Irene and Carrie were sitting at the island when Madison walked in. “Good morning.”
Carrie studied Madison, an eyebrow raised. “Good morning.”
Irene wore her long black hair twisted in a knot at the base of her skull, and a floral blouse and skirt made her look too dressed-up for working in the backyard. “I’m glad you’re up. We’ll be leaving in a half hour. Don’t eat a heavy breakfast.”
Lifting a cup of coffee to her lips, Carrie hid a smile. She appeared to be a little dressed-up, too, forgoing her normal jeans for a yellow sundress. At least Madison had worn one of her new tops and a pair of nicer shorts that flared out like a skirt.
True to her word, Irene loaded them in the car a half hour later. Carrie chatted happily in the back seat, asking questions about Mark and making it obvious she had her sights set on him. Irene turned out to be a wealth of information. Mark had been seriously dating a woman the previous year, but they’d broken up. He would be graduating from law school next fall, and he was in the top of his class.
Irene pulled into a parking lot. A cute Victorian-style restaurant sat with a large sign proclaiming The Attic Tea Room. As they parked, Patricia got out of a red convertible, along with two other girls.
Patricia squealed and she ran up to Madison. “Can you believe it? The wedding is tomorrow. I’m simply beside myself. Oh, this is Angela and Casey, my bridesmaids. This is Madison, Jared’s fiancée.”
The girls swarmed around Patricia like bees, humming with excitement. They were skinny and good-looking, with gorgeous tans…the kind of girls who were popular and whose social calendars were always filled. Casey, the taller one, ignored Madison, while Angela peered at her with open curiosity.
Madison introduced Carrie, then eyed Irene pulling out several shopping bags filled with presents. “What are those?”
Irene smiled. “This is your surprise bridal shower, actually, a double bridal shower. You and Patricia are our honored brides today.”
A bridal shower? For her? Madison swallowed the lump forming in her throat. Patricia squealed some more and hugged everyone, then dabbed at her eyes. “What a wonderful surprise.”
Everyone helped Irene bring the packages inside the restaurant. The host led them to a private room, decked out in white and gold balloons to match their wedding colors. The white tablecloth and gold-rimmed glasses added a sophisticated air to the decorations. They piled the gifts on a table against the wall.
They ate mini muffins, fruit, and breakfast quiche, and chatted about the wedding. Then they played Bridal Bingo and Wedding Trivia. It felt good to be part of a family. But, at the same time, guilt for her deception wormed its way into her stomach. She shoved the feeling aside.
“Now for the best part.” Irene stood and made her way across the room. “Present time!”
Apprehension filled Madison. The gifts at the last bridal shower she’d attended had been one skimpy, lacy piece of lingerie after another. Her cheeks heated as she opened the first gift, from Irene. She pulled out a book and prayed it wasn’t anything embarrassing.
“Twelve Steps to a Happy Marriage.” Madison smiled as relief flooded through her. “Thank you, Irene. What a thoughtful gift.”
Next came a set of monogrammed towels from Casey, and a silver picture frame from Angela. The acceptance she felt from these relative strangers made her throat tighten. She didn’t deserve this kind of treatment. She was an imposter. She swallowed the bad taste in her mouth.
Carrie’s gift came next. A personalized photo album for the wedding pictures. Carrie grinned at her. “So you can open this up and remember your wedding day forever.”
Madison knew the underlying message: ‘At least you’ll have photos of Jared.’ The problem was, Carrie didn’t know how far Madison had fallen. And how empty her life would be, holding on to an album filled with pretend promises.
Madison shoved the thoughts away and cleared her throat. If she wanted to be an actress, then she’d better start acting. “Thank you, Carrie.”
“This next gift is from Shelly. Even though she couldn’t be here today, she wants you to know how happy she is to have you joining our family.”
Madison blinked away the moisture gathering in her eyes. The package contained a red silk robe and a lacy teddy for underneath. The girls giggled and hooted. Madison was filled with too much emotion to be embarrassed.
After they got home, Madison excused herself and curled up on the guest bed. Thirty minutes later, Jared entered the room.
“You okay?”
The concern in his voice pierced her soul, and pushed her over the edge. This wasn’t right. She couldn’t do this anymore. “No, I’m not okay. I can’t go through with this.”
“What do you mean?”
Madison wiped the tears from her cheeks. “I can’t do this. The wedding is off.”
Chapter 20
Jared stared at Madison in disbelief. “Wait, what?” She couldn’t call the wedding off. It would devastate his aunt.
Tears streamed down her face. “What are we doing, Jared?”
Confusion muddled his thoughts. She’d been fine this morning. Happy, even. Now she was hysterical. “What’s wrong? Did something happen at the bridal shower?” He sat next to her on the bed.
Her eyes narrowed. “You didn’t answer my question. What are we doing here? Are we really going to pretend to get married tomorrow?”
Jared looked up at his tuxedo hanging on the back of the bathroom door. He bit back the urge to shake her and yell, “Well, duh!” Something told him that would be the wrong thing to do. Instead, he patted her shoulder. “What happened, Madison?”
“Nothing happened!” She sniffed. “We just can’t do this.”
That made no sense. Of course, women often made no sense. It was probably hormones. The bane of every man’s existence. He’d rather scrub toilets than deal with PMS. A whole pile of toilets. He sighed. “Yes, we can do this. It’s only one day. You put on a dress and smile. That’s it. It will all be over on Sunday.”
That must have been the wrong thing to say because she stared at him, a stunned look on her face. Then more tears flowed. She rolled over, away from him. “I can’t do it. I’m sorry. I have to leave.” She got off the bed, unzipped her duffle bag and began stuffing clothes in it.
Jared glanced longingly at the toilet. The springs on the bed groaned as he stood. He crossed the room and took her shoulders in his hands to calm her, and stop her from packing. “My aunt is very sick. She may not live much longer. Shelly’s last wish is to see me married. If we don’t go through with this, she’ll be devastated.”
She peered up at him and blinked. “I don’t want to hurt Shelly.”
“I know.” He rubbed her arms. “You care about her. I can see that.”
She stared at the floor. “I never wanted to hurt anyone.”
He pulled her close. “Of course not.”
“And I was just fine until everyone was so nice to me. And Shelly, she was too sick to come, but she gave me this bridal shower gift anyway and welcomed me to the family, and Irene was sitting there smiling with tears in her eyes, and everyone smiled at me, and I felt awful, Jared, simply awful.”
Jared didn’t know how to respond to her. It sounded like a garbled mess of female craziness to him. But he wasn’t about to admit that. “There, there.” He patted her back.
“I don’t know how I can go through with this.” Her voice sounded thin, hollow.
He tightened his arms around her. “If we call this thing off, Shelly will be so disappointed. You need to think of her.”
Madison took a shaky breath and let it out slowly. “You’re right, of course. I’m not thinking clearly.”
He nodded, then decided agreeing with her that she wasn’t thinking clearly was not the best idea, so he masked the gesture by looking around. “It’s only one more day.”
A silence settled in the room. Neither of them spoke for a few minutes. Finally she pulled away from him. “Just o
ne more day. Then what?”
The question seemed to hold weight, and as she stared at him expectantly, he had no idea what the right answer was. The selfish side of him wanted to keep seeing her. He wanted to say, “Then we’ll date each other because I like you.” But she’d just spent forty minutes crying, and the only reason he could figure was because his family had been nice to her. The last thing he wanted was to start that again. So, he shrugged and said, “Then you’re off the hook.”
She stared at him, slowly nodding. “Off the hook,” she mumbled.
He couldn’t tell if that made her happy or not, but she wasn’t crying, so he went with it. “Yep. Off the hook.” To emphasize how great it would be, he grinned like a stupid Cheshire cat.
She nodded again, went into the bathroom and closed the door. The rest of the day seemed to go smoothly. At least she didn’t cry anymore. But around dinner time, he realized she’d been avoiding him. He couldn’t catch her gaze, and she’d gone out of her way to sit between Carrie and Patricia.
She snuck off to bed early, and by the time he realized this, she was snuggled under the covers, asleep. Whatever he’d done wrong this time, he didn’t want to know. He just hoped she’d be over it by tomorrow.
Madison stared at the dress. Her wedding dress. The most beautiful thing she’d ever seen. Too bad looking at it made her want to throw up.
“You have the dress on yet?” Carrie called through the door.
“Just a minute.” Madison bit her lip. There was no backing out now. She had to put the thing on and pretend she was a happy bride.
She undressed and slipped the gown on. “Okay, you can come in.”
Carrie burst through the door, already in her gold bridesmaid dress and heels, her hair swept up in a formal up-do. “Oooh, you’re going to look so good.”
Madison blinked back tears.
“Hey,” Carrie cooed. “No tears. We talked about this.”
A dagger stabbed at Madison’s heart. “He can’t wait until it’s over, Carrie. You should have heard him yesterday. ‘Just one more day. That’s it. Then you’re off the hook.’ But that’s not the worst part. He was happy it was almost done. He smiled like he’d won the lottery.”
“You have a whole day to dazzle him. Use those feminine wiles God gave you. He’ll be begging to spend more time with you.” Carrie flashed a smile, showing off her white teeth.
Madison let out a breath. Sure, it was easy for Carrie. She flirted and always got the guy. It was eerie, actually. Maybe Carrie had hidden pheromones Madison didn’t possess. Some primitive flirt gene that failed to be passed down her family line.
It was easier to agree with Carrie than continue to argue, though, so she nodded. “You’re right. I’ll dazzle him.”
“That’s the spirit. Now turn around and let me zip you up. The hairdresser’s been waiting for fifteen minutes.”
Madison sucked in her emotions and let everyone swarm around her, tugging on her hair, applying makeup, attaching the train to her dress, and finally adding flowers and a veil to her head. Carrie clasped her hands and oohed. “Girl, you look amazing.” She turned Madison around to the mirror.
The girl staring back took her breath away. A stunning French twist dotted with little white flowers adorned her head. The dress accentuated her figure, and the veil cascaded down her shoulders and back. Carrie shoved the bridal bouquet into Madison’s hands and proclaimed her the perfect bride.
Her stomach clenched, and she gripped the flowers so hard her knuckles turned white. She took a deep breath and repeated I can do this until she felt better.
Carrie ushered Madison down the hall and held her train while she descended the stairs. Irene stood in the foyer, also dressed in gold. She gasped and made a fuss over Madison at the bottom of the stairs.
“Look at you. Such a beautiful bride. Jared will be beside himself.”
“Thank you, Irene. You look stunning yourself.” Madison gave her a quick hug.
Patricia came down the stairs with her bridesmaids, a trio of squeals and giggles. More hugs exchanged, a few ‘you look amazing’ sentiments, and then Maxwell appeared wearing a sleek tux. His salt and pepper hair gave him a distinguished look.
Since Madison’s parents had been ‘killed in a car crash,’ and Patricia’s father had died in the war, Maxwell had volunteered to walk both brides down the aisle. As he held out his elbows to the two brides, Madison’s heart swelled. His gaze radiated his love for her. She pushed aside the guilt and took his arm. Today, she would be a part of this family, even if tomorrow ripped her heart out.
The bridesmaids slipped out to get in line for the processional, and she was left with Maxwell and Patricia. Her heart hammered in her chest. She hadn’t seen a glimpse of Jared since she awoke, but figured he was in the other room, waiting for the music to start. Irene had insisted they not see each other until she walked down the aisle.
The faint sound of the wedding march carried through the house, and soon Irene poked her head around the corner and motioned for them to come down the hall. As Madison walked beside Maxwell, her throat swelled. This was it. She would walk down the aisle and say “I do” in front of people who loved her. And it was fake.
She imagined a cameraman following them. This was like any other acting job. That’s all it was. She would act, play her part, and nothing would go wrong.
They arrived at the sliding-glass door just as the bridesmaids started down the aisle. With the door open, a cool fall breeze entered the house. Flower petals were already sprinkled on the runner, as they had decided not to have a ring bearer or flower girl. Maxwell ushered them through the door. The music swelled, and the crowd turned as they started down the aisle.
Shelly sat in a wheelchair in the front row. Madison swore she looked better than she’d ever seen her. Pink spots of color touched her cheeks, giving her a healthy glow. She wore a bright floral dress, and her smile warmed Madison’s heart. Shelly took out a tissue and dabbed at her eyes.
Jimmy and Pastor Ryan stood at the front, with Jared and Zachary waiting for their brides. Madison’s gaze connected with Jared’s, and her heart dropped to her toes. Not only was he handsome in his tuxedo, but he stared at her with such intensity, she had to look away.
But after she took her place in front of Jimmy, she couldn’t avoid his gaze any longer. She looked into his eyes and fell all over again. Her heart would never recover.
A movement from inside the house drew her attention. Veronica emerged through the sliding-glass door, a wicked smile on her face. And then Madison saw who accompanied Veronica. The woman stumbled outside wearing a wrinkled miniskirt and a button-down shirt that stopped short of her navel and appeared to have been sitting in the dirty-laundry pile for more than a few days. Her hair was teased and styled as if she were a performer at a hard-rock concert, and her ankle-boots sported six-inch heels. Her makeup was smeared like she’d slept with it on.
“Baby doll,” she cooed as she stumbled up the walkway. “Why didn’t you tell me you were getting married?”
Everyone turned to stare, and Madison’s blood froze. She tried to speak, but all that choked out was a single word. “Mother?”
Chapter 21
A sudden rage filled Jared, and an urge to protect Madison. He took a step in front of her. “Veronica, you have no right to be here. Take that woman and leave.” Veronica folded her arms and smirked.
Madison’s mother staggered closer. “I can’t believe my baby is getting married!”
Jared held up his hands. “Sorry, folks, for the interruption. I’ll be back in a minute.” He stormed down the aisle, grabbed both women by the arm, and dragged them into the house. When he rounded on them, he found Madison had followed him. She slid the door shut.
“Mother, what are you doing here?” For a moment, something changed in Madison’s eyes. Vulnerability emerged. The pain from years of abuse crumbled away, and all that was left was a young child yearning for the love of her mother. But then her gaze hard
ened, and that girl vanished. “You shouldn’t have come.”
“Baby, I wouldn’t miss your wedding day.” The woman held her arms out again, but Madison backed away. The smell of booze and cigarette smoke hung on the woman’s breath like a thick fog.
Jared moved in between them. “Don’t touch her.”
Veronica’s eyes narrowed. “You can’t do that. Annie is her mother. She has a right to be here.”
Madison raised her chin. “She signed away all rights to me. I owe her nothing.”
And then all three women started shouting at once, Annie insisting on her parental rights, Madison urging her mother to leave, and Veronica demanding they allow Annie to stay.
Jared held up his arms. “Hold it. Everyone be quiet.” When he had their attention, he said, “Veronica, you and Annie need to go. Now.”
A wicked smile played on Veronica’s lips. “I think we can come to some kind of arrangement.”
Annie stuck out her bottom lip. “I came all this way, and this is the thanks I get? I don’t even have any gas money to go anywhere. Maybe if I had gas money…”
The tears in Madison’s eyes were what fueled Jared’s anger to the breaking point. How dare her mother come crash the wedding to panhandle? He clenched his fists. “You will leave here now, or I will call the police.”
“Whoa, dude, we don’t want no police.” At the sound of the male voice, everyone turned to see a man standing in the walkway to the kitchen. He wore a leather jacket, and his hair hung in long scraggly waves. “What’s taking you guys so long? I thought we were just going to pick up some quick cash and head out.”
Madison’s cheeks flushed. “Really, Mom? You left your boyfriend in the car while you came to my wedding to hustle the groom? I think that’s a new low for you.”
Annie instantly melted into tears. “See how she treats me? See what I’ve got to go through? I have nothing, while you…” Annie pointed an accusing finger at Madison and glanced around the room. “Just look at you. Marrying into wealth. While you live in a mansion, I’m lifting seat cushions scrounging for spare change.”
A Fake Marriage Romance Collection Page 14