April Fool Bride (4 page)

Maddie looked murderous. "You are crude, and
vulgar, and obnoxious."

"Sticks and stones, Red." Jake yawned. "It
was real nice catching up with you on old times. We'll have to do
it again in another decade." He snapped his fingers. "How about
when you finally get access to that trust fund? We could have one
hell of a party."

Maddie may have grown up and learned how to
present a calm facade, but he saw she still struggled to control
her temper. She blushed from hairline to neckline. He couldn't help
but wonder if that rosy glow extended to her breasts. He felt his
own body tighten at the prospect. He'd give it another minute
before she walked out.

To his surprise, she stood, unzipped her long
coat, shrugged out of it, and tossed it across the kitchen chair.
Defiantly, her flashing green eyes met his gaze. Her chin lifted
and her lips pressed together as if to keep what she thought firmly
behind her teeth.

Jake felt sucker punched. She wore a tight
red sweater and black slacks that hugged her long legs. His eyes
traveled slowly over her surprisingly full breasts, not humongous
but nicely rounded. Her waist was small and her hips curved.
Definitely no skinny butt. The flare of her hips made him want to
stroke her curves. Little Maddie Quinn wasn't so little any
more.

"Well?" she snapped. "Do I pass inspection?"
She stood as stiff as if her backbone had been starched. Her arms
were straight at her side, and her hands fisted.

Jake wanted to tell her that she wasn't just
acceptable. She was drool-worthy. He wanted to touch her. Pull her
into his arms and stroke her until she was pliant rather than stiff
with outrage. "You'll do," he managed to say. "I think people would
believe that I could fall for you."

"I'm so relieved." Maddie's green eyes burned
with resentment.

How far should he take this? "Okay. Here's my
counter offer. Two hundred twenty-five thousand base with a signing
bonus of thirty thousand and a termination bonus of forty-five.
Plus all the benefits, etcetera."

"You certainly have a high opinion of your
worth." Maddie crossed her arms beneath her breasts, drawing his
eyes despite his resolve not to look there again. She paced. "Okay.
I think I can scrape together thirty thousand."

"Yeah, just postpone a shopping trip or
two."

"Fine," she snapped. "But you have to sign a
prenuptial agreement, a marriage contract, and an ironclad
nondisclosure agreement. If Constance has any reason to challenge
me, you get nothing."

Jake was taken aback. He had no idea that she
would agree to his outrageous counteroffer. She really must be
desperate. Personally, the idea of sticking it to Constance did
hold appeal. A hell of a lot of appeal. The woman deserved some
righteous payback. He was the one man Constance Quinn would never
welcome as a husband for Maddie. Maybe he still felt some anger at
Maddie too. It was her spoiled impulsive act nine years ago that
had set that night's events in motion. True, he'd got to where he
wanted, but it had been a hell of a lot harder than it should have
been.

Was he seriously considering this? He looked
at Maddie and felt that throb in his groin. Who was he kidding? She
made him hot. Everything about her made his pulse quicken. Even the
perfume she wore--jasmine maybe--made him think of having her on a
hot summer night. He imagined Maddie beneath him in the dark, that
scent wrapping around them. Sure, he was considering it. Why not?
Constance Quinn deserved it. He imagined the look on her face when
he strolled in as Maddie's husband. The ice queen had trampled him
under her feet nine years ago. Maybe it was time for him to return
the favor.

Maddie picked up her coat. "Do you agree to
all of the terms I mentioned?"

"The money's okay. The nondisclosure
agreement is okay, and so is the prenup. But what's this other
thing, the marriage contract you mentioned?"

To his surprise, she looked discomfited.
"It's just a document that outlines how our relationship will
work." She looked down at her coat and flicked an imaginary piece
of lint. "This will be a marriage of convenience. As such, there
are certain protocols involved."

Jake knew exactly what she meant, but he
wanted her to spell it out. "What might those protocols be?"

Maddie straightened and faced him squarely.
"It says what you can expect sexually from the relationship."

Jake gave in to his laughter. "You mean it
tells me what I'm not going to get sexually."

"What do you think? That I'm going to fall
into bed with you just because we get married?"

Actually, Jake quite liked the image of
tumbling her into his bed. "What am I supposed to do for sex for an
entire year?"

Maddie smiled sweetly. "It's like the
old-fashioned gas stations. They had full service, and they had the
self-service pumps. In our marriage, you don't get full
service."

Jake couldn't control his laughter. Finally,
he said, "No deal, Red. Go find yourself another sucker."

Her shoulders sagged. "There is no one else.
I can't trust another man. You're the only one I know who doesn't
see dollar signs when you look at me." Her smile was cold.
"Besides, I know your mother would never let you get away with
anything even if you tried."

Jake frowned. "Is that money really so
important to you? Do you really need it now?"

"Yes to both questions," she said, her voice
shaky.

Jake ran his fingers through his hair, sorry
he'd started the whole silly negotiation. He looked over at Maddie
and saw her blinking rapidly. Oddly affected, he asked, "Are you
crying?"

Quickly, she looked away. "No. I don't cry.
Crying doesn't solve anything."

Jake remembered holding her as she'd wept. In
an instant, he remembered the promise that she'd exacted from him
that day. That he would always be her friend. No matter what. But
did that mean marrying her? He didn't think he could maintain a
platonic relationship with her if they were married. Not now. Not
after he'd seen her. Smelled her. Heard her sexy voice again. He'd
be with her way too much to ignore her. He imagined familiarity
would breed all kinds of seductive thoughts for his libido. "Look,
Red, let's be serious."

"I'm as serious as a heart attack. I know I'm
asking something huge. I also know the money I'm offering you won't
begin to compensate you for a year of your life, and for what
you'll have to put up with from Constance." She sighed. "And
probably the media. But I wouldn't ask if I had any recourse."

He couldn't help but grin. "You know, it's
really not smart to let the other guy in a negotiation know how
desperate you are."

Maddie shrugged. "Sometimes I do things that
really aren't very smart. This isn't the first time, and it
probably won't be the last. Will you do it, Jake?"

He didn't need the money, but he could donate
it. Spread it around the various military veterans groups he
supported. Then there were widows of soldiers. Most of them weren't
as fortunate as Danny's wife and daughter who had him as a
benefactor. But why was he considering it? He gave a mental shrug.
Revenge? Payback? That was a convenient rationalization, but when
he looked at Maddie, what he felt wasn't cold, long-anticipated
revenge. No. What he felt was hot desire. He wanted her. There was
no way he could take the deal she offered and pretend otherwise.
"No sex is a deal breaker."

"Can't you just be celibate for the
year?"

Jake grinned at her exasperated tone. "Not
and stay sane." The pressure against his zipper was evidence of his
honesty if she but looked.

Maddie caught her lower lip between her
perfect white teeth. She seemed to be thinking about what he said.
"Could you be discreet and take care of your needs another
way?"

Jake snorted. "Sorry. You brought my mother
into this. There's no way I'm going to let her think I'm an
adulterer. Not to mention my cousin, the priest."

"Oh. I forgot about him." After a long pause,
Maddie met his eyes. "What if I don't ask you to sign that
particular contract? What if we have a kind of oral agreement that
says I don't have to have sex with you, but that I would be open to
your...wooing me?"

"Wooing you?" Jake grinned. "You do know this
is the twenty-first century. Right? No one woos anyone in today's
world."

For a moment, he wondered at the expression
that flitted across her face. Was that regret? Fear?

"That's the best I can do. If you want sex,
you can try to seduce me the way any man does when he meets a woman
he wants. In the spirit of full disclosure, I want you to know
that, despite what you think you know about me, I'm not easy." She
glanced away. "Not any longer." She thrust her hand out. "Do we
have a deal?"

Jake stepped close, but instead of shaking
hands with her, he pulled her into his arms. "I think we should
seal the deal with a kiss."

His mouth covered hers. Maddie didn't
respond. She stood still, unmoving, with her lips pressed together.
Hands fisted. That just made him work harder to draw a response
from her. His mouth gentled, coaxed, but still she didn't react. He
teased the seam of her mouth with the tip of his tongue. That got a
reaction.

She pushed him away and wiped her mouth with
the back of her hand. Her gaze rested beyond his shoulder. Her
voice was unsteady. "Do we have a deal?"

Jake couldn't help himself. Maybe he'd been
lost from the moment he'd opened the door to her. With a
nonchalance he didn't feel, he said, "Yes. We have a deal."

Her reaction to his kiss intrigued him. She
was crazy to propose to him, and he must be just as crazy for
accepting. Yet, being close to Maddie resulted in arousal that was
almost painful. "Now what happens?"

Maddie hurried to the door with Jake trailing
behind her. "I call my lawyer. Amy will set up everything. We'll
sign the contracts, fly to Vegas, and do the deed. Then we fly home
to Houston. We live together a year then separate. A month later, I
file for divorce."

She turned to face him. A too-bright smile
lifted the corners of her mouth, but the smile didn't reach her
eyes. "Then we live happily divorced ever after."

Chapter 5

No matter how much Maddie rushed Amy Nguyen,
her attorney didn't manage to dot all the i's and cross all the t's
until the last day of March. Finally, all the paperwork was signed
and executed which meant the wedding day would be April Fool's Day.
Maddie could imagine the tabloid headlines.

Mad Maddie, the April Fool Bride
.

She knew that's what the headlines would say
when news of her marriage came out, as it certainly would.

Already wary of attracting unwanted media
attention, she and Jake had traveled separately to the secluded
hotel Amy had booked. Maddie had learned the hard way that what
happens in Vegas rarely stays in Vegas once the ambitious paparazzi
got wind of it so she took no chances.

Room service had delivered dinner to their
suite. After that, she and Jake had returned to the living room to
wait for Amy to finish her phone calls. Apparently, Jake had been
immediately enamored of the big flat screen television. What was it
with men and the remote control?

Finally, Amy stepped into the living room.
"Time to get ready. The car will be here soon."

"No problem," Jake said, continuing to flip
channels.

Maddie closed the magazine she'd been
pretending to read and went to her bedroom, ready to get this over
with before she chickened out. She felt hollow and a little
depressed. This was never how she had imagined her wedding day. For
one thing, she'd wanted to be married in the afternoon when the sun
shone brightly. Instead, the ceremony was to be in the wee hours of
morning, hidden away from prying eyes. In all her fantasies, she'd
imagined Jake deeply in love with her, not so bored that he could
do nothing but flip channels with the TV remote.

Amy entered the bedroom, closing the door
behind her, even while she tapped the keys on her cell phone,
sending another text message.

Maddie stared at a huge dress box on the bed.
"What's this, Amy?"

"That's my wedding present to you. Everything
you need is in that box."

Dismay filled Maddie. She nudged the box with
her index finger. "Oh. You shouldn't have. And I really mean
that."

Tears stung Maddie's eyes as she saw the
label.

Designs by DeeDee. Main Street Bridal
Salon.

In a hushed voice, she asked, "Is it really a
DeeDee Drayden
?"

"It sure is. Remember when you were a
bridesmaid for Mary Earle?" Amy didn't wait for an answer. "I
called, and the salon still had your measurements on file. I asked
if they had any dress that had been orphaned. This one was. The
bride called off the wedding and didn't want the dress even though
she'd paid for it. They were glad to sell it to me, and it only
required minor alterations."

At least one part of her bridal fantasy had
come true. Maddie sank onto the bed. "It's a mistake to make a big
deal about this. It's not as it's to be a real marriage. No happily
ever after and all that." Emotion made her chest feel so tight she
could hardly breathe.

"You only get married once for the first
time."

Maddie snorted. "I guess that's true."

"If you can't laugh about this, you're
doomed. It will be happily ever after when you finally get your
trust fund. In the meantime, have some fun with this. Above all,
have fun with that sexy man out there. All you've done is talk
about Jake for years. After seeing him, I can see why. Now he'll be
all yours. Not many women get to claim their fantasy man."

"Yeah. He's mine. I bought him for a year."
Amy was delusional. There was no fun in setting herself up for a
year of misery, married to the man she loved who didn't love her in
the least. And the sex thing. How was she ever going to keep him at
arm's length? Making love with Jake would mean everything to her,
and nothing to him.