The Bachelor, the Baby and the Beauty. Victoria Pade
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when it comes to—”
“I know—Chase is a so-many-women-so-little-time kind of guy. Don’t worry, I’ve gotten the picture from the things you’ve told me about him over the years. He plays around. He’s like Garth—”
The mention of her ex-husband’s name brought a frown edged with anger to her brother’s face.
“Chase is nothing like Garth,” Logan retorted. “Chase doesn’t break commitments to women because he doesn’t make commitments to women. Because what Chase is committed to is his belief that that’s the best way for him.”
Whatever that meant …
“But ultimately he runs through women like other people run through shoes.”
“I just think that, for you, relationships are different than what they are for Chase,” Logan said. “And I wouldn’t want you to get hurt. But for the record, I’ve never said Chase runs through women.”
“There’s been a different one every time I’ve talked to you over the years. That seems to me like running through women. And after Garth, the last thing I would go anywhere near is a man who’s commitment-impaired. So I’m telling you, I might have had some illusions about Chase being the perfect guy nearly twenty years ago, but I don’t have any now. I guarantee you, I can show him how to change a diaper without fainting from infatuation.”
And she thought that was true. No, she didn’t especially want to spend concentrated time alone with Chase, and it would certainly have helped if he looked more like a warthog than the heartthrob leading man in a Western movie. But after eleven years in the European fashion industry, she’d learned to take good looks with a grain of salt, and that was what she intended to do with Chase.
“No matter what you say, you know I’ve been worried about you being around Chase again and this … well, this really makes me worry,” her brother fretted.
“That’s because you and I haven’t had a lot of time with each other since you left Northbridge. You might have missed it, but I’m not the innocent, naive, dreamy-eyed girl I was before,” Hadley said patiently. “And what I believe is that trying to make a one-woman man out of Chase Mackey—or any other man who doesn’t want to be a one-woman man—is something only a fool would undertake. And I’m nobody’s fool.”
“Got it—you’re all grown up, you’re a woman of the world and you can take care of yourself,” Logan said.
“Yes,” she confirmed. “And it’s really not a big deal for me to help Chase. I’m happy to do it until you get back from your honeymoon.”
Okay, happy was not exactly true. But she’d still do it.
“I appreciate it,” Logan said.
“It’s nothing. Now go do what Meg needed you to do today so you can get to the rehearsal on time tonight.”
“Yeah, I better. And thanks—I owe you for this.”
Hadley waved him away.
All this talk about gratitude suddenly made her realize that to some extent, helping Chase out now would repay the debt she’d had to him since they were kids.
Growing up, Chase had been unfailingly kind to her, and that wasn’t something she could say about everyone, especially not about the boys she’d known back then. In fact, that kindness he’d shown her had probably contributed to why she’d had such a crush on him.
And not only had he been kind to her, but there also had been a time when he’d come to her rescue, when he’d defended her against people who hadn’t been so kind.
For that, she owed him.
Besides, so far she’d managed not to act like a silly schoolgirl with a crush in Chase’s presence. What harm could come in helping him out next week while Logan was gone?
None, she told herself.
And if she wasn’t going to be able to ease into being around Chase again, then maybe taking the plunge—so to speak—was the next best thing. Maybe the more time she spent with him right off the bat, the quicker she’d be able to overlook his attributes, completely conquer feeling awkward around him and just get on with things.
That didn’t seem altogether unfeasible, she decided.
And ultimately, it would all be fine.
Chapter Three
Hadley spent the wedding rehearsal and dinner on Saturday night primarily with her half sisters and half brothers helping to wrangle their three-year-old niece, Tia, and blending in with the rest of the bridesmaids. She never ventured too near Chase and he never ventured too near her.
She caught him staring at her more times than she could count, but took that in stride. It wasn’t uncommon for people who had known her when she was heavy to stare when they saw her now. It didn’t mean anything except that they were getting accustomed to the transformation in her.
Certainly she didn’t take Chase’s scrutiny as anything more than that. Or at least she didn’t allow herself to think that way. Even if he didn’t glance away any of the times she caught him. Even if he did smile each and every time with what she might have taken as appreciation.
But as it was, through all of Saturday evening’s events, she kept her distance, steadfastly reminding herself that she and Chase were never going to be more than friendly acquaintances. She made it through the entire time with only a distant hello at the beginning, a distant good-night at the end and nothing but the exchange of those looks in between.
Sunday was a day of helping Meg get ready and again managing Tia. The wedding was late in the afternoon at the church, and afterward the reception was held in what ultimately would be the Mackey and McKendrick Furniture Designs showroom when the moving truck—that had been repaired and brought onto the property—was unloaded.
But for Sunday night the large open space was completely aglow with candlelight. The walls were draped in flowing curtains of white satin to reflect the golden glow and to give a softer appearance to the place. Bronze-and-cream-colored roses were everywhere. There was a long buffet table laden with food and the five-layer wedding cake. Frosted in buttercream, it had cascading fondant flowers from the feet of the bride, groom and little girl figurines on top. White linen-clothed tables were set all around a central area that was reserved for dancing to the music of a string quartet.
Since Chase was the best man and Hadley was one of the bridesmaids, they were both seated at the wedding-party table. But several chairs separated them so Hadley could still maintain her distance. Until the dancing began and they were left alone there while everyone else followed the bride and groom onto the floor.
Then, dressed in a black suit that fitted him impeccably and accentuated the width of his shoulders to mouthwatering perfection, Chase got up from his seat and came to sit sideways in the chair beside Hadley’s, facing her.
He slung one arm onto the table and the other over the back of her chair—as relaxed as a brother would have been to approach her and certainly showing no signs that his heart was beating double-time the way hers was.
“I have to tell you, Had-Had-Hadley, that I can’t keep my eyes off you,” he said with a smile that had gained wattage over the years and made her melt just a little inside. Even so, she continued to face the dance floor, only glancing at him for a moment.
“I know—I don’t look anything like the person you knew before. I’ve been hearing it all summer, ever since I got back to Northbridge.”
“The person I knew before was just a kid,” he reminded. “But you have come into your own—in more ways than one.”
“More than just losing the weight?” she asked, because it was always the weight that everyone talked about and she found it curious that Chase didn’t seem to be referring to that alone.
“Sure, more than the weight.