"You be nice," Patricia scolded.
"But it"s her own ring. That"s all I"m sayin"."
"I"m taking her ring-shopping tomorrow." Jared cleared his throat and tugged at his tie. "I mean, there was one shop down the street from my company that we haven"t tried yet. It"s been closed for remodeling. We"re going tomorrow."
"Wonderful," Sh.e.l.ly said.
"My jeweler can get you a good deal." Maxwell put his arm around Irene. "You"d never believe the price he gave me on the one I bought Irene."
"Only because you buy them in bulk," Jared muttered.
Madison"s mouth dropped. Luckily, no one else heard the comment.
She forgot about acting uncouth in front of his family as the time wore on. When it came time for dinner, they moved into the formal dining room. A long oak table, lavishly decorated with candles and beautiful white china, sat in the middle of the room. A roast on a silver platter took the center spot on the table. Wine gla.s.ses, polished silverware...and the cloth napkins were folded in fancy shapes. Madison half expected to see a butler waltz in with a tux and little white towel draped over one arm. They seated the happy couples next to each other on one side, across from Mark, Sh.e.l.ly and Irene. Maxwell, sitting at the head of the table, said grace.
Sh.e.l.ly stood and raised her wine gla.s.s, tapping it with her knife. "I"d like to offer a toast, to my brother." She turned to Maxwell, who had a grin on his face. "You"re another year older, but we all know you"re no wiser." A few chuckles sounded. "But we love you, anyway. May this year be as wonderful as the last one. And may your new bride be around at least for your next birthday."
Laughter filled the room. Even Irene giggled. Madison turned to Jared. He sat with his back straight, his jaw clenched. When everyone raised their gla.s.s, he didn"t move. Madison nudged him and he reluctantly followed suit.
"To Maxwell," Patricia said, a bright smile on her face. Either she was oblivious to the tension, or she was ignoring it.
The food looked delicious, and Madison plopped a healthy helping of mashed potatoes on her plate. Jared stared at her and then gave her a slight head shake. She frowned. Who cared if his family thought she was a pig? Or was he trying to tell her she should watch her weight? What a jerk. She raised her chin and added another spoonful. They were loaded potatoes, with chunks of bacon and chives in them. Her mouth watered.
When her plate was full, she glanced around the table. Most everyone else had conservative portions, similar to Jared"s plate. Maybe it was a rich people thing. Smaller portions to fit in to those designer jeans. She mentally shrugged. No reason to go hungry. After all, she was trying to make his family think she didn"t belong.
Jared seemed particularly interested in her plate. He wouldn"t stop staring at it. She took a hearty scoop of potatoes and shoved them into her mouth.
The first thing she noticed was the temperature. The potatoes were cold. Then the taste hit her. What was that? They tasted like dirty dish water! And those chunks were not bacon bits. She didn"t know what they were. She forced her jaw to chew, hoping the warmth of her mouth would make the potatoes tolerable enough to swallow.
As she worked on getting the food to go down, she noticed the corner of Jared"s mouth twitching. He turned away, but then his shoulders started shaking. The scoundrel was laughing at her.
She kicked him under the table, and he turned to her, a full-fledged smile on his face. Such a rare occurrence, she"d noticed, but when it did happen, he looked like a model. A hint of blue infected his steel-grey eyes, and his long eyelashes made him even s.e.xier. Her stomach plummeted to her knees. If Jared made an effort, he could have any girl on his arm.
Madison forced the chunky, cold potatoes down and held back a giggle, unable to be mad. He had tried to warn her. He picked up his napkin and wiped his face to hide his laughter, a chuckle escaping. She pinched her lips together, desperately trying not to laugh, but that only made it erupt in a forceful "Ha!"
She clamped her hand over her mouth.
Patricia"s eyes were full of mirth. "Looks like Jared and Madison have some kind of inside joke going."
Mark frowned. "Since when does Jared laugh at jokes?"
Sh.e.l.ly patted Mark"s hand. "He"s in love. That tends to change everything."
Jared swallowed his laughter and put his arm around Madison. "Yes. Love. That"s it." He looked down at her, a hint of a smile on his face.
Her skin tingled where he touched her, and she gazed up into his eyes. "Yep. We"re in love."
As the attention of the family drifted to other things, Madison tentatively took a nibble from the roast. At least that was decent. It was hard to mess up a roast, she supposed. The vegetables, on the other hand, were half frozen, and the side salad had a weird taste to it. She stuck with the meat, and pushed the rest of the food around her plate until everyone was done.
After the dishes were sc.r.a.ped and in the dishwasher, everyone gathered back in the family room to watch Maxwell open his birthday gifts. Madison had not seen Jared with a gift, and she hoped he brought something. Her instinct told her he hadn"t, which would embarra.s.s her. She sat next to Jared on the couch, hoping he had done something for his father"s birthday.
Irene brought out a stack of brightly wrapped gifts. Jared reached into his pocket and placed an envelope on top. It turned out to be a gift card. Pretty lame, in Madison"s opinion, but at least he"d gotten something.
After the gift unwrapping, Sh.e.l.ly pulled out a camera and announced, "Photo time! I have to get pictures of the two newly engaged couples."
She turned to Patricia and Zachary first, snapping some great pictures of them posing and goofing around. They made a wonderful couple. When they looked at each other, their eyes shone. Madison"s stomach tightened. She and Jared could never look like them. Surely everyone would see they were a fraud.
Sh.e.l.ly turned the camera on them. "Your turn." The camera clicked a couple of times, then she added, "Just act natural."
They sat on the couch, Jared"s back stiff, his hands folded in his lap. At least he plastered on a fake smile.
"Relax a bit. You look like you"re posing for a mug shot. Jared, put your arm around your fiancee." Sh.e.l.ly adjusted the camera settings and snapped a couple more photos.
"That"s a little better. Now I want an action shot. Give her a kiss."
Madison looked up at Jared, and he leaned over and gave her a quick peck on the cheek.
Sh.e.l.ly laughed. "Oh, you can do better than that, hon. Kiss her like you mean it."
Jared shot Madison an apologetic look, which actually was quite sweet of him. She didn"t care if he kissed her. She was an actress, after all. Kissing on set was no big deal.
He leaned in and brushed his lips over hers. A light, innocent gesture. At least that"s how it started out, until he deepened the kiss. Her heart raced and her mind went blank. Time slowed as the sensation of his soft lips touching hers sent ripples of pleasure across her skin. His hand cradled the back of her head, pulling her closer.
The smell of his cologne mixed with his masculinity heightened her senses. Before she knew what she was doing her arms were around his neck, and she was kissing him back. Warmth spread through her as his gentle touch sent tingles down her spine.
He pulled back, ending the kiss and staring at her, his eyebrows knit together. The room erupted in cat calls and hoots. Madison"s cheeks heated. She"d forgotten where they were.
"Now that"s how it"s done." Maxwell grinned.
Madison could barely catch her breath. It was only a kiss, for heaven"s sake. How could she let herself get carried away? As an actress, she needed to focus. She mentally reprimanded herself.
"You guys look so twitterpated with each other," Patricia said, giggling. "Such a happy couple."
Jared turned away, frowning.
Sh.e.l.ly packed up the camera, and Zachary looked at his watch. "It"s been fun, but I have an early day tomorrow. I"m afraid we must be heading out."
Jared stood. "It"s time we left as well." He extended his hand to Madison, which she was grateful for as her knees were still wobbly, but when she looked up at him, anger flashed in his eyes.
They said their goodbyes, and she suddenly felt nervous to be alone with him. He was acting like a caged lion, about to spring on her once they were alone. She sucked in a breath and stepped out into the evening, the sun already below the horizon.
Chapter 5.
Jared stalked toward his car, Madison clicking behind him in her heels, trying to keep up. He was being rude, but he didn"t care.
When he was sure no one could see them from the house he rounded on her. "What did you think you were doing in there?"
Madison blinked, her eyes wide. "What are you talking about?"
"Don"t you play innocent with me. You were supposed to look like a crazy chick so my family would break us up. But instead, you...you do that! Now they think we"re twitterpated."
A laugh erupted from Madison, and she clamped her hand over her mouth.
"What?"
"Sorry, there"s just something about an angry CEO shouting the word twitterpated. I"ve got to add that to my "things I never thought I"d hear" list."
He couldn"t think of a thing to say in response, so he unlocked his car and slid into the driver"s seat, huffing in exasperation. She was infuriating. Didn"t she realize the position she"d put him in? This was no time to joke.
Madison climbed in the car.
"Don"t expect to get paid. After what you pulled, you"re lucky I don"t file a restraining order."
"Hey, it"s not like it was all my fault. You were kissing me first."
"I was only trying to appease my aunt."
"Well, you appeased the socks right off me."
Jared stared at her. "What does that even mean?"
"It means, stop kissing people like that unless you want to be kissed back. Now, drive." She motioned toward the driveway.
He narrowed his eyes, annoyed she was telling him what to do, but held his tongue. The engine roared to life and he pulled out onto the street.
Obviously Madison sucked at being an actress. She couldn"t even play the simple part of a girlfriend. And her idea of trying to get his family to break them up was insane. He didn"t know why he went along with it in the first place. He"d handle this his own way, and hope his aunt wouldn"t be too hurt.
"Tomorrow I"ll tell them we had a fight on the way home. Next week I can let them know we broke off the engagement."
She folded her arms across her chest. "Sounds like a plan."
When they pulled onto the interstate, he gunned it. The rush of speed made him feel better. He figured it was worth the risk of a ticket if he could make this disaster of an evening end sooner.
Madison didn"t say anything. She continued to stare straight ahead out the window. Good. He"d rather sit in silence.
He wove through the traffic, pa.s.sing cars and trucks. The clock on his dashboard said it was seven fifteen. Less than three hours and he"d be home. Maybe he"d relax in his Jacuzzi before bed. After today, he deserved it.
"You know, this whole thing wouldn"t have happened had you simply kept your word and tried to find me a job at your company."
He gaped at her. Was she serious? This was his fault? "Excuse me?"
She flipped her hair over her shoulder. "If you hadn"t lied to me about maybe having a position-"
"I didn"t lie. I said maybe, and I meant maybe. You"re the one who jumped to conclusions about my a.s.sistant." He tried not to shout.
"You wanted me to think that. You implied I would get a job if I pretended to be your girlfriend."
"Which you couldn"t even pull off," he muttered.
She turned to face him. "Oh, I pulled it off, all right. Your family thinks we"re great together. I think Patricia"s exact words were, "Such a happy couple.""
He scowled at her. "Don"t bring my family into this."
She paused, staring at him. "You"re a Taurus, aren"t you?"
"What?"
A smirk crossed her face. "When"s your birthday?"
He rolled his eyes. "Oh. You"re one of those people." He shot her a sideways glance. "That explains a lot."
"Funny. Let me guess. You were born in May. Maybe around the 5th?"
She was eerily close, but he didn"t want to admit it. "I don"t believe in that baloney."
"Then just tell me."
"No."
"It"s May 5th, isn"t it?"
He sighed. "May 7th."
"Ha! I knew it." The smug expression on her face made him grimace.
"Lucky guess."
Her blue eyes bored through him. "You"re stubborn, a cla.s.sic Taurus trait. You"re a CEO of a successful company, which shows your determination to go after what you want and not stop until you get it. Your life is boring, but you don"t care because you like consistency and stability. You like the finer things in life, and you"re not afraid to go after what you want. All these things point to Taurus."
He snorted. "That could describe almost anyone who strives to achieve. Plenty of successful businesspeople weren"t born in May. Astrology is a bunch of hok.u.m."
Madison raised her chin defiantly. "You surround yourself with material things to fill the void in your life. You resent your father for his string of wives. You"re jealous of your half-brother because he got to grow up with his mother, the one thing you wish you had but didn"t as a child. Your father felt guilt over this and compensated by throwing money at you. Your aunt is the only mother figure you"ve had, so you cling to her approval."
Her words stung, hitting too close to home for him to admit. "You get all that from looking at the stars?"
"No," she said, her tone soft. "I got that from watching you. It"s written all over your face. You never got over your parents" divorce."
She"d jumped to a wrong conclusion, and he grabbed onto it with both hands. "My mother died when I was a child."
The words hung between them, and her face flushed. "Oh." Her gaze fell to her lap. "I"m sorry."