This was so not starting out well.
Lifting her head, her gaze slid to her cell phone. She snatched it off the seat, thumbed through her contacts, and quickly hit the call button. After only two rings, someone grabbed the line.
“Maddie? Where in the hell are you, girl?” Her father’s concerned voice exploded. “Your mother’s about to call the state police, and I’m not sure how much—”
“Dad, I’m fine. I blew a tire about ten miles out.”
Over the sounds of laughter and clanking silverware, her father huffed. “You did what?”
Her stomach rumbled, reminding her that it was past eleven and she hadn’t had breakfast yet. “I blew a tire.”
“You blew what?”
Madison rolled her eyes. “I blew a tire.”
“Wait. I can’t hear you. Guys, can you keep it down?” His voice got a little farther away from the mouthpiece. “Maddie’s on the phone and she blew something.” The room erupted in male laughter.
Oh. My. Freaking. God.
“Sorry about that, honey. Now, what happened?” her father asked. “You blew a fire?”
“I blew a tire! A tire! You know those things that are round and made of rubber?”
“Oh. Oh! Now I get it.” Dad chuckled. “It’s an animal house in here, everyone eating all at once. Did you remember to get that spare tire of yours replaced since your last flat? You know, dear, you should always be prepared. What if you needed to leave town during an evacuation?”
She was seconds away from smacking her face off the steering wheel. She loved her parents to bits, but she really didn’t want to talk about her lack of planning skills while a room full of men laughed about her blowing anything—while Chase laughed, because she’d definitely picked out his deep baritone in the background. Her belly was already filling with knots at the thought of seeing him soon. “I know, Dad, but I haven’t had a chance to get a new spare tire yet.”
“You should always have a spare. Have we not taught you anything about preparedness?”
Well, wasn’t that a moot point right now? And it wasn’t like a comet had struck her car.
Her father sighed like all fathers do when their daughters need rescuing, no matter how old they were. “Just sit tight, and we’ll come get you, honey.”
“Thanks, Dad.” She ended the call and dropped the cell into her purse.
It was so easy imagining her absurdly large family crowded around the table, shaking their heads. Only Maddie would be late. Only Maddie would blow a tire and not have a spare. Being the youngest in a family that consisted of blood relations and the Gamble horde sucked.
No matter what she did, she was always little, itty bitty Maddie. Not Madison, who oversaw the volunteer services at the Smithsonian Library. Being a history geek growing up, she considered her career choice fitting.
Madison tipped her head back against the headrest and closed her eyes. Even with the air conditioner running, heat from the outside had begun to seep in. She undid the first couple of buttons and was grateful she’d opted for lightweight linen pants instead of jeans. Knowing her luck, she’d get heat stroke before her dad or brother showed up.
She hated knowing she was dragging either of them away from the start of the celebrations. That was the last thing she wanted. And right next to the last thing was the fact there was no doubt in her mind that Chase was probably shaking his head along with everyone else.
A few minutes passed and she must’ve dozed off because the next thing she knew, someone was tapping on her window.
Blinking slowly, she pressed the button to lower the window and turned her head to stare into a pair of cerulean blue eyes fanned by incredibly thick black lashes.
Oh…oh, no…
Her heart stuttered and tumbled over itself as her gaze drifted across high cheekbones she was painfully familiar with, full lips that looked tantalizingly soft but could be firm and unyielding. Dark brown hair fell over his forehead, always a shy away from needing a haircut. A strong nose with a slight bump from a break during his college years gave the otherwise flawless male beauty a hard, dangerously sexy edge.
Madison’s gaze dipped over the plain white shirt that clung to broad shoulders, a rock-hard chest, and a narrow waist. Jeans hung low on his hips and thank God the rest of the view was cut off by the car door.
Forcing her gaze back to his face, she sucked in a sharp breath.
Those lips had curved into a knowing half smile that did funny things to her insides. And like a match tossed to gasoline, her body sparked alive and flames licked every inch of her.
She loathed her immediate response to him, wished any other eligible guy in the tri-state area could evoke the same inferno, and yet was thrilled by it. Absolutely undone.
“Chase,” she breathed.
His grin spread and damn, there were those dimples. “Maddie?”
Her body quivered at the sound of his voice. It was deep and smooth like aged whiskey. That voice should be outlawed, along with the rest of the package. Her gaze dropped again. Damn the car door, because no doubt that package was quite impressive.
For a brief, unwanted second, she was thrown back to her junior year of college, to the night she had visited Chase’s club for the very first time and stood in his posh office. Full of hope, full of wanting…
Snapping out of her stupor, she sat up, her spine rigid. “They sent you?”
He chuckled, as if she’d uttered the funniest thing in the world. “I volunteered, actually.”
“You did?”