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He had kissed her

And then, in the ultiet it Been there, done that, and she definitely had the wounded heart to prove it

Why had he kissed her if he was so obviously disgusted by the idea? Who knew Maybe the ansas in the depths of her dark purplish wine?

Her father’s boisterous laughter brought a faint smile to her face, and she twisted around on the bench He stood with her brother and two of the three Ga somewhere else, most likely from her

After he’d kissed her--and she felt the need to keep re herself that it had been he who’d kissed her--she hadn’t seen him Like the child he treated her as, she’d conveniently hid away in the bathrooaudiest cabin ever Not her proudest moment

Madison just couldn’tshe wanted to be dealing with during her brother’s wedding was this It was a tih, not a time to add another notch on the hurateful that it was dark enough to hide the flush that hadn’t faded yet Worse still, that kiss had sent her spiraling backward in tiht she never wanted to reet Except now she couldn’t stop the onslaught of little vignettes replaying fro

It had been her junior year in college, and as usual, she was in between boyfriends, still madly infatuated with her childhood crush, and the happy owner of one sexy little black dress thatat the university had paid for

The opening night of Chase’s nightclub, Ko All these years and it see Everyone had been there--her brother, Lissa, Chase’s brothers, her friends It had been a great night, one for celebrating The evening had been a raving success, and Madison had been unbelievably proud So many people had doubted hi tione home when she found Chase in his penthouse office on the third floor, staring at the landscape of the city The straight line of his spine, the perfectly tailored cut of his suit across his broad shoulders had stolen her breath She’d stood there for what seemed like hours but was probably the barest of seconds before Chase had turned to her and smiled…smiled just for her

Madison had ventured into his office, coerly on the success of the club, and listened to his plans to open two more: one in Bethesda and another in Baltimore She’d felt special that he had included her in such knowledge It was like she belonged next to him for the first time and that thrilled her

Both of the, but neither of them had been three sheets to the wind Alcohol e in the bottle, but it couldn’t be blamed for what happened next

She’d ood-bye, but when his aresture and she’d tipped her head back, so and crazy happened

Chase had kissed her--gently, carefully, and so sweetly that in a heady heartbeat, she had really thought all of her drea true Before she’d known it, he’d settled onto one of the supple leather couches in his office pulled her onto his lap, and the kisses… Oh, God, the kisses then had been blatantly carnal and claiers were quick and deft,her to his heated stare His hands had been everywhere, ski for the first ti panties And he had gone crazy then, easing her onto her back, his fingers finding her ue mimicked the one incredibly still, his breathing ragged a second before he tore hi clear across the roole cat

There hadn’t beenher out of his office, and the very next day, he’d called her, apologized for his drunken behavior, and proain

And it hadn’t…until several hours ago

At least now, he couldn’t blame alcohol He had no excuse, but he had broken her heart back then, shattered it into a million useless little pieces As sad as it was, she hadn’t fully recovered fro pierce that hit her in the chest when she least expected it

Obviously, he hadn’t been as attracted to her as she to hi there between the two of them, but it was unequal She wanted ot it, and decided he didn’t want any more, which was usually his MO And earlier today? Perhaps he’d just been bored Or maybe he wanted to see if she still wanted hiht

Madison sucked in a sharp breath He wasn’t a bad guy, though; she knew that He just wasn’t the guy for her

Stupid tears burned her eyes, and she blinked thehtly occurrence in college, especially when he began dating every woht at his club and the subsequent apology So ht Didn’t help they all looked alike: insanely tall, long-legged, blond, and big chested

The exact opposite of Madison

Snorting, she took another drink of her wine Served her right, she supposed Chase was and alould be a no-Madison-land The kiss had been a fluke, a breach in sanity

"Madison?" Lissa’s soft voice interrupted her thoughts

She looked up and sht" The bride-to-be sat down beside her, glowing in her white sundress "Are you worried about your car? Mitch said the tow truck brought it by a few hours ago"

"Oh, no, the car is fine Dad is going to get a tire for aze flitted over the guests "It’s really beautiful here"

"Isn’t it?" Lissa sighed "Mitch and I visited two su one of the festivals that offered a hot air balloon ride With the aerial viee sort of fell in love with the place"

"I can see the appeal" Though Madison was much more likely to be married with a baby on the way this ti into a hot air balloon "You must be so excited"

"I ae, and Madison couldn’t help but return the expression over the rilass Lissa’s smiles were always infectious "Your brother is a wonderful man, and I couldn’t be happier or luckier"

"I’"

Her eyes misted over "Yes, I believe so That’s sort of perfect, isn’t it?"

A lump suddenly formed in Madison’s throat, so she washed it doith the rest of her wine "Yes"