Page 120 of Can't Get Enough

“Yeah, I think there are words that aren’t said, but speak to the soul. That’s the beauty of jazz. You have to have a receptive soul to truly appreciate it. For it to speak to you.”

“What are the words?”

I hear them clearly, the words left like clues wedged between the notes, but I’m not sure it’s time to say them so I just shrug and press her head to my shoulder for the rest of the song.

“I’ve never danced under the moon floating on a super-yacht before.” She giggles, which is an almost frivolous sound coming from someone like Hendrix. I’d love to make her laugh that way more, like she doesn’t have a care. I want her tonothave a care. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, but I have one more thing.” I reach into my pocket and pull out a velvet bag. “Now before you freak out, I’m going down on my knee, but it’s not a proposal. I promise.”

“Truly, thank you for that warning because that would have freaked me the hell out.”

“Figured as much.” I chuckle, sinking to one knee and wiggling her foot out of the leather sandal she’s wearing.

“Mav, what are you…” She laughs down at me as I pull her now-bare foot onto my knee. “What is happening right now?”

I fish a chain from the velvet bag and fasten it around her ankle. The gold chain links interspersed with diamonds glint in the moonlight. What sparkles brightest is the unicorn charm dangling against the smooth skin of Hendrix’s ankle bone. All head and horn made of diamonds with sapphires for eyes.

“Oh, God.” Hendrix’s eyes zip from her foot on my knee to my face. “You got me a unicorn.”

“I know you have to find your own billion-dollar company, but this is just keeping the dream in front of you.” I chuckle, feeling like a punk. “It’s probably silly. I—”

“Shut up,” Hendrix cuts in, coming down to the floor on her knees in front of me and taking my face between her hands. “Just shut up. You should be kissing me already.”

When we kiss, it’s rapturous and ravenous, all growls and teeth and claws. We barely make it to the stateroom, leaving our clothes in a ragged trail on the floor. She takes me inside of her again, and I don’t know if I’m losing myself or growing into something more, someone better because she chooses me. Because we have each other. “Blue in Green” is an untiring serenade that floats over the entire ship as we make love, and even though I don’t say the words hidden beneath the haunting music, the words are all I hear.

I love you. I love you. I love you.

CHAPTER 39

HENDRIX

The smell of eggs and bacon used to be my alarm clock in high school. Mama up making breakfast for Daddy and me before he left for work and I went to school. The tantalizing scent lures me from sleep. Prying my eyes open, I sniff.

“Home,” I say, sitting up in the same full-sized bed I slept in growing up.

I stick my feet in fuzzy slippers and right the scarf covering my braids that went slightly askew in my sleep. By the time I make it downstairs, Mama is already flitting around the kitchen carrying plates and silverware.

“I can set the table, Mama,” I say, walking up to her and leaving a kiss on her cheek. “Morning.”

“I got it.” She bustles over to the fridge and pulls out the same clear butter dish she’s had for thirty years. “You must have jet lag after that long flight last night.”

“Mama, I’ve been home a week.”

“Oh.” She quickly covers her confusion by leaning into the refrigerator to search for something. “Right. I meant… Right. A week.”

Dammit. I didn’t mean to correct her. I’m tired and wasn’t thinking.

“And flying in a private jet definitely leaves you a lot less tired, I must say,” I comment, hoping to distract her from her lapse.

“I can imagine.” Mama’s quick smile chases away her frown, and she sets the butter on the table. “Now when am I meeting this baller?”

“Ma, who taught you to say ‘baller’?” I choke out a laugh. “That’s very boomer of you.”

“I am a boomer, right?” She frowns, setting a platter of eggs and bacon on the table. “Or am I Gen X?”

“Definitely a boomer,” I laugh. “But a cool one.”

“So when do I get to meet this Maverick? That’s a fine man.”

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