The room shifted. The air changed. Suddenly, Madeline was alone in the bed, sheets clinging to her sweat-damp skin, heart racing, breath coming in frantic little gasps. The bathroom was empty, door half-shut, no steam, no Kel. Only the echo of her own pulse pounding in her ears.
Someone knocked again. “Madeline? Are you up?”
She staggered to her feet, legs trembling, crossing to the door on autopilot. She opened it to find Kel standing in the hallway, fully dressed in her usual crisp linen shirt and tailored shorts, hair still damp but combed back, glasses on, and concern etched on her face. “You okay?” Kel asked. “You weren’t answering your phone. Breakfast is in fifteen minutes. I figured I’d come see—”
Madeline swallowed, heat flooding her cheeks, every inch of her body still throbbing with the ghost of the dream. She tried to speak, but her voice caught. Kel’s eyes softened, a little crease forming between her brows, as her eyes flicked down Madeline’s half-dressed body.
“Madeline?”
“I… yeah. Sorry. I... overslept,” Madeline said. The lie tasted strange. She still felt Kel’s hands, her lips, and the wild, dizzying rush of want.
Kel smiled. “You sure? You look a little—”
“Fine,” Madeline said, too quickly. “Just need coffee. Lots of coffee.” Realizing she was in nothing but her camisole and very damp panties, Madeline stepped back. “Let me get dressed. I’ll be right out.” Closing the door, Madeline tried to steady her breathing, tried to shake off the dream, but every heartbeat made her more aware of the ache between her thighs, and the truth blooming in her chest. She wanted Kel. She wanted her in a way she’d never let herself admit, not until now. And now that she’d tasted it, even in sleep, she wasn’t sure she could ever let it go.
9
Kel lingered outside Madeline’s suite, her knuckles still tingling from where they had tapped lightly against the door. She’d been dismissed, gently but firmly, and she couldn’t shake the feeling that something had shifted in the air between them. Madeline’s eyes had been wide, her cheeks flushed in a way Kel hadn’t seen before, at least, not for her. Unfortunately, now the door was closed, and Kel was left in the hallway with her own racing pulse and a thousand questions she’d never dare ask.
Taking the stairs two at a time, Kel needed to move, to do anything other than replay that brief, breathless moment. The courtyard was already buzzing with the low hum of morning, birds calling from the overhang of banana leaves, the faint clatter of dishes from the kitchen, and a gentle breeze stirring the fronds overhead. Kel dropped onto a bench near the fountain, elbows braced on her knees, hands worrying at the script for today’s read-thru she’d brought with her. She tried to focus on the words, but her mind kept drifting back to Madeline. Her face had been full of emotions, but Kel wasn’t sure she read them right.Could there really be desire?she wondered.Or wasthat only confusion?It felt like she woke Madeline.So what was she dreaming about to look that way?
A waiter appeared, silent as a ghost, holding a gleaming silver tray. “Coffee, Ms. Lehman?” he asked, voice soft and unhurried.
Kel gave him a grateful smile. “You read my mind.”
He poured her a cup, steam curling into the morning air. “Anything else?”
“No,” she said with a shake of her head. “This is perfect. Thank you.”
He vanished as quietly as he’d come, leaving Kel alone with her thoughts and the rich, nutty scent of the coffee. She sipped, letting the heat ground her, but her nerves still fizzed beneath her skin. The script weighed heavily in her lap. She had read it already and in a word, it was crap. Although nothing Kel had written was produced, she knew bad writing when she read it. The question was what to do about it. As it was, Madeline would look ridiculous, and Kel couldn’t let that happen.
Footsteps crunched on the gravel path behind her. Kel looked up to see Ms. Leighton striding across the courtyard, with Antonia a step behind. The two women were a study in contrasts. Antonia, tall and unyielding, radiated competence while Ms. Leighton was more diminutive but somehow more commanding. “Good morning, Ms. Lehman,” Ms. Leighton greeted, her tone warm but assessing. Antonia offered a nod, her gaze as sharp as ever.
“Good morning,” Kel replied, sitting up straighter.
“Enjoying the calm before the storm?” Antonia asked, a wry twist to her mouth.
Kel grinned, nerves easing a little. “Something like that,” she answered. “I’m, uh, just…getting my head in the game.”
Ms. Leighton’s eyes flicked to the script in Kel’s hands. “Preparation is admirable,” she said. “But sometimes, you haveto leap before you feel ready. The island has a way of rewarding those who take chances.”
Antonia folded her arms, her expression unreadable. “Courage isn’t the absence of fear, Kel. It’s acting anyway.”
Swallowing, Kel felt the truth of it settle inside her. “Yeah. I guess I needed to hear that.”
Ms. Leighton’s mouth curved in approval. “Today’s read-thru is an opportunity for all of you. Don’t let it slip by.”
They moved on, voices low as they discussed some detail of the day’s schedule. Kel watched them go, feeling the thrum of possibility in her veins. She looked at the script, running her thumb along the worn edge.Today I will speak up, she promised herself.And tonight, if it goes well, I’ll tell Madeline the truth.She stood, gathering her courage and her coffee, and headed toward her suite to get ready.
Madeline’s nerveswere a live wire as she made her way down the corridor, the echo of her own heartbeat louder than the hush of the resort’s morning. She’d barely managed to get dressed. Her hands shook so badly she had buttoned her linen shirt crooked twice and almost left her hair unbrushed. Coffee was out of the question. Her stomach was a knot, and she couldn’t have swallowed a single sip if she tried. She found Kel waiting in the lobby, looking calm and put-together as always, a leather folio tucked under one arm.
Kel glanced up, eyes softening behind her glasses when they met Madeline’s. “Ready?” she asked quietly.
Madeline nodded, even though she felt anything but. “If by ready, you mean sleep-deprived and about to hurl?” she said. “Then absolutely.”
When Kel smiled at the comment, something in Madeline’s chest loosened. “You’ll be amazing,” Kel said. “I already know.”
They walked together through the cool, shaded hallways. The world outside the conference room was all sunlight and birdsong, but inside, the air was thick with tension. Ruthi Shay was already there, perched at the head of the table like a queen forced to attend a peasant’s feast.
