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What had she just done?
As Adrian helped her up in the truck and closed the door, she took a deep breath and tried to compose herself. Her legs had felt like spaghetti noodles walking to the vehicle.
Where had she gotten the courage to kiss him like that in front of those two witches?
In fact, she had wanted to continue kissing him right there. It was like she’d gone into a world without anything but Adrian. Like everything around her disappeared at the touch of his lips on hers.
Once their lips fused, he’d taken control, and all she’d wanted to do was surrender to the feelings he evoked. And that was not a good reaction for a pseudo-relationship.
Even now her center throbbed with heat she could not remember ever feeling. What was she doing?
Opening the driver’s door, he stepped inside the truck shaking his head.
“Remind me to never get into an argument with you or do any kind of side deals. You could probably outwit Einstein,” he said laughing. “Did you see their faces?”
She had and enjoyed every moment of them realizing their defeat. But what would the future bring? Sure, they could make everyone believe they were a couple, but what happened when they broke up?
“Yes, especially Norma Jean’s expression,” she said. “Honestly, I hope she finds a man and settles down and lives a great life.”
The woman was catty and insensitive, but still, Madison didn’t want to wish ill will on her. Everyone deserved happiness.
“Just not with me,” he said. “And, Sally, I feel sorry for her. But that doesn’t mean I want to spend the rest of my life with her either. And I feared they were going to gang up on me and somehow trap me into marriage.”
She’d seen cases where women did this to rich men. But Adrian seemed like a man who had a good head, and she doubted that anyone could ever convince him to marry again.
The man had a sweet heart and didn’t want to hurt these women, but he was tired of them pursuing him.
With a sigh, she leaned back against the truck’s seat. The kiss had happened spontaneously without her giving much thought to it. All she’d wanted to do was brand him as hers before the women were emboldened to do something to Adrian. That kiss had let everyone know that he was hers. Back off.
And yet, it also frightened her. She couldn’t do that again. Especially after the reaction she’d experienced to his lips.
More and more, she enjoyed spending time with Adrian. More and more, she felt a hot rush of heat fill her center, making her legs go limp, her body wanting to cling to his when their lips touched. More and more, she could feel herself developing feelings that were unwanted by both of them.
“Thank you for pointing out that I was there. Those women didn’t want to acknowledge me. The housekeeper’s daughter,” she said.
A frown appeared on his face that she could see in the light from the dashboard.
“Why wouldn’t they want anything to do with the housekeeper’s daughter?”
She laughed. “You obviously don’t know how mean girls can be in high school. Yes, we’re not in school any longer, but they can still be mean bitches.”
For a moment, he was silent. “Madison, you’re smart. You’ve got a great career and you’re beautiful. Why do you think they want a husband?”
She shrugged. “To make beautiful little babies they can entrap men with?”
“Exactly. Those ladies are looking for someone to take care of them. They don’t want to work or have a job. All they want is for some man to put them in a life of ease. Can you imagine what those women would have been like in the old days when our grandparents worked so hard to make a living off the ranch?”
“No,” she said. “In some ways, I feel sorry for them too. Being self-sufficient is a wonderful thing. No matter what happens, I can always take care of myself. Even if my practice fails, I will go back to work for a group of lawyers.”
“Your practice is not going to fail,” he said with the confidence she didn’t feel.
Hope filled her and she prayed he was right. “At ten clients, I break even.”
“See, you’ve already done the numbers and know what it’s going to take to be successful.”
He turned down the ranch road to the house. When they came close, the gate opened automatically. As they bounced down the lane, she wasn’t ready for the night to end. Suddenly he pulled the truck over about a half mile from the gate.
“Why did you stop?”
