‘But …’
‘Later, honey.’ Chad fixed his gaze on her. She got the hint that he needed her to let it go for now, but it didn’t mean she had to like it. Maggie went over and bent down to kiss him.
‘I’ll hold you to that,’ she whispered before swinging back around to give Emily a broad smile. ‘Let’s go.’
On the drive home Emily laid back in the seat and closed her eyes but Maggie wasn’t convinced her sister was sleeping. They’d had a good time at the bridal shop and hadn’t spoken about anything more serious than what flowers Emily wanted in her hair on the wedding day, replacing the original tiara and lace veil she’d planned. Her sister’s fears about the new dress had been unfounded and Maggie had fought back tears at seeing Emily looking so radiant.
She noticed dark shadows under her sister’s eyes and decided not to spoil the day with difficult questions.
‘I’m sorry, Maggie.’
‘What for?’ A multitude of things raced through her mind, none of them good. Slow tears trickled down Emily’s cheeks and Maggie couldn’t keep on driving. She quickly pulled off the road to stop outside the hairdresser’s shop. Maggie remembered the guilty look lurking in Chad’s eyes earlier and she clutched the steering wheel. ‘Did Chad say something to you?’ The words barely made their way past her lips.
‘In a way,’ Emily admitted.
‘I suppose he told you everything I confessed to him about Mum’s death?’ How could he? She’d trusted Chad with her deepest feelings and now he’d made a mockery of them. It was up to her when and where she tackled Emily, not him.
Emily frowned. ‘What on earth are you talking about?’ She quietly explained everything that went on in the kitchen and the challenge he’d given her to put things right with Maggie.
Relief coursed through her blood and Maggie could’ve wept with happiness. ‘I’m sorry. I was stupid, I …’
‘It’s okay,’ Emily reassured. ‘It makes a change for you to be the impulsive one. It’s usually me flying off the handle and zooming off into drama queen land.’
‘So, what are you sorry for?’
‘How about the way I’ve behaved towards you since the day you were born? Will that do for a start? I resented your arrival because it took Mum and Dad’s attention away from me. I’m especially sorry for the way I’ve been such a cow since Mum died. What happened to her was an accident and it wasn’t ever your fault.’
Maggie’s head spun. Her emotions veered from being cross at Chad for interfering and wanting to kiss him senseless for being so flagrantly on her side.
‘Your man was absolutely right. Of course I didn’t want to see it at first but when he explained how he’d made things right with his own brother at your insistence I completely understood where he was coming from.’
Maggie had no idea what Emily was talking about. Putting the pieces together she guessed Chad’s talk with Josh must’ve happened last week. They’d had so little time alone he obviously hadn’t found the right moment to tell her yet.
‘Will you ever be able to forgive me?’ Emily begged.
‘Of course, you daft creature.’
‘Really? I don’t promise to be perfect.’
‘Thank goodness for that,’ Maggie laughed. ‘I want my own sister, not some fake version I wouldn’t recognise.’
Emily’s expression turned serious. ‘This is the perfect time for a fresh start isn’t it?’
‘It certainly is,’ Maggie agreed, too choked up to say anymore. ‘Now how about we get you home so you can get pretty for Jonathan, and …’
‘You can get ready for your dirty night out.’
‘It’s not going to be like that,’ she protested. Emily’s raucous laughter silenced her. Maggie started the car back up and had to ignore Emily’s sniggers all the way home.
Chad checked his watch as he stopped outside Maggie’s house. She’d told him to come back at six to pick her up. The two sisters were laughing and joking when they returned from their outing which could simply mean the dress fitting went well but with any luck Emily had already apologised. One way or the other Maggie would tackle him about it as soon as they were alone. She wasn’t a woman to put things off.
He strolled up the path and the door opened before he could knock. Emily grabbed his arm and pulled him inside.
‘She’s nearly ready.’
‘I am ready. Some of us prefer to be punctual.’ Maggie’s voice next to him made Chad turn around.
He’d no idea what she’d done to herself, but the breath left his body. Chad smelled her familiar vanilla scent but everything else was an amped up version of his beautiful Maggie. Everything about her glowed, from the gleaming waves of rich brown hair grazing her bare creamy shoulders to the dusty peach gloss on her full mouth and her eyes. He could barely resist the urge to touch her.
‘Do you like Maggie’s new dress? You can’t imagine how hard it was for me to get her to shop for herself today,’ Emily prattled.
‘It’s stunning,’ he murmured. By the parts he could see Chad knew she was hot all over. The simple bronze silk dress skimmed her luscious curves, with the low-scooped neckline dropping delicious hints about her generous cleavage and the hemline barely grazing her knees showed off her shapely legs.
‘I’ve made her throw away the awful green thing she’s worn to every wedding since the beginning of creation,’ Emily boasted.
Thank goodness. If Emily hadn’t done the deed he’d planned to take a pair of scissors to it at the first opportunity.
‘You just wait until you see her bridesmaid’s dress.’ Emily grinned.
‘Please tell me it’s not one of those awful puffy things in a putrid colour designed not to outshine the bride,’ he joked.
‘I promise it’ll put Pippa Middleton’s in the shade.’
He’d no idea what she was talking about. ‘I’m damn sure it will.’ Because it’ll have this gorgeous woman wearing it.
Maggie loudly cleared her throat. ‘Excuse me. I am here in case you’ve forgotten.’
I couldn’t forget you in a million years and I’ll prove it to you if I can get you out of here. ‘If you’re ready we can leave.’ Please put me out of my misery.
‘Oh, I’m ready,’ she focused her dark blue eyes solely on him and Chad swallowed hard. He held out his hand and she placed her soft, warm fingers in his palm.
The next half-hour was a blur as he drove them to Holland House. They spoke very little and Chad guessed she’d realised he couldn’t concentrate on both the road and her. Finally inside the house he shut Audrey’s apartment door behind them and exhaled slowly.
At last he could touch her properly. Chad clasped his arms around her waist and breathed in her heady fragrance. ‘I know you want to talk,’ he murmured against the soft skin of her neck. ‘But …’
‘Later,’ she pleaded, ‘we’ve got all night and right now I want you so badly it hurts.’
‘Where does it hurt?’ Chad’s voice roughened.
‘Right here.’ She took his hand and placed it over her fast-beating heart. He stroked his fingers over the slippery fabric and captured her soft moans with his mouth.
‘I know the cure.’
‘I thought you might.’ Maggie sighed and arched into his touch.
Chad slid his other hand around her back and began to work her zip down, inch by inch. She begged him to hurry but he only smiled. ‘Patience, Maggie, patience.’ His own hung by a thread but he tried not to show it.
‘Could we be patient next time, please?’ Her eyelashes fluttered temptingly as he reached the base of her spine.
‘Next time? You’re thinking of more than once?’ Chad cupped her backside and eased her closer, allowing her to rub up against him and swiftly drive him insane.
She whispered in his ear, telling him exactly what she wanted him to do and her low, sexy laughter made every cell in his body stand to attention.
‘A well brought up Southern gentleman always tries to please a lady.’ Chad
pushed her dress down over her shoulders and eased it slowly past her hips, letting it drop to the floor in a pool of gleaming satin. ‘We’ll take this into the bedroom.’
‘That’s the best idea I’ve heard all week.’ Maggie’s eyes shone. ‘Love me.’
‘Yes, ma’am.’ For the next few precious hours he intended to make her feel so loved and cherished she wouldn’t be able to imagine her life without him. He only hoped he was up to the challenge.
Chapter Twenty-One
‘Breakfast?’ Chad murmured, lifting a handful of hair from her neck and pressing warm kisses into her sensitive skin.
‘Are you offering yourself on toast?’ Maggie teased, wriggling around to face him. She still found it hard to grasp the idea that this seriously gorgeous man was attracted to her. But it wasn’t simply his looks, although she could happily gaze at him for hours and did so last night when she was too wired to sleep. He was intelligent, witty and caring – and Maggie couldn’t imagine what she’d done to be so fortunate.
‘I’m offerin’ myself in any way you want me, sweetheart.’ Chad’s smooth drawl made her heart race and his large, sure hands cupped her hips, hitching them closer making her aware of every rock-hard inch of his body. ‘I’m versatile, like an egg.’ His rumbling chuckle ran right through her blood. ‘You’ve scrambled my brain, fried my common sense and boiled all my gentlemanly intentions away. There’s not much left to try.’
Maggie insinuated her hands up through his hair, playing with the heavy, dark strands and breathing in his delicious musky scent. ‘Poaching is a good method that leaves the outside firm and the inside gooey and delectable.’
He groaned and seized her in a fierce kiss, rolling them over until he was on top. ‘That’s enough game playing, Miss Taylor. Time for action.’
Maggie’s last attempt at coherent thought faded away as he slid deep inside her with a satisfied groan, making her his all over again.
Afterwards she drifted back to sleep until bright light flooded the room and woke her up.
‘Here’s breakfast in bed for the sexiest cake decorator ever.’
Maggie opened her eyes and focused on Chad, posing in front of her in only a pair of black boxers and brandishing a large silver tray. ‘Slept with a lot of them have you?’
He didn’t reply, just settled the tray over her knees and walked around to sit down next to her on the bed. Chad poured her tea exactly the way she liked it and lifted the cover off the plate to reveal two perfectly poached eggs on wheat toast.
‘Eat up while they’re still fresh,’ he said softly.
She hadn’t meant to hurt his feelings and should know by now he was sensitive about his perceived reputation with women. Maggie forced down a forkful of eggs. ‘These aren’t easy to make. You never told me you could cook.’
‘There’s a lot you don’t know about me, Maggie.’ Chad’s tawny eyes bored right through her.
‘Maybe it’s time you told me … before we go any further.’ She pushed away the tray, her appetite gone.
Chad watched the light leave her beautiful face. She’d been so happy and now he’d spoiled everything. ‘You know a lot of it already.’
‘Then why be so serious?’
Chad risked putting his arms around her. He buried his face in her hair and smelled the fragrant hints of vanilla in her silky curls.
‘You’ve forced me to be more honest.’ He needed to get this over with. ‘I want to tell you first what my grandmother said before I came over here. She’s very much like Audrey, a plain spoken woman who gives advice whether you want it or not.’ Chad recited word for word everything she’d said and watched Maggie’s eyes widen.
Use this vacation as a chance to take some time out, Chandler. Playing the field is all very well for a young man, but you’re old enough to start thinking more about the future. Your father won’t come out and say so but I know he’d like to take things easier. He’s been hoping you’d decide to give up the law and take over the firm. Josh needs our help as well but he’s too stubborn to ask for it. You could do a lot for him if you chose to.
‘I know I’m not the first girl you’ve taken to bed, I’m not stupid, Chad.’
‘I never said you were.’ It pained him to hear the unvarnished hurt in Maggie’s voice. ‘I need you to believe me when I say it’s different with you. I’ve been called glib and silver-tongued but I swear to you I’ve never deliberately misled any woman about how I felt.’ His impassioned plea got no response beyond a simple nod. ‘Say something. Please. You’re killing me.’
A tiny smile tugged at her lips. ‘I’d hoped you knew me better than this.’
He wasn’t sure how to reply so kept his mouth shut.
‘If I thought for one moment I was simply another notch on your bedpost I wouldn’t be here,’ Maggie assured him and the tense knots in his stomach unravelled.
Chad managed to breathe properly again. ‘God, Maggie, I love you so much.’
She gazed up at him, her blue eyes swimming with tears. ‘I love you too, you silly man. You freaked me out. I was afraid you were going to tell me something awful. Now I want to hear all about your brother and this family business you’ve never mentioned.’ The sharper edge to her voice told Chad he was forgiven but if he didn’t spit out all the rest of it he’d be toast – with or without the famous poached eggs.
‘Have you heard of Robertson guitars?’ He ventured.
‘Of course I have, my father used to own one.’ Maggie’s countenance changed. ‘That’s you?’
Chad shrugged. ‘Well, yeah, I guess it is.’
‘It either is or it isn’t.’
‘Okay then, it is.’ He sighed. ‘My full name is Chandler Winston Robertson the fourth. My great-grandfather, Joshua Robertson, started the business in 1920 with his younger brother, Chandler, and it became a big success. We make some of the most sought after guitars in the world. The eldest son has always become the company president but Josh isn’t interested in taking over after my father.’ Chad’s voice faltered and Maggie squeezed his hand ‘There were fierce arguments when Josh declared his intention to join the military. I was only eight when Josh left home but I heard it all. Because of my parents’ attitude Josh basically cut himself off from the family.’ The memories of being angry at his older brother for leaving all flooded back and Chad tried to explain to Maggie how it’d made him more stubborn. He’d refused to join the business too and had gone to law school instead. ‘Not because I wasn’t interested in guitar making, I loved it when I worked there in the school vacations, but out of sheer bull-headed stubbornness.’
‘You idiot.’
‘Thanks a lot,’ he grumbled. ‘Yeah, yeah, alright, I know I’m a moron. I don’t hate my job but it’s not my real passion.’ He needed to explain more about Josh. ‘When my brother came back unscathed from Afghanistan, at least physically, my parents wanted to take care of him but he rejected all their offers. I didn’t stand up for him and I should’ve done. None of us tried to understand that it was beyond Josh to fit back into the mould that had been made for him.’
‘We all have to make our own moulds, don’t we?’
‘You don’t fit into Emily’s catering one either do you?’
‘Nope,’ Maggie declared with a laugh. ‘Cakes I love, Scotch eggs you can …’
‘Turn into ammunition as far as I’m concerned. No offence to Emily.’ Chad shuddered.
‘So, you’re going into the guitar business?’
Until now he’d only ever admitted it in his head but he couldn’t lie to Maggie. ‘You wouldn’t mind?’ She shook her head. Wisely she didn’t ask him to spell it out any clearer. ‘I called Josh last week and apologised. That’s what I talked to Emily about. I wanted her to understand how important it was for her to reach out to you. I’d intended to tell you first, honestly.’
‘I get it. I’m not cross at you. Life’s been so crazy we haven’t had a minute on our own.’
‘Tell me about it,’ he said with a
wry smile. ‘I’ll still feel better once I make my peace with Josh face to face.’ Chad eased Maggie over onto his lap, there was nothing better than having his arms full of soft, beautiful woman. ‘They’ll all love you.’ She flashed a glorious smile.
‘I hope so.’
‘I know so.’ Chad glanced at the abandoned tray. ‘I’m sorry I spoiled your breakfast.’
Maggie wrapped her arms around his neck and drew him to her for a long, deep kiss. ‘Do I seem a disappointed woman?’
‘I’m not sure.’ He frowned, pretending to be uncertain. ‘Maybe another kiss would convince me?’
She took him at his word and the cold poached eggs were forgotten … again.
‘You’d prefer to go back home before the twenty-four limit is up, wouldn’t you?’ Chad’s voice from somewhere behind her shoulder startled Maggie. She’d sneaked out of bed while he was still asleep to make a cup of tea.
How did he know her so well already? She couldn’t stop thinking about all the things on her to-do list.
‘You won’t relax and enjoy the rest of the day if I keep you here.’ He turned her around to face him. ‘It’s okay. I’ll let you off.’
She tried not to be distracted by the fact he hadn’t bothered to get dressed before coming to look for her. It was a challenge to keep her mind on vol-au-vents and fruit cake while plastered up against six feet of naked, gorgeous man. By his wide grin she knew he’d read her mind.
‘Don’t worry, honey, I know what you’d rather be doing, but your conscience is a very active creature and we’ll enjoy each other more when your mind isn’t elsewhere.’ He squeezed her tighter and Maggie squealed. ‘I’m goin’ to shower and get dressed. You can fix me a cup of coffee if that isn’t too much trouble and then we’ll head back to face Bridezilla.’
Maggie couldn’t resist another kiss but it used every atom of self-restraint she possessed to stop there. ‘You are one very special man.’
‘Keep believin’ that and we’ll be good,’ Chad teased and let her go. He sauntered out of the kitchen, giving a quick shimmy of his hips to make it abundantly clear what she was missing out on.
The Wedding Reject Table (Choc Lit) (Nashville Connections Book 2) Page 11
