Harbour Falls (A Harbour Falls Mystery #1)(31)

The waiter arrived with our first course, foie-gras-stuffed morels. Not surprisingly they were a perfect complement to the wine Adam had chosen. As we finished up, and before the entrees arrived, the waiter placed tiny, dainty liqueur glasses filled with sorbet in front of each of us.

Adam placed his small spoon in my glass and scooped a small amount of sorbet onto it. “May I?” he asked, holding the spoon to my lips.



I said “uh-huh” and allowed him to place the icy, lemony treat on my tongue. I closed my eyes and was instantly reminded of the strawberry on the plane and how that had led to kissing Adam. A tiny sigh escaped my lips at the memory. I opened my eyes and glanced at Adam, who was smiling surreptitiously while spooning more sorbet onto the tiny spoon.

“Adam, why are we having dessert before the main course?” I inquired quietly, while glancing at the doorway to make sure the waiter was not within earshot.

Adam laughed. “Maddy, it’s not dessert. The sorbet is to cleanse your palate before the main course.”

“Oh,” I giggled, licking the icy goodness from the spoon Adam again raised to my mouth. I actually knew that, had seen it in a movie, but the wine was making me silly and giddy. Besides, it was just too much fun to play with Adam.

And it seemed Adam was all set for his next move, for he dipped my spoon into his own glass of sorbet and licked it, just as I had done. Only he did it very, very slowly. Our eyes met, and I melted a little at the playful, but utterly seductive, sparkle in his blue, blue eyes. He held my gaze as he dug the little spoon into the last bit of my sorbet, preparing to feed it to me, once again.

“You know, a girl could get used to being pampered like this,” I remarked.

“Could you?” Adam asked, setting down the spoon.

I searched his face, not sure if this was all part of Adam’s seduction strategy—which was really, really effective, to be honest—or if he was genuinely interested in me, Maddy Fitch. My heart tightened in my chest, because, of course, I wanted to be pampered like this by Adam Ward. I wanted desperately for him to have more than a passing fancy for me. But I was worried that my heart could end up broken. I didn’t want to be his new Lindsey, so I answered, “Maybe,” as I cast my eyes downward.

“Maddy,” Adam sighed, his tone serious. I waited for more, but the main course arrived, effectively silencing whatever he’d been about to say.



Adam had chosen a turbot with lobster sauce. Turbot, he informed me as we ate dinner and engaged in less serious banter, was a type of fish. And I found it to be surprisingly good. After dinner and a dessert of red velvet petit fours, Adam slid open one of the glass panels, and we walked out onto a large balcony overlooking the city.

For late September it was unusually warm, and I savored the mild, ocean-kissed breezes as they swept over me. Walking to the iron railing encircling the balcony, I was astounded by the amazing view of downtown Boston. “Wow,” I mouthed to myself.

Adam came up behind me, and wrapped his arms around me. I leaned back into the warmth of his body, relaxing into him as his lips began to ghost along the side of my neck. But then he stilled. Turning me around to face him, fingers splayed out over my hips. I placed a hand on his chest and looked up into his inquiring eyes. “Do you trust me?” he asked.

“Um…” I glanced away, and then down. “I think.”

Adam chuckled a little. “Guess that’s a start.” He lifted a hand from my hip and nudged my chin up so that I was looking at him. “I’m going to be honest with you, Madeleine.” Was this what he’d been about to tell me at the lighthouse? “I was attracted to you back in high school, and I should have dumped Chelsea and asked you out.” My heart skipped a beat. “But I was young and na?ve.”

I moved my hand to trace the smooth contours of his face. “I would have loved to have gone out with you back then, Adam,” I admitted.

“What about now?” he whispered, his lips lowering to mine.

“Better late than never.”

Adam kissed me, softly at first and then with more passionate. His hands moved slowly over my curves. I moaned into his mouth and pushed my breasts into his chest.

Adam’s mouth moved to my neck—sucking, kissing, nibbling. I groaned, and he pulled me closer to his body. I could feel the clear outline of his substantial hardness close to my own heat, and, throwing caution to the wind, I gasped, “God, let’s get out of here.”



Adam pulled back, eyes ablaze. “Are you sure?”

A quick image of Adam seated on one of those oversized leather chairs on the plane, hiking up my dress while I stood before him played through my mind, and I hastily answered, “Yeah, I’m absolutely positive.”

We left the dinner club hurriedly, and Adam and I pretty much made out like we were kids back in high school during the limo ride to the plane. There was a lot of groping and grinding, but apparently, he wanted to wait as much as I did until we got into the air for the real fun to begin.

As we boarded the plane, Walker gave us a knowing smile as we tried, unsuccessfully, to keep our hands to ourselves. “Guess I’ll be keeping the cockpit door closed?” I heard him say quietly to Adam as I continued to my seat. I didn’t hear Adam’s reply, but he spent a few extra minutes talking with Walker, so I could only imagine.

“Do I have time to go to the restroom before we take off?” I asked once Adam settled in next to me.