Tempting the Best Man(20)

God, she really drank a little too much last night. Dancing on a bench? Having to be escorted back to the cabin by a surprisingly rational Chase? Shamed and more than a little frustrated with herself, she kept close to her family as they piled onto the seats in the back of the bed of a cattle truck, where they’d view the vineyard up close and personal.

Bobby? Robby? Whatever his name was, he’d ended up in the other car, thank God. She couldn’t even look at him without wanting to hide herself under the hay covering the bed of the truck.

Every bump went straight to Madison’s temples. She gripped the seat, jaw clamped tight as the vehicle swayed along the narrow road.

Under the brim of her mother’s wide straw hat, she grimaced. “You’re looking a little peckish.”

Before she could respond, Chad cut in with a grin. “She drank, like, twenty glasses of wine last night.”

“Madison,” her mother admonished, her brows slamming down.

She rolled her eyes. “I didn’t drink twenty glasses.”

Her father rubbed his trim beard. “How many did you drink?”

“I don’t know.” She glanced at a silent Chase. “Maybe four…?”

Her mother gasped, but Lissa giggled as Madison’s brother grinned and shook his head. “What a wino,” he said.

Madison made a face and then turned. As far as the eye could see, there were grape trees and rolling hills under the bright glare of the sun and blue skies. Luckily the conversation turned from her hangover to wedding plans. Friday night, there would be a rehearsal, since the bachelor and bachelorette parties had been held the week prior. There was a busload of wedding programs that needed to be folded and, wanting to be of some use to the whole shindig, Madison offered to do it before dinner.

“Thank you!” Lissa exclaimed, obviously grateful. “You’ll probably need some help. There are a lot of programs, plus the little card holders. I’m sure some of the other bridesmaids would love to help.”



Being the maid of honor, these were the kind of things she should be doing and she actually wanted to. And the other girls had done so much, stepped in whenever Madison had needed their help. “It’s okay. I can do it. Let them relax.”

Lissa relented, but she passed a look to Mitch.

Madison loosened her grip and smoothed her hands over her denim skirt. Sitting across from her was Chase. Even though he hadn’t said more than two words to her since she crawled out of bed, she could feel his eyes on her.

Last night… Dear God, he’d had to help her change out of her dress and she’d admitted that she slept naked. Well, she definitely added another notch to the humiliation belt. Swearing off wine forever, she stole a quick glance at him.

Their eyes locked just as the tour guide stopped by a large stone building. Everyone unloaded in a rush. Mitch and Lissa in the front, their arms snug around each other’s waists. Her parents were just as cuddly. Like Chase had said earlier, they were treating the trip like a honeymoon. They hadn’t had a real one after they married, so Madison was glad to see them having so much romance and fun.

“Here,” said a deep voice.

Madison looked up, surprised to find Chase beside her, holding a bottle of water. She took it, offering a tentative smile. “Thank you.”

He shrugged. “I’ve seen many hangovers worse than what you have, but the water should help.”



Chase would know, she thought, unscrewing the lid and taking a drink. Besides running three clubs where liquor poured from the ceilings, he’d been quite the partier in college, and then there had been his mother… Chase and his brothers had probably learned how to treat a hangover at an early age. She always found it strange that Chase had gone into the nightclub business, but he was clearly determined to be “like father, like son,” she supposed. His dad had owned dozens of bars and nightclubs. It seemed only natural that one of the brothers would’ve followed suit.

But Chase… He wasn’t like his father, not really. He wasn’t as cold as the elder Gamble or as selfish. A fine shudder rolled through Madison as she recalled the few times she’d been in the Gamble house. Once when she was just a kid and then when she’d been seventeen. Both times, the house had been sterile and frigid. His mother had been a lifeless shell, living from one wine bottle and prescription pill to the next. The woman had loved the boys’ father to the point of death and their father…he hadn’t seemed to care.

Discreetly peeking at Chase from behind her sunglasses, she noticed again how out of the three brothers, Chase was the one who resembled his father, but even with the clubs, the girls, and the success, he was the least like him.