Free April Fool Bride by Joan Reeves Page B

she hurried to the garage. Jake
rolled his eyes. What was going on with these women?
    Before he returned to River Oaks, he drove by
the address Inez had given him. Seeing the slightly rundown house
just added to his curiosity. What could Maddie be doing there? Inez
had said shelter. What kind of shelter was it? He drove on by then
headed back to the Quinn mansion, thinking about what Maddie had
said last night. Celibate. If that didn't beat all. He was married,
and his wife was celibate. That sounded like the opening line of a
joke. Had she taken some kind of vow?
    Everyone had secrets. Even his mother which
was odd. Of course, he had his own secrets. His wealth which he was
wondering how to explain. His reasons for marrying Maddie. Which
confused him. But he knew it was less to do with revenge and more
to do with desire.
    Back at the mansion, he learned that Maddie
still hadn't returned. He noticed her bag had been unpacked so he
unpacked his, tossing the new Lee Child paperback onto the
nightstand he now considered his, placing his underwear, socks, and
tee shirts in an empty dresser drawer and hanging his clothes next
to hers. He hadn't packed much, figuring he'd buy what he needed
here.
    Then he prowled through the bedroom and
closet, inspecting everything. He'd already noticed that her closet
wasn't overflowing with designer clothes. There were a few pieces,
mostly evening wear, but even to his untrained eye, he recognized
that they weren't new. In fact, one of the little black dresses had
a worn spot under the arm, and another had a small tear in a seam.
Even the labels looked faded. The newer clothes were made well, but
they could be bought at just about any chain store in a mall.
    Her shoes and handbags were expensive, but
they too looked like classics except for the sandals. Again,
everything was well cared for and probably always in fashion, but
none of the pieces looked new except for the pair of the red-soled
stilettos that were all the rage for women. Even Laura had a
pair.
    The only jewelry he found were the emeralds
that he knew she'd inherited from her mother. She'd worn them for
the wedding and also last night. Maybe the rest of her stuff was at
the townhome that he'd not yet seen. Had she gone to her townhome
today to get away from him?
    Jake made several calls to his business
partners then showered and dressed for dinner in navy slacks and a
pale blue dress shirt. Since it was just the family for dinner, he
didn't bother with a tie and jacket. Then he plumped the pillows,
kicked off his shoes, stretched out on the bed, and reached for the
Jack Reacher novel.
    When Maddie dashed in, he was engrossed in
the latest exploits of Child's character Jack Reacher. He looked
up. Her hair was windblown. Her cheeks pink. Her emerald green eyes
sparkled. She looked so appealing that he all but drooled. Then he
frowned. "Is that a handprint on your shirt?"
    Maddie looked down at her chest. "Oh, I guess
it is." She pulled her shirt up a bit and sniffed. "Grape
jelly."
    "From breakfast?"
    Maddie laughed. "No, silly. From lunch."
    "You had jelly for lunch?"
    Maddie's laugh was infectious. "PBJ. My
all-time favorite."
    Jake remembered. When she was a kid, she'd
been crazy about peanut butter and grape jelly. The stain on her
shirt was small. The size of a child's hand. Another puzzle piece.
To her, he merely said, "You'd better get cleaned up for dinner.
I'm sure it's still at seven so you only have thirty minutes."
    Still chuckling, Maddie hurried to do as he
suggested. When she emerged from the bathroom, her hair was tamed,
caught up on each side with simple hair combs, allowing the
red-gold waves to tumble down her back. She wore a long-sleeved
yellow silk tee shirt and gray wide-leg slacks with leopard-print
high heels.
    Maddie had spent as much time as she dared on
her makeup. She didn't want to be late in case Constance chose
tonight to revert to super critical. Lately, she didn't know what
to expect when it came to her