Page 43 of Between Dusk and Dawn

Her eyes darted toward the priest standing a few feet ahead of us.

"No. Please, no."

"It’s the only way."

She hobbled on her sea legs. "You are being selfish, again. I don't want this, but you are forcing me into it."

I ran my thumb along her cheek. "No. You told me if all of our problems went away, you'd have considered my proposal. So I am pretending all our problems don't exist and am giving you what you want."

"But I don't. And our problems do exist."

"Are you ready?" the priest interjected before glancing at Madison. Her glazed eyes narrowed as she tried to throw her hands up in objection. "If she is inebriated, we cannot go through?—"

"I think you'll find the donation we made will suffice in the fact you'll keep this quiet. I also imagine the donation, which can be doubled, means you'll file this certificate in two days' time."

The priest hesitated momentarily, weighing the implications of the generous donation, before finally agreeing and hastening back to the front of the church.

"Come on, Muse," I urged.

"No."

"I'm not asking anymore. If I have to, I'll make you stand up there and say the words, 'I do.' Can't you see I'm trying to do this for you?" I exclaimed, frustration evident in my voice.

"For me?" She scoffed. "It's always been about what you want, Walsh."

Her misconception triggered a snap within me. The truth was so far from her understanding that I wanted to scream at her. This, meeting her, being obsessed like a damned stalker, was never part of the plan.

Ignoring her protests, I lifted her unsteady form and placed her in front of the priest.

"Do it," I demanded, locking eyes with the priest, who glanced at Madison. "Now."

The priest complied with a quick nod and began reciting the vows. "Faster," I urged, watching the color drain from both Madison's and the priest's faces as he hastened through the matrimonial vows.

The priest continued with the vows, each word uttered in a rapid succession that mirrored the urgency in my chest. Madison swayed on her feet, her eyes glazed and unfocused. I said, "I do," for the both of us.

I was finally doing something for myself. This was the second time I strayed from the plan; the first was in her apartment with my ex-girlfriend. Both times were with Madison Ryan—no, Solis. She was finally mine.

As the priest reached the pivotal moment and said, "You may now kiss your bride?"—spoken as a question, not a statement—I turned toward Madison.

"Kiss me? No," she spat, her words dripping with disdain. Ignoring her, I leaned in, ready to claim the victory of sealing our impromptu union with a kiss, then Madison grimaced and vomited.

The expulsion splattered across my immaculate Italian leather shoes, and the stench permeated the air.

I reared back and glared at my spoiled shoes. The priest cleared his throat.

Madison shrugged. "This is your fault," she muttered.

I stood there, torn between frustration and sympathy. Despite the chaos and unforeseen turns, the priest declared us man and wife. Madison, still shooting daggers with her eyes, stumbled toward the exit.

When the church doors creaked open, revealing the darkness, she was running toward Enzo and the car he had parked in front of the church waiting for us before she spread out across the back of the car and passed out.

I gave the priest a nod and reiterated the importance of waiting two days to file the license. The paper couldn’t be filed before I was back in Dansport, otherwise my father would get wind of it before I returned with Madison.

I needed a goddamn plan and time. Both things I was running short of, but with the sleeping beauty lying peacefully in the backseat of my car, I knew I had made the right decision, the selfish one, but the correct one.

"Let’s go to the cabin." I motioned to Enzo, who gave me a curt nod before pulling out and heading toward the ATV.

Chapter Fifteen

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