April Fool Bride (7 page)

Strains of music floated through the house.
Sinatra. Constance had retained the five musicians who usually
provided music for her parties. Since Constance was stuck in the
sixties, most of the music was oldies with a sprinkling of the Rat
Pack which her father had loved.

At the formal living room, the butler
announced them as if he were presenting them to the queen. The
small gathering gave them a quiet round of applause. Constance
Quinn stepped forward to greet them. The expression on her face
confused Jake. He'd expected to see outrage. Indignation and
resentment at the very least. Instead, the woman looked…Well, he
guessed forlorn was the best adjective he could come up with. She
was thinner than he remembered and as pale as the white roses that
filled the many Chinese blue porcelain vases in the room. She
inclined her head toward him. "Welcome, Jake. Please accept my
congratulations on your marriage."

Before he could overcome his surprise,
Graciella Becker rushed toward them, her arms opened wide to
embrace both of them. "My children, you've made me so very
happy."

Her warmth made Jake feel like a jerk. In the
end, he'd been honest with his mother about his reasons for
marrying Maddie--well, except for the sex part. Graciella had
dismissed what he said with the assertion that God moved in
mysterious ways.

Jake knew his mother well enough to know she
wanted to believe that he and Maddie would make a go over it. He
guessed it was understandable. She'd raised him and Maddie too.
Maybe he should have done more to convince her it was just a
business arrangement, but he'd been sidetracked by her telling him
that she would be at Constance's dinner party too. Since he'd never
known Constance to treat his mother with graciousness, he was on
guard.

"I'm proud to have such a beautiful
daughter-in-law," Graciella said.

Jake saw Maddie blink rapidly and look away.
He knew his mom's words had touched her. Or maybe they'd just made
her feel guilty, he thought cynically.

Maddie glanced up at him. He didn't know she
was such a good actress. Even to him she looked as if she were
deeply in love with him.

"Thank you, Graciella," Maddie said. "But
Jake is the beautiful one."

Jake raised a hand to cup her cheek. He could
act too. He took advantage of the moment and kissed her gently,
feeling a strange emotion sweep through him. "Are you fishing for
compliments, sweetheart?"

"What kind of husband are you?" Graciella
chided. "She shouldn't have to fish for compliments. Haven't you
told your bride how beautiful she is tonight?"

He hadn't, other than the offhand remark he'd
offered in the car. He figured Maddie was so used to being
flattered and praised that his words would mean nothing. She wore
an off the shoulder dress of pale green satin that hugged her from
the draped neckline to her waist. Then it flared into a long skirt
that made her waist look tiny. His memory told him that her waist
really was slender, but her hips were curving and luscious. Just
like her breasts. Nope. Wrong thing to be thinking when there were
other people around. Especially when one of those people was his
mother.

"You really are beautiful, Maddie.
Exquisite."

Graciella clapped her hands in delight. "Now
that's the way to talk to your bride." She glanced around the room.
"I know you need to say hello to the other guests so mind your
manners and circulate."

Jake watched as his mother turned to
Constance who, to his surprise, had remained silent all this time.
The two wandered away.

Jake had to admit old Connie surprised him.
Her voice was respectful when she spoke to his mother. What
surprised him the most was the searching glance she gave Maddie.
There was such an expression of longing in her gaze as she watched
her stepdaughter.

There were more than a dozen people in the
room, most of them associated with Quinn Energy in some capacity.
Maddie greeted and smiled her way through the small crowd,
introducing Jake to each person. She wasn't surprised to see the
head of the legal department and his wife, Constance's personal
attorney and his wife, and the judge that Constance had bought off
when Maddie had been arrested for DUI. She knew it was no
coincidence that the legal heavyweights were on the guest list
tonight. She snuggled closer to Jake, intent on selling her "happy
marriage."

Jake was perfect in his role, chatting
amiably, gazing at her occasionally with loving eyes, and touching
her so much that she began to burn.

When the musicians changed to a slow sexy
song, Jake said, "Excuse us please. I have a sudden desire to dance
with my bride."

He led her to the open space where a
white-haired couple danced. He took her in his arms and began slow
dancing.

"Aren't we moving too slow?" Maddie asked.
"The music tempo is much faster."

"I think we're moving just right. This keeps
us from those who would eavesdrop, so tell me what's going on with
your stepmother."

Just for a moment, Maddie luxuriated in being
in his arms. Then she said, "I honestly don't know. It all started
this past year. Constance just started getting weird. Remember how
she used to be completely disinterested in me?"

Jake nodded. "Yeah. So?"

"She'd never shown any interest in me before
except to criticize. Sit up straight, Madeline. Be more
circumspect, Madeline. Don't read those trashy romance novels.
Don't go out looking less than perfect. On and on and on. The list
of do's and don'ts constituted our daily conversation. Well, she
quit criticizing me even though there were times I could tell she
nearly had to bite her tongue to restrain herself. She became
interested in me and my life. Too interested. After your mom quit,
she just had temporary staff. No live-ins. Then one day last year,
I overheard her talking to your mom which surprised me. The next
day she hired Inez as full-time housekeeper with instructions to
cook dinner each night. Constance started dining at home and
insisted I dine with her every night. It was as if she tried to
turn into the Brady Bunch mom or something."

"I have to admit that is weird." Jake looked
thoughtful. "There's only one reason I can think of that might
explain this change in her. She's being nicer in hope of
maintaining control of you and your money. Maybe she figured if she
were nicer, you'd be happier at home and not marry. Had you been
dating?"

"No. Not in the last two years."

He didn't know why but the news pleased him.
"Really? Two years?"

At her nod, he said, "Maybe she thinks that
if you and she have a better relationship, you'll be amenable to
letting her control your inheritance even if you do marry. Do you
get voting rights on the stock you'll inherit?"

"Yes. But my dad left Constance very well
off. She draws a huge salary and bonuses as CEO. Why would she need
more money or even need my support?"

Jake gave a short laugh. "Maddie, don't be
naive. People in the income stratosphere never
need
money.
They want it. No matter how much they have, it's never enough. It's
just like you. You're not satisfied with the amount you get every
month even though it's probably substantial. You want that eighty
million. Money is just a way of keeping score. The more you have;
the more points you score in the game."

"Exactly what game would that be?" Maddie
asked sarcastically.

"You've been around rich people all your life
so you know what I'm talking about."

"My dad wasn't like that," she said
wistfully. "He was happy and content with the house we lived in
when Mom was alive. Then he married Constance, and our old house in
West University wasn't good enough. She wanted one in River Oaks.
I've often wondered, if he had lived, if they'd have stayed
together. They had nothing in common."

"Men and women generally don't need much in
common at first. There's never much talking going on at that
stage."

That startled a laugh from Maddie. "It's
weird to think of my dad and Constance that way, but you're
probably right. She was so beautiful when he married her. She still
is. Beautiful and perfect like a porcelain doll. I guess that's why
she disliked me on sight. I've never had an ounce of
perfection."

"That's where you're wrong. I've seen you
without clothes, remember? You're perfect in just about every way."
Jake said softly, his breath grazed her temple and stirred the soft
tendrils of hair.

Maddie stumbled and stepped on his foot.
"Sorry. I haven't had to field such unadulterated crap in a long
time."

Jake laughed softly. "Good save, but you
forget the way you blush when you get turned on."

When she tried to pull free, he whispered,
"Don't forget you're playing the part of my blushing bride. Be a
good girl, and I'll shut up. For now."

They danced in silence for a minute. Then
Jake said, "A good parent doesn't look for perfection before giving
love. The failing is hers, not yours, Maddie."

"If I ever have a child," she said fiercely,
"I'll love her or him and make sure that love is apparent every
single day."

An image of Maddie, pregnant with his baby,
seared his consciousness. There was such appeal to the idea that it
took his breath away.

Would their baby be a little girl with
Maddie's green eyes and maybe his dark hair?

Chapter 7

Dinner wasn't as difficult as Maddie had
expected, and the rest of the evening passed pleasantly. Jake's
mother left first. When the last guest departed, Constance led them
all to the solarium. Maddie was surprised to see how tired her
stepmother looked.

Constance rubbed the spot between her
eyebrows. "Maddie, would you tell me how you and Jake met after all
these years?"

Instead of the sharp retort that trembled on
her tongue, Maddie replied mildly and gazed at Jake, letting her
genuine adoration shine through, knowing that she would look like a
woman in love, as she told the story of shopping in New York and
running into Jake on the street. She concluded with, "It was love
at first sight."

Jake took both her hands in his, pulling her
close. "I told Maddie I was happy to be her kept man, but she
insisted on marriage. What's a guy to do when the most beautiful
woman in the world wants to marry him?"

"What indeed?" Constance asked.

Since her stepmother didn't smile, Maddie
couldn't decide if she was being sarcastic or amused.

Strack appeared with a coffee service and a
decanter of brandy and glasses on a large silver tray. Constance
waved a hand at the round linen-upholstered ottoman.

"Madam, the matter you asked me to handle has
been attended to."

"Thank you, Strack, you may retire for the
evening."

After he'd left the room, Constance said,
"Madeline, I've had your suite made ready for you and your
husband."

Maddie clamped down on the sudden panic she
felt. "What do you mean?"

"You and Jake can hardly be expected to share
your tiny townhome, and staying in a hotel when you have a
perfectly lovely suite here is ridiculous. So I had the concierge
pack your things at the hotel and send them over here. They arrived
while we were dining. Strack put the bags in your room,
Madeline."

Maddie felt the noose around her neck. "You
had no right to do that."

"I was just acting on your behalf to welcome
Jake to our home. Don't you want him to feel welcome here?"

Jake realized Maddie's temper simmered just
below the surface. He put his arm around her and hugged her close.
It was like hugging a wooden mannequin. "Wasn't that thoughtful,
sweetheart?"

So the ice queen was testing their marriage
already, Jake thought. "That's really very kind of you. I'm sure
Maddie and I will be comfortable here until we can make other
arrangements. We won't be underfoot very long. Right,
sweetheart?"

Maddie managed a tight smile, and an
insincere, "Right, darling."

A brief smile flitted across Constance's
face. "That's settled then. I have meetings early in the morning so
I'll see you both for dinner tomorrow night."

Jake rose while Constance swept from the room
with a swish of her skirts.

Maddie sank onto the taupe silk upholstered
loveseat and exhaled loudly.

"Tired?" Jake asked, sitting next to her.

"Tired. Confused." She shook her head slowly.
"I feel as if I've run a marathon since that day in your
apartment."

Jake sat next to her. When she didn't hit him
with a blistering remark or move away from him, he realized she
really was exhausted. "How about a massage?" He put his hands on
her shoulders and pushed so she was at an angle to him. Then he
began kneading the tight muscles. "You carry your tension in your
shoulders."

"And my neck," Maddie murmured, rolling her
head slowly from one side to the other.

Jake kept massaging, eliciting a low moan
from Maddie. His hands slid up her neck, slowly massaging the
tendons. Maddie slanted her head to the right to give him better
access.

To Jake, the soft silky skin of her throat
was an invitation he could not deny. His hands slid back to her
shoulders, and his mouth landed gently on her scented skin. He
kissed her there, his lips soft, sliding from just below her ear,
down over the curve of her neck to her shoulder. His mouth opened
in a hot sucking kiss there. This time her moan was one of desire.
The sound went straight to his groin. He kissed her along her
shoulder just as he'd imagined doing when he'd first seen her in
the pale green dress that evening. His hands no longer massaged,
but spread heat as he stroked her silky skin.

When Maddie didn't protest, his fingertips
slid beneath the satin fabric at the low, draped neckline. His
mouth followed. He wanted to taste her skin there. He wanted to
kiss her everywhere.