled away slowly, the smile on his lips shining equally bright from his dark gray eyes.
And as expected and appreciated, all her troubles vanished under his attention.
“Well, hello,” she said breathlessly, wrapping her arms around his broad back, her fingers rubbing against the worn leather of his jacket.
“I missed you,” he said, his voice low in her ear.
“Me too.” She kissed him again and then, finding herself too worked up for the public eye, she buried her face in his neck and inhaled the heady mix of his cologne, his skin, and leather. “Mmm,” she murmured, “that kiss was a fantastic surprise.”
“That’s not the surprise,” he said with a low chuckle.
She leaned back to look him in the eye, and her heart rate kicked up just because he was near. God, what this man did to her. “Then what is it?”
“You’re sitting on it.”
“Your lap?” she asked with a wicked grin. “You know that’s my favorite surprise.”
“That surprise is for later. I meant the bike. I rented it so we could go for a ride. Since we got in trouble last time we took off with the band’s limo, I figured I’d try to be a little more courteous and find us our own mode of transportation.”
He was notorious for taking whatever he wanted without consideration for consequences. Frankly, it turned her on, but thinking of others was a good sign that his recovery from addiction was going well. He touched her hair as he searched her eyes.
“But you’re wearing a skirt, so you’ll have to ride in the taxi with your suitcase until we can get you outfitted properly.”
Her joy at the thought of riding behind him, plastered to his back with her hands wandering over his hard chest and flat belly, turned to bitter disappointment.
“What?” she said. “Why?”
“I need you to be safe.”
“I don’t date you because you’re safe, Adam Taylor,” she blurted.
“Then why do
you date me?”
Because he was the opposite of safe. That wasn’t the only reason, but if she were honest with herself, it was the main one.
“Because I love you,” she said.
The corners of his mouth turned up. “That’s not a reason.”
“Let me ride with you,” she said, kissing just beneath his ear in an attempt to win him over. “I trust you to get us to our destination in one piece.”
“But do you trust every driver on the road between here and the hotel? I sure as hell don’t.”
“Please.”
His expression softened. “Woman, you know I can’t say no to you; why do you tempt me so?”
“Is that a yes?” she asked hopefully.
“Yes,” he said. “But you’re wearing a helmet. I don’t care if it messes up your hair.” He smoothed a curl between two fingers.