"It would be nice to have you close in case we get bad news from the tests." Patricia"s face was grave.
Jared sighed. "Okay. I"ll stay."
Relief flooded through her. She wasn"t sure if it was because she didn"t have to deal with his family by herself, or because the thought of being around him for the next few days was appealing. Maybe a little of both.
Irene beamed and smoothed her hair. "Great. Let"s all meet at the house so we can start planning. I"ll prepare the guest room."
Jared stiffened. "No need. We"ll stay in a hotel."
"Oh, that"s silly. You"ll stay in our home. There"s plenty of room."
"There"s plenty of room in a hotel, too." He clasped Madison"s hand and stalked down the hallway, leaving her no choice but to go with him, or be dragged.
When they were out of earshot, she said, "That was rude."
"She has no right to tell me what to do." His footsteps quickened, and she fought to keep up.
"She"s your stepmother, and she deserves respect." She tried not to sound out of breath.
They rounded a corner and arrived at the elevators.
"Marriage is nothing more than a piece of paper. And it means even less to someone like my father. She"ll be gone next year." He let go of her hand and pressed the call b.u.t.ton.
Shock rang through her at his callousness. "She"s family, whether you like it or not."
"And soon, she won"t be family anymore. That"s the way it works around here." The elevator dinged and opened its doors. Jared stepped in, and she got the feeling the discussion was over.
She followed him, pressed the b.u.t.ton, and let the doors swish shut. His hands were stuffed in the pockets of his tan slacks, and he avoided her gaze.
Maybe he wanted the discussion to be over, but she wasn"t ready for that. "You should apologize."
He glowered. "And you should mind your own business."
Anger arose in her. Who did he think he was? "You don"t even know what you have, do you?" She forced the words out, her fingernails digging into her palms.
"What"s that supposed to mean?"
"I can"t believe you. You treat everyone as if they"re beneath you. You"re rude, mean, and thoughtless. You step on the people who love you, like they"re not even worth your consideration." Heat crept up her neck and her stomach clenched.
Surprise and then another emotion she couldn"t read registered on his face, but before he had a chance to say anything, his phone rang. He pulled it out of his pocket, glanced to see who it was, then took the call. "Yes?"
The doors slid open, and the two of them exited to the main lobby. Jared nodded, then said, "All right." He stuffed the phone back in his pocket.
Madison was too mad at him to say anything. She stalked ahead of him toward the sliding doors that led to the parking lot.
"Wait." Jared grabbed her arm, heat searing through her with the contact.
She whirled around to face him, words fighting with her tongue to get out. "You"re surrounded by people who love you. People who ignore your mood swings and tolerate your bad manners because they"re your family, and that"s what a family is supposed to do. Well, I have news for you. Not all families are like that." Tears sprung to her eyes, and she turned and fled the building.
Her footfalls echoed in the underground parking lot. Jared"s followed close behind. "Madison, stop."
The way he said it made her freeze. Like a caress instead of a command. He came up behind her and put his arms around her. "I"m sorry," he said, his breath brushing her cheek. "You"re right. You"re right about all of it."
He turned her around to face him. Concern knit his eyebrows together. His steel-grey eyes bored into hers. "But I have a feeling this isn"t about me anymore."
Her throat tightened, and she wiped the moisture from her cheeks. She didn"t want to talk about it. "You should apologize."
A sadness filled his eyes as he stared at her. He brushed a strand of hair from her face and nodded. "Okay. I will."
Chapter 8.
Jared stared at Madison, pondering what she"d been through to warrant the kind of emotion now splayed across her face. The urge to protect her overcame him. Then he realized he"d been the cause of it. His own thoughtless words.
Remorse plagued him. He was such a fool. When would he learn to keep his mouth shut?
"We"d better go. Patricia wants to make wedding plans." His car beeped when he pressed the unlock b.u.t.ton, and he opened the pa.s.senger door for her.
The silence blared as he drove. He tried several times to say something, but before the words came out, he changed his mind.
She was right. He treated his family poorly. And they didn"t deserve it. She didn"t deserve it, either.
They arrived at the house and pulled into the driveway behind Irene"s Mercedes. Patricia and Zachary pulled up behind them. No one spoke as they walked up the sidewalk.
Irene opened the door, and Jared stepped forward, his hand on Madison"s back. "Irene, I must apologize for the way I acted at the hospital. I"m under a great deal of stress, but I did not mean to take it out on you."
Irene blinked, stammered a bit, and then smiled. "No offense taken. I didn"t mean to make you uncomfortable. You can stay wherever you"d like, of course."
"We"d be happy to stay here," Madison said, wrapping her arm through his.
He scowled at her, then smoothed his features into what he hoped was a smile. "Yes."
Irene was obviously pleased. "We"d love to have you."
Patricia elbowed Madison, and they began whispering. Then Madison laughed. He raised his eyebrow at her, but she just shrugged.
They sat in the living room, and Patricia pulled out a notebook and pen. "I thought we"d start by brainstorming. If this is going to happen in two weeks, we"ll need to improvise. Get creative. And we"ll need to invite people by phone instead of sending out invitations."
Zachary put his arm around Patricia. "We"re thinking this will be a small affair. Family and close friends. How does having the wedding here sound, in the backyard?"
Irene nodded. "Perfect. Madison, what about your family? Can they make it on such short notice?"
Jared watched her for a reaction. Madison shifted in her seat. "My, uh, parents died in a car crash. I don"t have any other family."
She was lying, he had no doubt in his mind. But, from the way she"d acted earlier, he was guessing there was a good reason she didn"t want her family around.
"Oh, I"m so sorry." Irene clutched at the scarf around her neck. "That"s terrible."
Patricia clasped Madison"s hand. "You poor thing. Surely you must have friends you"d like to invite?"
Madison nodded. "I do. My best friend, Carrie. I"ll explain to her what"s going on. I"m sure she"ll want to be there."
Patricia wrote something on her notepad, then turned to him. "What about you? Who do you want to invite?"
The shocking realization he had no friends crashed through him. The only people he a.s.sociated with were people who worked for him. They kowtowed to him when he was near, and he was sure they gossiped about him when he was not. Even Darlene hated him. "No," he muttered. "I just want family there."
No one questioned him. Patricia jotted down something else. "I"d like Angela and Casey to be my bridesmaids." She continued to talk about things he couldn"t care less about, and he found his mind wandering.
He studied Madison, sitting with her ankles crossed, her soft hair brushing against her shoulders. He found it difficult not to stare at her slender waist and her shapely legs.
"Don"t you think so, Jared?"
His head snapped up. What had they said? Should he nod? Or admit to not hearing the question? Patricia stared at him, waiting for a response.
"Yeah. Sounds good."
Patricia smiled. "Great. We"ll all write our own vows, then."
He held in a groan. Sure, he had to pick that moment to drift off. How in the world was he going to write fake vows for his big, fat, fake wedding?
He sunk into the couch, and he was sure he heard a giggle coming from Madison. This was going to be a very long two weeks.
A trio of mannequins dressed in flowing white dresses posed in the window display, surrounded by flowers, tulle, and satin. Madison gulped, while Patricia let out a little squeal of glee. "I can"t believe I"m shopping for my wedding dress. It"s so exciting, isn"t it?" She ushered her into the shop, Irene close on their heels.
The door chimed as they entered. The first thing Madison noticed was the total lack of wedding dresses. Then the plush seating, textured cream wallpaper, and crystal sconces came into view. Her throat went dry. This was no discount store. A saleswoman walked up to them. She peered down her nose at Madison. "Welcome to Claire"s. How may I help you today?"
Irene stepped forward. "These two lovely young women would like to try on some wedding dresses."
The woman eyed Irene"s designer clothes and plastered on a smile. "Of course. Come, have a seat."
A man in a tux held out a silver tray. "Champagne, ladies?"
They sat sipping their drinks while the sales attendants brought out the most beautiful dresses Madison had ever seen. Patricia"s excitement and the royal treatment from the staff calmed her nerves. By the time she picked a few dresses to try on, she was a little excited herself.
Sure, this wasn"t a real wedding, but playing the part of a bride would be fun. And Jared would make a great groom. Imagining him in a tux, clean shaven and pulling her close for a dance, weakened her knees.
The first two dresses didn"t fit right, but she didn"t mind because her favorite was the third. She zipped up the dress and stepped out of the stall. The attendant led her to the mirror room so she could see it from every angle. She stood in the middle of the room and stared at her reflection.
The dress hugged her waist and accentuated her curves. With the right amount of lace and beads, it screamed understated beauty. Her heart fluttered. This was the perfect dress.
Patricia and Irene entered. Patricia covered her mouth with her hand and gasped. "Madison, it"s gorgeous!"
Irene beamed. "You look so beautiful. Jared"s going to fall over when he sees you."
Madison lifted her arm and flipped over the tag. She choked. Nine thousand dollars? She couldn"t afford that! All she had to her name was the check Jared had given her. And $500 was already promised to Carrie for her half of the rent. What was she doing? This was never going to work.
She shook her head. "I"m sorry, this isn"t the dress for me."
Irene and Patricia exchanged glances. Then Irene put her hand on her back. "Don"t worry about the money. I"d like to pay for it."
Madison stared at Irene. Was she serious? Did she know how much the dress cost?
"I don"t have a little girl of my own, and it would mean a lot to me if you let me do this for you." Her eyes darkened with emotion. "I"ve always wanted a daughter. I"m so lucky you"re joining the family."
Blood rushed through her ears, and she felt like she was going to faint. "I don"t know what to say." How could she let this woman pay nine thousand dollars for a dress when the whole wedding was a farce? She couldn"t do that. She"d feel terrible, knowing the money was going down the drain.
Irene smiled. "You don"t have to say anything. I know we"ve only just met, but I feel like you"re already an important part of the family. I see the way Jared looks at you. You make him happy, honey. That"s worth so much more than the price of this dress."
"I"m sure we can find a cheaper one."
A frown crossed Irene"s face. "But this one...look at it. So beautiful. It looks like it was made for you." Irene put her arm around Madison and gave her a small hug. "I know this rushed wedding can"t be what you imagined, but if you can"t have the wedding of your dreams, at least you can have the perfect dress."
"But I-"
"Not another word." Irene motioned to the sales woman. "We"ll take it."
Madison swallowed. What was she going to do? Maybe she could pay Irene back. After she found a job, of course. She"d save up. Maybe even sell the dress. Yes, she"d find a way to give the money back.
"Thank you," she whispered, emotion making it difficult to speak. Irene was welcoming her into the family, no questions asked, no conditions. Just open arms. The feelings this brought to the surface were strong, and Madison struggled to bury them. This was only an acting job, she reminded herself. This wasn"t going to be her real family.
Ten minutes later, they were leaving the dress shop with two wedding dresses ordered. Even though it was getting to be late in the day, the August heat hit them when they stepped outside. Patricia couldn"t stop talking about the wedding, and her excited chatter made Madison feel a little better.
As they pulled up to the house, Patricia sucked in a quick breath.
"What?" Irene asked.
Patricia, staring out the pa.s.senger window, narrowed her eyes. "That"s Veronica"s car." A yellow Jaguar convertible sat on the driveway.
Madison wasn"t sure if she should know who that was, but decided to take the chance and ask. "Who"s Veronica?"
Patricia turned a serious face to her. "Jared hasn"t told you?"
"Um, I don"t think so."
"That"s not good." She chewed on a fingernail, worry lines etched into her forehead. "She"s Jared"s ex. Come on, we"d better go inside. I"ll tell you about her later."
Patricia hopped out of the car and dragged Madison up the walkway and through the house. They found Jared in the living room, sitting on the couch next to a busty brunette wearing cute shorts and a trendy top. Gold bangles jingled on her arms. Her legs were crossed, and her feet were adorned with expensive-looking strappy heels. She was draped over him, and they were looking at what appeared to be a high-school yearbook.
"Remember that? I can"t believe your hair." She laughed, a deep throaty sound.
"Hey, it was cool back then." He blushed.