Song: The Longing - Imelda May

(edited)

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Adelaide

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"Jamie?" I asked, my voice louder than I had anticipated it to be.

He turned around and my heart dropped to my feet.

"Adelaide?"

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I ran to him, wrapping my arms around his shoulders and I was engulfed in his familiar and comforting scent yet again.

The closest to home I've ever been.

"I thought you were dead," I whispered into his chest, trying my best to hold back tears.

His body instantly relaxed and his arms made his way around me, finding their way into my hair.

"Oh, Addy I'm so sorry." He whispered into my hair.

His voice was soft like velvet and he smelled like the day after heavy rain.

I thought he was dead. I thought he was dead.

I thought he was dead.

Yet, here he was.

In Romano's house?

I tore myself away from his comforting arms and did something I never thought I would have to do to those soft cheeks. I slapped him. Hard.

"I thought you were dead." I seethed.

My emotions were rising, rage started to engulf my being, tears of frustration rolling down my cheeks leaving behind small rivers and dripping onto the tiled floor.

He hung his head, his curly hair flopping over his face.

He didn't meet my eyes.

A deafening silence hung in the air as both Jamie and I came to terms with the fact that we were both alive and in front of each other.

Once upon a time, I had loved Jamie with my whole heart.

He worked in the IT department of MI6 and I found myself bumping into him on several occasions for trials or briefings about our next missions.

He was always serious and businesslike, so unlike everyone else I had met which drew me to him.

He was my first everything.

First love, first kiss, first boyfriend, first time.

Then he disappeared.

MI6 searched for about 2 months until they located his dead carcass in Italy.

He was immediately pronounced dead.

I didn't cry when I found out. I didn't scream. I didn't feel anything. I sat in my room for days on end, ignoring the food that was brought to me despite the desperate cries of my fellow peers.

Guilt was the only thing I felt. I was consumed by it. I thought that I could've protected him, but I failed.

I was a failure.

And here he was. Heart beating. Lungs breathing. Muscles contracting. Eyes blinking. Hair growing. Brain functioning.

He was in front of me.

MI6 probably wanted to rid themselves of a scandal and faked his death.

The sound of someone clearing his throat brought me out of my thoughts and back to reality.

I looked up and saw Romano take something out of the oven.

"Who's hungry?" He said with a hopeful smile plastered on his face, evidently confused and uncomfortable by the situation taking place in front of him.

I sent him a glare that could kill but my stomach betrayed me, letting out a deafening grumble due to the beautiful aroma that filled the room.

Romano's smile only grew as he took out some bowls and started dishing out a pasta bake.

I hesitantly sat down on a stool, leaving one in-between Jamie and I, and waited patiently for the pasta to be served.

"So you two know each other then?" Romano asked tentatively, looking up to meet Jamie's eyes.

"We used to work together in MI6," I stated dryly.

"C'mon Addy, we were much more than just work buddies." Jamie declared, straightening his back and reaching for a steaming bowl of pasta.

"Keyword - were ."

The excitement and love I felt for him just a few minutes ago was replaced by a fury I had never felt before.

Reaching over the counter, I brought the steaming bowl baked pasta towards me, breathing in the heavenly scent. I took a bite and relished the taste of the authentic Italian pasta in my mouth.

"Romano, you made this?" I asked, my mouth still full of the creamy pasta.

"Si, carota. This is my mother's recipe, do you like it?"

"It's the best thing I've ever eaten and that's not even an exaggeration," I replied, skillfully ignoring the resurgence of the vegetable nickname he gave me.

"Grazie cavolo, I am glad you like it."

I shoved another spoonful in my mouth, savouring the taste and almost had a foodgasm right then and there.

"Addy, I-"

"Adelaide," I remarked, cutting him off.

"Adelaide, can we talk?" Jamie glanced over to Romano who seemed to be enthralled by our conversation.

"In private?"

I glanced at Romano, then back to Jamie.

"Fine but I'm taking my bowl with me." I sighed, picking up my bowl and letting myself be led to another room.

The room looked to be a living room with a few sofas and a giant television propped on the wall.

I wasted no time in sitting down in the plush sofa and rested my big bowl of pasta on my lap, continuing to eat the scrumptious meal.

Jamie sat down on the sofa across from me with his trademark serious face.

"I've missed you so much, Addy." He mumbled, still refusing to meet my eyes.

I lowered my spoon.

How dare he say that?

"If you missed me, why did you let me think you were dead? You have no idea what the hell you put me through."

I couldn't control what I was saying and I knew I would regret it later when my heart ached for his scent in the late hours of the night but I needed to let him know he wasn't getting out of this that easily.

"Why the fuck are you even here Jamie? Are you working for them now? Have you betrayed MI6? What the fuck is going on?"

I angrily shoved another spoonful of the heavenly pasta in my mouth.

Damn this is good.

"Addy, I-I can't tell you what's going on. It's secret, I'm sorry." He stammered, putting his head in his hands, letting them get entangled in his hair.

Abruptly, I stood up, "If you can't tell me, I'll ask someone that will."

I stormed out of the room and almost crashed into Romano who looked like he was eavesdropping on our supposedly 'private' conversation.

I harshly grabbed his wrist and pulled him into the kitchen, not bothered to scold him about eavesdropping.

"Romano."

"Cavolo."

I snorted.

"Does Jamie work for you?" I asked him, slowly lifting another spoonful of pasta in my mouth, eyeing him up and down in the process.

"Si."

He slowly leaned on the doorframe, and openly checked me out.

His eyes roamed my figure and I remembered that I was only in a shirt and boxers.

No bra.

"What does he do?" I shot at him, trying to show that I wasn't fazed by his steel gaze.

"Well, his most recent project finished so he will be working with you in tracking down the people on my hit list. He was recruited in a similar fashion that you were, except the test was different, obviously."

Even though I would've preferred the info to come from Jamie, at least I was getting the information.

Jamie's moved around Romano's tall frame and made his way to me.

With the two next to each other, I couldn't help but make comparisons.

Jamie was 5'11 in height whilst Romano now looked to be around 6'1.

Jamie opened his mouth to say something but I put my hand up to silence him.

"Will we have to work closely together?"

Romano chuckled a deep chuckle.

"Si carota. You have to work on the same team but don't worry, he has to do the boring techy stuff and you get to do the fun part. It's a good arrangement no?"

I hesitantly nodded and lifted another spoonful of pasta to my mouth, it's not like I could just back out now.

I looked over to Romano, ready to pose another question but instead saw that his eyes were fixed not on my eyes but somewhere a little lower.

My lips.

His playful smile was gone and was replaced with a more dangerous look.

He brought his eyes up to mine and a slow smile grew on his lips.

I probably have pasta sauce on my lips.

I brought my hand up to wipe away the sauce but when I looked back at my hand, there wasn't any sauce. Weird.

"Addy-"

"Adelaide." I snapped back, instantly forgetting about Romano's harsh gaze.

"Adelaide, what can I do to make you forgive me? I miss you." He pleaded, making his way towards me.

"Do you miss me?" He questioned, taking away the now empty bowl of pasta from me and placing it gently on the kitchen island.

He was always so gentle.

His eyes found mine and I looked at my feet.

I felt the familiar feeling of his fingers on my chin, pushing my face up to meet his.

I sucked in a breath.

Being this close, I could see the face of the man who haunted my dreams for months on end.

He was a work of art. He had dark skin, deep brown eyes. His lashes were long and thick, like a model. His nose was wide and fit his face perfectly.

None of that compared to his lips, plump and full, perfect for kissing.

I brought my hands to the back of his neck and trailed them through his tight curls.

"Of course I missed you," I whispered.

His right hand moved to the small of my back whilst his left moved through my hair, pressing our foreheads together.

"Do you still love me?"

I closed my eyes and my hands tightened around his hair.

"It's been a year," I answered, as gently as I could.

He brought his head away from mine and his hands found my waist, pressing me to him. He had gotten more muscular but he hadn't gone crazy.

He was still the man that I had loved.

"Do you still love me?" He asked again, more agitated.

I cupped his jaw in my hands.

"I'm sorry," I whispered.

He pulled away from me and all the warmth I had savoured in his embrace dissipated, left with only cold air.

He pushed passed Romano and disappeared around the corner.

I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding.

"Seconds?" I asked, feebly holding up my empty bowl.

Romano held a stoic expression as he made his way back over to the oven where the pasta had been left to keep warm.

He dished some into my bowl and some for himself.

When he turned back around, he was grinning like a mad man.

"It is a good thing that you said no, cavolo." He purred.

I furrowed my brows and looked up at him. "Why?"

He let out a small laugh and leaned over the kitchen island, closer to where I was sitting.

"Because, carota, I don't allow people in the same team date. It isn't professional. I mean with one exception."

His dark eyes pierced through my mine, holding me captive.

"What's the exception?"

"A relationship with me of course."

I leaned closer to Romano, not fazed in the least.

"Isn't that a little hypocritical? What do your employees think about that?" My voice was quiet and sensual, pulling him in.

"I don't care what they think, fagiolo verde, I am the boss and I make the rules. In your time here, I think it would be best if you followed the rules, no?"

(Translation: Green bean)

A green bean?

I've had carrot, cabbage and even a potato, but now I'm a goddamn green bean?

I reached out to him, placing my hand on the back of his head and leaning forward. I lowered my voice and whispered in his ear, "I think I have told you before Mr Acerbi, that I would prefer it if you called me by my name and not by whatever vegetable pops into your head first."

He threw his head back, letting out a hearty laugh. The kind that resonates in your chest and leaves you feeling warm inside.

"Are you finished with your food, Addy? " I nodded as a response, ignoring the nickname he used.

"Then come, I will lead you back to your room. It's been a long day, no?"

He walked around the kitchen island and wrapped his arm around my shoulders, leading me from room to room and giving me a small introduction to each one we passed.

I breathed a sigh of relief when we reached my room.

I really needed to sleep.

"I will come and get you at 9 AM and take you to meet the rest of the team. I have ordered some more clothes for you and they will arrive at about 7 in the morning." He informed me as I walked back into the familiar room.

"Oh and Adelaide?"

I turned around to face him.

"You can keep my shirt but I'll need the boxers back."

With that, he turned around and shut the door behind him.

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thoughts on Jamie?