“I’m sorry I missed that. I can’t wait to meet her.”
“Hold on and I’ll get her for you now.” Max put the scepter on a gilded ledge of the castle exterior and went inside.
He returned with a dark-haired toddler dressed in a puffy pink dress, rife with taffeta and lace. Her face was painted with glitter, and multicolored gems embellished her sparkling gold tiara.
Max scooped up her up and said, “This is Ivy Ann Snow, the belle of the ball.”
Ivy gazed at Lizzie and said, “Garry do this.”
Garry, she assumed, was Garrett. And “this” was most likely a reference to the party, unless it meant the adoption.
Either way, Lizzie told her, “You look beautiful, like a princess should.”
The child said, “Tank you,” for “Thank you.”
Lizzie smiled. Apparently Ivy had a bit of trouble with her pronunciation. But Tokoni mispronounced some of his words, too. “I know a five-year-old boy who would have liked to be here. But he lives too far away.”
“What’s him name?”
“Tokoni.”
“Where him live?”
“In an island country called Nulah,” Lizzie replied. Ever since Max had lamented that they should be the ones to adopt him, making her long for the impossible, she missed Tokoni even more.
“Do Maddy know him?”
Maddy? It took Lizzie a second to realize that Ivy was taking about Max. “Yes, he knows him.”
“Maddy my uncle.”
“Your favorite uncle,” he said, tickling Ivy and making her laugh.
A few giggles later, she tried to wiggle out of his arms, her attention span waning. “I go now.”
“Okay, Princess.” He put her down, and she dashed off, back into the castle to play with her friends. Or her subjects. Or whoever she was holding court with.
“I didn’t know she called you Maddy,” Lizzie said.
“When I first met her, I told her my name was Mad Max, and she turned it into Maddy.”
“I like it. Maybe I’ll start calling you that, too, since I started the Mad Max handle to begin with.”
“Go ahead, pretty Lizard. I don’t mind.” He reached out to touch one of her diamond drop earrings. “Are these new?”
“No, they’re from my mother’s collection.” She went a little breathless, having him standing so close to her. “Vintage Harry Winston.”
“And this?” He skimmed her necklace. “Was it your mom’s, too?”
She nodded. “Yes, except it’s early Cartier.” She lifted her wrist to showcase her bracelet. “And here we have Tiffany and Company.” Normally she kept her mother’s jewelry in a safe-deposit box at the bank. “I got into the vault, so to speak.”
“What made you decide to do that?”
“They remind me of when I was a little girl, so wearing them to a child’s fancy party felt right somehow.” She tempered her emotions, trying to keep her voice from cracking. “Mama used to let me play with her jewelry when I was young. She would dress me up and stand me in front of the mirror, giving me the history of each piece.”
“I’ll bet your mother would have loved this party.”
“Yes, I’m sure she would have.” She took a step back, away from him. But what she really wanted was to move straight into his arms and be held by him, soothing the ache of them not being able to become Tokoni’s parents.
“Hey, you two,” a masculine voice said from behind them.
Lizzie and Max turned simultaneously. The man who’d spoken to them was Garrett. He stood tall and trim and polished, his jet-black hair slicked straight back, his classic tuxedo sharp and crisp. He wasn’t sporting a crown. But he’d probably removed it after the opening ceremony.
Next to him and holding his hand was his fiancée. Meagan was a lovely brunette with almond-shaped eyes and waist-length hair. She wore a powder-blue gown and a silver tiara.
Garrett introduced Lizzie to Meagan, and the women smiled and greeted each other.
Afterward, Lizzie said to Garrett, “Congratulations on the adoption. I met your new daughter. She’s beautiful.” To Meagan, she added, “She looks like you.”
“Thank you.” Meagan leaned toward Garrett. “She certainly adores her new daddy.”
As if on cue, Ivy poked her head out of the castle, saw her parents and ran over to them. She grinned at everyone, her puffy dress askew. Then she said, “Come,” to Garrett and tugged him toward the playhouse. With her other hand, she grabbed Max, pulling him in the same direction.
Meagan laughed. “Apparently the men have been summoned.”
Lizzie laughed, too. “So it seems.” She watched them disappear into the castle, with the toddler leading the way.
After a stretch of silence, Meagan said, “I saw you once before. It was at a fund-raiser at the park. But it was a while ago, before Garrett and I had gone public with our relationship. So no one introduced me to you. You were off in the distance, with a group of other women.”
“Was Max there, too?”
“Yes. It was the first time I met him. Later that day, Garrett told me about you and how close you and Max were. I’ve wondered about the two of you ever since.”
Lizzie’s heart went bump. “What do you mean?”
“If you were more than friends—” The brunette stalled. “I hope it was all right that I just said that.”
“You’re not the first person who’s been curious about us.” And she wouldn’t be the last, Lizzie thought. “It happens all the time.”
“Then you must be used to it.”
Was she? At the moment, she wasn’t so sure.
Meagan said, “When Garrett and I first got together, we told everyone we were just friends, when we were actually having a secret affair. So I thought maybe that’s what you and Max had been doing. That at some point, your friendship had turned into more. But Garrett insisted that wasn’t the case. Still, I wondered how anyone, outside of you and Max, could know the absolute truth.”
“The truth is that we’re just friends.” Friends who wanted each other, she thought. Being painfully honest, she added, “But I’m not denying that there’s an attraction between us. That we...” That they what? Wished they could be lovers, but were afraid it would ruin their friendship?
“I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to pry.” Meagan made a face. “Well, maybe I was. But only because of how fascinated I was by you and Max when I first saw you.”
“I’ve been fascinated by you, too, and your history with Garrett. You’ve had a lot to overcome.”
“That’s why we kept our relationship a secret at first. I didn’t want anyone to know that I was dating one of the men I embezzled from. But Garrett convinced me that we needed to come clean.”
“He’s a forthright guy.”
“Yes, he is. I love him so much I could burst.”
Lizzie couldn’t relate. So far, her experience with love hurt something fierce: the loss of her mother, the pang of not being close to her father. And now she’d begun to love Tokoni, a child who wasn’t even hers.
Determined to keep a rein on her emotions, she asked, “Did Garrett happen to mention the boy that Max and I are trying to find a home for?”
“Yes, he did. If there’s anything I can do to help, just let me know.”
“Thanks, I will.” Lizzie gestured to their surroundings, her mother’s Tiffany bracelet catching the light. “I told Ivy that Tokoni would have enjoyed coming to this party. It’s hard not to think of him in a setting like this.”
“Oh, I’m sorry that he couldn’t be here.” Meagan watched her with sympathy. “You must be really attached to him.”
If she only knew how attached, Lizzie thought. “Max and I both are. He’s a special kid.”
“It’s sad t
o think of kids living in orphanages and foster care. My brother, Tanner, raised Ivy when I was locked up, or else she would have been placed in the system. Tanner is here tonight, with his wife. My other brother and his wife and son are here, too. They flew in from Montana.”
“Sounds like you have a wonderful support group.”
“I couldn’t have gotten through my struggles without them. Garrett’s mom has been amazing, too. And of course, Garrett’s brothers. Jake and Carol were here earlier with baby Nita, but they left already. Nita was getting fussy and needed to go home for her nap. Do you know Carol? Have you seen the baby?”
“I met Carol before Jake married her, when she was working for him as his personal assistant. But I don’t know her very well. I haven’t seen the baby yet. I sent a gift when she was born. But she must be about four or five months old by now.”
“I didn’t know Carol very well at first, either. But I’m becoming really close to her and the baby. Ivy adores them, too. She thinks her cousin Nita is the most wonderful being on earth.”
“It’s nice that you and Carol formed a bond and that your children will grow up together.” Lizzie wanted Tokoni to have that type of family, too, the loving, caring kind every child should have.
“Maybe you could join us for lunch sometime.”
“You and Carol?”
“Yes.”
“Thank you. I’d like that.” After they exchanged numbers, programming them into their phones, Lizzie asked, “Have you and Garrett set a wedding date?”
“Not yet. I want to complete my parole first. But Garrett didn’t want to wait to adopt Ivy, so he started those proceedings months ago.”
Lizzie smiled. “It sure seems to have worked out.”
Meagan smiled, as well. “It definitely has.”
Just as their conversation came to a close, Max and Garrett returned with Ivy in tow. Garrett was carrying her. He approached Meagan, and the child leaned forward to kiss her mommy.
Lizzie’s heart ached from the sweet sight.
After the smooch ended, Garrett and Meagan took their leave, hauling their little princess over to the dance floor, where a kid-friendly band prepared to play Disney tunes.
In the moment that followed, Lizzie said to Max, “Meagan invited me to have lunch sometime with her and Carol.”
“That’s nice. I’m glad she included you in the girly stuff.”
“She’s easy to talk to. We discussed all sorts of things.” She quickly added, “But I didn’t tell her what you said about wishing that we could adopt Tokoni. There was no point in saying anything about that.”
“I haven’t told anyone that, either, not when there’s no way to make it happen.” He bumped her shoulder with his, his jacket grazing her arm. “Unless we suck it up and get married.”
Her jaw nearly hit the floor. “Please tell me that you’re kidding. That you didn’t mean that.”
“Of course I was kidding. You didn’t really think...” He hesitated, frowned, blew out a choppy breath. “Besides, in order for something like that to work, we’d have to fake everyone out and pretend to be a real couple.”
Lizzie’s tiara was starting to feel uncomfortably heavy. “Meagan wondered if we were having a secret affair.”
His voice turned grainy. “Yeah, people sometimes wonder about that. But in order for this to work, we would have to split up after the adoption with an amicable divorce. That way, we could co-parent Tokoni and still hang out as friends.”
She couldn’t believe what was coming out of his mouth. “Listen to yourself, Max. You’re plotting the details. You’re actually starting to think about it.”
“I’m just thinking out loud.”
“About us faking a marriage.” Confused, she shook her head. “Do you know how crazy that sounds?”
“You’re right.” He cleared the roughness from his throat. “I shouldn’t have mentioned it.”
Lizzie shifted her gaze to the parents and kids and happy festivities. Everywhere she looked, she saw what she and Max were missing. But no matter how badly it hurt, entering into a phony marriage wasn’t the answer.
Was it?
Six
At 1:45 a.m. Lizzie was still awake, alone in the dark, staring at the red digits on the clock.
She couldn’t stop thinking about Ivy’s party and the conversation she’d had with Max.
About marrying him.
Or not marrying him.
Or adopting Tokoni.
Or not adopting him.
She wasn’t supposed to be letting that discussion spin around in her brain. Yet she couldn’t seem to get it out of her mind.
Her only solution was to work even harder to find prospective parents for Tokoni. To sleep tonight and get up tomorrow, refreshed and ready to go. But that was easier said than done. She would probably be up for the rest of the night, fighting this battle.
And it was all Max’s fault. If he hadn’t tossed that fake marriage idea out there, she wouldn’t be in this insomnia mess.
Just as she cursed him, her cell phone rang.
She jumped to attention. Was it Max, having the same wide-awake struggle as her? God, she hoped not. He was the last person she wanted to talk to.
She reached for the blaring device, where it sat on her nightstand. Sure enough, it was him. His name flashed on the screen, way too bright in the dark. But instead of ignoring him, like she should’ve, she answered the damned call.
“What do you want?” she asked.
“I knew you would be up,” he replied, undaunted by her frustration. “I can’t sleep, either. Can I come over?”
She switched on the lamp beside her bed and shot a pissy glance at the clock. Three minutes had passed since she last looked at it. “Do you know what time it is?”
“Yeah, it’s almost two. And I’m going to lose my freaking mind if you don’t let me come over.”
“All right. Fine.” She gave in. If she didn’t, she would only lie awake, even more embattled than before. “But you better bring some donuts. I need some comfort food.”
“I’ll stop by a convenience store on the way over and get a package of the powdered kind, the mini ones you used to eat when we were kids. Those always made you feel better.”
“Get two packages.” If she was going to pig out on itty-bitty donuts, she might as well do it right.
“Sure thing. I’ll see you soon.”
He ended the call, leaving her staring at the phone. What had she just gotten herself into, agreeing to entertain Max in the wee hours of the morning?
She got dressed, climbing into the nearest jeans and T-shirt. She certainly wasn’t going to answer the door in her short little satin chemise. Lizzie always wore fancy lingerie to bed. Her mom used to do that, too. But she shouldn’t be likening herself to her mother right now. She’d already draped herself in Mama’s diamonds earlier.
Hoping that a cup of tea would help soothe her nerves, she entered her bright white kitchen and filled an old-fashioned teakettle with water. She’d bought it at an antiques store, intending to use it as a flowerpot on her patio, but changed her mind and kept it on her stove top instead.
Anxious about seeing Max, she riffled through the tin container where she stored her tea bags and chose a fragrant herbal blend.
She sat at the chrome-and-glass dining table in the morning room, adjacent to the kitchen, and waited for the whistle.
Finally, when the kettle sang its song, she removed it from the flame and fixed her tea. She put an empty cup on the counter for Max, in case he wanted some, too.
He arrived with the donuts. He handed them to her, and she offered him the tea. He opted for orange juice, getting into her fridge and pouring it himself. He was attired in the same Star Wars T-shirt he’d worn to the party, only
he was wearing it with plaid pajama bottoms instead of a velvet tuxedo.
“I can’t believe you went out of the house like that,” she said.
“What can I say? I’m still the same dork I always was.” He grinned and toasted her with his juice.
“Stop that.” It was bad enough that he was here, rumpled from bed; she didn’t need him smiling like a sexy loon.
“Stop what?”
“Nothing. Never mind.” She couldn’t tell him how hot he looked. Better for him to assume that he looked like a dork.
He finally stopped grinning. “I can’t quit thinking about us adopting Tokoni, Lizzie.”
“I know. Me, too.” She carried the donuts into the morning room, where she’d left her tea. She brought a stack of napkins, as well, certain she would need them.
Max followed her, and they sat across from each other. The blinds on the window that normally bathed the table in natural light were closed. Typically, Lizzie used this room for breakfast, not for middle-of-the-night snacks.
She tore into the donuts and ate the first package, right off the bat. They tasted like the processed junk they were, cheap and stale, but satisfying, too.
“Do you want one?” she asked him.
He shook his head. “Do you think we should just do it?”
“Do what? Adopt Tokoni?” She grabbed a napkin and wiped her mouth with shaky hands. “We can’t.”
“We could if we followed my plan.”
“And get married?” Her hands shook even more. “Then divorced later? That’s cheating.”
“So you’re suggesting that we should stay married instead? Cripes, Lizzie, that wouldn’t work.”
“No.” Absolutely, positively no. “I’m saying that faking a marriage is cheating and that we shouldn’t do it at all. It’s not fair to Tokoni’s mother.”
“But we’d be good parents. The best we could be to her son.”
“That still doesn’t give us permission to bend the rules. And what about Losa? How are we supposed to convince her that our ruse is real?”
Paper Wedding, Best-Friend Bride Page 7