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Chase leaned back in his seat, idly turning the stes had been left between the her the space she obviously wanted

He felt like shit, unsure if it were sohout the day, he’d convinced hioing on to distract hi his clubs to lose himself in; the plans to open a fourth, which s to occupy his time; and there oht, and he didn’t like it

His gaze slid back to where she sat beside her parents Shit He needed to stop staring at her like a lovesick hound Someone was bound to notice Hell, people had already noticed, including Mitch

Against his will and coain, practically willing her to look up and notice him

And she did

Chase sucked in a breath, barely aware that Mitch had stood and was giving a toast to his neife He wasn’t hearing a da in his ears A si alive He was hard as forged steel Freaking ridiculous Aw hell, it was more than that--this instantaneous physical reaction that just wouldn’t go away

"To us!" Mitch cheered, holding up his chalass "To our future!"

Madison raised hers, her gaze still locked with his Her lipsthe same words he murmured, "To our future"

Chapter Twelve

Chase woke up Sundaydoith the plague or he was having withdrawals fro of DC

Or it was so entirely different and it had a name

Maddie

He rolled onto his side, opening his eyes and squinting at the rays of sun seeping in under the blinds One look at the clock, and he knew he didn’t have a whole lot of ti soon for their honeymoon in the Bahamas, and Chase wanted to see theenda

Chase wanted to see Maddie, and he hoped he could corner her before she left for the city They needed to talk, and with the wedding celebrations over, it would be the perfect ti around to overhear the conversation No way for her to escape

Kicking off the sheets that were twisted around his hips, he stood and stretched It had taken until the wee hours of the night, but Chase had finally figured out what had Maddie running scared She’d clai bullshit on that If that were the case, she wouldn’t have been so offended when he’d suggested hooking up And she wouldn’t have been his little shadow for the last several years

No She was lying Lying to protect herself, and he got that After all, he’d done nothing to show her that he felt any differently than what he’d been saying all these years, that he was no better than his father If anything, he’d proven she was right ti of the nightclub

Stepping under the hot spray of the shower, he cursed Re how delectable she looked in her black dress that night, staring at him with those wide, innocent eyes, and he was hard as a rock

He had wanted her then, had coht there on the couch in his office Her brother hadn’t been the only thing that had stopped him Maddie had deserved better than that But when he pulled back and came to his senses, he couldn’t believe what he had alood intentions, he’d apologized to her and claione out with every woet her out of his head He’dbrotherly, when in reality--which he could ad his hands on the wet tile of the shower, he tipped his head back and closed his eyes Deep down he’d always kno much he cared for her, that it went beyond affection and into the real L-word, but he never accepted it, never dared to even acknowledge it

But now he did, and there was no way he could let her go

Showered, changed, and determined as hell, he headed up to the main cabin, not surprised to find his brothers and most of the Daniels faood-bye while fending off smartass comments fro people, searching out the face he needed to seeto Mr Daniels, he frowned "Where’s Maddie?"

"You just hed loudly Mitch had picked her up and irling her around "She said her good-byes and left for the city"

Acid boiled in his stoood-bye to him No way But she had Maddie had left

She had left him behind

Oh, hell no

…

Chase hadn’t wasted a mo in his car, he took off after the little witch It should’ve only taken less than an hour to get into the city, but luck had not been on his side

There was an accident on the toll road that delayed him by forty-five minutes Then two lanes were closed as he neared the beltway, and another dae When he finally parked his car in the garage behind the Gallery, he’d killed the engine and all but ran to the entrance She could run from him, she could hide all she wanted, but she would see the truth They couldn’t be friends

It wasn’t enough It could never be enough

Maddie had one of the smaller apartments on the lower floors, and he was too impatient to wait for the elevator to co them like a lunatic