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She headed for the facilities and took care of business. When she returned, there was no one in the room. She turned around and decided they must have gone up the stairs to the second floor.
She couldn’t seem to get her failed love life off her mind. Most of the reason was because she didn’t want to blow it with Shark. It was clear from all her pondering about her past seven relationships, that she tended to handle uncomfortable situations by moving to another option at the last minute. She didn’t like feeling limited by anything in life, maybe out of a sense of fear she wasn’t willing to fully acknowledge or didn’t know about? She did charm people she perceived might try to limit her in some way, the goal to disarm them…like Tex on their first night. Maybe she’d already set her sights on Shark, and she thought his CO might be a roadblock.
Once at the top of the stairs, she wasn’t sure whether to go left or right, she’d been so lost in her thoughts. She went right but soon found herself in what looked like the residential wing. She turned around to go back the way she came when she heard the harsh voice of a man, the distressed tone of a woman, who sounded very much like Fabrice, and the agitated sound of a baby crying.Was that Kenzy?
Something was going on down that hall, the sounds echoing loudly. Suddenly, she felt exposed standing here in the open with no purpose, riveted by the scene unfolding, and concerned as the man’s angry voice rose in volume. The baby screamed, and the woman argued. Several seconds later, the door opened, and the prime minister stalked out. He didn’t see her as he turned left and marched down the hall. Somewhere a door slammed.
She backed up and turned around to find the man who had greeted her. “Ma’am, you are in the wrong wing. The ambassador is waiting for you at the entrance.”
Perplexed at such a short meeting and unsettled about the drama going on behind closed doors, she followed the man back to the entrance.
“There you are,” Shark said. “The greeter was supposed to take you on a tour, but he said you disappeared.”
“I tried to find someone, but the place was empty.” Shark took her arm, kept her close to him. “Why are we leaving?”
“The president is ill, according to his assistant. We were told the ambassador would have to reschedule the appointment.”
She stopped, not sure what to do. Her instincts were on fire. “Shark, I heard an argument. Sounded really heated. I think a woman and her baby are in trouble.”
“Not here,” he whispered, propelling her forward. They went through the door and down the stairs at a fast clip. When they reached the limo, he tucked her in, then followed behind her.
“What is going on?” Maddy asked. “I thought I was going to get a tour.”
“Something is off,” Shark said.
Shark looked over at her father, his face drawn. “I agree. Didier has never missed an appointment, and he would have contacted the embassy if he was indisposed. It was like they were unaware or didn’t care that I was coming today.”
“A warning?” Twister said.
“Perhaps. The prime minister hasn’t warmed up to us. He doesn’t care for us meddling Americans. But the mission is clear.”
“I heard the prime minister arguing with a woman. It sounded like Fabrice. I don’t like what’s going on.”
“Neither do I, kitten, but we must be careful how hard we push here. We don’t want to be caught up in an international incident because we weren’t diplomatic about it.”
Maddy thought to herself that sometimes a government official had to take off the kid gloves and put on a gauntlet to get something done. If the president and his wife and child were in danger, who else could they depend on?
When they got back to the residence, Maddy changed into her bathing suit and went to sit on the pool deck. The guys put together a basketball challenge, but Maddy wasn’t in the mood to play, so she bowed out.
As the raucous sounds of eight evenly matched guys duked it out, Maddy started to understand the fine points of brooding.
She rifled through her head, cataloging the remaining men in her eighteen-month free-for-all. There had been a high-powered lawyer from DC she’d met at a party, but he’d soon become too controlling. She couldn’t run away fast enough. Then that cute IT guy who had been emotionally immature. The fundraiser who had been too busy and barely had time for her. That had just fizzled out. She swallowed hard and looked at the enticing water, the sun baking her skin. She rose and dove off the far deck into the deep end, the shock of the cool water refreshing and a relief from the heat.
She swam underwater for a while, then started to do laps, pushing herself hard. She didn’t want to remember the sexy bad boy musician, not because he had hurt her terribly, or because he had cheated on her numerous times. It reminded her of the way she’d treated Max during her affair with Enrique. Shame engulfed her at how selfish and unkind she’d been. She allowed her fear to consume her.
She surfaced and came face to feet with someone on the edge of the pool deck. She looked up, shading her eyes. It was Shark. He squatted down and said, “You doing all right?”
“No,” she said, surprised at herself for not sugarcoating her feelings. This was uncharted ground. Maddy never liked to admit when she wasn’t in a good mood, but suddenly that seemed so tedious and callous in light of the disturbing feelings she had about Fabrice, her young son and the president.
“I owe you a shopping trip downtown. How about I take you out and cheer you up.”
Her first inclination was to jump at the chance to refocus her mind, but now that she was on this self-reflective path, she had to wonder why that was so ingrained in her. Maddy frowned thoughtfully as she considered the alternative. It seemed wrong to gloss over her worry with pleasure. Had she idealized some experiences and devalued others as a way of justifying the choices she made? Was she unaware of her choices to experience more of what felt good and less of what didn’t feel good?
“Come on, Maddy. There’s no reason to stew here. We can have a good time this afternoon.” He cleared his throat. “I always have a good time with you.” It was interesting that the tables had been turned.
She lifted her arms, and he pulled her out of the pool in one powerful move. Breathless, the physical contact set off a flurry of electric sensations within her, and she felt him tense. She couldn’t help her smile. “I think this might be an occasion where the pot is calling the kettle black. I wouldn’t want you to strain your brooding muscles.”
He hadn’t let her go completely, one of his hands had settled on her arm, and she realized with a little catch in her heart that he was trying to comfort her. She blinked rapidly, the shot of emotion catching her off guard as her eyes stung. He was simply adorable pushing against his own nature. How many moments like this had she missed because she was too focused on mindless things like pleasure and comfort, flitting from one thing to another? She clenched her jaw. Maybe she had botched all those relationships whenever they got too intense, but with Shark, she was unable to deny that this man could open her up to painful emotions. Relationships weren’t something to play at and to her shame, that’s what she had done.
