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Chapter 14 - Maddie: Move-in Day
“You know you are going to fall in love with him, aren’t you?” Lily said from the love seat she was sitting on. She was rubbing her swollen belly lovingly, as she listened to me venting about my situation.
I had decided that I couldn’t keep all of this to myself. I needed an outlet to vent to especially after what had happened last week. Sleeping with Marcus had been a mistake, but it was a mistake that I wanted to repeat.
“I’m not going to fall in love with him. This is strictly a business transaction. I helped him with his Ashleigh situation, and he helped me with Peter’s ranch.”
“I still can’t believe that you are Pete’s daughter.”
I ran a hand through my hair. I was a mess today. I hadn’t brushed my hair out at all, and there was a lot of frizz to it. My hair had more curl to it than many people believed, and I hated it. So, every day, I made sure that I had it as straight as possible. It was extra work for me, but perfection was worth it.
“Yeah, I still can’t fully believe it. To think that the man who I thought was my father my entire life was actually not my father is crazy.”
Richard Vandlewoods. Even thinking about it brought pain to my chest. The last conversation I’d had with my parents did not go over well, let’s just say that. I hadn’t spoken to my mother, and there was no way I was going to speak to my father. They had made their stance very clear.
“So what are you going to do with the ranch? Have you spoken to Danny yet?”
I shook my head. “Not yet. I will talk to her after the wedding next week.”
Yep, I was getting married the following Saturday. I couldn’t even believe I was saying it out loud. I never saw myself getting married to anyone right now, especially someone like Marcus.
Marcus and Ethan came in holding boxes they had collected from Marcus’ truck. Today was move-in day for us. It was the next phase of our plan. I didn’t like that I had to share the same space with him, but it was needed.
We needed the ruse to be convincing. The whole town knew about us by now, and it only made sense.
Ethan and Marcus set the boxes down and walked into the living room. Ethan went to go and sit beside Lily and kissed the side of her head. Lily leaned into him instantly. They were so in tune with one another, I was envious.
Marcus came to sit beside me. “Mom said you are going to look for a dress today?”
I nodded. “Yeah. Our wedding is next week, and I need to get my life organized. Have you gotten your suit?”
He yawned, nodding his head. “Got everything ready to go. All I need to do is just show up. I also need to run to the jewelers to get the rings from Gary.”
My phone buzzed and, when I pulled it out of my pocket, I saw who it was.
Lara: I will be there in a little while, sweetheart. I am bringing Danny and Axel along too. Kisses.
Marcus was looking at my phone when I looked up at him.
“It’s your mom, but you already knew that, seeing as you were spying.”
“I wasn’t spying. You held your phone up for anyone to see.”
I rolled my eyes and stood up from the couch. “I’m going to go and get ready. You can just put your stuff in the room, and you can make whatever you want to eat. The fridge is full.”
I left the room, leaving the three of them talking.
Things between Marcus and I had been less awkward than I thought they would have been after our little moment. Okay, it wasn’t a little moment; it was a lot of moments that were repeated again and again.
I had thought about it obviously because for me it had been a while. Not even Daniel, my bum of an ex, had been able to make me feel that good.
I had started to view Marcus in a different light. His face didn’t look as disgusting as it did before, and I may have looked at his ass and arms a few times but sue me. I’m human. I got to look, and technically, he is my fiancé but not in the way that it counted.
I walked into my bathroom and started getting ready. After straightening my hair and adding some makeup, I was ready to go. When I stepped out of my room I nearly ran into Marcus. Luckily, he caught me by the waist before I could fall flat on my ass.
I was wearing a crop top, so his bare hands were making contact with my exposed skin. My skin heated at his touch, and I felt the heat flow all the way down to my core.
I stepped out of his hold and cleared my throat. I patted my hands on my jeans and looked to him; Marcus was staring at me weirdly. It made me feel a little uneasy.
