“What if there were?” His tone was a captured butterfly, gentle and delicate, fluttering just enough to make itself known. “People move in together all the time.”
Adelie’s mouth fell open. Was he seriously saying what she thought he was?
A handful of arguments elbowed their way to the forefront of her mind, but only one took center stage. Moving in together meant they were in a relationship. It implied they were more involved than two casual friends should be.
She thought of Suzie and their neighbors. What would people think of her if she went and moved in with Maddox? Rumors would spread, whether they were true or not.
“If I were to ever do something like that, I would want to be married, Maddox.” She swallowed, willing herself to continue. “I know a lot of people don’t think it’s important, but it is to me.”
Gumption had overtaken her, but after all the events of the past several weeks, she needed to be more upfront, especially right now. Maybe if she had been, she wouldn’t be in this predicament in the first place.
“Okay, then. We wouldn’t call it moving in. We could call it protective custody.”
Adelie’s eyes slammed shut, and annoyance coursed through her. Changing the name of something didn’t change what it was.
Call her old-fashioned, but if her grandparents ever heard she’d moved in with a man—a man she was insanely attracted to and had dreamed about on more than one occasion—they’d roll over in their graves. Not to mention God’s opinion on the subject, which mattered to her.
Maddox’s chest rose. His hands rested on his legs. He hadn’t yet shut the ignition off, and his car rumbled beneath them. He rotated to face her more directly.
“Okay, then. What if you marry me?”
“What?” In the realm of responses she might have expected, a proposal was on a different continent. Marry Maddox Hatter? On a whim, just like that?
This time, Maddox shifted in his seat. “Hear me out,” he said. “People would believe a marriage. Whatever rumors might surface about the two of us would be answered from the start. No speculation. You could live at my house for as long as you needed to, ease your way into the public eye with me, and then maybe in a year or so, when you’re feeling ready to take on the world again, we can part ways.”
She could see his reasoning. Marriage would allow her as much time as she needed to feel safe again. Something told Adelie it wouldn’t be as easy as he claimed, though. If she did this, she’d never be able to avoid the public eye again.
Then again, even if she didn’t, it was already too late for that. But at Maddox’s side, as his wife, he could help her learn how to cope with it better than she was.
This was nuts. Completely insane.
Then why was the idea so tantalizing?
“You’re willing to do that for me? You barely know me. What do you get out of it?”
“Why should I get anything out of it?” His tone sounded almost offended.
“I just mean, it doesn’t seem fair to you. It feels almost like I’m taking advantage of you. You’ve already given me so much. How can I expect anything more?”
His lips tugged upward. “Adelie, I’m the reason your life turned upside down in the first place. This is the least I can do, believe me. I talked you into the photo shoot because I was selfish. I wanted you so badly, I didn’t think of the consequences, and it put you in serious danger. At least let me make this right.”
His phrase dangled like temptation between them. I wanted you so badly. Marriage was about more than just living in the same space. If they did this, she’d have to make certain parameters undoubtedly clear.
“So, we would actually get m-married? I would take your name?”
“Only if you wanted to,” he said. “I’d have to draw up some paperwork.”
“More paperwork?”
There was that smirk again. “As some legal issues will be involved if we decide to move forward with this, I’ll need to make sure certain aspects of my life are…protected.”
He wanted to make sure she didn’t steal his money. Fair enough.
“And if there are any issues I should be aware of with you, those can also be addressed.”
“What about physically?” she blurted.
To her surprise, a slight flush overtook his skin. A muscle jumped in his jaw. “No expectations there,” he said, slicing the air between them with his hand. “It can be a marriage in name only, if you want.”
Did she? This was so much, so fast. She’d never even kissed a guy, let alone…anything else.
“And when…when would this all happen?”
“Your safety is important to me,” he said, picking at the threaded border of the console between them. “If I’m not mistaken, I know a place where we can get a marriage license and get hitched by tomorrow.”
Her entire body trembled. Adrenaline coursed through her, making her more alert to every word he spoke. Married to Maddox by tomorrow. Tomorrow.
“You’d better not say Vegas,” she said.
Maddox laughed so boisterously the sound heated her chest. His hand found hers and carefully, deliberately, he slid it beneath her palm, positioning it perfectly so he could weave his fingers through hers.
The touch spoke everything he didn’t need to say aloud. He was serious about this. And he would wait for her to make a decision. The problem was, she didn’t have a clue what to do.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
“No way. Marriage? Are you both out of your minds?”
“Suzie, come on,” Adelie said across the suitcase lying open atop her bed to where Suzie had perched. “I thought you’d be freaking out and telling me to go for it.”
The freak out happened to be her older sister’s typical response to impulsive situations like this.
Adelie hadn’t been able to think of anything else during the entire, mostly silent, drive back to Coleman’s. Maddox had taken her right to her
