Tempting the Best Man(42)

She went up to him with a watery smile. “I’m so happy for you. You’re going to make a great husband.”

Mitch pulled her into his arms. “Thanks, sis.”

“And father,” she teased lightly.

He let go, eyes wide. “Dear God, don’t say that yet. I want at least a couple of years without a baby Mitch running around.”

“Or a baby Lissa.”

“Ah, a girl? I don’t know if I could deal with that.” He shook his head. “It was bad enough fighting off the boys after you.”

Madison rolled her eyes. “It was nothing like that.”



“Whatever.” He dropped his arm over her shoulders. “So, when are you going to settle down? Make Mom and Dad’s lives complete?”

Before she could answer, in strode the Gamble brothers. Chad and Chandler flanked Chase, who was dressed in a pair of dark trousers and a loose-fitting buttoned shirt. Strands of damp hair curled around his ears. The tips of his cheekbones were slightly flushed and his eyes were a steely blue.

He looked absolutely stunning.

Madison hoped her brother didn’t notice how she stiffened, but of course, luck had never really been on her side.

Mitch chuckled, but she elbowed him in the stomach and escaped before the herd of brothers could descend on them. She made a beeline for Lissa and the other bridesmaids. Avoiding Chase completely would be out of the question, but as long as they didn’t have any real amount of time alone together, she could do this without breaking down.

Or getting her heart trampled on even more. And there was only one way to do that. It hurt like hell; it killed a little part of her—the one that still believed in fairy-tale endings—but she had no other choice.





Chapter Ten




Avoiding Chase had been successful through most of the rehearsal. Up until they lined up for the bridal procession. She hadn’t been alone with him yet, but there was no escaping him now.

Madison fidgeted with a strand of her hair, desperately going for the unaffected look, but Chase’s presence beside her was like standing next to the sun, too hot not to feel and too powerful not to look upon.

Staring straight ahead, she pretended to be engrossed in what Sasha was saying to Chad. It had something to do with safe words, and she really wished she hadn’t heard any of that. The funny thing about Chad and Chandler was how she did see them as brothers of sorts. Hearing that kind of stuff made her want to gag, but Chase was different. He’d always been different.

“We need to talk,” Chase said quietly.

She feigned innocence. “About what?”

His brows slammed down, and she knew right then that he saw through her. He knew her too well. “You know exactly what.”

Madison didn’t really want to get into the why behind the reason he left her this morning, moved out of the cabin before she even opened her eyes. And if he offered an apology for last night, she would hit him. Seriously.

Crossing her arms, she refocused on the back of Sasha’s platinum hair. “There’s nothing to talk about.”

“Bullshit.”

At the sound of Chase’s growl, Sasha glanced over her shoulder, brows arched, but Madison pretended she hadn’t heard anything.

Chase shifted closer, lowering his head as his fingers cupped her elbow. She jumped at the unexpected jolt that sent heat zinging through her veins. Against her will, her eyes found his, and she caught his smug grin.

“That’s what I thought,” he said.

She didn’t move, couldn’t or just plain wouldn’t. “Thought what?”

When he spoke, his voice was a whisper against her cheek. “You’re pretending like nothing happened, that you’re unaffected, but I know better.”

Madison bristled and shot him a glare. “Excuse me?”

“Oh, don’t pretend now. You’ve been hiding from me all day like a little coward—”

“A coward? God. You—”

Up ahead, the wedding planner cleared her throat, interrupting what would have been an epic tirade. “All right, we are going to run through the bridal party,” the planner said, voice clipped and as professional as her tight ponytail and crisp pants suit. “At the start of ‘Canon in D,’ the first couple will lead off and I will give a signal to each additional couple.”



Couple? Madison jerked her arm free.

Chase smirked.

The classic instrumental music keyed up, and the first of the procession started forward, arm in arm.

Madison fixed an icy glare on Chase. “You’re an arrogant ass,” she finished. “I’m not caught up in you as much as you think I am.”

“Says the girl who smacked me yesterday and then screamed my name as—”