Marry Me, Maddie

by Rita Herron

  "How about on the ground?"

  He shook his head at her attempt at humor and strode back to the truck, then waited silently for Maddie to join him. His blood drummed hot in his veins, his heart raced painfully. When she jumped into the truck and slammed the door, he knew he'd made himself clear.

  He just didn't know why he felt so crummy about it.

  Chapter 6

  "So, here we are dateless, together, on a Friday night," Sophie said.

  "At least we're out, not sitting at home eating a gallon of chocolate-fudge ice cream and watching TV with my cat." Maddie winced as unbidden images of Chase Holloway rushed into her mind. She wondered what he was up to, then wanted to kick herself for even thinking about him. He'd embarrassed her beyond words and now she was going to avoid him until she absolutely had to see him. She'd deal with him for work, and work only. Tonight she'd decided to start her romp into singlehood with a vengeance. She'd worn her shortest, tightest black dress and let her hair down so it flowed around her bare shoulders and curled around her face.

  Sophie laughed and gazed around the crowded dance floor, looking dynamite in a red tube top and black skirt. "The other day when you invited me to meet your brothers, I was hoping..." Sophie blushed and looked into her drink, letting her sentence trail off.

  "That my brother might have some sense and ask you out." Maddie sighed and sipped her vodka tonic. "I swear, I think my brothers must still be living in the dark ages. Reid called and lectured me for half an hour about going out. And I don't know what in the heck's gotten into Lance. He's been so moody lately, I think he needs hormone therapy."

  Sophie laughed. "You mean it wasn't me? I thought I just wasn't his type."

  "You're exactly his type." Maddie tapped her foot to the loud music rumbling through the crowded room. "Maybe he's stressed from work, although having me helping out should make him feel better."

  "Yeah, it should." Sophie smiled, seeming slightly appeased, and Maddie vowed to have a long talk with Lance about her friend.

  "Hey, I know those guys from art school," Maddie said, waving at two handsome Italian men approaching them. She introduced Sophie, and they spent several minutes catching up with casual conversation. Finally Antonio asked Sophie to dance. Maddie found herself being escorted to the dance floor by Marco, his brother. The rest of the night passed in a whirlwind of dancing and laughter and heated innuendoes. Sometime around midnight Maddie forgot about Lance's stupidity where Sophie was concerned.

  "We would like you beautiful ladies to come visit our resort," Marco said to Maddie.

  Antonio gave Sophie a glittering smile. "Yes, you would enjoy the comfort."

  "Tell us more about this place," Maddie said, thinking a weekend vacation would help her forget that Chase had humiliated her.

  "The resort is rather small, tucked away for privacy off the Isle of Hope." Marco squeezed Maddie's hand. "It is quite modern also. The people are most friendly. They have what you call your Southern hospitality."

  Maddie laughed. "You mean we'll be served a big dinner at a round table with lots of relatives?"

  Antonio threw his head back and laughed. "Lots of food and some relatives, yes. And a big heated pool and horseback riding and golfing. Whatever is your fancy."

  "And we'll have our own place?" Maddie asked.

  "If you desire," Marco murmured, his dark eyes raking over her as if to say he'd like more but would be patient. "I can phone ahead and make the reservations."

  "I can't believe I haven't heard of this place," Sophie said. "What did you say the name of it was?"

  "Open Arms Resort." Antonio slid his hands into the pockets of his pleated chinos. "They have all-night dancing. And tomorrow we can go bareback riding."

  "I haven't been horseback riding in ages," Sophie said.

  "I've heard of the Open Arms." A distant memory nagged at the back of Maddie's mind. "I think I read an article about the resort in the paper a while back."

  Marco nodded. "Yes, the Sunday edition featured a piece on it last month in its Leisure section. We can relax at the beach tomorrow and have breakfast on one of the fishing docks."

  Maddie grinned. "We're going to powder our noses and discuss it."

  They scurried to the ladies' room to talk. "What do you think?" Sophie asked.

  "The guys are gorgeous," Maddie said. "And the resort sounds like fun,"

  "It does, doesn't it." Sophie pulled out her compact. "I could use a weekend away. But I'm not getting in the car with them."

  "No way," Maddie agreed. "We'll follow them in my convertible. And when we're ready to leave, we go."

  Sophie laughed and gave her a thumbs-up. "Right, and I'll call and make the room reservations just to be on the safe side."

  "We have to stick together until we check out of the place, too." Maddie traced a ruby line over her lips with her lipstick. "Lance and Reid would die if they thought I wasn't coming home tonight."

  "Serve them right for being so overprotective."

  "And rude to you," Maddie added.

  They both laughed and headed back to the table, weaving their way through the smoky room.

  "Okay, we're going," Sophie announced when they found the men waiting. "But we're driving. And we'll make our own reservations."

  Antonio gave them both a knowing look. "That is fair. We are honored you've decided to visit the resort. Our uncle is one of the owners."

  Ahh, a family-owned place. They'd definitely be safe.

  Marco gave Maddie a long, sultry look. "And our other brothers will be envious when they see your long, wild hair. The color is so different, so vibrant."

  Maddie shivered at the huskiness in his voice. The men escorted them to the car, then climbed in a new black Jaguar. With the top down, the wind felt heavenly as Maddie maneuvered her convertible along the ocean. Salt air and the scent of sand and water beckoned her, excitement building as they neared the island.

  Maddie turned the radio to a local rock station, and they sang "Wide Open Spaces" with the Dixie Chicks as they flew across the bridge and drove along the bay. Finally they veered off toward a less inhabited part of the island.

  Maddie squinted through the window until her eyes found a rustic sign half-hidden in the bushes bordering the resort property. A string of small white lights illuminated the sign. She followed Marco's car to the entrance and stopped behind him as he entered his code. In the distance she spotted a deer, a golf course, a few cabins.

  "Wow, this place is secluded." Sophie leaned forward, gazing through the trees.

  Maddie gasped, her stomach plunging to the floor. "Now I know why the name sounded so familiar."

  Sophie paled. "Oh, my heavens, that woman is naked."

  Maddie pointed toward the porch. "The Open Arms Resort, it's..."

  "Eew! It's not a woman, it's a man. And he has hair on his... his back!"

  They were all naked. "It's a nudist colony."

  They exchanged stunned looks as Antonio approached the passenger side of the car. Sophie sank lower into the seat. Maddie's gaze swung to Marco as he sauntered toward her. No wonder he'd said his brothers would be excited to see her.

  "We are here." Marco gestured toward an older couple who Maddie now realized were standing in their birthday suits on the wooden porch of the office, waving at the men as if they couldn't wait to greet them.

  Maddie clutched the steering wheel in a sweaty panic. "I... I don't know about this."

  Marco's dark eyebrows formed a vee. "But I thought you understood the concept of the Open Arms, you said you read an article about the resort."

  "I read the part about bareback riding. I thought the article meant riding a horse without a saddle."

  "Yes, we do that, too."

  Maddie lost coherent thought at the image that flitted through her mind.

  He gestured toward a raised pavilion to the right, and Maddie's eyes widened at the dozens of people, lounging and walking around the well-lit deck. Others gathered around long table
s, eating dinner, chatting, dancing. Totally relaxed. Totally in the buff!

  His voice sounded tender, "Ahh, cherie, you said you were always up for an adventure. This is an adventure, yes?"

  "Y—I guess." She gulped in horror. "But I didn't mean this kind of an adventure."

  He truly looked puzzled. "You, um, do not think the human body is a beautiful form of art?"

  "Well, yes."

  "Hmm. You are not a prude?"

  "Yes... I mean, no I'm not a prude."

  He lifted his hands in question. "Then you are shy now?"

  "Not... not exactly."

  "You are not comfortable with your own body as it is? It is not, how you say, stacked properly?"

  "I didn't say that."

  "Cause let me assure you, love, you are quite spectacular with your fair skin and flaming hair. Everyone will be looking at you."

  That's what I'm afraid of. "Thank you, Marco, but you see..." Maddie stuttered. "It's just taking off my clothes, it's... it's a private thing."

  His eyes widened. "You have never... um, let anyone see you naked before?"

  Maddie winced. "That's not what I meant."

  He exhaled and seemed to relax, his voice teasing. "Then you have some, um, how you say, extra-hideous body part no one else has?"

  She glared at him. "No, of course not."

  "I don't understand, chere." His voice softened. "You are so lovely. You aren't one of those American women obsessed with not having big—"

  "No!"

  His smile wilted completely, and Maddie noticed a group of tall, dark-haired Italian men sidling toward them. They looked suspiciously like Antonio and Marco.

  "Ahh, these are my brothers," Marco said with pride.

  The men who couldn't wait to see her.

  She wished she could voice the same sentiment.

  Three very tall, athletic men approached the car. Maddie smiled through gritted teeth, her heart racing as she tried to keep her eyes trained on the men's faces, a difficult task as their height lended to a very awkward and prime positioning of body parts. Boy, she certainly had been missing something with Jeffrey. And she'd needed this place years ago when she'd taken her art lessons. Talk about proportioned...

  Not that size mattered.

  But she couldn't help but wonder how Chase Holloway would compare.

  * * *

  Chase Holloway wanted to be naked with a woman, but he didn't have a date. Or a single, living, willing prospect in sight.

  Friday night alone didn't bode well.

  He'd actually considered trying Daphne again or one of the other women in his black book, but after that humiliating experience with Daphne, he wasn't sure he was up, literally and figuratively, for another trying experience. What if he couldn't perform again?

  Of course, he hadn't had a problem reacting physically to Maddie—the one woman he couldn't have.

  He'd tried to forget her and work on the house plans for the subdivision but every time he did, he kept seeing Maddie's face and the excitement in her eyes when he'd agreed she could decorate his house.

  Just because she takes in stray animals doesn't mean she'd take in you.

  Chase told himself it didn't matter and forced himself to read the note he'd taped to the wall of his garage so he could read it over and over while he worked. The Bachelor Pact.

  Bachelors Forever.

  Lance. Reid. Chase.

  They'd each signed their names in blood when they'd been twelve years old. They'd renewed the agreement when they'd finalized their business deal. They hadn't used blood this time, but the sentiment had been the same. And he intended to keep his end of the agreement.

  Just as he intended to keep the business safe by watching Maddie at work.

  But he couldn't touch her—ever again.

  Full of pent-up energy, Chase swiped at a gnat as he cleaned the engine of the fifty-seven Camaro. He'd bought it as a junker, taken the last six months to replace all the engine parts, and had finally finished the basic repair work. Now, he had to smooth out the body. Getting the dents out would take some time, and he'd definitely have to replace the front fender, but he welcomed the distraction from his work and from the woman dogging his memory. Maddie Summers.

  He rammed his hand through his hair, smearing grease on his forehead, but not caring. Maddie's face had looked so lovely in the shadows of the wooded lot, the way the fading sunlight had highlighted that wild auburn hair of hers with streaks of gold and red, and she'd felt... God, she'd felt like sweetness and sex and sin all heaped together in the most fiery tantalizing kind of way. The sound of the water in the background mingled with her breathing had just about brought him to the brink, leaving him with no choice but to push her away. He'd used the only excuse he could think of and told her she was nothing but a kid to him.

  Damn, he hated the hurt that had darkened her eyes. But if he allowed this crazy attraction to spiral out of control, he'd hurt her even more. Then he'd lose his job with her brothers, and their friendship would be over. Now, if only he could get the rest of his body to listen to his brain before he had to see her again, he'd be fine.

  He picked up a mallet, sprawled down on the man crawler and angled himself so he could work from the underside of the left back bumper. With the precision of a master mechanic, he began to pound at the dented metal.

  He only hoped the metal wasn't as hard or unwilling to cooperate as his head. His big one and his little one.

  An hour later, he'd made very little headway when he heard the phone peal through the open window of his duplex. He checked his watch and realized it was past midnight. Who the hell would be calling this late?

  Rolling out from beneath the car, he jumped up and ran inside, snatching the receiver on the fifth ring. "Hello."

  "It's Lance. You don't know where Maddie is, do you?"

  Chase leaned against the kitchen counter and wiped the dirt and sweat from his forehead, frowning at his friend's tone. "No, why should I?"

  "Blast it to hell. I was hoping maybe you did." Lance breathed heavily into the phone. "She hasn't been home all night."

  Chase winced at the obvious. "It's Friday night, Lance, maybe she had a date."

  "She broke up with Oglethorpe, remember?"

  "Yeah, well, maybe she found someone else." After she kissed me.

  "Reid said she might be going out with that Sophie Lane woman."

  "That Sophie Lane woman?" Chase stared at the phone, confused even more. "What do you have against Sophie Lane?"

  Lance muttered a curse. "I just don't think she's a good influence. She's nothing but a gossip. For cripes' sakes, she may be trying to get the scoop on the family right now."

  "What scoop?"

  Silence descended on the line.

  "What scoop, Lance? I've known you guys most of my life. Is there some dark secret about the Summers family I don't know about?"

  "Hell, no," Lance bellowed. "I just don't trust the woman, that's all."

  "So, no one's forcing you to spend time with her."

  "You're damn right they aren't. And they couldn't even if they wanted to."

  "I didn't know anyone wanted you to."

  "They don't."

  "Then what's the problem?"

  "The problem is that Maddie is missing."

  "Maddie is not missing, Lance, she's simply not home yet. Maybe she went to dinner with a friend or to a movie." Chase shook his head at his friend's exasperated sigh. "Lance, where are you?"

  "Sitting in front of Maddie's house."

  "Do you think that's a good idea?" Chase closed his eyes and pictured Maddie going ballistic when she saw him, especially after Chase had given her a big-brother lecture today when she'd kissed him. Was her late night somehow his fault? By chastising her about the kiss, had he set the wheels in motion and sent Maddie out on some wild night to prove a point?

  Lance whistled between his teeth. "I know. But I was worried about her."

  "Look, I understand, man. But if
you don't want to get your butt kicked, leave her a note to call you and go home."

  After several minutes of arguing, Lance finally agreed and hung up. Chase ran some tap water, washed his hands and face, then filled a glass and drank deeply as he contemplated Lance's odd behavior.

  He stalked outside, grabbed the hammer again and went back to pounding the Camaro, irritated that Maddie might be out with another guy—one of those twenty or thirty men she wanted to meet. He could see her at a bar, a dozen men ogling her, a half-dozen getting up the nerve to approach her, one or two crossing the line, becoming overly friendly—

  He cursed and slammed the hammer down so hard, a piece of metal broke off and went flying across the yard.

  Other images followed, each more tawdry and painful: Maddie kissing another man, a tangle of arms and legs, his hands touching her in places Chase could only dream of touching... He slammed the hammer down again as anger churned through him.

  Anger that had nothing to do with being brotherly.

  * * *

  Exhausted, Maddie crawled into the hotel bed late Friday night, although the party outside remained in full swing. She turned on the bedside lamp and cuddled beneath the covers, feeling satisfied and elated. The shower kicked on and she heard her roomie singing. With a few minutes to herself, Maddie grabbed her new journal, glad that after its recent purchase she had accidentally left it in her car. She had decided to record all of her dates so she could look back and compare them. She especially didn't want to forget this evening with Sophie and Marco and Antonio. Her brothers would have a fit if they knew about her date. It would serve them right if they did find out. Chase Holloway, too. But she didn't want them to worry, so she grabbed her cell phone. Unfortunately her battery was low and the bars showed no service. Resigned, she used the room phone and punched Lance's number to let them know she'd gone away for the weekend. The last thing she needed was for her brothers to come searching for her. Lance didn't answer, so she simply left a message, saying she'd be home on Sunday, that she was sleeping over with a friend, then hung up with a grin. There, the phone call should satisfy her brothers that she was safe. And they'd never know about Marco and Antonio.