“There goes Austin, hey Austin over here!” Jonathan shouted as he waved over the crowd to get his brother’s attention.
Austin saw his brother and made his way to greet the group. “Took me a while to even find a spot to park,” He laughed giving Madison a hug.
“Why don’t we split up and then we can meet each other back here at the front. We can each take a kid with us, that way it won’t be such a burden on you guys,” Madison suggested.
“Sounds fine to me, Ok kids, who do you want to go with?” Candace smiled.
The twins looked just as excited about the proposition.
“I’ll go with Auntie!” Janessa shouted.
“No I want to go with Uncle Austin and Auntie!” Jon interjected, grabbing Austin’s hand.
“Ok, we can rock paper scissors then.”
“No cheating,”
“I don’t cheat, you do.”
“On the count of three, one, two, three shoot!” Candace said as the two threw out their hands.
Janessa had scissors while Jon Jr. had rock. “Rock smashes scissors, I win. I get to go with Auntie!” He smiled as he accomplished his goal and grabbed Madison’s hand.
Jonathan couldn’t help but laugh at the outcome as the couples and kids soon parted ways.
Austin and Madison saw a lot of things as well as Jon Jr. “Auntie, look at that.” He pointed towards a lemonade stand. “Can we get some?”
“Sure, but we’ll have to wait a while, judging by the line.”
They walked over and stood behind a lady who’d been waiting as well. “I heard that they have some amazing artwork at some of these stands,” Madison mused. “I really want to check it out to see if I can find some art for my living room and office.”
“I know they have some jewelry stands, maybe you can pick out something you’d like there too.” Austin gave Madison a kiss on the lips.
His smile made her heart feel light as they continued waiting to get their lemonade. Then when she started looking around, Madison swore her heart nearly stopped in her chest at what she saw.
It was Paul, standing in front of a table at a stand where pottery was being sold. He was showing a woman, not the same one she had caught him with in bed but a cute little redhead wearing a purple sundress with a matching bandana on her head. She held a vase as she nodded in agreement.
Madison wanted to stop looking. She wanted to turn away so he couldn’t see her but just the thought of seeing him there for the first time brought back a hint of sadness.
Then he spotted her, giving her a half smile and small wave.
She stood tight lipped as he said something to the lady he was with and soon made his way over to them. The entire time he was coming towards her, tightness filled her throat.
Austin looked her way. “Are you all right, babe?”
“Madison, it’s great seeing you here.”
“Hi Paul, how are you?” she said.
“Why hey Jon Jr. My, you’ve grown since the last time I saw you.” He smiled as he tried to tap his head.
Jon Jr. stepped closer to Austin who held his little hand.
Paul seemed to ignore this as he continued, “I’m doing just fine, a couple of friends of mine wanted to come to this festival and since I had nothing else to do today, I decided to come.” All the while, he kept his eyes on Austin with an inquisitive look on his face.
“Oh, this is Austin Collins. Austin, this is Paul, my ex-husband,” she stated in a flat voice.
“Nice to meet you,” Austin extended his hand to shake Paul’s.
He accepted it with a smile she knew was completely fake. “Collins, are you related to Jonathan?” he asked.
“Yes, he’s my brother.”
Madison wanted to laugh a little when Austin gave him the answer. The look on Paul’s face said enough. “Well, we had better go, so we can meet up with the others. I hope you have a great day Paul.”
Austin picked up Jon Jr. and put him on his shoulders as Madison grabbed his arm. When they got far away enough from him, Madison started to laugh really hard, thinking of their encounter.
“What is it?” Austin wondered.
Madison didn’t say a word but got her tiptoes to kiss him.
“What was that for?”
“For just being you,” She grinned as they continued walking along the pathway towards some other exhibits.
“We saw him too!” Candace told Madison as they sat one of the picnic tables while the guys and kids played at the playground nearby.
“My stomach froze when I saw him. But when he found out that I was with Austin, I nearly died from laughter because the expression he had on his face was priceless.” She giggled.
Candace couldn’t help but laugh too.
“How’d Jonathan and Janessa act? Because Jon Jr. acted like he wasn’t going to have any of it.”
“Well, Jonathan was very shocked to see him and Janessa. Paul tried to give me a kiss on the cheek along with Janessa. I gave him a handshake while Janessa didn’t even want to get a kiss from him. I know Jonathan wanted to tear into him but he played it off pretty smoothly without causing a scene. His eyes could have burned him to the cement though,” Candace replied while she stirred a French fry into some ketchup. “Really though, how did you feel when you saw him?”
Madison rolled her eyes. “How would you feel if you saw your ex that you’d been with for most of your life? Someone who you thought was going to be the one you would be with till the day you die, but he didn’t care enough to even stay faithful? It was as uncomfortable as going to get a mammogram and the tech doesn’t know what the hell they’re doing. But…I have to say, the look in his eyes when he realized I looked happy with Austin, made me feel so much better.”
Both of them laughed as they continued watching the children playing with the guys.
Chapter Eleven
The drive back to the house seemed like a long one as Madison looked out the window. When she saw Paul that afternoon, the memories came back and it started to make her regret seeing him in the first place. Then she looked over at Austin, as he looked over at her with a smile that filled her heart with hope.
“What do you guys want to eat?” Jonathan asked when they had walked inside the house.
“Well, I already have plans for me and Madison to go out to eat tonight.” Austin smiled.
Madison looked over shocked because she thought it was going to be a peaceful night at the house.
“I made reservations for a private evening for two.”
“Oh, that sounds really nice.” Madison smiled.
“Well, it’s not until seven, so we have plenty of time before we go.” They began walking back towards the room they shared. “And we can take a nap or just get lost in bed for a long time.” He grabbed hold of her.
She giggled like a schoolgirl as he closed the door once they got inside their room.
Taking his cell phone from his pocket, he set the alarm on it for five forty five while he slipped into bed.
She got in beside him.
Austin pulled her close to him. His warm breath caressed her earlobe as he softly kissed it.
Shivers went through her body. His hand cupped her breast while he continued to nibble more. Madison’s breathing grew unsteady and a soft moan came from her mouth.
He groaned. “God, you sound so good.” He continued smothering her with kisses then chuckled deep into her neck. “I love how you sound, how you smell so sweet. I could just nibble on you all night and taste your lovely skin and body.” He gazed into her eyes.
Reaching around behind his head, she slowly undid his ponytail, running her fingers through his hair as she pulled some down along his shoulders. “I like your hair down more than I do in a ponytail.”
He chuckled and began to softly nibble on her neck again. “After today, I will make sure to not wear it in a ponytail anymore. That’s a promise my love.” Pulling her in to kiss her passionately, Madison could feel his hands maneuver ove
r her body, awakening her skin with want as he moved down between her legs, rubbing the outside of her jeans as the friction against her clit made her even wetter.
“Is the door locked?” he asked.
“Of course, it is.”
He undid her jeans while she quickly took them off, wearing nothing more than a pair of lavender cotton boy shorts. Once their bodies were together, Madison felt freer than she’d ever felt in years. He knew exactly how to love her, taking his sweetest time as they made love. Tender nibbles and petal soft licks mingled with sighs and low pants, sounds that melted into a melody made just for them.
“Don’t—stop.”
Her commands only seemed to entice him to comply as their hips collided. His forehead rested on hers as their breathing grew labored. Closing his eyes, he sighed. “I swear you don’t know how much you drive me crazy being around you,” he murmured.
Madison shivered at his heartfelt words. This man was the sweetest, sexiest person she’d ever known. Now, she sighed as she threaded her fingers through his hair and moved up to kiss his lips.
La Papillon was a popular French restaurant in town that boasted a menu that changed every two weeks. This was due to the fact that La Papillon had two master chefs who competed to prove they were better than the other. This would often cause conflict in the kitchen to which fights would break out and food was often thrown. Having dealt with this craziness for over two months, the manager had enough of the damage. He decided that every two weeks, the menu would be changed up to whoever would be making the entrees and desserts. The deal worked perfectly and La Papillon became so popular that they were not only featured in the local newspaper and news but they were also mentioned as being a favorite of one of the celebrity chefs in their blog.
Austin told her that he really wanted to bring her here since he’d been there many times with friends and clients.
“Hello and welcome to La Papillon, you have two in your party or are you expecting more with you?” the hostess asked.
“I have reservations under the name Collins.” He looked over at Madison who smiled
The lady looked at the list. “Oh yes, please follow me.” She grabbed two menus and walked ahead of them.
Madison took his arm. Walking through the room of people eating, talking and laughing, she noticed some looked at them when they walked by smiling. They must know we are in love she thought.
The hostess seated them at a very quiet table out of the way from everyone else. “Your waiter will be here shortly.” She smiled and handed them their menus before walking away.
While looking through the menu, Madison noticed how even though they had their ‘nap’ earlier that Austin seemed to be on edge. From the time they left the house, to the ride to the restaurant and even now while they sat at their table, he seemed different.
“Do you see anything you like?” he asked.
She looked over the items. “There are too many things to choose from here and everything is so expensive, I don’t know what to get.” She smiled while looking over the entrees as one in particular caught her eye by the description. “Have you tried this before?”
Looking over, he read what she pointed to, “Sole Au Vin Blanc. Actually, I haven’t tried it yet but I’ve heard it’s pretty good. Why not try it out for yourself?”
When the waiter came to the table, he took their order for their food and drinks.
“So how do you like everything so far?” Austin reached over to take her hand in his.
“Everything is wonderful, the restaurant, the ambiance but most importantly just having you here with me to experience it all.” His smile made her feel warm while the look in his eyes told her just how much he was in love with her.
He moved over to kiss her forehead.
Closing her eyes, she wanted to relish the feel of his lips on her skin. When their food and drinks came, Madison knew she was going to have to get Austin to make this dish for her. Even when he was trying to get his fork in on her food, she would intercept that fork with hers along with a look which made him laugh.
“Alright, I won’t bother your food anymore.”
“Good, just keep your fork over there.” With a wrinkle of her brow, Madison continued eating but couldn’t help laughing. Conversation and good food made for an illuminating night for her.
Then when they had decided to share dessert, Austin told her, “I’ll be right back.”
“Alright,” Madison sat back and waited for the dessert to come while sipping on some water. It got to the point that after about fifteen minutes, she began to worry because it was taking forever. Signaling their waiter to come over, he finally came over and Madison asked him, “Is there any way that you can go and see where my boyfriend is? He said he was coming right back and that was about fifteen minutes ago.”
“I’ll go and check for you madam,” he said to her politely.
Still, Madison grew concerned as she continued waiting, looking around from time to time but never seeing him anywhere in sight.
Then, he finally came from the back where the bathrooms were and walked back to the table.
“Where were you?”
He sat back down next to her and kissed her cheek. “Getting something squared away.” He waved over the waiter.
The man came over with a silver tray and put it down in front of her. It was beautifully decorated with a dark chocolate box with raspberries and strawberries thrown around it, too beautiful to eat. She looked over at him in shock.
Austin smiled and told her, “Go on.”
Reaching over, she took the top off the box and saw some truffles around what looked like a black velvet box in the middle of it. Madison was getting nervous and felt hesitant about grabbing the box but knew that if she didn’t, Austin would probably be upset. Once she pulled it out and slowly began opening it, she revealed a beautiful oval shaped solitaire diamond ring. Tears began welling up in her eyes, she felt so shocked and shaken up by what was happening while staring at Austin dumbfounded.
Taking the box from her trembling fingers, he knelt in front of her as most of the restaurant looked on. “Madison, from the very first time we met, I knew that you were the one for me. I couldn’t keep you off my mind even when I was thousands of miles away from you. You were always around me in spirit and I knew that when I had the chance to have you back in my life again, I wasn’t going let you get away from me again. Now that we are together like this, I don’t want to ever let you go again. What I am trying to say is Madison…will you marry me?”
Her hands cupped her face while she continued to cry, she could feel the tears streaking her cheeks. She couldn’t believe this was happening but it was, she had found love, even though it’d come to her so quickly. “You can’t be doing this. This can’t be happening—oh, my God.”
He wiped her tears and waited nervously for her to speak.
Seeing the same feeling in his eyes along with all the love she craved to have come her way from a man who really and truly cared, she became almost breathless. Before she knew it, she blurted out, “YES!” She found herself giggling as he slowly put the ring on her finger and fit like perfectly as thunderous applause came from everyone watching as they both held each other in a passionate embrace.
That night as they headed back, it seemed like Austin was racing down the road. The excitement of the evening was something to be shared with the rest of the family. “So where do you think you’d like to stay from now on?” Austin asked her.
“Well, I can sell the house and maybe we can move to into a place of our own, maybe for even later on as well.” She smiled as he snuck a kiss to her cheek.
Finally, they soon pulled into the driveway.
“Hey, is anybody up around here!” Austin shouted as he walked into the living room.
Jonathan was sitting watching some television as Candace was eating out of a bowl of popcorn. “Yeah, we were just about to get into a scary movie before you walked in and probably woke up half the ne
ighborhood. I guess dinner was a good one huh?”
Madison sat down next to her. Taking her sister’s hand, Madison flashed the ring as Austin smiled when he saw the wide eyed expression on her face.
“Oh, my God! You’re engaged?” she screamed, hugging her so tight around her neck that it looked like she would choke her to death. “Jonathan, look at that ring! I can’t believe you guys are getting married. Doesn’t it look exquisite on her finger?” Candace showed Jonathan Madison’s hand.
He did take a moment to admire it in all its grandeur. “This is wonderful and it looks beautiful on your finger Mad. I have to admit that you two were made for each other for real. I’m happy for you guys.” Jonathan gave Madison a hug as they continued talking some more, forgetting all about the scary movie they had planned to watch.
That night, Madison couldn’t go to sleep at all. All the excitement of the day had played in her head over and over again. Plus, the fact that she kept looking at that sparkler on her finger was something that couldn’t be ignored whatsoever. She’d been reeling for hours on end. She looked over at her now fiancé who was sound asleep and looking so content.
How could I have been so lucky to have someone like you? “To be able to snag someone like you,” she whispered aloud. “Someone who cares and loves me for who I am and showed me love that I have missed out on, I am one very lucky woman.” Smiling, she kissed his chin.
Austin stirred a bit in his sleep then wrapped his arm around her waist and softly snuggled next to her.
With this sweet gesture, she could finally get some sleep, this man made her feel more than comfortable.
Chapter Twelve
“I should be over there in a few minutes to sign the paperwork. I’d say about five, depending on how the traffic is. See you soon.” Pressing the button on the screen of her car, Madison had planned on going back to her house to gather some more clothing since Austin had surprised her that morning. When she woke up he told her he’d made plans to take her on a ride on a private jet to a destination that he was not about to give up. But a call from Mildred at the office had put the jet ride on hold for another hour.
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