“Ruby,” he said. “I asked you yesterday not to call me anymore. You ended things. Two years ago, in fact. It’s time to move on.”
Even as he spoke, he could sense Adelie distancing herself from him. He reached for her hand, latching it with his, and gave her what he hoped was a reassuring smile. Her shoulders lowered, and she returned the expression.
“Duncan told me an interesting bit of news,” Ruby said, ignoring Maddox’s comment. “Is it true you married this girl? Your Front-Page Girl?”
Defensiveness flared inside of him. That made Adelie sound cheap. “That’s not your business anymore, is it?”
“There’s nothing wrong with me wanting to congratulate an old friend on his sudden and unexpected marriage, is there?” Ruby’s voice was an odd mix of sweetness, hissing tones, and sharp edges.
Maddox tried to figure out what spurred her snark. Why should Ruby care who he was with now, unless…
No way. She couldn’t possibly be jealous. She’d been the one to end things, and she’d done it in the nastiest way possible.
“There wouldn’t be if you actually meant it,” Maddox said.
“I do mean it. Your little theme park is really taking off, and you’re celebrating in the best way possible. Honeymoon and all.”
“Goodbye, Ruby,” Maddox said. This conversation was obviously going nowhere. He didn’t want Ruby invading this amazing memory any more than she already had.
“And in France, no less,” she went on. “I’m sure all your new fans will want to know your exciting news.”
Maddox closed his eyes, regretting he’d ever answered the call the day before. He’d confessed where he was, hoping it would be enough to get Ruby off his case.
“If they do, it will be when Adelie and I are ready to announce it. Not before, you got it?”
“Keeping it to yourself? Where’s the fun in that? This is the best marketing gimmick you’ve had yet. Marrying your model? People are going to gobble this up.”
Maddox gritted his teeth and stood, releasing Adelie’s hand in the process. “Hang on a second, Ruby. You’re going too far.”
She laughed, a wicked, familiar sound. “Oh, come on, don’t tell me you actually have feelings for this girl. Didn’t you just meet her at the rabbit event? The one I told you to do?”
He closed his eyes, praying for patience. He should have known she’d take credit for that. But she couldn’t twist this; he refused to let her. His marriage to Adelie wasn’t a marketing scheme. If anything, it was starting to feel like something he wasn’t ready to say goodbye to anytime soon.
He decided to cut to the chase. “What is this really about?”
“I want in.”
“What?”
“On your park. Make me an investor too.”
This wasn’t just unbelievable. This was asinine. Did she forget what she’d said so easily? Maddox had begged for her support when his park was struggling, when he’d really needed it, but she’d shot him down more times than he could count.
She couldn’t be doing this now. Adelie was trying to stay out of the public eye. She was just starting to trust him. What would she do if she thought he’d married her to further his own interests?
“Stay out of this, Ruby. I mean it. I’ve moved on. You need to do the same.”
“You never move on from money,” Ruby said, ending the call and leaving Maddox with a sour pit in his stomach.
He wasn’t sure what had just happened, but when it involved Ruby and her tenacity to land the best business deals possible, he wouldn’t put anything past her.
CHAPTER TWENTY-Three
Adelie wasn’t ready to go home yet, which was funny, considering how a few days before she wanted to scamper away and hide. Now she wanted every moment alone with Maddox she could manage.
He’d changed, though, since Ruby’s latest phone call. Something she’d said had put him off, though Adelie couldn’t tell what.
“We should probably head back,” he said as they’d shared ice cream cones in a little shop down the street. “I’d like to get you to my security again, as soon as possible.”
Adelie licked the tip of her vanilla cone. Get back didn’t mean to their hotel. He meant returning to Vermont. “What does that mean? Did Ruby say something to you?”
His smile seemed too forced. “No, it’s just that I don’t think we should stay too much longer. Better to be safe than sorry.”
“Sorry for what?” Being in Paris? This had been the best trip of her life. It didn’t hurt that Maddox continued stealing kisses on street corners and bridges.
Maddox tipped his ice cream toward her. “That’s just it. We don’t know, so we’d better head back.”
Later, while back in their room, he spent some time on the phone with someone named Rosabel, whom Adelie discovered was Duncan’s assistant who’d arranged their trip in the first place. From the sound of things, they were set to depart for Vermont the following day.
Maddox ended the call and turned to face her.
“Leaving so soon?” Adelie added a pout for good measure.
Amused, Maddox scooped her into his arms. “I think I’d stay here with you longer if we could. You should know I think Ruby has something up her sleeve. I’d rather be on home base, to have you within my security’s protection in case of whatever it is.”
“You can’t think she’d actually do anything to me.” Adelie’s dismay was genuine. He’d called Ruby territorial. Would Ruby come at Adelie physically?
“No, not to you personally. It’s just that, she implied…”
“Implied what?”
His brow pinched. “Nothing. It may not even happen. But there is one thing I’d like to do before we leave Paris.”
“Oh?” Her thoughts tangled into knots. So many possibilities could fit that particular description.
He wove his fingers through hers and gave her an endearing grin. “Yes. Get your shoes on, Mrs. Hatter. We’re going for a walk.”
***
Maddox talked easily of memories of his first visit to Paris with his family as a teen, and of the time he’d eaten ice cream on the bridge while they’d waited for the sun to set and the Eiffel Tower to flare to life.
“Where are we going?” Adelie asked, completely flummoxed and dying of anticipation. She had to know what he had up his sleeve.
“You’ll see.”
They rounded a corner to a row of picturesque shops. Adelie wasn’t sure she’d ever acclimate to the architecture in this city. Haussmanian stone buildings with wrought-iron railings and stained glass seemed like the epitome of class, and they were everywhere.
“Here we go.” Maddox gestured to a store bearing the title Chez Mercier Bijoux. Tall glass windows displayed delicate, sparkling necklaces on dainty stands, set off by black velvet. So much sparkle in one window almost put the Eiffel Tower to shame. Almost.
“A jewelry store? What are we doing here?”
Maddox smirked. Pinning his gaze on hers, he lifted her left hand and kissed a certain, bare finger. “I just wanted to make our marriage official. I didn’t ever give you a ring.”
Adelie’s hand lingered in his. He couldn’t be serious. “Maddox, that means—you know what a ring means, right?”
“Commitment,” he said. “I know this marriage of ours has been completely backward and inside out from the start, but I’m of the opinion it’s never too late to set things right. I’d like you to feel secure about me, in case…”
“In case what?”
A thought bothered him. He shook it away and smiled. “Nothing. I just want you to have a ring. You deserve a ring.”
Adelie stared, flabbergasted. Was he serious?
She didn’t voice the question aloud, and he didn’t answer with words. Instead, he brought his lips to hers, spearing heat all the way through the empty spaces inside of her. The gleam in his eyes said more than anything he ever could. How could he look at her like that? Like she was the only woman who’d ever existed?
“What do you say?” he said, his voice low.
She managed to find her voice. “Yes. I’d love a ring from you.”
He kissed her once more and opened the door.
The displays were blinding. Adelie examined each carefully, receiving gentle nudges and tickling strokes from Maddox whenever he caught her staring too long at anything but him.
She didn’t want anything too gaudy. Just something simple and perfect, unassuming and plain, the way she wanted to be viewed. Maddox tried to talk her into a larger carat, but she insisted on something small. She was the one who’d be wearing it, after all. Not him.
“This one,” she finally said, admiring its fit on her hand. It was a thin, white-gold band, accented by a square diamond and paired with a diamond-plaited wedding band so it looked as though she wore two rings with one jewel.
“It’s perfect,” Maddox said as the jeweler took it to the back to be sized to her slim fingers. Adelie was thrilled when Maddox agreed on wearing the corresponding men’s band.
The next day, after they retrieved the rings, Maddox slid hers onto her finger. With the new addition, her hand seemed to make its way out in front of her everywhere she went. She admired its gleam as she took in the sight of her hand twined with Maddox’s in the car on the way to the airport. She admired it on his plane as they shared kisses on the luxurious leather couch and eventually fell asleep together for the long flight home. And she admired it after they made it back to Vermont and through Maddox’s security to his generously sized home.
Somehow, the ring made things that much more secure for her. He wouldn’t have bought one for her—and for himself—if he didn’t want this relationship of theirs to remain as it was.
She still felt uncertain and wanted things out in the open. She wanted to know exactly how he felt. Exactly how long he wanted to be married to her for, because the way things were going, she never wanted it to end.
***
Maddox knocked on her door the next morning. She was too distracted by the sight of the ring on her finger to manage studying much, though she was doing her best to learn the confusing, medical prefixes and suffixes for her terminology class. At this rate, and with him around, she’d never pass her upcoming exam.
She opened the door only to find herself bundled into his arms and thoroughly held.
“Good morning,” he said into her neck. He suspended her against him the way a dancer in a routine might, staring up at her with complete satisfaction.
“Good morning,” she said with a grin.
“I had a thought.” He lowered her to stand on her feet. “And you don’t have to—I mean, it doesn’t have to be more than, well—I mean, we are married.”
She chewed her bottom lip. “You’re cute when you’re tongue-tied.”
Color flushed his cheeks, but he didn’t release her. “I’m just saying, I miss you.”
“You do?”
“Yeah. You know, you’re all the way in here. And I’m all the way in my room.”
He indicated its direction with his head. In a house as large as his, it did seem like there was a league between them.
“I just wondered if you might want to share my room with me. Like we did in Paris. It doesn’t have to be anything more than that. Not unless you want it to be.”
“Maddox.” She didn’t know what to say.
He was right—they were man and wife. Would it be so bad? The truth was, she missed him too. She was having a harder and harder time concentrating on school or answering Suzie’s texts or dealing with anything else but him.
“You don’t have to answer now. Just think about it, okay?” He kissed her, and she melted on the spot. “Anyway, I wanted to let you know, I’ve got to head into Wonderland today. Do you want to come with me?”
The offer tempted her, but it wasn’t enough to brush aside her pressing exam that was just a few more days away.
“I’d better not,” she said. “I’ve got a test soon, and I’ll never pass this class if I don’t get some studying done.”
This time, he did the pouty lip.
“Better be careful with that,” she said, tiptoeing up to kiss him.
“Get your studies done,” he said. “I’ll see you for dinner tonight, okay?”
She was becoming more and more of a puddle the longer he stayed. “Okay. I’ll miss you.”
He grinned and was gone.
Adelie settled in. She forced her mind to focus, though she couldn’t stop thinking about his offer. Had he really asked her to share a room with him? She didn’t want to consider all the implications, so she did her best to concentrate.
After lunch, she relocated to the expansive front room, eager to soak in its comfortable arrangement of furniture and the sun spattering through the massive windows. Music helped her concentrate, and she was so caught up in terms and phrases, she almost missed the doorbell’s ring.
Adelie glanced up. Kirk was nowhere in sight, so she laid down her books and made her way to the door, opening it without a thought. Chances were, it was Maddox with a bouquet of flowers or some other crazy, romantic gesture. That seemed like the kind of thing he might do.
It wasn’t Maddox. A perky blonde woman Adelie recognized—carrying a microphone and backed by a cameraman—beamed at her.
“Hey, there. It’s Adelie, right?” She jutted out her hand. “Wendy Hendricks. You may remember, we met the day you found Mr. Hatter’s rabbit.”
“I—yes, I remember.” The unpleasant memory was a splash against a newly finished watercolor. In an instant, the happy, swirling, comforting image she’d painted for herself in her mind began to muddy and ebb into an incomprehensible mash.
Adelie wanted to retreat, to shut the door. Was Wendy recording her now? How had she gotten past security? Did Maddox arrange this?
Wendy lowered her hand. “Some rumors have flown recently, between you and Mr. Hatter, and I thought I’d see if I could ask you a few questions.”
Rumors. Had word of their marriage leaked? Or maybe it was their trip to Paris.
“I’d rather not.” Adelie motioned, trying to figure out a nice way to uninvite this woman from the doorstep. While she was married to Maddox, this still didn’t seem like her house. Could she demand she leave?
“Oh my gosh, is that a ring?” Wendy flagged her cameraman. “Miss Carroll, are the rumors true? Did you and Mr. Hatter get married?”
“I’m not answering anything. Sorry.” Adelie nearly succeeded at closing the door before a separate hand shot out.
“Come on, that’s no way to treat this nice lady.”
The woman Adelie had only seen on Maddox’s phone strutted up from behind Wendy. She wore a skin-tight, floral dress that cut short at the thigh, and the tallest heels Adelie had ever seen. Her dark hair fell in thick waves past her shoulders.
Adelie’s defenses went onto high alert. Ever since her childhood, she’d had a sense about unsafe people, and Ruby triggered every one of her reservations in an instant. Her pushy manner. Her quick movement toward Adelie and lack of respect for Adelie’s obvious discomfort.
Like Wendy, Ruby jutted out a hand in Adelie’s direction. Against her better judgment, Adelie shook it.
“Pleased to meet you. I’m Ruby, and Maddsy told me all about you.”
Maddsy?
Adelie’s old anxieties trickled back in. The way her head blanked out. The way her pulse skyrocketed. The way she felt as though she’d been struck.
“I think you should go.” Adelie’s voice was weak. Too weak.
Ruby waved her off while beckoning Wendy and her cameraman on, into Maddox’s foyer.
“We’ll be fast friends,” Ruby said. “Just like Wendy and me here. She just wants to ask you a few questions. No big deal, right?”
Flashbacks of the grocery store blanched Adelie’s vision. She couldn’t let this happen—she’d come here for safety, not to be cornered once more. She had to grow a backbone sometime. Maddox had married her. He’d invited
her to not only live here, but to share his personal space. That had to mean something.
Adelie clenched her fists at her sides. She crammed energy into her voice in a way she never had before.
“No.” Her lower lip began to tremble, along with her ribcage. She clenched her fists tighter and rammed the words out past her angst. “It is a big deal. I’m not answering anything and you—” Her voice broke. She forced it back. “I’m asking you to leave.”
Ruby quirked a brow. She angled her jaw and folded her arms across her chest. Adelie waited for her to continue arguing, but to her relief, she turned to the news anchor.
“Go on,” she ordered Wendy, who left with her cameraman without a word.
“You too,” Adelie said, keeping her head high.
“So commanding,” Ruby said. “But I’m not blind, sweetheart. I see the rock sparkling on your left hand, which means that beast, Duncan Hawthorne, was telling me the truth.”
Adelie’s arms went rigid. For a minute, she had the urge to hide her hand, but why should she? She had nothing to be ashamed of.
“What does it matter whether I’m wearing a ring or not?”
Ruby seemed to find this amusing. Smirking, she paced, just a few steps, back and forth across the foyer.
In an instant, Adelie got an image of the Red Queen from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland about to pronounce the unfortunate person in closest proximity was set to have his head removed.
Adelie wasn’t sure how to get this woman to leave. She shot Maddox a hasty text before lowering her phone.
Ruby is here. Please come as quick as you can.
“That Maddsy. He played things so well with you.”
“Excuse me?” Adelie didn’t have to add spice to her tone. It was coming naturally now, matching Ruby’s spitfire persona.
She chuckled and folded her arms over her chest, jutting out a single hip. “Oh, don’t you worry. I’m sure you’ll get a share too. After all, it’s thanks to you his profits will triple after this story gets out.”
“What are you talking about?”
Shock washed over her as Ruby’s words became clear. Was she implying Maddox married her for publicity? Though Adelie had once suspected as much, she didn’t believe it now. He couldn’t have faked the emotion they’d shared in Paris. It couldn’t be true.
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