Tempting the Best Man - By J. Lynn Page 0,48

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 almost done. So the next day, like a total ass with good intentions, he’d apologized to her and claimed that he’d been drunk.

Then he’d gone out with every woman who looked nothing like Maddie, just so he could get her out of his head. He’d masked his desire to be near her as something brotherly, when in reality—which he could admit to now—it was a need to be with her.

Placing his hands on the wet tile of the shower, he tipped his head back and closed his eyes. Deep down he’d always known how much he cared for her, that it went beyond affection and into the realm of the big 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 family there.

Mitch and Lissa were busy saying good-bye while fending off smartass comments from Chase’s brothers. His eyes scanned the crowd of waiting people, searching out the face he needed to see most.

But he didn’t find her.

Turning to Mr. Daniels, he frowned. “Where’s Maddie?”

“You just missed her,” he said, looking over his shoulder as Lissa laughed loudly. Mitch had picked her up and was twirling her around. “She said her good-byes and left for the city.”

Acid boiled in his stomach. There was no way Maddie would’ve left without saying good-bye to him. No way. But she had. Maddie had left.

She had left him behind.

Oh, hell no.

…

Chase hadn’t wasted a moment after the happy couple departed for the airport. Hopping 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 damn accident on the bridge. 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 come down, so he took the stairs, bum-rushing them like a lunatic.

He didn’t care.

All he could think was that Maddie had left without saying good-bye. His Maddie would’ve never done that. She would have stayed and screamed at him. Railed at him. Hell, even slapped him in the face. But no way would she have run unless she was scared and not angry.

Heart pumping, he pushed open the door to the fourth floor, nearly plowing into a young couple with their ankle-biter dog.

“Sorry,” he muttered, hurrying past them. Reaching Maddie’s door, he stopped and banged on it like he was the police about to rain down hell on someone. “Maddie? It’s Chase.”

No answer.

Growing irritated with the minx, he rapped his knuckles on the door, seriously considering kicking it in. He doubted she’d appreciate that.

Across the hall, a door opened to an apartment Chase knew had been up for lease. The superintendent stepped out, covered in paint-splattered overalls.

“Is everything okay, Mr. Gamble?” he asked, using a cloth to wipe his hands.

Only then did he realize he really did look like a madman beating on Maddie’s door. He lowered his hand and cleared his throat. “I was looking for Maddie.”

The superintendent smiled fondly. “Miss Daniels isn’t home. She’s out with the realtor, checking into some townhomes across the river.”

Chase’s heart tipped over heavily. “A realtor?”

He nodded. “Yeah, Miss Daniels called me yesterday, letting me know she was planning on moving. Something about getting out of the city. I hate to hear that she’s leaving, since she’s such a great tenant, but I hooked her up with a realtor we use. Seemed like she wanted to do this fast.”

None of it made sense. His brain outright refused to believe it. She adored the city and loved the fact that there was next to no commute to work. She would never leave this city. It wasn’t her—unless…

As he