Behind her, the key sounded, and the door flung open. It would have knocked into her if she hadn’t taken several astonished steps away.
Maddox appeared in the doorway, a look of desperation on his handsome face.
“Adelie?” His voice sounded so frantic. So afraid.
Guilt wrenched her as cold, stark relief washed over him at the sight of her. “Maddox!”
In a moment, she was in his arms. “Oh my gosh,” he said, bending his nose to her shoulder. “I thought you got kidnapped. I thought something had happened to you. Why didn’t you answer my calls and texts?”
He pulled her away, holding her at arms’ length to get a better look at her face. “I considered searching the city, but decided to head back here right away, just in case.”
“I—I’m so sorry,” she said, touched by his alarm and intensity. This wasn’t the reaction of a man who didn’t care about her. The realization only made her regret worse for taking off the way she did. “My phone died on the way back to the hotel.”
He stared at her as though he’d never seen her before. “Why did you leave like that? I asked you to wait for me, I thought you’d be there, but I turned around and you were gone. I’ve been hunting all over the place trying to find you.”
Adelie ducked her head. She was such an idiot. All over jealousy, over stupid, trivial jealousy and pride. She’d never battled with pride before now. Why did it have to go rearing its head? She didn’t even know who Ruby was. Why did she have to go and jump to conclusions about her?
Still, they were on a honeymoon. A weird, platonic type of honeymoon, but Maddox had said he wanted them to get to know one another. How could they when he was clearly keeping this other woman a secret from her?
Then again, it never occurred to her that she didn’t know the name of Duncan’s assistant. She thought Maddox had mentioned it, but was it Ruby? If so, why didn’t he just tell Adelie as much, or answer the calls?
“I’m sorry. I guess…”
“Why didn’t you wait for me?” he said again.
“Why should I?” Her voice was deadly soft. “Why did you marry me at all when you’re clearly in another relationship? Who is Ruby?”
Maddox groaned and rubbed a hand over his face. He ambled past her toward his couch instead of answering.
Adelie trudged to her own bed in the next room. She and Suzie had gotten in plenty of fights, but this was so different. Suzie was her sister. She knew her sarcastic habits and personal tendencies to defend with throwing things back at Adelie.
Adelie had never gotten into a disagreement with someone who wasn’t family before. Not serious, not like this. Why did it matter who Ruby was? Why couldn’t she just let it go?
Saying vows to Maddox in the Westville City Hall made it matter. She didn’t realize how seriously she’d taken this marriage until now. She wanted this to be a real honeymoon.
But it wasn’t. This wasn’t a real marriage, where people wedded out of love for the other and a deep, serious commitment to honor the other person in sickness and in health, in both answered and ignored phone calls. This was another brand, another billboard, a way for Maddox to assuage his guilt for having put Adelie in an uncomfortable situation.
So, she’d gone and married him on a whim. Good grief. She needed some serious therapy.
This was the photo shoot all over again. Yet again, she’d made the mistake of settling. Of jumping into something she didn’t really want. This wasn’t how a honeymoon was supposed to be. He was supposed to adore her, not be constantly interrupted by another woman.
More than that, he was supposed to have already loved her enough to present her with a lock, ready to throw away the key that would open his heart to anyone else but her.
It wasn’t real, and it never had been.
The thought panged inside of her, the way it had been doing all day. They couldn’t force this, no matter how hard they tried to make it look like they had. Suddenly, she wanted to go home. Why did Vermont have to be an ocean away?
Maddox was sitting on the couch he had yet to pull out. Hunched over so his elbows rested on his knees, he held his head in his hands and stared at the floor.
“Are you okay?” Adelie asked, approaching. She’d jumped to conclusions. She’d made assumptions instead of being open from the start. Worst of all, she’d mistreated him, worse than she’d even realized. He’d been scared, worried for her safety. She should never have done that to him.
“I’m so sorry, Maddox.”
Maddox sat up. His eyes were sad, and frustration furrowed his brow. Regardless, he offered her a hand. “Will you sit with me?”
Adelie took it, allowing him to lead her to take the empty cushion beside him. She expected him to release her hand, but instead, he held it, stroking her skin with his thumb. The sensation served to relax her shoulders, and she settled near his side, craving the closeness and its reminder that, despite her mistake, he hadn’t yet written her off.
“When I first started Wonderland, I needed some backing. I stumbled across a woman who was confident she could help my little theme park take off. She showered me with praise and carried out every promise she’d made. Soon enough, we found out we had more than a business interest in one another.
“Ruby and I started dating, and our relationship was really great for a while. But she was constantly talking about money, about investments, about all the things we could do by expanding and building new theme parks across the U.S.
“I didn’t want that. I’d built Wonderland for my mother, and one park was enough for me. I’d also made plenty of money—I didn’t need to go seeking for more. But I thought I was in love with her, and I wanted to support her dreams as well as my own.
“Ruby started pooling money into other places, claiming it would be best for the park. But a lot of the risks she took ended up falling out from underneath me. It caused a strain in our relationship and not only that, with my attention so focused elsewhere, Wonderland’s appeal started to plummet too. Profits weren’t what they were. Ruby had access to all my accounts and saw everything. And before I knew it, she ended our engagement.”
Adelie stroked his forearm, fumbling for words. Her initial reaction was to sympathize with his heartache, but she wasn’t exactly sorry Ruby had ended things with him.
“Do you still love her?” she asked.
“No,” he said without hesitating.
For some reason, she couldn’t allow herself to believe him. She didn’t suppose anyone stopped loving someone else. Not really. Not when you felt enough for another person to want to marry them the right way instead of the rushed, fake way. That made this situation all the worse.
He continued stroking her hand. “I didn’t want her to be a part of our trip, Adelie. That’s why I was trying to ignore her phone calls. She’s been hounding me since she saw the rebrand. I wanted to keep her from finding out about you, but she’s relentless and persistent. It’s what makes her so successful, I guess. She’s not going to give up until I give in and let her meet you.”
Adelie was caught short. Her spine straightened. “She wants to meet me? Why?”
“She tends to try and predict success. Sounds like she thinks I’m onto something with you.”
Just what kind of success was he talking about here? If it had anything to do with modeling, that had been a one-time thing. She wasn’t about to put herself in a similar situation ever again.
Considering Adelie’s earlier suspicion, that there had been something more between Maddox and Ruby before Adelie came along, another suspicion filtered in. Adelie had been ripe with jealousy after one stupid phone call featuring Ruby’s pretty face on Maddox’s screen.
Had the sight of Adelie’s face on Maddox’s theme park had the same effect on Ruby? Was that why she was doing this?
“She knows I’m your model, but does she—does she know you married me?”
He lowered his head, allowing her hand to slip free from his so he could rake his hands
through his hair. “No. I haven’t known how to tell her.”
“I see.”
The answer was enough. They’d been engaged. There had been something between them. If he was hiding Adelie from Ruby, perhaps there was still something between them.
With her hand free, Adelie stood. She couldn’t be close to him any longer. She was already growing too attached as it was. He was going to be hard to walk away from, so the sooner she did so, the better.
Maddox’s jaw set. “What do you mean?”
“I see,” she repeated. “Why you wanted to go to France. To keep me from her.”
“Adelie,” he said. “I wanted to go to France with you because you’re my wife.”
The declaration stung the corners of her eyes. She couldn’t bring herself to look at him. He said it so tenderly. So straightforward.
“I just…”
“What? You don’t believe me?”
“I want to,” she said, sniffing. “But—”
“But what?”
Tears blurred her vision. Her throat closed. She hated the way crying affected her. It was such a stupid thing. She couldn’t bring herself to say it.
He rose to his feet and cradled her face with his hand. “But what? Tell me. Please.”
“I am your wife,” she said through her tears. He wiped a stray bead from her cheek. She wished he wouldn’t be so attentive right now. Then again, if he wasn’t, she wasn’t sure she’d be able to say what she needed to. “But it’s only a piece of paper.”
“How can you say that?” The sorrow in his tone was too raw.
She persisted. “Because it’s true. You didn’t even kiss me.”
Light flickered in his eyes, joined with comprehension. The air between them shifted, thickening and filling with heat.
“Is that what this is about?” he said softly. “You want to be kissed?”
She wanted to retreat. She couldn’t, not with the way he held her face in his hands.
“Marriage should be sealed with a kiss.” Adelie fought her trembling lower lip.
He tilted in, taking a step and enclosing his arm around her in a single motion. Pressed to his body, her heartbeat ratcheted the way it did when she’d been on one of his roller coasters, trekking up the slow, building climb that would lead to the sudden plunge into speed and exhilaration, to a ride she had no power to stop.
She’d never had the sensation of a man’s lips pressed to her own, and this wasn’t just any man. This was Maddox Hatter, the man who’d spun her like a top since the moment they’d met.
His lashes brushed his cheeks. His lips hovered inches from hers, and his breath stroked her skin. She waited, aching, craving, wanting. But she couldn’t give in.
Adelie closed her eyes. “Don’t,” she said.
“Don’t what?”
“Don’t kiss me out of pity or because of what I said. I want you to kiss me because this marriage means something to you.” Because I mean something to you.
“Adelie.” Her name rumbled in his throat. He tightened his hold around her. “It’s more than that,” he said. “I want it to be more. Please, let me prove it to you.”
“No. I’m sorry, Maddox, but I can’t do this. Not if you still have feelings for Ruby, not if this is all going to end in heartache. I’ve never kissed anyone before, but I get the feeling doing so is going to give you too much of me, and I won’t be able to recover if I lost that. Good night.”
She hurried to her room and shut the door, not wanting him to see her cry.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Maddox was baffled. He couldn’t understand what would make her so hesitant to trust—not only him, but everyone. This was more than shyness, more than uncertainty or hesitation. She’d mentioned how hard it had been when her parents had abandoned her. Was that what made her so resistant to letting people in?
He checked the time back in Vermont. Though it was evening here in Paris, it was morning there. Would Suzie be awake?
Maybe this was a mistake, but he got the feeling Adelie wouldn’t tell him if he came right out and asked. Suzie might have some idea of how he could approach the conversation he was hoping to have with Adelie.
She thought he still had feelings for Ruby; that wasn’t the case at all. Ruby was a viper. Duncan hadn’t been kidding about the risk she’d pose to Adelie if they were ever in the same room. Maddox truly had been trying to keep his word to Adelie, that he would protect her.
It’d been the reason he’d drawn away to have the conversation with Ruby earlier. He’d known how Ruby would argue with him when he asked her to back off and mind her own business. He’d finally ordered her to back off and ended the call, only to turn and find Adelie had vanished from the bridge.
Suzie could help him. She’d seemed peppy and friendly. Most of all, something told him she would be open to anything that would help Adelie, which was all he wanted. Impulsively, he dashed into the hall, to make sure Adelie didn’t overhear the call.
“Hello?” Suzie’s answer was bright and perky.
“Hey, Suzie, this is Maddox. Do you have a minute?”
“Sure. Good morning! Or I guess evening there. What’s up?”
Maddox wasn’t sure how to bring it up. He shared a little bit of the connection he’d been having with Adelie, careful not to disclose too much.
“But I can’t seem to get close to her. She doesn’t trust easily, does she?”
The other end of the line was quiet long enough, he thought she’d hung up on him. “Okay,” Suzie finally said as if on an exhale. “Adelie will kill me if I tell you everything, but I’m going to tell you enough to help you get her, okay?”
“Okay,” he said, unexpectedly unsure he wanted to hear whatever it was.
“Did Adelie tell you we were raised by our grandparents?” Suzie asked.
“She did. She said it was one reason she wanted to save their house.”
“Yep. Did she tell you why?”
Maddox thought it over, trying to recall a conversation where the why had been mentioned. “She’s closed off about it, but she did say they abandoned you when you both were young,” he said. “And that her best memories were in your house.”
“Maddox.” Suzie’s tone was solemn. “Our dad was a deadbeat. Borderline abusive, in and out of jail. Mom left him, left us, during the worst of it, and then they got in a car accident and passed away.”
“Oh my gosh,” Maddox said, stricken at the sound of the words.
“Yeah, it wasn’t pretty for a while there. Finally, our grandparents intervened and got us out of a bad situation. If she’s having a hard time trusting you, don’t take it too hard. It’s not you. I’m sure you’re a decent guy. She just took it so hard, she was so young, you know? When it all happened.”
“How old was she?”
“Seven,” Suzie said. “She was seven when we left my dad and moved in with Grandma and Grandpa Carroll. Our lives were so much better, but I was able to forgive, let go, and move on much quicker than Addy was. Just give her time. Let her tell you her story and follow her lead.”
“Wow,” Maddox said, speechless. What did a person say to news like that? “Suzie, I’m so sorry that happened to you both.”
It explained so much. Why Adelie hated being in the spotlight. Why she hated crowds, why she seemed so hesitant to let him touch her, to accept his compliments or assurances. There were times when he said or did things, and he sensed her pull away.
Mostly, it explained why she’d taken his actions so hard today when all he’d done was answered a different woman’s phone calls—at Adelie’s request, no less.
He didn’t know much about helping someone overcome the results of such an abrasive situation, but he was certain about one thing. He wanted Adelie to trust him, to feel safer with him than she’d ever felt in her life. He wanted to help her heal.
***
Adelie tossed and turned, fighting away tears the entire night. She was so messed up. Why couldn’t she just let go o
f the past, of every insecurity that had stuck with her since her childhood? Her body had grown and lengthened as she’d grown into adulthood. Her face had matured, showing years of change from the babyish roundedness it had once had. She’d changed on the outside. Why couldn’t her soul keep up the pace?
She knew Maddox wasn’t like her father. Her brain knew it, anyway. Her heart was the tortoise in this race, unlike her hare brain, so quick to make judgments and bad calls. She’d tried for so long to keep herself shut away, locked safe in her grandparents’ home, but here she was, on billboards and touring France, of all places. She was seeing the world. The world was seeing her.
And that was okay, wasn’t it?
Not every encounter she had with people was going to be like those men in the grocery store. Not every man was like they were, like her father had been. Maddox was proof of that. She needed to let go, to let him in, to be okay with the choices she’d made recently instead of fighting them so much they were flaring up her anxiety.
So what if Maddox got a phone call from another woman. She needed to shift her focus. She needed to talk to Suzie.
Though it was late here, she dialed her sister’s number. “What is going on with you two?” Suzie demanded the minute she answered.
“Um—what? What are you talking about?”
“I got off the phone with your husband not too long ago.”
Adelie’s jaw set. “Why did you call Maddox?”
“I didn’t call him,” Suzie said with a laugh. “He called me because he wanted to know how to reach you.”
Adelie’s jaw dropped. “He—he did?”
“Yes. He is seriously into you, Addy. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say that husband of yours is falling in love with you. He wants to help you. To be close to you.”
Falling in love with her? Adelie’s stomach clenched. Her breathing turned shallow. She wasn’t sure what to think. “What do you mean he wants to help me?”
“I told him about Dad,” Suzie said, straightforward as always.
Shock overtook her. Enough time had passed that the memories that used to plague her didn’t lambast her like they once did. Even the pain of those memories had faded unless she really focused on them. Which she chose not to at all costs.
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