Tempting the Best Man(40)
“A lovely person,” he replied.
“Is that so…”
Mr. Daniels was on his feet, bringing the magazine over to him. “I’m glad you swung by. You can help end a debate between me and the wifey here.”
A picture of a man in a flannel jacket standing next to a heard of cows was shoved in his face before he could respond. “Organic beef,” Maddie’s father announced. “I’m trying to tell Megan here that even if an apocalypse happens, most people will still want some meat on their plates.”
So accustomed to these types of questions, Chase took it in good stride. “I’m sure people will still want a steak.”
“Exactly!” Mr. Daniels agreed. “So I said we should ‘sponsor’ a herd of cattle and put them up for sale. The lovely wife over there thinks it’s a waste of time.”
“And money,” Mrs. Daniels added, twisting in her seat to face the two men. “I’m pretty sure the last thing people will be thinking about during nuclear fallout is a medium-rare steak.”
Chase smiled. “Or a zombie apocalypse.”
Mrs. Daniels threw up her hands. “That’s what I’ve been saying.”
Her husband huffed. “When the sun doesn’t shine for three years and you’ve run out of mint leaves to eat, you’ll want a steak.”
She rolled her eyes. “That would be the last of our worries.”
“Wait.” Chase stepped in. “How would you be keeping the cows alive if the sun isn’t shining?”
Mr. Daniels straightened. “Underground bunkers large enough to hold organically grown fields. There are bunkers all over the world, bigger than five or so football field lengths. Like Noah’s Ark—”
“Chase doesn’t care about Noah’s Ark, so before you get started on that, we’re not going to start selling Build-Your-Own-Arks, either.” She smiled at Chase. “You couldn’t imagine the cost of warehousing something like that.”
“No, ma’am,” Chase said, grinning.
Mr. Daniels snapped the magazine shut. “This discussion isn’t over.”
Sighing, his wife shook her head. “Are you looking for Madison, dear?”
Taken aback, Chase wondered if it was that obvious. “Well, actually, I was.”
Mr. Daniels returned to the table, smacking the magazine down. “You lose your roommate?”
“Seems that way,” Chase said.
“We haven’t seen her, dear, but you might what to check with Lissa.” Mrs. Daniels took a sip of tea. “They’re probably getting things ready for tomorrow.”
Thanking both of them, he started up the pathway. If Maddie was with Lissa, he didn’t want to bother her, but…
Chase found himself at the front desk of the lounge. The clerk stared back at him, clearly not wanting to go for round two already. “Was the new cabin you gave me this morning the only one available?” Chase asked.
Bob inclined his head, as if confused. “No. There were two. Both were readied this morning.” He started pecking away at his computer. “Was the one we assigned this morning unsuitable?”
He took a deep breath. “No. It’s perfect. What about the other room?”
“For Miss Daniels?” he asked, smiling fondly. Obviously Maddie had left a much better impression on the clerk than he had. “She stopped by maybe twenty minutes ago and picked up the key for cabin six.”
Chase stared at the clerk, feeling as if he’d been punched in the stomach. Anger lit off a firestorm inside him. As irrational as it was, he was pissed and offended. She left him after last night?
Spinning around, he left the clerk without a second glance, tossing the roses in the trash on the way out.
…
Madison was in a weird state of mind. Caught between the remnants of absolute bliss she’d experienced last night and the coldness that had lingered deep inside since she’d left the cabin, she wasn’t sure if she should feel happy or sad.
Mostly sad, she decided as she stuffed little white bells into the boxes being used for wedding keepsakes. At least she’d had a night to experience. No more wondering what it would be like to be with Chase. Now she knew. It was amazing.
Her heart ached.
That afternoon she’d almost called Bridget again, but she figured that conversation was best to have in person. No way would she want to miss all of Bridget’s what-the-hell expressions when she described how she basically straddled Chase and he’d bailed on her the next morning.
Madison glanced up as one of the bridesmaids dumped a truckload of mints in front of them. She snatched one, starving, since she’d been too wired this morning to eat.