“She wants to widen those hips so you can accommodate Donovan grandkids.”
“Are you insane?” Maddie’s tummy somersaulted. Probably from the lumpy oatmeal at breakfast. “There’s nothing wrong with my foot. I can kick your ass when I get back.”
“Bite me, Lefty. Admit it, your biological clock is ticking like the rest of ours.”
Maddie took a sip of apple juice. “Not mine. It’s digital.”
“Mine sounds like Big Ben these days,” Reece said. “Speaking of Big Ben. London?”
Maddie worried the chain on her silversword necklace. “He leaves in a few weeks.”
“You could always ask if he’d consider not going at all. He could write his own ticket in New York. You could give up this Evil Knievel crap, write books, settle down—”
“Have you met me?” Maddie attempted a short laugh. “You weren’t joking about that biological clock of yours, were you? Besides, I don’t want to be his Yoko Ono.”
“Did you at least decide if you’ll join him at some point?”
Question of the day. “Giving it some thought.” She looked at her arm. Well, she did have a valid reason for her indecision. “I forgot to tell you, Crystal Washington sent me four boxes of chocolate as an apology on behalf of the rookie photographer and Reckless Times.”
“Did you get a taste tester first?”
“Didn’t keep them. I donated them to the nurses. And they were Godiva.”
“You passed on Godiva? You must be pissed. What happened to that photographer?”
“Apparently she had to be sedated, she was so upset. But I’ll deal with her later.” She had bigger issues to solve. “She quit the rag. She had the nerve to volunteer to be my assistant.” Maddie shook her head. “As if. It was an accident and I’ve forgiven her, but I don’t have to tell her that, yet.”
“Hey, getting her to transcribe for you isn’t a bad idea. How else are you going to write?”
“With Alex’s get-well gift.” Maddie smiled, looking at the box propped on the window sill. “He bought me text-to-speech software. Look, Ma, no hands.”
“What a guy,” Reece said. “What time are you meeting with Felicia today?”
“Actually she’s here now.” She nodded her mother in. “Thanks again for the book basket.”
“I’m going to borrow those books.” Reece laughed. “Good luck. Miss you. Ciao.”
“How are you feeling?” Felicia asked once Maddie had hung up. “Have you had lunch? Can I get you something?”
“Doing okay.” She pointed to the tray. “Mrs. Donovan brought lunch earlier. I’m stuffed.”
“I see they took your cast off. Does that sling hurt your neck?”
Could this conversation be any more stilted? “I only have to use it for a week or so.” She carefully slid off the bed and headed to the bathroom to brush her mussed hair. She hadn’t mastered one-armed blowing drying yet. “Be right back. I’m going to put my hair up.”
She stood in front of the mirror, brushing her hair and wondering how the hell she was going to fix it into a ponytail. Felicia came in and took the brush from her hand. Without asking, she brushed Maddie’s hair and gathered it up, securing it with a band, twisting it and pinning it up.
“You’ve always had gorgeous hair.” Felicia put her hands on Maddie’s shoulders and stared at her through the mirror. “You really are a beautiful young woman—great skin, a healthy body and—”
“—if I would just get my boobs done, use more makeup, take modeling classes and—”
“And nothing. I paid you a compliment. A simple thank you would have been nice.”
“My bad.” Maddie lowered her flushed gaze from the mirror. “Thanks.”
Maxwell’s voice echoed from the hall. “And I don’t understand how you could allow her to risk her life out there like that.”
Both Felicia and Maddie poked their heads outside the bathroom door.
“She’s an excellent mountain biker,” Alex responded. “It was a careless accident that wasn’t her fault.”
Maddie stepped into the room to greet them. “Maxwell, Alex knows my passion for biking, and he could no more stop me than I could stop him from going to the front lines for a story.”
Maxwell approached her, touching her uninjured elbow. “You should be in a wheelchair. He glanced around the room. “I’ll arrange for a bigger room and a private nurse.”
“Please don’t fuss.” She stole a glance at Alex, who was rolling his eyes and shaking his head. “Everyone’s been great. The nurses, doctors. And this room is fine.”
“Let’s get you into bed then,” Maxwell said. “You shouldn’t exert yourself.”
Alex nodded hello to Felicia, went to Maddie and kissed her cheek. “She’s not an invalid. Walking and doing things for herself is good. She needs to do more of that.”
So much for being pampered. Maddie smiled to herself. “He’s a taskmaster.” She winked at Maxwell when she saw he was about to start in on Alex again. “I’m kidding. I wouldn’t want it any other way. However, there are no rules against slipping the inmates some Milk Duds.”
A half hour later, after Maddie assured Maxwell she was up to this meeting, the four of them sat in a private sunroom which Maxwell had requested. Maddie, Felicia and Maxwell sat in overstuffed chairs with Maddie in the middle. Alex stood, leaning against a desk across from Maddie.
“Well, this isn’t too awkward.” Maddie looked from Felicia to Maxwell. “Shall we play rock, paper, scissors to see who goes first?”
“This isn’t easy for any of us.” Felicia wiped her hands on her peach linen dress. Maddie noticed her engagement ring was missing. “I guess I should start first?” Felicia asked Maxwell.
He nodded. “Okay.” She blew out a breath. “I had an affair with Maxwell. Since he was already married when I got pregnant and I knew we couldn’t have a future together, I thought the best thing to do was move away and keep your birth a secret. I’m sorry.”
“We both are,” Maxwell piped in. “Now that the truth is out, our main concern is your recovery. I look forward to getting to know you better and I hope you feel the same way.”
“And the hills are alive with the sound of music and everyone lived happily ever after.” They were so not going to get away with the Readers Digest version of the story. “How did you two meet?”
Maxwell’s expression turned grim and Felicia fidgeted in her seat. Her face was flushed.
“At a social gathering of a mutual acquaintance,” Maxwell responded.
Simple question, interesting reaction from the two of them. Maddie wondered if this acquaintance had been a mob boss. “How long were you two…involved?”
“Close to two years,” Maxwell said.
She looked at her mother. “Why didn’t you let him know about my birth at some point?”
“There were reasons why Maxwell had no choice but to remain married. I knew if I came forward it would cause him and his family a lot of problems.”
“Your mother had no choice, either,” Maxwell said. “I recently found out that my ex-wife ordered Felicia to never mention her baby.”
Maddie shifted to the edge of her seat, watching them both. “How did your wife know about the pregnancy when you yourself had no clue?”
Maxwell shot Alex a dirty look. “An intrusive reporter who thrived on destroying successful men discovered our affair and went to my wife and family behind my back.”
“So your wife and family knew about me?”
Maxwell nodded. “To my regret, my father sided with my wife at the time.”
“Way to go, Gramps.” Maddie was glad she’d refused painkillers today. She needed a clear head. “Wait a minute.” Turning to Felicia. “You told his father and wife, but not him?”
“I was mad. I blurted it out to them.”
Maddie pushed herself
up and leaned on the arm of the chair, staring at Maxwell. “So fast forward twenty-eight years and what happened, your ex-wife appeared and said, ‘Congrats, it’s a girl’?”
Maxwell exchanged a look with Felicia, reminding Maddie of two chess players, after one made a move and looked at the other one to indicate it was her turn.
Felicia smoothed down the skirt of her dress. “Your uncle met him when Maxwell returned from Europe after his divorce. Maxwell asked George about me, but I was married at the time so Maxwell didn’t follow up. George didn’t tell him about you that time.”
“I ran into George again a few months ago,” Maxwell said. “I asked him how Felicia was doing. He informed me that Felicia and Madison Elizabeth were doing fine. As soon as he mentioned your name, I became suspicious and asked who you were. After a lengthy discussion, he finally confessed you were my daughter.”
Her uncle would never refer to her as Madison Elizabeth. And the plot thickens.
Maddie glanced at Alex—she could tell he was itching to say something. He cupped his chin, shaking his head when he caught her Can-you-frickin-believe-them? look. “Why would my name trigger your suspicion?”
“My late wife —my first wife’s name—was Elizabeth. Your mother knew how much she meant to me. It is an honor that you carry her name.”
“Madison holds a special meaning to me and Maxwell.” Felicia looked at Maxwell. “It was my way of remembering him.”
It took Maddie three seconds to process the special meaning. She got up and stood beside Alex. “Am I the only one who feels like she’s landed in the middle of an after-school special featuring C-list actors?”
Alex shot her a sideways glance. “I hear you.”
She had been livid at Alex for keeping the details from her, but now she understood that the real story was so convoluted, she did, indeed, need to hear it from these two.
“Why couldn’t you two have hooked up in Queens?” Maddie said. “Queen Elizabeth Saunders. Purple is my favorite color. Madison’s been so overdone since Splash.”
“I’ve put up with your flippancy over the past few days,” Felicia said. “But I will not allow you to mock Maxwell’s late wife’s name—”
Maddie rolled her eyes. “This whole conversation is a mockery. It’s time you both canned this rehearsed script.” She turned toward Maxwell. “The DNA test. Can we have a look-see?”
Felicia’s eyes widened. “What DNA test? When?”
Maxwell glared at Alex. “You told her?”
“I said I would. She has a right to know she was being tested.”
Felicia looked like she was about to faint, and Maxwell shot Alex an icy scowl. “Madison, I apologize for going behind your back. I have not looked at the results. I shredded them as a show of faith. After a long discussion with your mother, I came to the conclusion that you are my daughter.”
She hiked her brows at her mother. “Must have been some discussion, huh?”
Felicia met Maddie’s stare with an unspoken plea to shut up. “You’ve always wanted to know about your father. Now you know.” Felicia cleared her throat, twisting her hands in her lap. “I hope you can both forgive me for keeping you away from each other all these years.”
Maxwell nodded. “It’s time to forget the past and start fresh.”
“What now, a group hug?” Maddie said. “Tell him, Felicia. Tell him now or I swear I will.”
“You’re out of line.” Felicia’s voice quivered. “We should get you back to your room—”
“This is not right.” Maddie sucked in a slow breath. Damn ribs still hurt. “Let’s call whoever authorizes blood work. We’ll take blood tests. Then we can all see the
results—”
“No!” Felicia put her hand up. “I won’t put you through that. You hate needles.”
“You don’t give a rip about my needle phobia. You’re protecting yourself.”
Maxwell went to Maddie. “Your mother is protecting you. You’ve been through enough.”
She backed away, positioning herself closer to Alex.
“For years you wanted to know,” Felicia said. “Why can’t you accept he’s your father?”
“I can, if it’s the truth.” She turned to Maxwell. “The lab must have a copy of that DNA test. I’ll give my consent or whatever you need—”
“Stop it.” Felicia let out a sob. Maxwell reached out to her, but she shoved his hand away. “You got what you’ve always wanted, now let it go. In all likelihood, he is your father.”
“Likely but not guaranteed.” She bit back a wince. Raising her voice caused pain in her side. “You went to a fertility clinic. An anonymous sperm donor could be my father, right?”
Maddie ignored Maxwell’s shocked expression. “I did some research on my own. Did you think I was just going to accept this secret baby fairytale?” She glared at Maxwell. “I expected crap from her. Not from someone like you.”
Felicia bolted out of her seat. “Well, Madison, allow me to live up to the low expectations you’ve always had of me. You want to know how we met?”
It was Maxwell’s turn to pale. “For godssakes, Felicia, don’t.”
Felicia turned on Maxwell. “Now you care?” She spat the words out. “It wasn’t too long ago you threatened to tell her yourself.” She placed herself in front of Maxwell, her face contorted with rage. “You screwed with my head. You kept coming in and out of my life, messing things up when I thought I finally had it together.”
“I’m willing to share some of the blame for the past, but not all of it. You chose—”
“Yes, I made bad choices! And I’ve lived with the memories and pain of those choices.”
Maddie shook her head, concentrating on taking slow breaths. “None of this gets to be about you two. All I ever wanted was to know the truth about who my father is—”
“You’re finally going to get your wish.” Felicia turned and stood in front of her daughter. “When a woman like me gets noticed by a man like him it makes her believe that maybe she’s worth something instead of being part of the sisterhood of the oldest profession in the world.”
“Felicia, stop this, now!” Maxwell’s booming voice snapped Maddie out of the dizziness she felt at her mother’s proclamation. “This is not what we agreed we would tell her.”
Maddie grabbed Alex’s hand. Surely, she must have misunderstood her mother. “I know I’ve made comments about your relationships, but I would never call you or think you were a—”
“A what? Hooker? Whore? You would have been right if you had.” Felicia threw her head back. Her self-loathing laugh crashed into Maddie’s eardrums. “For men like Maxwell Hollister we called ourselves consultants. I believe the current label is call girl.”
Her mother who never cussed—at least not in front of Maddie—had been a call girl? “I don’t believe it. This is what you always do when I want answers. Fabricate some drama.”
Felicia inhaled short rapid breaths like a lizard catching flies. “Go ahead, Maxwell. Here’s your chance to extract your pound of flesh. Was I or wasn’t I a call girl when we met?”
Maxwell turned to Maddie, regret reflected in his eyes. There was no need for a verbal confirmation.
A cold chill ran up Maddie’s spine. She shivered.
Alex wrapped his arm around her shoulder, pulling her closer to him.
“Go ahead. Judge me.” Felicia pointed her finger at the three of them. “You think selling my body is disgusting because none of you can imagine doing that. Of course you can’t. You all like yourselves and have far more respect for yourselves than I ever did. I was kicked to the curb in New York before I entered puberty. My childhood was riddled with abuse. That was my reality. And no, I’m not making excuses for my career choice.”
She held her head high. “The hungrier I got, the more desperate I became.”
Mad
die was numb all over. Even her bruised ribs had ceased to have feeling. She swallowed hard. “Am I the product of an accident with a…client?”
“No. You were planned and wanted. And Maxwell was not a client when you were conceived.” Felicia lowered her voice a few decibels. “I’d taught myself to make do without love until I met Maxwell.” She sagged against the chair’s armrest. “He was so gentle, kind, considerate.” Her agony filled eyes locked with Maddie’s. “I became his mistress, and I never went back to the call-girl agency. We had an arrangement, but I fell in love.” Tears streamed down her face as she turned to Maxwell. “You have no idea how much I loved you.”
Alex handed Felicia a box of tissues. She took one and wiped her eyes. “I wanted to give him something that nobody else could.” She turned to Maxwell. “I wanted to have your baby.”
Maxwell grabbed Felicia by the shoulders. “Then what is this about a fertility clinic?”
“I panicked. I thought you were getting ready to leave me for good. I thought if I was pregnant, then you’d leave that witch and we’d be together. You told me if there was anything in life I wanted, I would have to go out and get it.”
Felicia inhaled a deep breath. “So that’s exactly what I did. I wanted to increase my chances of a pregnancy so I saved my money and went to a clinic. I was able to choose an eye color, hair color and background to match yours. At the time we were still intimate, so there is a chance she’s yours.” She raked a trembling hand through her hair. “The doctor explained that because I only had one insemination, my success rate with a donor was less than twenty percent. Chances are high that she’s yours.”
Maxwell’s face matched the color of his hair. “How could you deceive me like that?”
“Do you ask yourself that question also?” Standing, she took a step closer, narrowing her eyes. “You ran away from your past and pain into our sordid affair, deceiving us both into thinking we had a future together.” Felicia turned toward Maddie, who was now battling nausea worse than when she’d ridden the world’s largest roller coasters for her article. “Look at her. She’s the spitting image of your sister. She has your intelligence and sass. She hates me as much as your family hated me. As much as you hate me now.” She grabbed another tissue. “So now you know. I was a desperate, stupid, immature woman. I used the oldest trick in the book to try and keep my man.” She blew her nose. “Come on, Madison, I know you have a comeback. Oldest profession, oldest trick—”
What a Girl Wants Page 34
