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Chapter 24

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

MADELINE

It was a little unsettling to see Noah taking this whole thing to heart. Sure, Madeline was nervous, scared, and anxious – but a tiny voice in her head kept saying that ‘maybe it was a mistake.' Now, if Travis suddenly showed up at her job, things would be much different. So far, her experience with living in New York City has been enlightening and energizing. The lights, the sounds, the city was alive with a hum that couldn't be described. So a part of her did rationalize what had happened – until now.

As she clocked out, Madeline gathered her things and they left her office. It wasn't hard to realize that Noah hadn't come alone. Walking through the Greco-Roman section toward the front, there was another sailor dressed in the impractical white uniform used by the Navy. She saw the wings on his uniform and recognized it was one of the aviators who Noah flew with .

"Memphis…" the man said plainly, falling into line behind them, his voice a sort of salute or acknowledgment. Not a moment later, another sailor stepped into line behind them.

"Milady…" Trophy smirked, nodding at her – only to get slapped on the chest by the other man, who hissed one word at him under his breath.

"Don't!"

"I'm not… sheesh. I was just saying ‘hello,'" Trophy mumbled back just as Madeline saw yet another sailor appear as they were getting ready to walk out the front doors of the museum. This man smiled broadly and winked, before making an exaggerated turn that Groucho Marx would have been proud of, and drawled loudly, not bothering to lower his voice.

"Helloooo, Lady Memphis."

Both Madeline and Noah shared a look and chuckled softly as they emerged into the sunlight, and she drew to a stop curiously. There were four other sailors standing around outside casually, laughing and joking with each other, straightening up the moment they caught sight of five of them exiting the building.

"Is anyone else hiding in the bushes?" she joked, not bothering to lower her voice. It must have been funnier than she suspected because several of the guys cracked up laughing wildly. "It's broad daylight, and we are near Central Park. I'm pretty sure we are safe."

"You hear that, boys, it's beer-thirty, and Memphis is buying!"

Noah rolled his eyes and smiled at her, immediately causing her to laugh at the group now encircling them. They were all smiling, chuckling, poking fun at her husband, and clamoring excitedly to introduce themselves .

"I'm Ohio…"

"Cause he's a moron," another man teased, slapping him on the chest. "She's met some of us already when Memphis would get chitty-chatty with his girl. First rule of flight school is that you don't show up late and say ‘Oh, hi!" when you get busted. You get a dumb call sign."

"It's a sweet call sign and much better than Moonbeam."

"Mannnn, shut up. We all know you got your name because of that corn cob stuck up your…"

"I'm Orion, Dr. Bennington, and I'm not sure if we met or not," a man interrupted quickly, giving them a glare. "Language, fellas? You can't say it in front of my kid, and you shouldn't say it in front of a lady."

"Thank you," Noah interjected openly, nodding at the man as Madeline politely shook his hand. "This is Trophy, who you've probably seen on the FaceTime chats almost as much as me. The man is a camera hog."

"It's true," Trophy shrugged nonchalantly before winking at her.

"This is Shellac, Tic-Tak, Pasteur, and…"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Moonbeam interrupted playfully, "Forget them and let's get serious. Are you coming for drinks or just forking over the cash, because if it's option B - I nominate Orion."

"HEY!" Trophy snapped, shoving the other man and pointing at Orion who stood there smirking at the duo. "He's cheap!"

"You order top-shelf drinks, and the money goes way too fast!"

"I have good taste!"

"You have awful taste in booze, friends, and women."

"You're my friend. "

"Hellooooo? You are only confirming what I said," the man grinned easily and Noah burst out laughing, shaking his head, digging out his wallet. He handed several bills to Orion, causing Trophy to roll his eyes and groan.

"We might as well drink straight from the Hudson River."

"I'm not that bad."

"The last time we went out, you asked what was on ‘clearance.' Nobody puts beer or mixed drinks on ‘clearance.' That was a complete Dad-move almost as bad as wearing socks with some grandpa-lookin' leather sandals. Next thing you know, you'll be telling us to stay off your lawn."

"I do want you off my lawn, nitwit."

"Orion is just trying to get you upset, Trophy," Noah laughed, and Madeline covered her mouth to keep from egging on the two guys. "Y'all have fun and be safe. I'll see you at the ship in a few days. I'm taking my wife out on the town tonight. Orion, keep your phone with you."

"You got it, brother."

Walking into the apartment building, Madeline walked directly into the elevator and shared a look with Memphis. His eyes heated as he stepped inside, not looking away from her… and took another step closer.

"What floor?" he said huskily.

"Fourth," she whispered arching toward him as he put his forearms against the mirror behind her, leaning closer still. "To think, I used to hate elevators growing up. "

"Right?" he chuckled softly. "I'm starting to become a huge fan of them."

"One of us should push the button."

"Yeah, probably."

And gave her a lazy smile, reaching behind him only for a moment to push the button. As he turned back to her, his hand landed on the panel of her skirt. His fingers caressed the hem, suggestively tugging it upward by an inch as he spoke huskily, hovering over her lips.

"Going up, my love?"

Madeline melted at the implied innuendo in his words, the promised intimacy of a long-awaited reunion between soulmates. She couldn't speak, and he took that as an invitation, kissing her deeply until the elevator doors opened.

Fumbling, they tried to walk down the hallway to her apartment, still kissing and clinging to each other with passion mixed with laughter. This wasn't anything smooth or sexy like in the movies. They bumped noses, bumped teeth, and then burst out laughing almost in each other's mouths as they stepped on each other's toes. They were so close together, frantic to be alone, and trying to make their way to the door.

"Got… tickets… to… the Lincoln… Center," he uttered hoarsely between each kiss, as he began unbuttoning the jacket of his dress uniform.

"Sounds… great…"

"Don't know… what we're seeing…"

"Don't… care…" she replied mindlessly, and he finally yanked his jacket off and threw it on the kitchen counter before hesitating – and looking at it. "What?"

"I need to check that. Is the counter clean? I'm sorry and not trying to take us out of the moment, but that's a four-hundred-dollar jacket and I don't want to buy another one," he admitted sheepishly. "I'm kinda cheap."

"Not when it comes to me," she laughed easily, moving to grab his jacket and putting it on a hanger. "Four hundred a night for a hotel is okay, but a piece of clothing you'll wear repeatedly isn't?"

"I don't wear it that often and hate how every speck of debris shows on it."

"Well, you look darn good, Officer Bennington," she purred, returning to his arms and smiling up at him.

"Quit being so formal, ma'am," he teased huskily and unzipped the back of her skirt. "My wife calls me ‘Handsome,' and I'm kinda partial to it – much more so than my call sign."

"Your wife?" she mocked dramatically, pretending to look affronted. "You're married?"

"Heck, yes, I am," he growled playfully, nipping at her bottom lip. "Now, no more talking. I've got some serious lovin' to do and not a lot of time to finish."

"What time are we supposed to be there?" she laughed as he began kissing her neck.

"Eight."

"Tonight? That's four hours from now, Noah."

"I know… I hope we make it," he whispered huskily, smirking at her with a half-lidded look that was hot enough to melt a glacier, telling her silently in no uncertain terms that he didn't care if they were late or missed it.

"Guess you better get started then," she breathed, wrapping her arms around his neck as they shared a smile.

Hours later, they were taking their seats and Madeline couldn't get over the miracle of her husband. Noah was sincerely amazing – he could make her laugh at the dumbest things, was affectionate, playful, unafraid to do something stupid just to make her smile and made her feel like she was the very center of his world.

That feeling alone was priceless.

As they both sat down, Noah barked out a laugh that had people around them shushing them immediately as the lights dimmed, but not before she saw he was rebuttoning his shirt, having missed one of the white buttons completely. Changing out of his dress uniform, Noah donned something a little easier to keep clean since they were going to a late dinner after the performance. The black jacket hugged his shoulders like a dream.

He smiled at her in the dim light, wagged his eyebrows, and leaned forward to kiss the tip of her nose playfully. "I love you," he whispered – and was shushed again.

They looked at each other, both lifting an eyebrow as if to say ‘See?' or ‘Sheesh!' – and Madeline covered her mouth to smother her own laughter as Noah choked back his, realizing they were both about to get ‘shushed' once more.

And did.

As the music started, Madeline wrapped her arm around his, affectionately hugging it as he kissed her forehead. The music was simply gorgeous, and while jazz wasn't her first choice, there was no denying how catchy and magical it was. Noah was enthralled and tapping his foot – and soon, she was doing the same.

"I'll be right back," she whispered, "Bathroom."

He nodded, watching her as she stood up and made her way out of the aisle, climbing the steps toward the mezzanine, where she was sure to find a bathroom, hopefully. Her bladder was cramping, and having entirely too much iced coffee in the day was catching up with her. Spotting the sign for the women's restroom – she practically dove inside.

Locking herself in a stall, she breathed a happy sigh of relief and heard the bathroom door open with a couple of loud women laughing in the distance. This had been the best day ever, and truly felt like she belonged at Noah's side. He was such a sweetheart, so amazing, and…

Madeline froze.

There were men's dress shoes within her eyesight. Black, shiny, expensive shoes that were decidedly masculine were visible under the door of the bathroom stall she was in. For a moment, she panicked, thinking that perhaps she'd run into the wrong door… until she heard Travis' voice.

"You're a hard woman to track down, Madeline."

"No esta… yo soy Consuela," she sang out in a high-pitched, accented voice, hoping he would take the bait.

He didn't.

"Make your jokes all you want… if you want to be a widow."

Noah!

"Como se dice en Espanol… ‘Well, I'm completely screwed – aren't I?' Fine, you win, Travis. Whatever it is, you win – just leave Noah out of this."

"Time is wasting – let's go, and I'll tell them to leave your husband alone after all."

"Coming," she whispered… and knew in that instant that if she left with Travis, she wouldn't make it through the night. He would use her as a scapegoat to enact his revenge, just like the card pinned to her wall had indicated. She wasn't one hundred percent sure of what he was up to now, but his previous escapades had resulted in her almost being killed .

Breathe, she thought silently, If you are listening, God, I could use a huge favor right now – please and thank you! Pressing her lips together, she clicked Noah's phone number the moment she flushed the toilet, praying it would cover the sound of it ringing or him answering.

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