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Chapter 6 - Marcus: Merged Plans
I blinked.
“No.” I laughed and turned to get into my car. This girl was something else.
She grabbed my arm and stopped me. “Look, Marcus, I wouldn’t be asking you this if I had options but I don’t. I just need you to marry me. I will even pay you a monthly salary. I’m sure the fire station doesn’t even pay you that much anyway. Extra income must be appealing to you.”
I rolled my eyes. “Not everyone is drawn to money the same way you are, Vandlewoods. I don’t need it, and I certainly don’t need yours.”
“I’m desperate here, Marcus.” She rarely called me Marcus but hearing her say my name was doing something to my chest. “Fine. If you won’t do it for the money, can you at least do this one charitable thing for me? Do you want me to get on my knees and beg?”
I pretended to think over it for a moment, “Yes. I think I would enjoy that view very much.”
“You are so annoying.” She frowned. “Why can’t you do this one favor for me?”
“Maybe because I don’t plan on getting married to anyone, least of all you, Maddison. I’m sure you can find a man who would be more than willing to marry you for whatever scheme you have cooked up. I just happen to not be him.”
“I can’t have anyone else. You are perfect for this. I know you won’t fall in love with me, and my disgust for you will ensure that I won’t fall in love with you. I just need someone I can trust to play the part. It will only be a few months anyway.”
I was about to say something but then my phone buzzed. I pulled it out and looked at the screen.
Ash: I moved my moving day up five days. I will be in town a little earlier! Let’s meet up for dinner next week. Thursday??
My stomach churned. There was still that on-going problem.
“Earth to Marcus. Are you listening to what I’m saying?”
I looked at Maddie for a moment and then looked back down at my phone. Maybe I was a damn fool for what I said next. Maybe I too was desperate just as much as she was?
She needed someone to marry her for a few months, and I needed someone to pretend to be in love with me until Ashleigh finally backed off. Maybe this was a gift on a silver platter for me? Maybe God had sent me Maddison, one of the least likely of people, to come and save me.
I knew I was never going to fall in love, and I also knew that Maddison would never fall in love with me, either. Her heart was too iced out to have any real emotions inside of it.
My eyes locked with hers. “I’ll do it. I will come over to your house after four, and we will discuss everything.”
Surprise colored her face. “Really?”
“Yeah.” I opened my car door. “Make sure you are home by four. We need to iron everything out and make sure that the plan is solid. I’m not tying myself down to you for months without a solid plan and everything in writing.”
I didn’t give her enough time to come up with a response because I was already in my truck and peeling out of the parking lot.
Maddie stood frozen in place, unable to move. She just stared after my truck, as I drove away.
This hadn’t been my plan, but I had dug myself a deep hole by lying to Ash. I needed an out and Maddison was the safest bet. There was no risk of her falling in love and confusing this. This was simply business, and I was sure that the ice queen would treat it as such.
I was sure there was nothing to worry about or at least I hoped.
Since it was my off day and I didn’t need to go to the ranch, time ticked by slowly. I had cleaned my entire house from the top down, and I had organized and reorganized my library. I was just about ready to claw out my own teeth when the clock finally struck four.
My house was not far from Maddie’s which was good. I didn’t think that the anxiety I had been feeling would have handled a twenty-to thirty-minute drive.
I pulled up behind her car on her driveway and got out. When I looked at the house next door, I noticed that Ethan’s car wasn’t there. Good. Hopefully, this meant that he and Lily were at their doctor’s appointment. This way, no one would question what I was doing at Riverroad’s resident witch.
I walked up the porch steps and knocked on the door. My heart was beating like crazy.
“This was a bad idea,” I whispered to myself.
I still had time to turn back. I could just walk back to my truck and forget everything. But then what would I then do with Ash? I feared what directly turning her down would do to her. Was I a coward for faking a relationship rather than telling her? Maybe. But I had no other choice. She may have been weaned off her meds, but she was still very fragile and still needed to be handled with care. I owed it to Sarah to be there for her best friend.
