Madison looked down at her lap. "She"s been through a lot." A variety of emotions played across her face, none of which he could read.
"She has." A silence settled between them, for which Jared was thankful.
Madison clutched her purse and followed Jared through the automatic hospital doors. The antiseptic mixed with the distinct smell of old people rushed at her and almost made her gag.
She hated hospitals.
Her nerves jumped as the two of them entered the elevator. She peered up at Jared, who looked like he was playing a game of poker. Stoic. In control. Nicely dressed in a pair of slacks and a polo shirt. He even smelled nice. Was that his aftershave? She leaned a little closer and sniffed. Man, he smelled good. The elevator closed in on her, and she felt light-headed. "Maybe I shouldn"t have come."
He raised an eyebrow but didn"t say anything.
"See, hospitals and I don"t really get along. They give me the heebie jeebies."
He frowned. "You don"t have to do anything. You don"t even have to say anything. Just walk in with me. Remember, you"re the one who-"
"Yeah, yeah, I know." She huffed. "You don"t have to keep saying it."
The elevator doors swished open, and she almost ran out. Being penned up in a small place with Jared was playing tricks on her. She almost felt attracted to him.
They entered room 308, and Patricia was immediately at their side. "I"m so glad you"re here. Mom"s been asking for you." She pushed them toward the bed. Sh.e.l.ly lay there, a white sheet covering her up to her arm pits. She had an IV in one hand, and her face looked even paler than yesterday.
"Jared, Madison...thank you for coming."
Madison glanced around the room. The whole family was there. Mark and Zachary sat in the two chairs. Irene stood looking out the window, her arms crossed. Maxwell stood by his wife, his hand on her shoulder.
"I think you all know I"m dying."
Madison jerked her head toward Sh.e.l.ly and a startled gasp came from Irene. Patricia sobbed into a tissue, and Zachary crossed the room to be by her side.
Maxwell frowned. "Now, Sh.e.l.ly, you shouldn"t say such things."
"Hush. Everyone knows it. I"m just brave enough to say it out loud."
Madison stole a glance at Jared. His face was a mask, yet his eyes appeared moist, sad. And when he blinked, a tear escaped and fled down his cheek. She turned away, embarra.s.sed to be privy to his emotion.
Sh.e.l.ly waved her hand. "Now, don"t everyone get all upset. I"m ready to go. I"m not afraid of heaven. In fact, I"m looking forward to being with my Henry again."
Several people nodded, and Patricia pulled another tissue from the box on the hospital tray.
"There"s only one thing I want done before I go."
Everyone in the room gazed at Sh.e.l.ly, collectively holding their breath.
"I want to see you kids get married." She motioned to the two engaged couples.
Madison"s knees went weak and the room spun. Jared"s strong arms wrapped around her and pulled her upright.
Sh.e.l.ly twisted in her bed to look at the calendar on the wall. "The way I see it, this had better get done quickly. How does next week sound?"
Patricia squeezed Sh.e.l.ly"s hand. "Of course, Mama. Anything for you." She looked back at Madison and Jared, her eyes pleading.
Madison"s throat closed and she couldn"t speak. She could barely breathe. She looked at Jared, her eyes wide. He shifted his weight. "Well...um...that"s really short notice..."
Patricia glared at him.
"I mean...of course we"ll...uh...you know..." His face flushed.
"Two weeks then." Sh.e.l.ly brushed a piece of lint off the bed sheet. "Please? All I want is to see my daughter and my nephew happily married."
Jared swallowed. "Um...well..."
"Okay," Madison said, before she knew what she was doing. "Two weeks. We"ll be able to pull a wedding together by then."
Jared looked like he had eaten a live frog.
Irene crossed the room and pulled the two couples into a group hug. "Well, then, we"d better get busy. We"ve got a double wedding to plan!"
Chapter 7.
Jared couldn"t believe how far things had gone. There was no way he would marry that woman to make his aunt happy. Madison was a fruitcake. A nutcase. She made Paris Hilton look sane. Even if she did look good in those jeans. Then he made the mistake of glancing at her. Yep. She looked good in those jeans. But she was definitely a wack-job.
Irene babbled about flowers and catering, and the urge to end this charade overtook him.
"Excuse me. I need to tell you all something."
Madison knew it was coming. He could tell by the way her eyes got wide and her mouth formed a little "o".
"This is not my fiancee."
There. He"d said it. Gotten it out. Cleared things up. He folded his arms across his chest and stared at the confused faces around him. Why didn"t he feel better?
Madison threw her arms around his neck. "Of course not officially, sweetie, since we don"t have the ring yet. But how important is a ring when we have our love?" She stood on her tip toes and kissed him. A quick peck, but it left him with the warm feeling of her lips against his. Then she whispered, "Don"t worry. I have a plan."
He shook his head to clear it. That"s all he needed. To follow another one of Madison"s deranged plans.
"No. That"s not what I meant." He pulled back and Madison dropped her arms. "I mean I"m not getting married-"
"Without a prenup." Madison interrupted, looping her arm through his. "I know it"s important to you, darling. And I"m all for it."
Patricia gave him a dirty look, but his father nodded. "Smart boy."
"How can you think of money at a time like this?" Patricia threw him another scowl and clasped Sh.e.l.ly"s hand.
"No. That"s not it. I just-"
"Excuse me," a nurse with a raspy voice said behind him, "We need to run more tests. I"m afraid everyone will have to come back later."
"Wait. I need-"
Madison tugged him toward the door. "Hush. I said I have a plan."
At a complete loss as to what else to do, he let her usher him down the hallway and around the corner. Her eyes flashed with anger. "Why did you do that? You could have ruined everything. I have an idea that will solve all of this."
"So do I. It"s to tell the truth." He stared back at her, arching one eyebrow.
"No, that"s no good." She dismissed it with a wave. "Your aunt wants to see us married."
"I have news for you. We"re not getting married. We"re not dating. I don"t even like you." The moment the words left his mouth he regretted them. Hurt showed in her eyes, and she stepped back. He didn"t even mean what he"d said. He did like her. The thought startled him. When did he start liking her?
She blinked, and for a second, he thought she would cry. He couldn"t stand it. Even her fake crying had made his stomach clench.
Then he spied Mark down the hallway. Without thinking, he pulled her into his arms and kissed her. He told himself it was because Mark was watching, but he knew it was a lame excuse. Madison"s lips were intoxicating. Ever since yesterday"s five-alarm kiss, he"d been pushing away the urge to do it again. And her little peck in the hospital room had only reminded him how good it felt to have her lips on his.
It didn"t take long before Madison responded to his gentle probing. The kiss deepened, and electricity ran through him. She tasted like cherry lip balm, and he found himself wanting to buy a case of it. He"d never tasted anything so good.
When she finally broke the kiss, a questioning look came over her face.
He motioned down the hall with his chin. "Mark was watching us."
"I see." She glanced behind her, to the empty hall.
"He"s gone now."
"Yeah. I got that."
Jared realized he was still holding her close. Then he realized he didn"t mind it so much. "About the plan..."
She smirked. "I thought you didn"t like me."
"That came out wrong."
"How can, "I don"t even like you," come out wrong?" She wriggled free from his grasp, which left his arms feeling empty. Weird. Being this close to her was playing with his mind.
He sighed. "Just tell me."
She brushed a strand of silky blonde hair from her face. "Okay. I know this guy who"s always looking for acting gigs. Why don"t we hire him to play our minister? He can "marry" us," she used air quotes. "Then we can tell your family later it didn"t work out." She grinned, like she"d invented Jell-o.
Jared thought about it. It actually wasn"t a bad plan. "That might work."
She crossed her arms in triumph. "Thought so."
"Patricia will wonder why I"m not using Pastor Ryan."
She tapped her chin in thought. "Tell her you have your own church in Crimson Ridge. Do you go to church?"
Church. That was a subject for another day. "Not really."
"Then say I have a good friend who is a minister. I have my heart set on using him."
"Using who?" Patricia"s voice cut in.
They both jumped and turned. Jared scowled to cover up any hint of guilt.
"Oh. My friend who is a minister." Madison fiddled with her clutch purse. "I was hoping we could use him to marry us."
"Sure." Patricia smiled. "Zachary and I would be fine with using your friend."
"Um...I...uh..." His tongue felt like sandpaper. "I thought you"d like to use Pastor Ryan."
She worried her bottom lip between her teeth. "Well, he has been a close family friend."
Jared clasped his hands. "It"s settled then. We"ll have two ministers there. Pastor Ryan, and Madison"s good friend..."
"Jimmy. I mean, Pastor James." Madison put on a watery smile.
"Two ministers will be great." Patricia beamed and pulled Madison close. "This will be such a special occasion."
"That"s one word for it," Jared muttered, relieved they"d gotten themselves out of that mess.
Madison pulled back from Patricia"s embrace, guilt tugging at her. She shoved the feeling away. This was no time for that. Guilt wouldn"t help her now. She had to muster through this.
Two nurses in blue scrubs rushed past them. A man with an IV drip shuffled his way down the hallway. Irene turned the corner and spotted them. She rushed over. "Here you are. I"ve been looking for you. We have so much shopping and planning to do. Can you stay in town for a few days?" She glanced between Madison and Jared.
"I don"t have to get back. No job." Madison tossed a pointed look at Jared.
The scowl on his face deepened. "I have to get back to the company."
Oh, no. He wasn"t going to ditch her and leave her to deal with this by herself. She put her arms around him and snuggled close. Man, he had nice abs. Rock hard. Like his chest. And he smelled good. A light musky cologne, mixed with his laundry detergent. She peered up at him with her best puppy dog face. "Awe, sweetie, can"t you take some time off? You work so hard. And it"s Sat.u.r.day."
He put his arms around her, but shook his head. "Sorry, I can"t. I usually work weekends."
That didn"t work. Jared probably wanted to help plan this wedding about as much as he wanted to shop for tampons. This would take a little more persuasion. She blinked fake tears from her eyes. "But, it"s the only wedding we"ll ever have."
Patricia joined in. "This is the most important day of your life, Jared." She stood with her hands on her hips.
"We have no clothes here."
Irene put her hand on his arm. "There"s a box of your old clothes in the attic. And Madison"s about my size. I"m sure she"ll fit plenty of things in my closet."
He hesitated, and Madison almost thought he"d relent, but in the end he said, "I"m sorry. There"s a lot going on at work."