Chapter Eleven
Jack stared at Madelaine. The only part of her disguise she’d removed was the oversized sunglasses. He could see her eyes. He could see that she was serious. And then the meaning of her words soaked in.
“Would I be willing to marry you? Is that a trick question?” Honestly, he didn’t know the immediate answer.
Had he always wanted to marry Madelaine? Yes.
Had she broken his heart into one thousand pieces when she left him five years ago? Yes.
Did he want to marry her anyway? Yes.
Should he tell her that? Maybe.
Madelaine shook her head and a small smile appeared.
“No. Not a trick question. I need a husband I can trust, and the truth is, you are the only husband I would ever trust.” She flashed a wider smile, making her look like the Madelaine he’d known.
A jubilant smile that he’d missed seeing.
The one that said it was the two of them against the world and that there wasn’t anything they couldn’t accomplish, as long as they did it together.
But that had been over five long years ago.
He glanced at the backpack she carried. “The message said you need a husband? Why?”
She paused, looked up at the ceiling as if framing her words carefully.
He hated that she had to be careful with what she said around him.
“Well, there’s going to be more than a single location I’ll have to visit and retrieve packages for this important errand and not all of them are friendly to women.
I will need a husband to speak for me because I must remain silent in at least one location.
He needs to be able to pilot a ship, which I know you can do.
And, as I said, you are the only husband I would ever trust.”
Jack rocked back on his heels once before planting his feet firmly beneath him. Madelaine was not someone who easily capitulated in favor of what she would consider an unreasonable task.
Especially if she had to have a man—or rather, a husband—speak for her.
Jack wanted to marry her, but he didn’t want to be heartbroken.
Before he could tell her that she was likely the only woman he’d ever marry, she added, “We can annul our union once this errand is over, okay?”
Boom. Crash. His heart fell to his feet. Again.
Jack considered her offer. She was likely being sensible by telling him they could annul the marriage once she didn’t need him any longer. Wow. That hurt more than it should have.
Then something occurred to him. She was honor-bound by some sacrifice she’d made five years ago to a group hellbent on ruining her life and his by enforcing their separation and keeping them incommunicado. Had that group sanctioned this marriage?
Did they know she needed a husband for her errand? They must.
“Please, Jack,” she said, ruining his line of thought. “Please do this for me.”
“Marry you? Sure. Temporarily, not so sure about that.” His heart apparently needed to be beaten down by rejection at least one more time.
Madelaine straightened her posture. She seemed surprised. “I don’t want to mislead you.”
“Just like I don’t want you to misunderstand me. The thing is, I’ve always wanted to marry you, Madelaine. Further discussion of an annulment would be a dealbreaker for me.”
A whole range of expressions crossed her face as she processed what he’d said.
He added, “I know it seems foolish, given your constraints, but make no mistake—if we get married, I will not willingly annul it. Ever.” His heart really was a glutton for punishment.
Madelaine stared at him as if weighing her options. “All right. We’ll get married and discuss annulment at a much later date.”
He started to protest, but she lifted her hands in a conciliatory way. “And yes. I understand that you will never willingly annul the marriage, but keep in mind that I might try to persuade you.”
He snorted. “Good luck with that.”
She nodded as an odd smile shaped her lips. “We need to get to the Justice of the Peace in downtown Alienn. Once the ceremony is complete, the JOP will give over the next package of information for this errand I must complete.”
“With a husband,” he added. Me. She wants to marry me. At least temporarily.
She nodded again. “Yes. With a husband who can pilot a ship and never forget that time is running out.”
“Understood.” He straightened, ready to be serious and take on this odd task. It might be foolish, and he was sure to get his heart broken. However, he and Madelaine would be together, working for what he was certain was the greater good.
She looked him up and down, not for the first time since she’d come back into his life.
He found it interesting that she still seemed to have feelings for him and his optimistic heart cheered.
The kiss she’d delivered at the bank didn’t seem either dispassionate or repulsed. His heart gave another little cheer.
Something important in regard to this marriage crossed his mind.
“On the way to the courthouse, we need to stop at my house.”
“Why?”
“To get the rings.”
“You have rings? Wedding rings?” Her expression was set to incredulous.
“I do,” he said with a smile. He’d purchased an engagement ring for her long ago and two wedding bands a month before she left that last time for Alpha-Prime.
Somehow, he’d never returned them in all these years. His heart really was way too optimistic, as it turned out. He had always planned to marry Madelaine. No one he’d dated even came close to being a “let’s walk down the aisle together” contender. Not even close.
“Okay. We stop at your house and then on to the courthouse in downtown Alienn.”
Jack couldn’t help the jubilant feeling trying to bubble up and make him laugh with giddy joy. He needed to quash it and adopt a more sedate, reasonable attitude or he really would get his heart stomped on and it would be his own fault.
Before they moved to leave, Seraphina came through the front door carrying several to-go bags of food and a drink carrier. Jack could smell coffee from where he stood.
“I brought food,” she said and crossed between them to place the food and drinks on the table. “What are you two discussing?”
Madelaine kept her gaze on Jack when she said, “We’re about to go to the courthouse and get married. Want to be our witness?”
Seraphina didn’t seem the least bit fazed. “Sure, but can we eat first? I’m about to be really cranky.”
“Sure. We can’t have a cranky witness,” Madelaine said with a grin.
Meanwhile, Jack was wandering through a dream.
Must be a dream. He was about to marry the love of his life, Madelaine Archer, in a secret Justice of the Peace ceremony in downtown Alienn, Arkansas, at the courthouse, with only her proxy bidder, Seraphina, as witness.
The marriage would be in place for an undetermined length of time before she moved to annul this madness.
Apparently, he thought wryly, there was a fine line between madness and a dream come true in this particular case.
Jack had been clear that he was not going to be party to an annulment, but that didn’t mean Madelaine wouldn’t disappear on him once her errand was complete, which would break his heart forever.
However, he was living for the now. He loved Madelaine and he was about to marry her so he could help her, because she trusted him.
Everything else was going to have to reside on a back burner.
He hoped he wasn’t making a colossal mistake.
His heart might not recover another break of the magnitude losing Madelaine a second time would render, but it didn’t change anything for him.
His bride-to-be started pulling food out of the bags Seraphina had brought, dragging him out of his daydream. He hadn’t realized how hungry he was until he smelled the food.
They shared a quick meal and then the two women went into the bedroom to find an outfit and disguise for Madelaine for their courthouse adventure.
He’d wear the jacket from his go bag that didn’t need ironing after being crammed in the bottom of the bag for months. It really was miracle fabric.
Jack wasn’t certain what Madelaine and her friend were coming up with for a bridal outfit, but that didn’t matter to him. They were essentially eloping, with no family or friends present for the ceremony. It wasn’t far off from what they’d planned to do before Madelaine left Earth.
In high school and college, they had not spent a lot of time discussing the perfect wedding.
Madelaine mentioned once or twice that she only wanted a small backyard wedding with a close circle of family and friends in attendance.
He’d been grateful she didn’t want extravagant.
Then again, she’d always been down to earth and practical.
Was she still that way? Likely.
They had both agreed that a cool, lively reception would be in order, but he surmised they’d have to forego that for this elopement, at least until her errand was complete.
And honestly, it would probably never happen, since she wanted to annul this marriage from the get-go, once she didn’t need a husband anymore.
Whew. Heart blow.
I should set up an early warning system to stop torturing myself.
Madelaine had always tried to be practical, but her inner girly-girl was ecstatic that she was about to marry the man of her dreams and would not shut up or be put down. It was all she could do not to squeal in delight, given what was about to happen.
She was going to marry Jack Grey.
The one. Her one.
Even as she knew she didn’t get to keep him, it was difficult to keep the bounce out of her step when the three of them entered the courthouse and headed for the Justice of the Peace’s office. They had stopped by Jack’s house to pick up the rings. Jack wouldn’t let her see them yet.
“I’d like it to be a surprise, okay?” he’d said, hopping back into the car.
“Sure.” Madelaine had secretly been glad. She wanted to be surprised by the ring he’d selected for her back when they’d been wildly in love and the wicked ways of the world hadn’t yet intruded on their blissful ignorance regarding their future.