The Bachelor Pact (8 page)

Maddie wrinkled her nose, wondering why her big brother was acting so ornery. He'd been on edge for the last few weeks, but she couldn't get him to confide what was upsetting him. She'd finally decided he must be worried about the business.

Sophie saw her and grinned, making a beeline for them. "Over here!" Maddie shouted.

A couple nabbed Sophie as she passed their table, and she stopped to autograph their napkin. "What the hell's she doing here anyway?" Lance asked.

Maddie shot him a warning look. She'd secretly hoped her best friend and her big brother would hit it off, but she'd obviously made a matchmaking mistake. "She came to celebrate with me, so be nice."

Lance clamped his mouth shut, crossed his ankles and leaned back in his seat. He sipped his beer, looking unusually sullen.

When Sophie approached, Maddie quickly made the introductions and ordered her friend a drink, puzzled at Lance's near-rudeness. He was usually quieter than Reid, more brooding, but both of them had had southern manners drilled into them since they were little.

"We don't catch the show much with our schedule and all, but we did see it the day Maddie was on," Reid said. "We're working pretty long shifts to get this new subdivision off the ground."

"I heard about the complex," Sophie said. "I thought you guys might appear on the show and talk about the new development on Skidaway."

Lance set his beer mug down with a thump. "I don't think so, Miss Lane. Humiliating myself on TV has never been a goal of mine."

Sophie's long, black eyelashes fanned across ivory cheeks. "Who said anything about humiliating you, Lance? I was talking about a serious show. I've booked the Savannah Economic Authority to talk in late March."

Lance merely grunted. Maddie opened her mouth to reprimand her brother but Sophie's grin turned devilish. "Although, we have discussed doing an episode called 'The Dating Game.' I could work you in there if you'd like, Lance. We need a couple of good-looking guys."

Reid wiggled his eyebrows and elbowed Lance. "Hey, sounds like fun, bro."

Lance stood so abruptly, his chair clattered back against the wall. "Like I said, I'm not interested." With a disapproving glare at Sophie, he tossed a few bills on the table and stalked off. Sophie's perplexed gaze flickered to Maddie.

Maddie gaped at her brother. What in the world had gotten into him? As far as she knew, Lance had never been rude to a woman in his life. Had he been humiliated by her TV appearance or was something else bothering him? Could he possibly have something against Sophie?

* * *

"I swear that's never happened to me before," Chase said, feeling all four of his cheeks burn red with embarrassment as he stood and climbed from the hot tub. Daphne had been naked and hot and willing and he'd been unable to... to respond.

"Sure it hasn't, honey." Pity darkened Daphne's eyes. She'd tried everything from rubbing herself all over him to downright physical teasing. The torture normally would have put him over the edge in minutes, but this time... no, this time he kept seeing images of his best friends' little sister and those damn innocent eyes of hers looking at him, and his libido had gone down the drain. He'd known he shouldn't be in bed, or rather the Jacuzzi, with one woman while thinking about another.

He took one last look at Daphne's exquisite double D's and prayed for resurrection. Nothing happened.

Furious and frustrated, he yanked the towel around his waist and stalked to the corner of the room for his clothes. "It must have been all those damn candles. They almost put me to sleep."

"Aromatherapy," Daphne replied.

"Limp-dick therapy," Chase muttered as he pulled on his jeans with a vengeance.

Her laughter bounced off the walls as he stormed outside. Just as he climbed in his truck, the alarm on his watch sounded. Time to meet Maddie.

His sex stirred at the thought of her.

"Hellfire and damnation," he snarled. He had to think of some way to get out of seeing her, or he was going to lose his mind. Either that or bad-boy Chase Holloway was going to blow everything he'd been working so hard to achieve in his life for a quick roll in the hay.

Chapter 5

Maddie paced back and forth in front of the real-estate office on Skidaway Island searching for Chase's truck. They were supposed to have met a half hour ago so he could show her some of the house plans for the new development. She couldn't wait to begin sketching ideas for the interiors. But Chase was late.

He probably got lost between Daphne's cleavage and couldn't find his way out. She might have smothered him to death.

Forcing her thoughts away from Chase, Maddie checked her watch for the dozenth time, shading her eyes with her hand as a black sedan wove through the azalea-lined drive. Her stomach clenched when she saw Jeff swerve into a parking spot and exit his classic BMW. Was he here to cause trouble?

She still couldn't believe he'd forced her to offer her mother's necklace as collateral. Leaving the precious heirloom in the safety-deposit box had been the hardest thing she'd ever done. Her brothers would be furious if they knew. But she would force herself to work day and night to succeed, because there was no way she'd ever lose the treasured pendant.

Jeff headed to the office door without once glancing her way. Looking impeccable in his charcoal-gray suit, his brown hair gleaming in the sunlight, he trotted inside, emerging moments later with a tall auburn-haired woman at his side. His hand rested possessively on her waist as he helped her in the car. A real-estate agent. So Jeff was househunting? Or had he already moved on to another woman?

What did she care? She had her business to start.

First, though, she had to deal with Chase Holloway. And she had to forget the kiss she'd instigated on a whim. The hot kiss that she hadn't been able to get out of her mind, which obviously had not affected Chase.

Speaking of the kissing expert, he rolled up the drive, bypassed Jeff's BMW, spitting dust on the waxed finish as he passed. She stifled a giggle when Jeff blew his horn. She half expected Chase to appear wearing a black leather jacket, an earring and that surly frown of his that spelled trouble. She was wrong on the first two counts; the third on target.

Masculinity seemed to roll off Chase in waves as he emerged from the truck. His bad attitude climbed out with him. He wore faded dusty jeans, a denim work shirt and a baseball cap turned backwards. His long, shaggy hair protruded below the rim and brushed his collar.
He must work out or swim or do something to keep his body so toned and fit,
she thought, noticing the finely honed muscles in his legs and arms as he pounded across the gravel toward her. But he frowned as he approached her, his sour demeanor throwing a monkey wrench into her excitement about the job.

"Hey." His gaze scanned the exterior of the model home temporarily housing the sales office, the wooded lots behind them, everywhere but at her. "Sorry I'm late, we had a holdup with a tile guy."

What about Daphne?
Her gaze fell to his shriveled-up fingers. "Have fun in the hot tub?"

He shrugged. "Yeah, it was great." Obviously not willing to elaborate, Chase gestured toward the river. "Rick and the crew already have ten houses framed. Why don't we walk down there and take a look?"

Maddie agreed, traipsing after him as best she could wearing her heels. He was practically jogging. Next time, she'd dress for hiking. "Chase, could you slow down please? I didn't wear my running shoes."

He frowned again, but he did slow his pace, and he even took her arm to help her down the incline. Maddie tried to ignore the heat from his palm, and the fact that he jerked his hand away from her as soon as they'd reached the bottom of the hill.

The afternoon sunshine warmed her cheeks, and the smell of wildflowers and freshly cut grass permeated the air, but it was the crystal-clear Savannah River that took her breath away. Jagged rocks jutted to a vee to form a jetty that culminated with a small waterfall. The sound of rushing water over rocks sang in the background, the splash of a fish occasionally catching in the breeze. "This is beautiful," Maddie said. "A great place to go skinny-dipping."

Chase's eyes narrowed. "We're not skinny-dipping, Mad."

Maddie quirked an eyebrow. "I wasn't referring to you, Chase. I was thinking about someone who liked a little fun, the way you used to."

"Like the twenty or thirty guys you plan to date?"

"Exactly." She smiled sweetly, deciding to change the subject before he broke into another lecture. "No wonder the boys have been so excited about this project."

His shoulders lifted slightly. "Yeah, winning this bid was the best thing that could have happened to us. The Tour of Homes is the next."

"I'm excited about the home show, too." He simply frowned and Maddie scanned the lush green grass, the rippling tide, the clusters of live oaks and hardwoods shading the property, wondering if he wasn't glad she was decorating the homes. Ignoring the doubts nagging at her, she opted for optimism, "You guys will be a huge success."

Chase nodded. "Hopefully, with the Savannah Economic Development committee enticing businesses onto the island with their research facilities, we shouldn't have trouble selling the lots." He paused, and they stood in companionable silence, savoring the sounds and scents of the surrounding woods. Dusk settled over the river, ricocheting streaks of purple and orange across the grainy earth shimmering below the surface of the water.

"I wish Mom and Dad could be here to see this," Maddie said. "They would be so proud of the boys."

Chase simply nodded again, then pointed to the immaculate property designated for the recreational activities. "The golf course is almost finished. So are the swimming and tennis facilities. And all the river lots have private boat docks."

"What an incredible clubhouse," Maddie exclaimed. "I can picture a big old-fashioned southern wedding right there on the lawn."

He shifted, looking uncomfortable. "Yeah, if someone's crazy enough to get married, I guess it'd be a good place."

Maddie frowned and started to comment but Chase continued, "We built a ballroom for formal entertaining and corporate functions and some smaller rooms for private parties."

"Your design?"

Chase shrugged. "Mine and Lance's. We figured the buyers will be looking to entertain rich clients."

"Smart brother I have." She paused, then tapped his chest with her fingernail. "Oh, and you're not so bad either."

Chase looked at her long and hard, his jaw clenched. "That's not what they used to say in school."

"Well, some of those morons weren't so smart either. As I remember, you pointed out exactly how stupid they were on occasion."

The corner of Chase's mouth twitched. "I did have a way with words, didn't I?"

Maddie laughed. "Yeah, the four-letter ones. I spent hours trying to find them in the dictionary when I was eight."

A low chuckle rumbled from Chase's chest, easing the tension. "You should have checked the boys' room."

"Why didn't I think of that?"

His voice turned low, husky. " 'Cause you were too busy being a good girl."

"So I was. But not anymore."

Chase hesitated, their gazes locking for several long, tense seconds. Maddie thought he was going to lecture her about being a good girl. Instead he plastered on his business face as if a personal conversation was off-limits. "Are you ready to see some of the houses?"

"Sure." Maddie followed him up the hill, faintly aware of his musky scent as he took her hand and helped her climb over a stump. His damp palm was so large it swallowed hers as he maneuvered them through the foliage. Maddie stumbled over a tree root and almost fell, but he steadied her. She landed against his chest, the heat pouring off her in waves. One look into his eyes, and she pulled away, quickly righting herself. Although she thought she detected a spark of desire, Chase's expression had been guarded. But his touch had felt hot.

So real and hot for a moment it seared through her caution.

Play with fire, and you'll get burned
.

The old childhood warning rattled through her head. But when she caught up to Chase, any trace of a reaction on his part had disappeared completely. Maddie turned sideways, trying to gracefully climb in the truck without hiking up her skirt. Chase, seeming impatient, gripped her around the waist and lifted her. Maddie's breath caught when his hands slipped to mold over her hips.

"Thanks," she said awkwardly when she settled in the seat.

"No big deal. I used to lift you all the time when you were five, remember?"

He used to ride her piggyback, too. "But I'm not five anymore, Chase."

"You always will be to me, shortstop."

Maddie frowned. The stubborn man was impossible.

He climbed in his pickup, then cranked the engine without a word and drove through the freshly cleared roads.

"How big are the lots?" Maddie asked, still seething.

"The estate lots run up to five acres, but plans include a phase with smaller lots around three acres." He pointed out four houses that had already been framed.