Free Calling Love: A Contemporary Christian Romance (Modern Conveniences Book 2) by Leah Atwood

the marriage license and a small cosmetics bag.
    In less than an hour, she would marry a man she’d known exactly two weeks. She’d heard of brides being nervous, but the anxiety pulsing through her put a new spin on that idea. In theory, nothing would change, except she couldn’t date until the marriage was annulled. Not dating wasn’t an issue since there wasn’t a line of men waiting to go out with her, but the entire ruse had snowballed into a deception of epic proportion that collected more lies as it careened down a steep hill.
    She and Archer, acknowledging the marriage couldn’t continue indefinitely, had agreed that the paper union would last four months, at the longest. Neither of them was willing to say it would last until Gran’s death. Beyond the fact that it sounded cold and callous, there was always a chance Gran could recover. Madison secretly hoped for that. She’d only met the woman one time, but had instantly fallen in love with her kind heart, infectious smile and grace in the face of trials.
    They’d mutually decided that Gran witnessing the wedding was the most important aspect. She’d never know if Madison and Archer had their marriage annulled at a later date, as long as they still made occasional appearances together at the hospital. They’d come up with a story to tell his siblings when the time came.
    Choppy breaths took over as Madison locked her front door, then threw her bags in the car. She’d get dressed at the hospital, not taking any chances that someone she knew would see her in a wedding dress. As she drove to the hospital, she obsessed over every scenario that could go wrong.
    Her family could find out. Gran could see the truth. Archer’s siblings, the only other people to know of the marriage, could find out it was one strictly of convenience and tell Gran. Archer could change the terms of the marriage and refuse to file for annulment, thus furthering complications. She could meet the one , and miss her chance at true love because she was too involved in this ruse.
    Why was she doing this? She hadn’t even told Sean. Part of her wondered if, subconsciously, she’d latched on to Archer as a replacement for him, which would be ridiculous, but Sean’s news of moving had hit her hard and left a void in her heart. In a moment of weakness, she’d committed herself to a matrimonial union.
    There was time to back out, but she wouldn’t. The girl who struggled to believe in happy marriages was dedicated to seeing this through. Right or wrong, good or bad, she’d go along with Archer and make his Gran happy. It made no sense, but she couldn’t shake the rightness she felt in her heart.
    In the back of her mind, the voice of her conscience reminded her she’d never prayed about it or sought God’s will. She quickly shushed it. If His answer was no , she didn’t want to hear it.
    “Besides,” she said as she pulled into the hospital parking lot. “How can it be wrong to help the elderly?”
    The silent voice started to project an answer in her mind, but she ignored it and found a parking spot at the rear of the lot.
    “Great, more risk of someone seeing me.” She gathered her bags and stepped out from the car.
    “Would you like a ride, Miss?” A man behind the wheel of a golf cart pulled up beside her. “It’s a free service offered by local veterans.”
    She glanced at her loaded arms, then to the hospital entrance a football field length away. “Sure, I’d appreciate one.”
    The man nodded to the rear. “Hop in the back.”
    Following his directions, she sat directly behind him and laid down the bags on the empty space beside her. She darted her eyes from side to side, paranoid she’d see a familiar face. The golf cart moved at a snail’s pace toward the entrance, in direct contrast to the racing of her heart.
    When the man brought the cart to a stop in front of the doors, Madison collected her belongings and handed the veteran a few dollars as a tip.
    He raised