Contract for Love, page 28
She leaned over to Madison and gave her a kiss on the cheek, which made Madison blush and smile.
Over the course of the service, they looked at each other repeatedly. Sometimes they smiled; sometimes their expressions became serious. It was nothing but looks, but Sherry could feel them everywhere.
“I thought he would never fall asleep,” Madison whispered after she had closed the door to his room. Even though he hadn’t wanted to fall asleep, it had felt wonderful to take turns with Sherry, reading to him and caressing his head from time to time until he’d finally fallen asleep.
“Jake had an exciting day,” Sherry said. “Especially the church service with your grandmother was an adventure for him.”
“I’m surprised he didn’t fall asleep. I almost did a couple of times.”
Sherry giggled. “For Rita Mae, it definitely did the trick. I’ve never seen her go to bed so fast.”
“If she’d run to the bathroom, I would have sworn she had a bad stomach.”
“Madison!”
Madison winked at her and strolled to the living room. “But maybe she just wanted to avoid helping us place the presents under the Christmas tree.”
Sherry followed her. “Who knows?” Madison changed direction to the bedroom, but Sherry held her back. “Let’s sit down for a moment before we start.”
Surprised, Madison paused and let herself be pulled onto the couch. “Okay.”
“This pastor was really in a sour mood. All this talk about sin…”
“You listened to him?”
“You didn’t?” When Madison shrugged, Sherry slapped her lightly on the arm. “Shame on you, Madison Fielding. Well, I’m just glad Jake still believes in Santa Claus. Even though it doesn’t really have anything to do with Christianity, it still brings a little magic to Christmas, don’t you think?”
Madison had never really thought about it, but maybe Sherry was right. She hoped that for Jake Christmas was something magical.
“How were you as a kid on Christmas?”
“After I had to move in with Grandmother Eileen, there wasn’t any magic involved anymore, that’s for sure. I learned quickly that the postman brought Christmas presents and not Santa Claus.”
Sherry gently touched her forearm. “And before that?”
“Before the death of my parents?”
Sherry nodded. “What about your mother? You’ve barely told me anything about her.”
Madison laid her arm on the backrest behind Sherry. It was a silent invitation for Sherry to snuggle up to her, and she immediately did so and leaned her head against Madison’s shoulder.
Their cuddling had become more frequent with every passing day, but Madison refused to think about what it meant.
Not even with Danielle had she talked about her mother. Sometimes she spoke about her father, but never about her mother. It had always felt as if she had to protect the memory of her, or that she would lose something precious if she talked about her.
But she wanted to tell Sherry about her mother. So what had changed? Before she could find an answer or talk herself out of it, she said, “Christmas was always a time just for the three of us. A time of”—Madison swallowed—“love.”
Sherry caressed her arm. “That sounds nice.” After some silence, she asked, “How about the rest of the year?”
“My mother brought me to bed every evening. She always made time for me, no matter how much she had to work.”
“What did she do for a living?”
“She was an architect.” Madison slid down some more and pulled Sherry with her. “She was working at an architect’s office that Fielding Inc. had retained for building a new branch.”
“And that’s when your parents fell in love?”
Madison had to smile when she recalled the story that Mildred, Grandmother Eileen’s cook, had told her once. “No, not right then. My mother couldn’t stand my father. She thought he was arrogant and smug.”
“Sounds familiar.” Sherry grinned at her.
“I’m pretty similar to my father, am I?”
For a while, Sherry was silent as if searching for the right words. “I don’t know. I never net him. But—” Sherry lowered her gaze.
“But what?” Madison took Sherry’s jaw between thumb and forefinger and softly nudged it to make eye contact. What did Sherry see when she looked at her? Madison let her hand fall away from Sherry’s chin.
“Maybe it wasn’t easy with you in the beginning. But I’ve told you before and I meant it: you’ve changed.” Sherry took Madison’s hand and caressed it with her thumb. After a while, she let go abruptly as if just now becoming aware of what she’d been doing. She looked out the window. “And how did they become a couple then? Your parents, I mean.”
Madison turned away from Sherry’s beautiful profile. “I was told that my father was head over heels with her and that he didn’t give up until she agreed to go out with him. The rest, as they say, is history.” When Madison tried to imagine this, her mother somehow became Sherry and her father became herself.
“Your mother kept working in her old job after they got married and your father was the head of Fielding Inc., right?”
“Mm-hmm? No. My grandfather was the head back then.”
“Where are your thoughts right now?” Sherry asked softly after a few moments of silence.
Madison pulled her even closer, so that Sherry was almost sitting on her lap. To her own surprise, she heard herself say, “My father couldn’t live without my mother. He loved her more than anything else in the world.” In a whisper, she added, “More than me.”
This time it was Sherry who nudged Madison’s jaw until they looked at each other.
The light was dim, but Madison could have sworn that Sherry had tears in her eyes. “I really meant what I said. You are lovable. More than you know and more than I ever would have thought possible when I first met you.”
Madison had a huge lump in her throat. “I blackmailed you to work for me,” she choked out. “How can you say I’m—?”
Sherry put one finger to Madison’s lips, silencing her.
The gesture was so intimate that it robbed Madison of breath.
“Don’t think about it. If you were to ask me today if I’d do it, I wouldn’t hesitate for a second. I want to help you to be happy. And if that means I have to play your girlfriend so that you can inherit more money than you could ever spend, then so be it.”
Something between anger and shame rushed through her. Sherry wanted to help her be happy. And all I want is the damn money. Right?
Of course. That’s what life was all about, wasn’t it?
Her eyes burned, and she blinked a few times to get rid of the tears. To no avail. “Thank you,” she whispered.
Sherry took a deep breath. God, it smelled heavenly. Madison’s slight woody scent mixed with her unique enticing smell of… Her eyes snapped open.
Madison!
Sherry was snuggled against Madison, almost on top of her.
Even though it was dark in the bedroom, Sherry could make out Madison’s face. Her eyes were closed, and she was smiling.
She’s sleeping.
Sherry looked around. She was lying entirely on Madison’s side of the bed. How had she moved that far in her sleep in this huge bed? Yes, she enjoyed being close to Madison, but… Wait! Where’s my left hand?
When she tried to withdraw her fingers from wherever they lay, Madison clumsily covered Sherry’s hand with her own.
After a moment, she felt Madison’s belly button and breathed a sigh of relief. Thank God she wasn’t touching Madison inappropriately.
Madison leaned her check against Sherry’s forehead and hummed quietly. It seemed that Madison’s subconscious had interpreted Sherry’s movement as an attempt to cuddle.
How will I get out of this position without waking her? Did she even want to? Of course I do. Maybe Madison would let go of her soon so that she could roll over. Until then, she would make the most of this and allow herself to enjoy their closeness.
She relaxed into Madison’s touch. Just a minute…
Sherry snuggled into Madison. Below her pajama top, Sherry’s warm hand slowly caressed the skin of her belly. Sherry’s head lay on her shoulder, and her breath pleasantly tickled her neck, causing the nicest of sensations all over her body.
Madison took a deep breath and enjoyed the smell of Sherry’s shampoo and her enticing, unique scent. What a wonderful dream. Hopefully, she wouldn’t wake up anytime soon.
Wait a minute! Why wasn’t she able to see anything, if this was a dream?
Almost afraid of what she might discover, she slowly opened her eyes.
Oh my God.
Sherry was indeed lying pressed against her side. Her breathing was steady and slow.
In all the nights that they’d shared a bed, something like this had never happened. Not even when Jake had slept with them and Sherry had been closer to her than usual.
But now Sherry was snuggled up to her. And Madison had obviously wrapped her up in her arms while she had been asleep. I should wake her. She wouldn’t like the fact that I’m holding her.
On the other hand, nobody would get hurt if she enjoyed it for just a few more moments. It was totally harmless. Like…like when she had cuddled with Jake. Well, not exactly like that.
Madison took a deep breath, inhaling Sherry’s scent, and relaxed into her touch. She closed her eyes and listened to Sherry’s regular breathing.
It had to be a dream after all. Nothing felt this good in real life.
The mattress dipped. Then something pinched Madison’s leg before shaking her shoulder.
The warm and soft body next to her fit her dream about holding Sherry while they slept, but all this ruckus did not. She forced her eyes open. “What—?”
“Mom, Madison, wake up! It’s morning and Santa Claus brought presents. They’re all lying under the Christmas tree.” Jake wriggled between her and Sherry’s legs, grabbed Madison’s shoulder, and shook it for all it was worth.
Groaning, she rolled away from him, feeling something like a caress on her belly with the movement, but she was too tired to think about the cause of the pleasant sensation. “Five minutes.” She shut her eyes again.
The mattress trembled when Jake jumped up and down, and the warmth she had felt on her back disappeared, leaving a cool spot in its wake.
“Baby, it’s barely six,” Sherry groaned.
Madison looked over her shoulder.
Sherry—very close to her back—had turned onto her belly and was now covering her face with her pillow. “Just give us a few more minutes. I promise the presents won’t go away.” Her muffled voice came from under the pillow.
Jake kept jumping up and down. “But I want to open them now.”
Sherry moaned and peeked at him from under the pillow. “Please, Jake. You can lie down with us if you like and sleep some more.”
The jumping stopped. “But I’m not tired anymore.”
Even though they had gone to bed shortly after putting the presents under the tree, Madison had been awake much longer afterward because she’d kept thinking about Grandmother Eileen’s words after church when they’d been alone.
She had taken Madison aside to tell her again that she should end her relationship with Sherry.
But she didn’t want to think about that right now. She would ignore it, along with the fluttering in her belly at the thought of waking up holding Sherry. It obviously hadn’t been a dream. “Jake, if you go back to bed now, I’ll buy you a huge peperoni pizza.”
“Madison!”
Sherry’s faux shocked voice made Madison smile. She rolled onto her back and grinned at Sherry, who had put the pillow aside. “Yeah?”
“Stop bribing him.”
“I don’t want pizza,” Jake said. “I want presents.”
Her cheeks hurt from grinning so strongly at their playfulness. “Sherry, your son isn’t bribable.”
“So I’ve heard. Usually, it’s grasshopper, and now he’s my son, huh?”
“Can we go now? Please?”
Madison ignored Jake’s plea. “He is your son, or do you want to deny it?”
Sherry turned on her back and held up both hands in defeat. “I give up. Jake, brush your teeth. Then we’ll open the presents.”
“Yippee!” Jake jumped down from the bed and raced out of the bedroom.
“And don’t forget to tell Rita Mae,” Sherry shouted after him before facing Madison. “I’ll sell him to you for a buck.”
Madison giggled like a schoolgirl. “That’s daylight robbery.” Nudging Sherry’s shoulder, she added, “Let’s go. Your son is waiting.”
Sherry was still so close to her that Madison became aware of her body heat again. Memories of minutes ago made her hesitate, but then she gave in to what she wanted so badly and opened her arms.
Sherry looked at her strangely for a second before snuggling into her. “Merry Christmas.”
Madison wrapped her arms around her and took a deep breath, inhaling Sherry’s enticing scent. Immediately, her body relaxed. Smiling, she realized that even though the day was still very young and Jake had woken them none too gently, this was already the best Christmas morning of her life. “Merry Christmas.” She let her head come to rest against Sherry’s.
“I’ve brushed my teeth, and Rita Mae is awake too,” Jake shouted from the living room.
Sherry and Madison groaned in unison.
Chapter 32
Madison stopped the car. She lowered her window, leaned out of her enclosed BMW convertible, and waved into the camera. Within seconds, the gate opened. She parked the car next to three limousines at the end of the driveway. “Are you nervous?”
“I’m good,” Sherry said. “How bad can it be? It’s just a New Year’s party.”
“Famous last words.” Madison killed the engine. “I should’ve told you earlier, but…”
“But what?”
Madison signed. “Even my grandmother calls some of tonight’s attendees snobs.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“I wish. This New Year’s party will be the first since my sixteen’s birthday where I’m not smashed.” She shook her head at the irony of it. “In all those years, it never occurred to me that I might have a problem with alcohol. I only drank a lot because it made me feel good and to…I don’t know, not to think so much, I guess. But now…” She shrugged. “I think I really drank too much. And for much too long.”
Sherry’s eyes shone with something which, after a few moments, Madison recognized as pride before she touched Madison’s arm.
When Sherry let go of her, she glanced toward the main house with something that looked very much like apprehension. “Any last tips?”
“Yes. Remember these three sentences to be on the safe side.”
“Let’s hear it.”
“‘No, really?,’ ‘that’s scandalous,’ and ‘but of course.’”
“Um, I don’t think any of those are going to help me.”
Madison smirked. “You just wait and see.” She got out of the car, rushed around it, and opened the passenger door for Sherry. Holding out her hand, Madison helped her out of her seat.
Sherry took in Madison’s black evening gown that reached her ankles. Even though it wasn’t revealing much skin, it fit her very nicely, if she said so herself.
Madison’s mouth went dry when she saw the appreciation and something else in her eyes. Lust? Nah, impossible. Sherry wasn’t interested in her that way.
When Sherry looked away, Madison used the chance to admire Sherry and her long, red evening gown with its heart-stoppingly low neckline.
“You take my breath away,” she said without thinking.
Sherry picked at an imaginary piece of lint. “You chose the dress.”
She couldn’t have stopped her words if she’d wanted to. “It’s not the dress I’m talking about.”
Sherry opened her mouth but snapped it shut again when a young man ran toward them.
“Good evening, ma’am. I’m sorry I kept you waiting. May I park your car for you?”
Madison handed him the car keys. “Good evening. Please see to it that we can depart at any time. Last time, I was totally boxed in.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
When Sherry laid her hand in the crook of Madison’s arm, they started to walk to the main house.
After a few steps, Madison turned back to the man. “Thank you.”
When a servant had opened the door to them and taken their coats, they stood in front of the double doors leading to the parlor.
“Ready?” Madison asked. Her warm hand touched Sherry’s lower back, radiating warmth over her whole body.
Sherry nodded. Her heart was pounding against her ribcage. What if she embarrassed Madison somehow?
Madison pulled the doors open, took Sherry’s hand, and entered the parlor.
Her touch calmed and excited Sherry at the same time. Before she’d met Madison, she had no idea that one touch could evoke both feelings at the same time.
“Madison, there you are,” Mrs. Fielding called from across the room. The sound of her voice reminded Sherry of the screeching of wheels when a car hit the brakes at full speed. And she was aware that Mrs. Fielding had only addressed her granddaughter, while ignoring Sherry completely.
All conversations in the room ceased, and dozens of pairs of eyes turned to them.
Sherry squeezed Madison’s hand tighter.
Mrs. Fielding’s long, high-necked dress allowed for only tiny steps, so it took a while until she had reached them. “I was concerned you wouldn’t show up.”
Either Madison hadn’t heard the criticism in her words or had chosen to ignore it. “We would never miss your legendary New Year’s party.” She leaned forward for an air-kiss.
