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Noelle appears, balancing a tray of dishes, the aroma of her cooking transporting me to childhood vacations. “I made pain frire for you, Jackie boy.” Noelle beams, placing a plate of fried dough fritters in front of me.
“They were my favorite.” I turn, thanking her. As we eat, I translate the Creole food names for Maddie, keeping my tone light.
“Have you set a wedding date yet, you lovebirds?” Walt asks loudly between bites of his egg white omelet.
“We were thinking of next fall for the ceremony.” Maddie smiles, looking at me pointedly.
As they chat about weddings, Maddie nodding persuasively, I take a bite of the delicious dough drizzled with honey. Sweet golden syrup clings to the corner of my mouth.
“My love, you've made a sticky mess.” Maddie turns to me and tuts with mock concern. Without warning, her thumb swipes the glistening droplet, then lifts it slowly toward her own parted lips. Heart racing, I watch her suck the honey from her thumb with deliberate relish, eyes locked intensely on mine.
“Mm, delicious,” she purrs, eyes glistening with mischief. Before I can form a response, she leans in, her swollen lips pressing where her thumb just traced. Her tongue flicks out, lapping the remaining nectar lingering at the corner of my mouth. My startled intake of breath melts into a low groan. On instinct, my hungry tongue swipes over her mouth, the sweet fullness of it coaxing me. But she pulls back, smiling coyly.
“Best clean up the rest of that later, hmm?”
I struggle to calm my hammering pulse, staring at her lips still slick from mine. Her touch sets off a molten wave of longing in me, burning so hot I could burst into flames.
A pronounced throat clearing snaps our gaze to the amused audience. Walt pointedly rustles his newspaper.
“Young love, eh?” he pronounces into the charged silence.
Maddie just continues smiling while skillfully redirecting the conversation back to the wedding.
“Indeed,” I manage awkwardly into the charged silence while I discretely rearrange the tablecloth over my lap.
As the others start dispersing after breakfast, I linger behind to help Noelle clear the dishes.
“I have missed you, Jackie boy. It’s not the same around here without you,” she chides me gently.
I squeeze her hand. “It's good to be back. I know my going off to enlist worried you over the years.”
“I prayed for your safe return every day.”
“How are your children? Your husband, Jacques?” I attempt to change the topic.
Noelle launches enthusiastically into proud updates about her twins’ scholarships and Jacques’s contractor business keeping him busy. I nod along to tales of her bustling household. As talk meanders, Noelle grasps my hand gently, her eyes glistening.
“Now that you are back, I will be seeing more of you in St. Maarten, yes?”
Before I form a response, Noelle pats my cheek fondly. “With your lovely Maddie. I can see it clear as day that the light has found you again.” She winks exaggeratedly toward the patio where Maddie disappeared, her lilting laughter carrying on the breeze. “Love will help you start this new chapter of your life.”
I chuckle. “You and my father think alike.”
Noelle clasps my hand firmly, voice sweet yet stern. “He’s right. Hold tight to that angel, Jackie boy. “
I nod, and with a wave, head out into the sunshine.
20
VIRAL VIXEN
I straighten my dinner jacket, glancing at Maddie across the opulent bedroom suite as we prepare to head back downstairs for after dinner drinks. The sight of her adjusting a strappy heel arrests my heartbeat, the short white tulle dress dipping low on her back offering views of endless creamy skin.
Finally glancing up, Maddie catches my stare and smirks. “See something you like, soldier?”
She straightens up and steps toward me, looking up to meet my eyes. Her sudden nearness steals my breath, her lips just inches away. The heady lavender scent of her envelops my senses. I stand frozen, fists clenched with the effort not to reach out and crush her against me.
Maybe I should. Noelle’s words are still lingering in my ears. Starting a new chapter with Maddie might be just the thing that I need to put the darkness behind me.
