Mad About Max

by Holly Jacobs

  Her face grew warmer. “Kelly.”

  “Grace Kelly?” Max laughed. “It suits you.”

  “Is that why you’re laughing at it?”

  “I’m laughing because it’s not what I expected.” He pulled her into his arms and hugged her tight. “You’re not what I expected.”

  “What did you expect?”

  “When you came into my office, I thought you were an eccentric writer.”

  “I am.”

  “Maybe.” He toyed with her pale blond hair. Weighing each strand, marveling at its texture.

  “What do you want, Grace?”

  She wanted to say, You. I want you. But she couldn’t seem to get the words out. She settled for, “Food. I’m famished.” It wasn’t exactly the truth. She was starving, but for Max’s touch.

  “Before the food comes, we have one thing to do.” He walked across the room and flipped a button on the clock radio sitting on the dresser. Jarring rock sounds tumbled through the room. Max started moving through the stations, looking for just the right one.

  He stopped at a slow country song about finding love. Smiling at Grace he said, “I just realized that we never did get that slow dance at Leila’s party. I’m afraid that the fairy godmothers won’t like it if their Cinderella doesn’t get her waltz.”

  He walked to Grace and extended his hand. “Would the fair lady consent to dancing with her knight?”

  Grace shook her head. “The lady prefers dancing with her prince.” Taking his hand, she slid into his arms. He moved them in an easy rhythm, swaying to the music.

  Grace had never been much of a dancer, but this once—this one very special dance—she felt like she was the most graceful woman to ever put her feet on a dance floor.

  While Max whirled her around the room, Grace drank in the scent of him. Even after spending more than twenty-four hours in his tux, he still smelled good. He looked good, too. Maybe the fairies were still weaving their magic, or maybe it was just that Grace and Max were weaving their own spell. Whatever it was, Grace knew that she’d never been anywhere that felt as right as being held in Max’s arms.

  I love him. She rolled the words around on her tongue, and then rolled them around in her heart. It wasn’t just a fairy-feeling, of that she was sure. She loved Max’s humor, his ability to believe in her, and in the godmothers whom he couldn’t see. She loved Max’s need to take care of her, but she wanted a chance to take care of him as well.

  Yes, she definitely loved him. So how should she tell him? Would he believe her, or would it scare him off?

  The song ended and he kissed her. It was a slow, easy kiss that she never wanted to end.

  When Max let her come up for air, she said, “Max, I lied when I said I wanted food.”

  Huskily, he asked the question she’d been asking herself. “Then what do you want, Grace?”

  “You.” The moment she said the word, she knew the others would come easily. “I’ve wanted you since the moment I saw you. I worried that it might be my mental decline or the fairies working some charm. But, while Clarence had me, I realized it was more than that.” She hesitated.

  “You wanted me?”

  “More. I know it’s probably too soon to say this, but I love you, Max.”

  He opened his mouth to speak, and she placed a finger over his lips. “Shh. Let me finish. I know all the reasons for waiting to say the words. It’s too soon. I’ve been on shaky mental ground, and I’m sure there are other reasons. But I don’t care about all the reasons. I love you.”

  She trailed her hands down his shirt front, fumbling with the buttons. “Let me show you.”

  “You’re sure about this Grace?”

  “More sure than I’ve been of anything in my life.”

  A TOUCH PULLED at Grace, drawing her from her fantasy dreams of a man who . . . Her eyes flew open. A man who was in bed next to her, stroking her back. Hazy with sleep, Grace’s body warmed at the thought of Max’s and her night together. They’d made love, then eaten, then made love again.

  “Good morning,” Max said. “Actually, good afternoon.”

  “What time is it?” She rolled over and faced him, gently touching her lips to his.

  “Almost lunch.” He casually moved a stray strand of hair off her forehead. “Are you hungry for lunch, Grace Kelly MacGuire?” Laughter danced in his eyes.

  “You’re not mocking my name, are you?”

  “Never.” The promise sounded less than believable, especially when he started to chuckle.

  Grace grabbed a pillow from under her head. “You realize that this means war, don’t you?”

  He sat up and inched away. “Pillow fights are juvenile.”

  “Well, for your information, Dr. Artemus Maxmillion Aaronson, I’m occasionally a little juvenile when it comes to revenge.”

  “Grace,” he said in warning.

  “What?” she asked innocently a second before soundly thumping his head with the pillow. “My mother happened to like Grace Kelly.”

  Max dove at her, pushing her down to the mattress and pinning her arms at her sides. “I like your name and I swear I won’t mock it again.”

  She was so close, so tempting, Max couldn’t help leaning down and giving her a proper good morning kiss. When he finally eased his lips from hers, he flopped back onto the bed and pulled her into his arms. “You know, when I couldn’t find you, it bothered me that I didn’t know your middle name. There’s still so much we don’t know about each other. You haven’t even met my family yet.”

  “You’ve never told me about your family, not that there’s been much time for that kind of talk.” She snuggled closer to him.

  “My family?” Max said distractedly. Her wiggling was making him nuts. “Well, Mom and Dad are still alive, and they live in Florida.”

  “I’d like to meet them.” Grace wiggled a little closer.

  “That can be arranged,” Max murmured, nibbling at her shoulder.

  “Brothers and sisters?”

  “One each,” he managed between nibbles. “Nick and Joy. I’m the oldest, then Nick, then Joy.”

  Grace put a hand on his chest. “First we finish the discussion. The purpose of this fairyless time is to get to know each other, and I’ve got to admit, I’m curious. You know about my family, such as it is. I want to know about yours. Start with their full names. After all, you might laugh at Grace Kelly, but, in the bizarre department, I don’t think it begins to touch Artemus Maxmillion. How about it? Joy and Nick?”

  “Delphina Joy and Osborn Nicholas. Mom and Dad wanted to name us all after our grandparents.” Grace giggled and Max nipped her shoulder.

  “Ow.”

  “Don’t mock our names. We all decided we were glad there wasn’t another girl Artemus and Delphina were Dad’s parents, and Osborn and Clementine, were Mom’s. Clementine Aaronson? What a nightmare that would have been.”

  Grace was giggling now. “Well, I guess your family reunion is the one place my name won’t stand out.”

  “That was a rotten thing to say.” He silenced her, devouring her lips, memorizing her body with his touch.

  “Before this goes any further . . .” he paused.

  “What?” she whispered.

  “I just want to check. Myrtle? Fern? Blossom?” he called. No fairies answered, but then he never heard them anyway. “Did you hear anything?” he asked.

  “Nope,” Grace said, a Cheshire Catlike smile on her lips. “I think I put the fear of my pen in them.”

  “Damn, you’re a good writer.”

  MAX STEPPED OUT of the shower, dreading climbing back into his tux. It was bad enough to have to wear one for a couple hours at a party, but now he’d been wearing the thing since Saturday and it was Monday.

  Instead of finding a
tux hanging on the back of the door where he’d left it, he found a crisp new pair of jeans and a soft blue t-shirt. Sitting on the counter were a pair of boxer shorts, a pair of white tube socks, a toothbrush and toothpaste. A pair of Nike sneakers were on the floor.

  “The fairies have struck again,” he called out to Grace.

  She walked into the bathroom clad in jeans and a soft pink shirt. “Oh, you’ve already found the clothes. Well, it wasn’t Myrtle, Fern or Blossom this time. It was me. I don’t know about you, but climbing into that gown—even though I love it—wasn’t appealing, so I got us new outfits.”

  “How did you manage that?”

  “I bribed the bell boy to run to a department store after you went to sleep last night,” she told him. “He brought them up with breakfast or, rather, lunch.” Grace had enjoyed ordering the non-manhunting clothes.

  “So, no fairies are involved?”

  “No fairies. At least not for a while.” They had the day to be with one another. A day to themselves. A day to play, to learn about each other, and then they’d have the night. Grace smiled. Another night with Max might not be just what the fairies ordered, but it was just what Grace longed for.

  “What are we going to do today?” she forced herself to ask. If she kept thinking about another night with Max, they’d never leave the hotel room.

  “Have you ever been to Vegas?”

  Grace shook her head. “I’m not much of a gambler.”

  “We could see a show.”

  “I’d like that.” She would have agreed to do anything, as long as Max was with her.

  “Let’s go down and ask the concierge. He can point us at something good.”

  After the show they’d played a few slots. Then they’d eaten a romantic dinner at a small Italian restaurant which wasn’t part of the glitzy casinos. In the candlelight, they’d talked of family, of themselves, of pasts and present. The only thing they hadn’t discussed was their future. Grace wasn’t sure what would happen tomorrow when the fairies returned, or when she and Max returned to Erie and the real world, but she refused to worry. For this one perfect moment, Max was hers. She wasn’t going to waste an instant of it.

  Max had been gracious enough to let Grace pick the show. It wasn’t until they returned to their room that night that he teased, “Donny Osmond?”

  Donny had been Grace’s childhood fantasy, and she couldn’t pass up the opportunity to see him. “Yes, Donny Osmond. You liked his show, and you know you did.”

  “I liked watching you like his show,” Max corrected. “I thought you were going to pass out when he sang ‘Puppy Love.’”

  “That was my favorite song when I was in grade school.” One of the highlights of her childhood was her first concert, when Donny Osmond and his brothers danced onto the stage. “He was so cute. Still is.”

  “Should I be jealous?”

  “Let me reassure you.”

  Grace pushed him back toward the bed, and they tumbled into it. Then Grace set about demonstrating every way she could that she loved him. Max was tender and gentle with her, but the words of love she murmured over and over to him weren’t returned.

  It was too soon, she kept telling herself. But, try as she might, she wasn’t sure she believed it. The scope of her feelings for him were overwhelming.

  Max might enjoy her, might not think she was crazy anymore, but Grace was beginning to wonder just how he felt about her. She had told him she loved him. He had seemed to welcome the words, but he hadn’t echoed them.

  He was a tender lover, but she wanted more. What if she never got more? What if the fairies were wrong?

  What if Max didn’t love her?

  Wouldn’t it be ironic if they’d found her the man of her dreams, but hadn’t managed to find Max the woman of his?

  Ten

  “MAX, I FEEL RIDICULOUS,” Grace said the next morning. “Can’t I take this blindfold off?”

  They sat in the back of a taxi, and Max had blindfolded Grace. She’d thought they’d leave for home first thing, but Max had announced he had something special he wanted to do with her.

  “Grace, I keep telling you this is a surprise,” Max said.

  Grace had made another discovery about Max. He was stubborn. She sighed and relaxed in the seat until the taxi stopped.

  “We’re here.”

  “Where’s here?”

  “You’re not the patient sort, are you? Just sit still a minute.”

  “No, I’m not patient and I feel foolish. Can’t I take the blindfold off?”

  “No.” After paying the driver, Max helped her from the car and steered her as she walked. “We’re almost there.”

  The overpowering smell of roses gave their location away. “Max? We’re back at the chapel?”

  He pulled the blindfold from her eyes. “Have a seat.” They were directly in front of the bench where she’d waited for him. “There’s one last thing we have to do before we go home.”

  “What’s that?” she whispered, grateful to be sitting since her knees suddenly felt very weak.

  Max sank to one knee. “Grace, will you marry me?”

  She stared at him mutely, aware that it wasn’t the most romantic response, but unable to form a coherent sound. She’d worried that he hadn’t said he loved her, and yet, here he was proposing. Could it mean that he did indeed feel the same way about her?

  Max took her hand in his. “It seems to me that there could be no place on Earth more appropriate for us to marry then in the Amazing Grace Wedding Chapel.

  “We’re already in Vegas,” he continued, “and I want this more than I’ve ever wanted anything in my life.”

  “You’re sure?” she finally managed to ask.

  “Grace, I love you. It happened so fast, but I know I love you and no amount of time will change my feelings.”

  Tears gathered in her eyes. “You love me? I thought . . . when you didn’t say the words, I worried that maybe the fairies were wrong.” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “I thought maybe you wanted me, but just couldn’t love me.”

  He cocked his head, his brow creased. “Of course I love you.”

  “You didn’t say so.”

  “Grace, I’m so sorry. This is so new to me and, and that’s no excuse. I was waiting to tell you, then we made love and I thought you knew and—“ He stopped. “Grace Kelly MacGuire, I love you more than words can say. It has nothing to do with fairy godmothers, nothing to do with time. It’s just there. You’re a piece of me I never knew existed until you walked into my office. You just slid right into that hole in my heart and filled it with love.”

  “But should we really get married today?” She wanted it more than she’d ever wanted anything, but Grace needed to know Max felt the same way. “We could wait.”

  Max shook his head. “I love you. You love me. Waiting won’t change that.”

  It was the truth. She loved him, and there wasn’t anything she wanted more in the world than to marry him. “Yes, I’ll marry you.” Her heart felt ready to explode with happiness. She couldn’t help recalling that the first time the fairies had appeared in her car they’d told her that her perfect world wasn’t quite so perfect. Looking at Max, she acknowledged they were right.

  She glanced at her watch. It was almost time for the fairies to return. “Girls?” she called out. “Are you coming to the wedding?”

  “We wouldn’t miss it.”

  “You bet your life we’re coming.”

  “Do you know how much work we invested in this relationship? Of course we’ll be there,” humphed the three sisters, one on top of another.

  “Well, then come on,” Grace called.

  Max looked at her questioningly. “Are they coming to the wedding?”

  “Yes. They assure me they wouldn’t
miss it.”

  “Then I want to say something to the three of you.” Max faced the direction in which Grace had been speaking. “You’ve put the two of us through hell these last few days. If I could see you, I’d probably throttle you all. But since I can’t, I guess I’ll just say thank you, because despite the problems, you’ve given me the greatest gift I’ve ever received.”

  Three fairy godmothers—one dressed in buttercup yellow, one in moss green and one in sunset red—sniffed, wiping their respective noses with color coordinated handkerchiefs. One by one they filed out of the rosebushes and tiptoed up to plant a kiss on Max’s cheek.

  “Did they just kiss me?” Max asked Grace, gently rubbing his tingling cheek. She nodded, sniffing too. “Well, thanks girls. Now, come on inside, ‘cause we’re going to a wedding!”

  The inside of the chapel was as syrupy as the outside. Every surface was painted pink and red, and roses abounded. The Reverend John Smith presided. In the singsong chant of the old time chaplains he asked, “Do you, Artemus Maximillion Aaronson, take Grace Kelly MacGuire to be your lawfully wedded wife?”

  Max’s “I do,” rang loud and clear.

  “And do you, Grace Kelly MacGuire, take Artemus Maximillion Aaronson to be your lawfully wedded husband?”

  “I do.”

  “She does,” rang out three other voices at the same time. The fairies, standing directly behind Grace, rested their hands on her shoulders.

  Grace turned and smiled at them. They’d been right in the car, her life had been missing something, or rather someone. Her gaze turned to Max. “I do,” she whispered again.

  “You may now exchange rings.”

  Max looked sick.

  “He forgot the rings,” Myrtle whispered.

  “Ah, Grace?” Max said.

  “Tell him to check his pocket,” Fern added.

  “Feel in your pocket,” Grace whispered.

  “The right one.” Blossom pointed.

  Max reached into the right pocket and withdrew a black jewelry box. Two plain gold bands sat snugly inside its velvet interior.

  He leaned toward Grace and whispered, “The fairies?”