“Are you okay?” Maddox asked, bending to meet her eyes. “Did you know either of those losers?”
“No,” Adelie said, answering both of his questions with a single word. She clutched at her chest, her muscles tight and defensive. She was shaking. Who knows what those men would have done to her if Maddox hadn’t shown up when he did?
He rubbed a hand in soothing motions up and down her arm. “It was all I could do to not take them both down right there. Guys like that are total creeps.” He added a few additional, rougher explanations of what he’d like to do to men like them.
“I want to leave,” Adelie said, unable to process his words. It was the only thing playing in her mind over and over. Leave. Escape.
“We will. But if that woman called the police, then you might want to give them your statement so they can keep an eye out for those dirtrags.”
It was as though a balloon had released its air. People converged, smothering Adelie with questions about her well-being and congratulating her for standing up to the creeps. Adelie could only shake her head. She didn’t want to talk to anyone. She never wanted to set foot outside again.
“I’m fine,” she said to no one and everyone as a police officer strode to where she and Maddox stood.
The dark-skinned officer, too young to be bald and yet with head shaven and a blunt goatee, approached with one hand on his belt. His car remained visible through Coleman’s glass, automatic doors, its lights still flashing. Adelie recoiled. Nothing like bringing more attention to the scene.
Then again, she was grateful the officer was here, risking his own life for the safety of others, grateful Maddox remained by her side, rubbing calming circles on her back.
Adelie answered the officer’s questions as best as she could. “I was minding my own business, trying to buy a few things we needed, and these men wouldn’t stop following me. They patronized me, made lewd, suggestive comments, and then they started following me out of the store when I tried to leave.”
“Adelie,” Maddox said with such sympathy it dragged a few more tears from her eyes.
“I see,” said the officer, asking for descriptions, for any further information she could give that might be of use. The older woman who’d spoken in her defense stepped forward to show the officers the picture she’d taken on her phone before wishing Adelie good luck and pushing her cart away.
The store manager interceded, offering to give the policeman a look at their security feed. Adelie and Maddox both explained the reasoning for the attention, that she’d recently become the face of Wonderland’s new brand. The officer made his record and then offered his condolences.
“Call us immediately if anything like this happens again,” he said. “And it sounds like you might want to hang tight until publicity dies down,” the officer told her. He took a pause, walking away before turning back. “It might not be a bad idea to stay somewhere you feel safe for a while.”
Somewhere safe? It wasn’t as though she had miles of secure fences surrounding her house, or the luxury of a stern security guard to bar anyone’s entrance. How had she ever been enamored with Maddox’s house? With him, his lifestyle, with the money he’d given her?
Money. What a joke. Money was so not worth what she’d just gone through.
Adelie couldn’t help but think of Alice in the story. Growing larger one second, then smaller the next, with nothing more than a drink from a strange bottle or a bite of mushroom. After the pictures had been posted, after seeing the reception they were receiving, having Maddox share what a success everything was (via text since she’d refused to answer any of his calls), and then writing a check to pay cash for her house, it was like Adelie had grown. Tripled her own size, or at least the size of her head.
But now this? She’d shrunken. Now she felt three inches high. She wished she could go back, erase everything. She wished she’d never gone to Wonderland with Suzie, that she’d never sat at that stupid tea party table, that she’d never muttered the riddle to it.
And then she went and agreed to do a photo shoot? To put her face all over town, all over the nation? What had she been thinking?
CHAPTER TWELVE
“Should have just followed my gut,” she snarled, working her way from Maddox’s side to retrieve her fallen purse and then back again toward the exit.
“Hey,” he called after her. His footfalls thumped in her wake, and then he was at her side in the bright, mocking sunlight.
“Hey, are you sure you’re okay?” He continued trudging beside her, keeping her rapid pace.
She paused, tossed and turned, so confused. Where had she parked? Why were there so many cars here?
“I—I don’t know, Maddox,” she said, not looking at him.
He gripped her wrist. She shook him off. He persisted. “Can I give you a ride home? I’ll have Kirk pick your car up for you later.”
She took him in for the first time since he’d come to her rescue. Maddox wore a cozy sweater with gray and tan stripes and jeans and looked far too appealing for the frustration simmering through her.
“Take it down,” she demanded. “Take it all down.”
He rotated, following her. “What are you talking about?”
Tears pooled in her eyes, rendering him a blur. She hadn’t been able to process it all, but now that her emotions had a chance to settle, the reality of everything tumbled around her. The confrontation was invoking too many suppressed feelings from her past, feelings she’d worked hard to let go of.
“I don’t want it. I changed my mind.”
Maddox put his arm around her shoulders. “Come on, come for a drive with me at least. I think we need to talk, and it sounds like you definitely need someone with you right now.”
“What does that mean?” She shouldn’t sound so defensive, but she couldn’t help it. What was he implying? She already felt weak enough as it was; she didn’t need him reminding her she’d almost been abducted and possibly molested or whatever horrid actions those men had in mind.
“I mean, I’m not about to leave you alone after what I just witnessed. Those guys were trouble. Please, let me give you a ride home. We can talk in my car and you won’t have to worry about anyone overhearing.”
A pair of teenage girls stood near Coleman’s entrance, giggling and talking behind their hands. One of them called out, “Hey, Alice!”
Adelie closed her eyes. Wasn’t there anywhere she could go without being seen?
“Okay,” she said. She did want to talk to him away from prying eyes.
Together, they strolled to where he was parked. Maddox opened the passenger door to his Lexus and waited until she sat down before he closed it again.
Maddox headed for the freeway and they sped along down the road toward Manchester, weaving in and out of traffic. Though she wondered where he was taking her, she didn’t care enough to voice it. Instead, she focused her attention on the scenic beauty surrounding them.
It was an unspoiled forest, interrupted by asphalt, and the scenery was infectious, simplistic, and vibrant. She’d always loved living in Vermont because of the landscape alone. This was what had inspired Robert Frost to write such stunning words about nature, and she got to live here.
“Okay,” he said. “I’m going to drive out to the Shires. That should give us plenty of time and privacy to talk. Is that okay?”
She’d roamed along the Shires several times with her church youth group growing up. It was a beautiful area with luscious trees, rocky streams, and several nice walking paths, and it was just the respite she needed.
“I’m so sorry this happened to you,” he began. “Do you want to talk about it?”
“Not really,” she said truthfully.
He inhaled through his nose. “Fair enough. I’ll make good on your request, Adelie. I’ll take everything down, all the pictures, the billboards, everything. I never anticipated that you’d get such negative attention, that you wouldn’t be able to do something as simple as grocery shopping wi
thout hordes obsessing over you.”
“I—yeah. It’s kind of awful.”
His ready offer to redact the new images affected her. She never expected him to actually agree. Maybe it was that fact that made her hesitate. To have him remove everything just like that? Sure, she’d demanded as much back at the store, but he’d already invested hundreds of thousands of dollars into this—into her.
“But what about your profits?”
“Your safety is more important than my profits.”
The words sank into her like a drink of hot chocolate, soothing the chill that had been building inside. How could she let him do that? It hadn’t been his fault the creeps had come after her.
The truth was, Maddox had offered her the chance of a lifetime, and she’d accepted it, risks and all. She just needed to learn how to deal with everything a little better than she had. And carry a can of pepper spray with her everywhere she went.
Even women who weren’t famous got stalked by psychotic ne’er-do-wells. Learning a little self-defense might not hurt either.
“You put so much into this,” she began as he took a right turn and slowed toward the stop sign at its end.
“Doesn’t matter,” Maddox stated emphatically.
“Yes, it does. Even if you take all the signs down, the social media exposure still has the images. There’s no way to undo this, not really.”
With the roadway clear, Maddox accelerated, spearing past several slower-moving cars on his way toward the breathtaking mountains that made up much of northern Vermont’s landscape.
“I’m so sorry, Adelie. I feel like I have to do something to make it right.”
“This isn’t your fault.” She startled herself with the veracity of her tone. Little by little, good things about this situation began to filter in, drip by drip, in a way they hadn’t before.
It helped to be here with him now, to know she wasn’t alone in this. She’d felt so lonely, as though she were treading on sinking stones and waiting for the fall. So much of her anxiety had been based on the not-knowing.
“Thanks for offering,” she added as the road inclined and the meadow-like fields filled once more with trees. “But I’ll be okay. A little scarred after today, I won’t lie, but they don’t have grocery pick-up for nothing.” She tried chuckling, but it didn’t have the effect she’d hoped for.
Concern still dominated Maddox’s face. He scowled at the road, not responding to her attempt at playfulness.
“I’ll just lay low,” she said. “Like Officer Warner suggested.”
“You can’t hide for the rest of your life.”
“Maybe Officer Warner was right. I’ll just wait until the park’s publicity with your reopening and all these recent changes die down.”
Maddox slowed and changed lanes. “How exactly do you plan on doing that?”
“Never leave my house?” she joked. Hey, with Amazon, grocery pickup, and Suzie around, it was totally possible. It was a good thing she loved her home as much as she did.
Maddox took the next turn, which led to a wider pull-off for those wanting to stop and take in the view. He pulled onto the shoulder and frowned at a pair of trees that had tangled their trunks as though someone twisted them together.
“I have an idea,” he said, drumming his thumb against the steering wheel, “but you’re probably going to hate it.”
“What’s that?”
“Stay with me.”
She shifted on the leather seat. “What?”
He angled his head, still staring out the dash. “I know it sounds ludicrous and completely mad, but why not? Come, stay at my house for a while. You could have your own room, your own section, if you want. There’s plenty of space. And you’d be totally safe there. I mean, you’ve seen my security. Why not?”
Sure, go stay at the billionaire’s house with secure fences and cause even more speculation once word leaked she was living with him.
“Publicity is bad enough as it is now,” Adelie said. “How are people going to react when they hear I’m living with you? They might think something is going on between us.” She dipped her chin, embarrassed at having to be so blunt but knowing it was necessary.
“What if there were?” His tone was a captured butterfly, gentle and delicate, fluttering just enough to make itself known. “People move in together all the time.”
Adelie’s mouth fell open. Was he seriously saying what she thought he was?
A handful of arguments elbowed their way to the forefront of her mind, but only one took center stage. Moving in together meant they were in a relationship. It implied they were more involved than two casual friends should be.
She thought of Suzie and their neighbors. What would people think of her if she went and moved in with Maddox? Rumors would spread, whether they were true or not.
“If I were to ever do something like that, I would want to be married, Maddox.” She swallowed, willing herself to continue. “I know a lot of people don’t think it’s important, but it is to me.”
Gumption had overtaken her, but after all the events of the past several weeks, she needed to be more upfront, especially right now. Maybe if she had been, she wouldn’t be in this predicament in the first place.
“Okay, then. We wouldn’t call it moving in. We could call it protective custody.”
Adelie’s eyes slammed shut, and annoyance coursed through her. Changing the name of something didn’t change what it was.
Call her old-fashioned, but if her grandparents ever heard she’d moved in with a man—a man she was insanely attracted to and had dreamed about on more than one occasion—they’d roll over in their graves. Not to mention God’s opinion on the subject, which mattered to her.
Maddox’s chest rose. His hands rested on his legs. He hadn’t yet shut the ignition off, and his car rumbled beneath them. He rotated to face her more directly.
“Okay, then. What if you marry me?”
“What?” In the realm of responses she might have expected, a proposal was on a different continent. Marry Maddox Hatter? On a whim, just like that?
This time, Maddox shifted in his seat. “Hear me out,” he said. “People would believe a marriage. Whatever rumors might surface about the two of us would be answered from the start. No speculation. You could live at my house for as long as you needed to, ease your way into the public eye with me, and then maybe in a year or so, when you’re feeling ready to take on the world again, we can part ways.”
She could see his reasoning. Marriage would allow her as much time as she needed to feel safe again. Something told Adelie it wouldn’t be as easy as he claimed, though. If she did this, she’d never be able to avoid the public eye again.
Then again, even if she didn’t, it was already too late for that. But at Maddox’s side, as his wife, he could help her learn how to cope with it better than she was.
This was nuts. Completely insane.
Then why was the idea so tantalizing?
“You’re willing to do that for me? You barely know me. What do you get out of it?”
“Why should I get anything out of it?” His tone sounded almost offended.
“I just mean, it doesn’t seem fair to you. It feels almost like I’m taking advantage of you. You’ve already given me so much. How can I expect anything more?”
His lips tugged upward. “Adelie, I’m the reason your life turned upside down in the first place. This is the least I can do, believe me. I talked you into the photo shoot because I was selfish. I wanted you so badly, I didn’t think of the consequences, and it put you in serious danger. At least let me make this right.”
His phrase dangled like temptation between them. I wanted you so badly. Marriage was about more than just living in the same space. If they did this, she’d have to make certain parameters undoubtedly clear.
“So, we would actually get m-married? I would take your name?”
“Only if you wanted to,” he said. “I’d have to draw up some paperwork.”
/>
“More paperwork?”
There was that smirk again. “As some legal issues will be involved if we decide to move forward with this, I’ll need to make sure certain aspects of my life are…protected.”
He wanted to make sure she didn’t steal his money. Fair enough.
“And if there are any issues I should be aware of with you, those can also be addressed.”
“What about physically?” she blurted.
To her surprise, a slight flush overtook his skin. A muscle jumped in his jaw. “No expectations there,” he said, slicing the air between them with his hand. “It can be a marriage in name only, if you want.”
Did she? This was so much, so fast. She’d never even kissed a guy, let alone…anything else.
“And when…when would this all happen?”
“Your safety is important to me,” he said, picking at the threaded border of the console between them. “If I’m not mistaken, I know a place where we can get a marriage license and get hitched by tomorrow.”
Her entire body trembled. Adrenaline coursed through her, making her more alert to every word he spoke. Married to Maddox by tomorrow. Tomorrow.
“You’d better not say Vegas,” she said.
Maddox laughed so boisterously the sound heated her chest. His hand found hers and carefully, deliberately, he slid it beneath her palm, positioning it perfectly so he could weave his fingers through hers.
The touch spoke everything he didn’t need to say aloud. He was serious about this. And he would wait for her to make a decision. The problem was, she didn’t have a clue what to do.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
“No way. Marriage? Are you both out of your minds?”
“Suzie, come on,” Adelie said across the suitcase lying open atop her bed to where Suzie had perched. “I thought you’d be freaking out and telling me to go for it.”
The freak out happened to be her older sister’s typical response to impulsive situations like this.
Alice And The Billionaire's Wonderland (Once Upon A Billionaire Book 3) Page 9