know it would help you out.”
He shook his head. “That’s not what
I asked.” It should have been enough to hear those things, to know that they
were doing it for the right reasons, but he wanted more. Needed
to know that it wasn’t purely convenient.
“Do I have to spell it out to you?”
she asked.
Jack continued to stare at her,
wanting her to say it. “What?”
“I think after last night it’s
fairly obvious that we’re more than just friends,” she said, voice low like it
wasn’t something easy for her to say.
Jack smiled. “I guess we’re
actually doing this, huh?”
“Well, yeah. I guess we are,” she
said, a shy expression on her face even though she was grinning. “Not as
romantic as I’d hoped for, but I guess I can go without the proposal story.”
He chuckled. “I’ll propose,
sweetheart. We said we’d make this look real, didn’t we?”
She was still in her bra because
he’d gotten rid of her top downstairs. Maddison came
slowly back toward the bed. “So we’ll discuss the other details later? Like me
moving some stuff here, the wedding, all those
things?”
Jack wished it didn’t feel like
such a business arrangement, but it was what he’d said he wanted. It was a
marriage in name, and hopefully sometimes in pleasure, but without the
problems. They’d agreed on not having children, agreed they were doing this to
help one another out, which meant they were going into marriage as adults.
Having made a decision that wasn’t based on passion or emotion. Pleasure maybe, but not emotions.
“I might swing by later on. Have a
chat with your father perhaps.”
He watched a smile slowly spread
across Maddison’s lips, a grin that was so infectious
he ended up grinning back at her.
“You’d do that?” she asked.
“We said we’d make this genuine,
didn’t we?”
Maddison crossed the room and leaned on the bed, long hair falling over her shoulder as
she dropped a long, lingering kiss to his mouth. “My dad is going to love the
idea of you as his son-in-law. You know that, right?”
Right
now he was more interested in getting to know her lips better. “If you plan
on rewarding me like this all the time, I’d have proposed the minute you
arrived home.”
Maddison sat up and reached for his hand, fingers playing across his palm. “I mean it,
Jack. It’s going to make him so happy. You’re already part of the family, but
this will mean a lot to him.”
“He means a lot to me, Maddison . Your whole family does.”
Jack reached for her, stroked the
side of her face, watching as she shut her eyes and sighed.
“I can’t believe I was supposed to
be marrying someone else this spring, and instead I’m marrying the boy who was
my best friend.”
He laughed. “Maybe we’ve stayed
best friends all these years, Maddie . Even if we haven’t seen each other.”
“Maybe,” she said, opening her eyes
and smiling before standing again. “In a way it’s like picking up straight from
where we left off.”
“Marrying your friend makes sense,
don’t you think?” he asked. “I mean, we don’t have to worry about all the other
stuff that makes marriage so complicated sometimes. No passionate love affair
that could turn volatile, no children complicating things, no secret past that
we’re trying to keep hidden.”
It was like a cloud passed over her
face, but the change was so sudden, so brief, that he wondered if he’d imagined
it. It wasn’t that he didn’t love her,
but what he’d meant was the kind of love that made people do stupid things.
“I’d better go, Jack. Get back to
the house, let everyone know I’m okay.”
“How about you put some coffee on
and I’ll have a quick shower. Then I’ll drive you home.”
She laughed, hands on her hips.
“Don’t think that because I’m your wife I’ll be pouring your coffee and making
you breakfast.”
He slapped her backside, knowing
she was embarrassed at his nudity by the way she kept averting her eyes,
He shook his head. “That’s not what
I asked.” It should have been enough to hear those things, to know that they
were doing it for the right reasons, but he wanted more. Needed
to know that it wasn’t purely convenient.
“Do I have to spell it out to you?”
she asked.
Jack continued to stare at her,
wanting her to say it. “What?”
“I think after last night it’s
fairly obvious that we’re more than just friends,” she said, voice low like it
wasn’t something easy for her to say.
Jack smiled. “I guess we’re
actually doing this, huh?”
“Well, yeah. I guess we are,” she
said, a shy expression on her face even though she was grinning. “Not as
romantic as I’d hoped for, but I guess I can go without the proposal story.”
He chuckled. “I’ll propose,
sweetheart. We said we’d make this look real, didn’t we?”
She was still in her bra because
he’d gotten rid of her top downstairs. Maddison came
slowly back toward the bed. “So we’ll discuss the other details later? Like me
moving some stuff here, the wedding, all those
things?”
Jack wished it didn’t feel like
such a business arrangement, but it was what he’d said he wanted. It was a
marriage in name, and hopefully sometimes in pleasure, but without the
problems. They’d agreed on not having children, agreed they were doing this to
help one another out, which meant they were going into marriage as adults.
Having made a decision that wasn’t based on passion or emotion. Pleasure maybe, but not emotions.
“I might swing by later on. Have a
chat with your father perhaps.”
He watched a smile slowly spread
across Maddison’s lips, a grin that was so infectious
he ended up grinning back at her.
“You’d do that?” she asked.
“We said we’d make this genuine,
didn’t we?”
Maddison crossed the room and leaned on the bed, long hair falling over her shoulder as
she dropped a long, lingering kiss to his mouth. “My dad is going to love the
idea of you as his son-in-law. You know that, right?”
Right
now he was more interested in getting to know her lips better. “If you plan
on rewarding me like this all the time, I’d have proposed the minute you
arrived home.”
Maddison sat up and reached for his hand, fingers playing across his palm. “I mean it,
Jack. It’s going to make him so happy. You’re already part of the family, but
this will mean a lot to him.”
“He means a lot to me, Maddison . Your whole family does.”
Jack reached for her, stroked the
side of her face, watching as she shut her eyes and sighed.
“I can’t believe I was supposed to
be marrying someone else this spring, and instead I’m marrying the boy who was
my best friend.”
He laughed. “Maybe we’ve stayed
best friends all these years, Maddie . Even if we haven’t seen each other.”
“Maybe,” she said, opening her eyes
and smiling before standing again. “In a way it’s like picking up straight from
where we left off.”
“Marrying your friend makes sense,
don’t you think?” he asked. “I mean, we don’t have to worry about all the other
stuff that makes marriage so complicated sometimes. No passionate love affair
that could turn volatile, no children complicating things, no secret past that
we’re trying to keep hidden.”
It was like a cloud passed over her
face, but the change was so sudden, so brief, that he wondered if he’d imagined
it. It wasn’t that he didn’t love her,
but what he’d meant was the kind of love that made people do stupid things.
“I’d better go, Jack. Get back to
the house, let everyone know I’m okay.”
“How about you put some coffee on
and I’ll have a quick shower. Then I’ll drive you home.”
She laughed, hands on her hips.
“Don’t think that because I’m your wife I’ll be pouring your coffee and making
you breakfast.”
He slapped her backside, knowing
she was embarrassed at his nudity by the way she kept averting her eyes,
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