Chapter Twenty-five
Maddy stole a loaf of olive bread from the display table, grabbed a container of goat cheese and two oatmeal cookies, and sat on the stool across the counter from Eve. “Men,” she scoffed. “And they call us women complicated. They even have their own secret language. I’ve seen them have entire conversations where they just nod and grunt at each other. And really, what’s up with their idea that the less we women know, the better off we are?”
Eve opened the cheese and drove her knife into it rather forcefully. “They think they’re being protective. I practically talked myself hoarse trying to persuade Kenzie that you weren’t going to run through town screaming, ‘Hide the children, the monsters are coming!’” She smiled sheepishly. “Are you sure you forgive me for not telling you about the magic?”
“For the tenth time, there is nothing to forgive. I would have done the same thing if William had asked me to keep a secret—even from my very best friend.”
Eve broke off a chunk of bread and slathered it with cheese. “I wish I could have met Maximilian Oceanus. Did he really show up dressed like a wizard?”
“Right out of a fairy tale, only he didn’t have a pointy hat.”
“Is he cute?” Eve asked just before she took a bite of bread.
“I can’t really say; I never saw his sleeves rolled up.”
Eve started choking and actually spat the bread back into her hand. “You are so bad.” She arched a brow. “Did you honestly call him pond scum to his face?”
Maddy nodded. “I took it back, though. Mac really is a nice guy. Did I tell you he gave Hiram a beautiful cake before he died?”
“I’m sorry about Hiram, Maddy. I know he was special to you.”
“Thank you. But since meeting William and Mac and realizing there’s all this . . . stuff going on behind the scenes, I don’t feel so sad. Hiram actually seemed to be looking forward to dying, once he saw everyone waiting for him.” She leaned forward on the counter. “The old sap left me two hundred dollars in a sentimental card and said I should buy myself something pretty.” She laughed. “But not one of those skimpy bras like he picked up off the floor that William had dropped. He actually wrote that in the card!”
“So what pretty thing are you going to buy yourself?” Eve asked. She bobbed her eyebrows. “Some really short shorts?”
“I used the money to buy William a medal.” Maddy felt her cheeks heat up. “I had the jeweler engrave Mine; until the end of time on the back of it. And on the front it used to have a knight in shining armor, but Mac changed it to a heart with some sort of symbol carved into it.” She hesitated. “And last night, I told William I loved him.”
“And?” Eve whispered. “Did he say he loved you back?”
“No. But only because he doesn’t know he loves me.”
“Excuse me?”
Maddy set down her piece of bread. “William believes he’s still an ugly monster who’s incapable of loving anyone. I think it has something to do with what happened to his family back in the ninth century. Apparently William’s home was raided and everyone was killed, and he went a little . . . crazy. At least that’s what Mac told me. That’s why William drove that old witch off his land—because he thought she could have done something to stop the massacre or at least warned him. And after she turned him into a dragon, he spent the next four years lashing out at everyone. But then he found some symbol Kenzie had left on a rock and spent the next two years fighting his way through time to get here.”
Her jaw slack, Eve continued to stare at Maddy in disbelief.
Maddy nodded. “So, because he believes he lost his soul seeking revenge for his family, and because he spent six years acting and feeling like a monster, William assumes that he doesn’t have a heart left to give me.”
“But you believe he does love you?” Eve asked. “You’re not worried that he might only be in lust with you?”
“Oh, it’s love, all right,” Maddy said, rolling her eyes. “The man’s got it so bad he doesn’t know if he’s coming or going most of the time. One minute he’s chasing me down with the desperation of a starving lion, and the next minute he’s doing any devious thing he can think of to push me away.” She leaned forward again. “Do you know he stole the diary I kept all through my teens? He snooped through my hope chest, found out my most intimate desires, and now he’s planning to use them against me.”
“Use them against you how?”
“By giving me every last one of them.”
Eve was back to staring at her in disbelief—or maybe confusion.
Maddy sighed. “William is having a small cottage delivered for him to live in while they’re building his house, and I will bet you a manicure, a pedicure, and a facial that a white picket fence goes up around it in less than a week.” She grinned. “And the stone on the engagement ring he’s going to give me will be so huge I probably won’t be able to lift my hand.”
“He asked you to marry him?” Eve squeaked.
“Not yet. But every time I walked into a room at work this morning, everyone suddenly stopped talking. I think William has already enlisted my residents to help him plan a romantic evening to propose to me.”
“So what are you going to do about his stealing your diary?”
“Absolutely nothing. If it makes him feel all smart and devious to grant my every desire, who am I to spoil his fun? Can you imagine having every one of your childhood dreams come true, including having a man get down on his knees and ask you to marry him?” She straightened with a laugh. “My God, if I remember correctly, I actually wrote down exactly what my dream guy would say. Talk about making it easy for him; William won’t even have to come up with the right words.”
“And when he finally asks, will you say yes?”
“Are you kidding? I’ve already started looking at bridal magazines!”
“But Maddy, you can’t marry a man who can never love you.”
“Haven’t you been listening to me? He does love me; he just doesn’t know it.”
“And he’ll never be able to say it,” Eve snapped.
“Hell, Billy said he loved me all the time when we were first married, and he didn’t have a clue what love was. William says he loves me a hundred times a day in a hundred different ways without uttering a word.”
Eve jumped up from her stool and ran around the counter, nearly knocking Maddy over when she threw her arms around her. “I knew there was a reason I love you,” Eve said, hugging her fiercely. “You are such a wise woman.”
Maddy hugged her back even as she sighed. “If I’m so wise, then why can’t I come up with a plan to make William realize he loves me?” She leaned away. “I can’t just tell him he does; he’ll never believe me. So help me figure out how to get him to figure it out for himself.”
Eve walked back to her stool with a thoughtful look. “Why not try using his tactics?”
“How?”
“You said William is sneaky and devious, so why don’t you get sneaky and devious, too? You just have to find out his secret desires and give them to him.”
“But how? He doesn’t exactly have a hope chest I can snoop through. And I’ve already given him everything I have, including my heart.”
“You haven’t given William his heart, have you?” Eve asked softly.
Maddy blinked at her. “Huh?”
“You said he thinks he doesn’t have a heart anymore, so give him one.”
“But how?”
When Eve merely shrugged, Maddy jumped off her stool, grabbed her purse, and started to leave.
Eve ran around the counter and dragged her to a stop. “You can do this,” she said sternly. “You just have to think like the man. And you have your residents. If he can enlist their help, why can’t you? And don’t forget Sarah; you can’t tell me William isn’t already in love with her, too, and that he doesn’t already care for your mom and Rick. You sort of all come as a package, Maddy. The family he lost can’t ever be replaced, but there’s no reason all of you can’t become his new family.”
“But what if that only scares him even more?” Maddy whispered, clutching her purse to her chest. “He’s having a hard time believing he loves me. What will happen if he starts feeling responsible for everyone else’s happiness as well?”
“Maybe he’ll find out he’s got so much heart that his chest just might burst.”
“Or he might run off and marry Carolina Oceanus.”
“William Killkenny is a lot of things, but he’s not a chicken,” Eve said. “I believe he is in love with you, and I’m confident you’ll find a way to prove it to him.” She nodded at Maddy’s purse. “Just point your gun at him, and make him admit he loves you.”
“I can’t. Mac turned it into tiger fur.”
“He what?”
“Speaking of turning things into something, how is Fiona doing?” Maddy asked softly. “What little bit I saw of her . . . well, she looked terrified. William told me some guy had raped her in the eleventh century, but then she died giving birth to her son and came to this century as a hawk. He said Fiona hates men and was quite happy as a hawk, and now everyone is upset that Mac made her human again.”
“I don’t think Kenzie’s all that upset to have his sister back. And Matt arrived at our house around midnight last night, and he was so overjoyed that he couldn’t stop hugging her.” Eve’s eyes turned pained. “It’s just that they can’t stand seeing her so distressed. I don’t think Fiona hates men anywhere near as much as she’s afraid of them. She felt safe being a hawk, but now that she’s a young woman again . . . well, last night she acted sort of . . . ashamed in front of them.”
“Ashamed? But being raped wasn’t her fault!”
Eve shrugged. “I know that, and you know that, but you have to remember what century she’s from. Back then, a woman’s chastity was a strong part of her identity.” She shook her head. “Nobody knows exactly what happened to her. Both Matt and Kenzie had already left home, and when they finally returned their mother and sister and nephew were dead, and their father had gone quite mad. And Fiona certainly isn’t going to tell them any of the details. Personally, I think the guy did more than rape her.”
“Maybe being thrust into this century is as overwhelming for her as being alive again is,” Maddy suggested. “And once she gets used to everything, she might confide in you or her other sister-in-law, Winter.”
“That’s our hope. And being around modern women should help.” Eve smiled. “Fiona did perk up when she realized that she was going to meet her niece and namesake. Remember, Winter and Matt named their new baby after her.”
“Oh, that’s right! And there’s nothing like a newborn to get a person’s mind off their own problems.”
“So, did I hear that your cousin wasn’t interested in having a drùidh for a brother-in-law?” Eve asked.
“Omigod, are you kidding?” Maddy said with a laugh. “I honestly thought Trace was going to faint when Carolina said she intended to marry him and have lots and lots of babies, and they would live happily ever after for a thousand years.” She sobered. “I’m afraid Trace might be just as bad as William when it comes to matters of the heart, and that like Fiona, he has a few secrets of his own he’s hiding.” She gave Eve a hug. “Okay, I really have to get back to work now.”
“But how are you going to make William realize he loves you before you two get married?”
Maddy opened the door and looked at her. “I’m sure as hell not waiting for him to say it before we get married, or I’ll be rolling down the aisle in a wheelchair. They’re just words, Eve, and I don’t care if I ever hear them. It took more courage than I knew I had, but I gave William my heart with no conditions attached.” She smiled. “And I happen to have a friend who just happens to be a powerful drùidh, and if William Killkenny starts giving me too much grief, I’ll sic Mac on him.”
“I don’t think drùidhs are allowed to interfere in people’s lives like that.”
Maddy laughed at that. “Mac doesn’t seem all that worried about playing by the rules—look what he did to Fiona. And William said we don’t have to worry about those wolves coming back, because Mac’s going to make sure the guy who sent them will be too busy looking over his shoulder to cause any more trouble.”
Maddy suddenly ran her gaze up and down Eve and frowned.
“What?” Eve said, looking down at herself.
“I’m trying to picture how big your belly’s going to be in October.”
“Why?”
“So I can pick out a really nice dress for you.” She chuckled. “It’ll be refreshing to have the bridesmaid pregnant instead of the bride.”
“Maddy, he hasn’t even asked you yet.”
“I was thinking Columbus Day. Um . . . you’ll understand if I don’t ask you to be my maid of honor, won’t you? I’d like to give Sarah that honor.”
“Of course Sarah should stand up with you!”
“And what do you think about my having the wedding at River Run? We have that beautiful gazebo, and the maple trees will be in full color. It shouldn’t be too cold for an outdoor wedding in October, should it?”
“You think you can plan the wedding of your dreams in six weeks?”
“No. But I can plan the wedding I really want—one that’s intimate and personal, with all the people I care about in attendance.” She grinned. “Maybe I’ll invite Mac.”
Eve laughed. “I’m sure William would love to have the man who tried to buy you come to your wedding. You’re not afraid when the preacher asks if anyone has any objections that Mac might raise one or two?”
“Naw, I think he’s actually happy for William. Although it sure was fun having two men haggle over me.” She started walking backward down the sidewalk. “I’ll call you tonight. Maybe we can get together and go over my wedding plans.”
“You need a proposal first!”
“I’ll give him a week, and then I’m going to propose to him,” she said with a laugh, giving a wave and spinning around to head toward the side street.
Maddy smiled to herself as she marveled at how not scared she was. William was right; sometimes fate did give second chances, and she wasn’t about to blow this one. She was marrying the man of her dreams, and they were going to live happily ever after for forever—because she sure as hell wasn’t going to let William blow his second chance, either. He’d fought too hard to become human again to settle for anything less than full-blown love.
Maddy suddenly stopped walking. When William had entrusted her with the box containing his dragon claw, he had handed her his heart!
Which meant she could give it back to him.
Only not the way it was now—representing his years of anger and despair—but somehow reshaped into a symbol of his love.
When she got home, she had to find that claw, and then use it to show William that six years of being a dragon hadn’t stolen his heart but had, in fact, made it stronger.