“Ruby?”
“No,” he snapped. “Adelie.”
Duncan lifted his hands. “You mean it’s not about the money?”
Maddox worked to keep his frustration in check. “No, and while we’re on the subject, why did you tell Ruby at all? You’re the one who warned me about getting Ruby involved.”
Duncan shrugged. “When Ruby called me to find out where you were, I didn’t answer. She talked to Rosabel instead. Then when she got a hold of me later, I assumed Ruby knew when she mentioned you were in Paris.”
Maddox sank onto his couch and ran his hands through his hair. Relief seeped through some of his frustration. At least he knew Duncan hadn’t betrayed him.
“Sorry,” he said. “I’m just on edge from all of this. I know you’re trying to help me.”
Duncan inclined his head to one shoulder. “Don’t get me wrong, I’ve got problems of my own. I’d get a fake wife myself if it hadn’t turned out so rotten for you. Maybe that would get my staff to believe there’s nothing going on between Rosabel and me.”
The words struck Maddox. He wasn’t about to confront Duncan about Rosabel again, not since he’d closed up about her so entirely the last time he’d tried.
“That’s just it, though. Our marriage has been mind-blowing, the way she’s so perfect for me, the way I feel like I’d do anything for her. Adelie is such a sweetheart. She makes me want to conquer the world for her—if it needed conquering. I don’t want it to be over.”
Duncan frowned at him. “Then what are you still doing here?”
“I don’t know. I don’t know how to prove it to her, how to prove I care about her and not the money.” Thanks to Ruby, Wonderland was in the way. It’d been in the way since he’d met Adelie, when it started out as something good and beautiful he’d created in honor of his mother.
“You could always close Wonderland.”
Duncan’s words traveled to Maddox as if from a distance. The thought was so simple and obviously meant as another joke, but it struck a chord inside Maddox. Slowly, he rose to his feet and stared at his friend.
“You’re a genius.”
He held a palm toward him. “I wasn’t being serious.”
He glanced out the window of Maddox’s office, which he’d purposefully located in the White Rabbit’s house so he could take in the exhilaration of the park without anyone knowing he was there.
Unable to wipe the dawning smile from his face, Maddox strode over and clapped him on the back. “Can I borrow Rosabel’s assistance again?”
“Rosabel?” Duncan said, as though he’d forgotten who she was.
“Yes,” Maddox said with a laugh. Rosabel, the one everyone in Duncan’s office thought Duncan was having an illicit relationship with when really the two could hardly stand to be in the same room together.
Maddox still wasn’t sure why Duncan hadn’t found a different assistant, one who would suit him better. He had to have feelings for her.
“You sure she won’t mind taking care of a few things for me?” Maddox asked.
Duncan paused before his lips twisted against a smile. “She won’t mind. She loves doing extra work.” His tone gave Maddox the impression the opposite was true.
Maddox retreated from the idea. Rosabel had helped him out a lot the past few weeks, and he didn’t want to make her feel unappreciated.
He surrendered his hands. “You know what? Never mind. I don’t want to bother her.”
“No, please,” Duncan said too eagerly. He tapped his screen. “She loves to be bothered.”
Maddox opened his mouth to protest when a woman’s voice could be heard through Duncan’s phone.
“Hey, there, Assistant. My buddy has a request for you.”
Maddox didn’t like it. How could Duncan treat her this way? How could Rosabel put up with it?”
Sneering, self-satisfied, Duncan offered him his phone. Reluctantly, Maddox took it
“Hey, there, Rosabel.”
“Hey, Mr. Hatter,” Rosabel said sweetly. Was she annoyed? She hadn’t been when she’d coordinated his honeymoon at the last minute. Maddox should have considered her feelings more carefully.
“I’m sorry to bother you again. You did a fantastic job with my accommodations in Paris. I just wanted to thank you.”
“Oh?” Her tone turned shrewd. “Would you please tell Mr. Hawthorne how nice it is to hear those words once in a while?”
Maddox froze with the feeling he’d landed himself in some kind of battle between the two of them. A battle he was sure he wanted nothing of. As Duncan had said, he had his own problems right now.
He cleared his throat awkwardly. “Yes, well, that’s all I wanted to say.”
“Sorry,” she said, sounding exasperated and repentant. “I shouldn’t talk to you like that.” She cleared her throat as well and then her tone brightened. “Mr. Hawthorne said you had something to ask me?”
Maddox grimaced. He could take care of this himself. Or hire his own assistant. He didn’t have time for that, though. Truly, he needed Rosabel’s help. Maddox spilled his idea, reassuring himself that he’d make it worth her while.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Adelie stared at her medical terminology course page. The test results were in, and hers were unbelievable. A ninety-three percent? Even after how muddled she’d felt after things with Maddox when everything capsized, even when she hadn’t been able to think as clearly as usual, she’d still managed to remember everything she’d studied?
She could live without him after all. That was evident from the results of her test.
But she didn’t want to.
Her conversation with Ella and Grammy Larsen clamored through her mind. She wanted to follow their advice, to talk to Maddox, but she wasn’t sure how.
Among everything she’d considered doing—contacting her bank and refunding him what was left of the money he’d awarded her; going to Westville City Hall to have their marriage annulled; hiding out in her family home for the rest of her life—none of the options held much appeal.
It was much like the way she felt in her home. She’d held onto it for so long because of the many cherished memories here, because of its safety. But
