An Offer He Can't Refuse (11 page)

Just like that. With a snap of the fingers, it could all be over and done with. She would go her way, he would go his, and they would probably never see one another again. In that moment she realized she might not be doing this just for the kids anymore.

“So what’s it going to be?”

“I want to finish what we started.”

“Okay then,” he said, and she wondered if that was relief she’d sensed before he set off again to catch up to the judge.

Upon reaching the middle of the lawn area where a make-shift platform had been set up, Jackson cupped his hand around the judge’s elbow and helped him up three wooden steps. The judge was an elderly man with a narrow, wrinkled face and frail frame. He looked as if he might keel over at any moment.

Sensing Jackson’s urgency after seeing him rush through the house, guests began to stream through the French doors to join them. A few people entered through the side gate, leading from the driveway.

Evidently Jackson had spoken the truth when he’d said he wanted to get the wedding over with. The poor judge wasn’t given a chance to catch his breath before Jackson gave him terse instructions to get things moving.

Relieved to see Jen upstairs on the balcony, Madison waved her down.

Within minutes, Jamie and Jackson’s friend, Collin, were standing on both sides of her. She’d forgotten all about Collin, the man she’d originally asked to marry her. Embarrassment heated her cheeks.

“How are you?” Collin asked, breathless from his quickness in coming to stand beside her.

“I’ve never been better,” she lied. “And you?”

“Very well, thank you. You can stop frowning,” he added. “Your secret is safe with me.”

She managed a smile, but then Jackson joined them, his brow puckered, and all cheerful pretenses disappeared. Not exactly the face of a man who was about to marry the woman he loved. With such poor acting abilities on Jackson’s part, he’d give their charade away before the ceremony started. Unable to bear his sour mood another minute, she nudged his arm. “You’re supposed to look happy about this, remember?”

He feigned an unexceptional smile.

She sighed at such a meager attempt.

The judge opened his book and began reciting from it before the guests even knew the ceremony had begun. People scurried around for a seat.

Red-faced and out of breath, Jen hurried to her place at Madison’s side. “Hello, Collin,” Jen said as she nudged her way between him and Madison.

Madison looked at Jackson. “What’s going on?”

“We’re behind schedule. The wedding was supposed to start ten minutes ago.”

The judge was talking, but Madison had to lean forward to hear what he was saying. The sun was unrelenting. Sweat dripped down the judge’s face and off the tip of his thin nose as he hurried through his lines and then invited all present to speak now or forever hold their peace.

Madison tried not to laugh as she waited. The heat and the booze were getting the best of her.

Collin didn’t flinch.

Jackson remained silent, staring straight ahead, like a sailor looking out to sea.

Just as her shoulders began to relax, a small voice screamed from somewhere behind her, “Stop the wedding!”

Madison turned about, surprised to see Adam and Erin, two kids from CFC, pushing their way through the gathering crowd.

Fourteen year-old Adam headed toward her, his pants low on his hips, showing off his boxers beneath. Erin, a year older than Adam, appeared in denim overalls, complete with holes at the knees. Breathless, the two kids trudged up the grassy aisle toward her.

Madison leaned over the platform. “What are you two doing here?”

“We saw you in the paper,” Erin said between breaths.

“Yeah,” Adam said. “Erin was lining the hamster cage at the center and there you were—you and that rich guy, right on the front page.”

At fourteen, the boy already had a giant chip on his shoulder. He was way too young and hardheaded to realize that people with money weren’t the enemy.

“My picture was on the front page?” Madison asked.

Erin nodded, still trying to catch her breath. “The Entertainment section.”

Jackson closed his eyes for the briefest moment and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

The guests whispered to one another.

“Excuse us just for a moment,” Madison told Jackson before stepping off the platform and drawing the kids into a huddle. “What’s going on? Why are you two here? And who brought you here?”

Erin pointed to a volunteer at CFC. The seventeen year old girl stood near the gate and waved.

“We knew something was up—the way you’ve been acting all weird and stuff lately,” Erin said, trying to get a peek at Jackson while she talked. “We saw you and that man in the paper and figured it out. Adam says you’re marrying him because of us…because otherwise the center will be shut down. Is that true?”

“I’m marrying him because I love him,” she said, feeling badly about not being completely truthful.

Erin frowned at Adam. “Thanks to someone I know—we got here at kind of a bad time, didn’t we?”

Madison hugged Erin tight. Jackson’s stern expression, though, was not helping the situation. “You two don’t need to worry about me.”

Adam gestured with his chin toward Jackson. “You really like him?”

Jackson stepped off the platform and said into Madison’s ear. “The judge is going to keel over in this heat if we don’t get on with this.”

She turned back to the kids. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you both before. But I promise you everything is going to be fine. Go grab a bite to eat and we’ll talk later.”

Madison apologized to the crowd as she made her way back to Jackson’s side. Heather sat in the front row, smiling as if she were enjoying the show. At her side was Barbara, the same woman she and Jackson had run into at the coffee shop. On Heather’s left sat Mr. Razzano.

Lovely. Just lovely.

Perspiration covered Madison’s forehead when the time came to say her vows. The words got stuck in her throat, but she managed and so did Jackson. The worst of it was over. It was time to exchange rings.
Damn
. Madison grabbed hold of Jen’s arm. “I forgot the ring. Do you have a ring?”

Jen shook her head.

Jackson pulled a diamond ring from his pocket and guided it onto her left ring finger. It was the biggest diamond she’d ever seen. “It’s beautiful,” Madison murmured.

The judge lifted a bushy eyebrow. “Madison, do you have a ring?”

Everyone looked at Jamie since he was the best man. He, too, came up empty-handed and before long the crowd was murmuring again.

Between the heat and the scotch, Madison began to feel a little woozy.

Collin tried to quiet the restless guests with a raised hand. When he turned back toward the judge, he noticed everyone in the wedding party admiring the ring on his finger. Collin touched his ring lovingly, and then with a tug he removed his college ring and plunked it into Madison’s palm. “I like that ring,” he whined. “Maybe Jackson and I should exchange places after all.”

“I think it’s too late for that, but I appreciate the—”

“He was kidding,” Jackson muttered.

“Oh.” Madison glanced at Collin, who shook his head in disagreement, making her feel a little better.

“I now pronounce you man and wife,” the judge said with relief, wiping his brow.

When Jackson leaned forward to seal the deal with a kiss, Madison shut her eyes and pretended she’d just married a man who truly loved and cherished her just as the vows said he would. His lips brushed over hers, making her shiver despite the heat. She wanted more, much more, but he drew away.

A collective sigh floated from the crowd.

They were now officially man and wife.

If not for the gorgeous woman storming up the aisle, Madison might have considered the affair a semi-success despite Jackson’s sour mood and the untimely interruptions.

“Nobody move!” the woman demanded as she approached, the seductive movement of her hips hypnotizing the crowd. She looked as if she’d stepped straight out of
Vogue
. Chestnut eyes outlined with smoky shadows glared at Jackson. Her silky blond hair was swept up into a perfect chignon. Slim thighs revealed by the slit in her skirt seemed to go on forever, but it was definitely her shapely hips that held everyone’s attention.

As the woman marched up the stairs, she waved a rolled-up newspaper in front of Jackson’s face. “How could you do this—you—you contemptible beast!”

Madison winced.

Jen’s jaw dropped.

“And you,” the woman said, turning toward Madison. “Who the hell are you?”

Jackson put a placating hand on the woman’s shoulder. “Sheila, why don’t we talk about this inside?”

“You’re marrying this—this— For God’s sake, Jackson, she looks like a child. Tell me this is some kind of cruel joke!”

“Hey, wait a minute.” Jen stepped forward as if she were a bodyguard instead of a maid of honor. “That’s my friend you’re talking about.”

The high-pitched shrill of a cell phone came from Jackson’s pocket. He pushed a button and held the phone against his ear to listen.

Sheila went after Madison with a pointed finger. “I’ve invested a lot of time and energy on this man, and I want to know what’s going on.”

“This isn’t a good time,” Jackson told the caller. “I’ve got to go.”

Sheila tapped the gold point of an expensive Prada shoe against the wood planks. “How long have you known each other?”

“If we could just move this into the house,” Madison said, “maybe I could—”

Sheila grabbed Madison’s wrist so she could examine the ring on her finger. She then let go as if she’d touched hot coal. “If you can explain why, after years of hoping Jackson would ask me to be his wife, he would run up the aisle with you the minute my back is turned, I will leave.”

Jackson clicked his phone shut, prompting Sheila to turn her murderous glare on him.

Jen and Madison exchanged worried looks.

“Why doesn’t it surprise me that you would stoop so low as to bring your cell phone to your wedding?”

“We’re finished here, right?” Jackson asked the judge.

The old man nodded, thankful to be allowed off the stage.

Mr. Razzano stood at the bottom of the stairs, listening intently, waiting to see what would happen next.

“Madison,” Jackson said calmly, as if the whole sordid scene wasn’t transpiring in front of an audience, “this is Sheila Sinclair, a good friend of mine.”

Whack
! Sheila’s hand made contact with Jackson’s jaw.

Gasps erupted from the crowd.

Satisfied, Sheila marched off, but not before pushing a confused Mr. Razzano out of her way. The quiet murmuring of the guests stopped when Sheila jerked her head back around in a move that would’ve made Linda Blair from the
Exorcist
green with envy. “I hope you two are very happy!” she barked before disappearing through the side gate.

Moments later, the squeal of tires could be heard.

Jackson raised his hands to the crowd. “The show’s over…just a little misunderstanding.”

After the crowd began chatting again, Collin chuckled. “A little misunderstanding—”

Jackson glared at him. “Do you mind?”

“Yes, I do. Somebody’s got to get this party rolling.” Collin spread his arms wide and shouted, “Here’s to Mr. and Mrs. Lang. Let the festivities begin!” He clasped one arm around Madison’s shoulder and the other around Jackson’s. The sound of applause followed as Collin escorted the newlyweds down the stairs and through the crowd.

Champagne was served and Jackson looked ready to commit murder when his friend promptly began a round of toasts.

“To the best friend a guy could have,” Collin said. “May these two newlyweds enjoy the rest of the day almost as much as they will relish tonight!”

The guests laughed and clanked their glasses together before sipping champagne in their honor.

Madison was glad to see that Adam and Erin had left. She held her glass halfheartedly in the air and then guzzled the contents.

“To an affair that will be talked about for years!” someone cried out.

More laughter.

Somebody refilled her glass, and once again Madison finished the bubbly in one clean swallow.

“To the prettiest bride in Los Angeles,” Jamie shouted.

Heat rose to her face as she looked around for the waiter.

Jackson looked at her and said, “Come on. Let’s get out of here.”

Before she could respond, somebody grabbed her hand and dragged her through the crowd, everyone adding their congratulations and making light of all that had gone wrong. Jackson followed close behind and once again they found themselves face to face with Mr. Razzano. He used his handkerchief to dab at the sweat trickling across his bald head.

“Here’s to true love, Mr. Razzano.” Madison held up her empty glass, but he merely grunted.

“I’m leaving now, but I thought it only fair to warn you two that under the circumstances I’ll be paying you a visit very soon.”

“We’ll be looking forward to it,” Jackson told him, squeezing Madison’s hand to keep her from saying something she might later regret.

They watched Mr. Razzano storm off.

Madison sighed.

“Where do you two think you’re going?” Jamie asked, stepping in front of Jackson before they could reach the house.

“We’re leaving,” Jackson said.

“Not before you cut the cake. We made a deal. Bingham and his wife are waiting by the cake, since it was too hot outside for them to wait for you there.”

Chapter Seven

Jackson was a few steps ahead of her when Madison grabbed Jen’s arm and pulled her aside. “What am I going to do about Jackson tonight?”

“What do you mean?”

“You were right. He’s not gay.”

“Well, duhh.”

“You don’t understand,” Madison said. “I’m married to Jackson. Tonight I’ll be spending the night at his house and Chris won’t be there. What am I going to do?”

“Do what any red-blooded American girl would do. Jump his bones.”

Madison shook her head. “I’m serious.”

“So am I. What are you afraid of?”