Tempting the Best Man - By J. Lynn Page 0,2

of money—the four text messages from her brother wondering if she knew how to navigate the beltway—because apparently little sisters couldn’t drive—and the voice mail from her father warning there was a problem with the reservations, she was late for brunch.

Who in the hell still ate brunch?

Thrumming her fingers against the steering wheel, she squinted as the late May sun glared off the exit sign. Yep—as she zoomed on by—she’d missed the exit.

Damn it.

Tossing a glare at her cell phone, because she so knew it was going to ring in a hot second, she darted into the other lane and took the next exit so she could backtrack to where she needed to be.

She wouldn’t be running late and be so…so discombobulated if she had spent last night packing like a normal, emotionally stable woman in her mid-twenties—a successful, emotionally stable woman—instead of bemoaning the fact she had to walk arm-in-arm down the aisle with Chase, because, for real, that was just plain cruel. The fact that Derek had another date that weekend and couldn’t accompany her was like adding insult to injury.

Her cell phone went off the moment the wheels on her Charger hit the correct exit ramp and she growled at it, wishing the damn thing into the tenth circle of hell. Were there ten circles? Who knew, but she figured by the time everyone got drinks in them and started talking about how Madison used to run around shirtless as a child, there’d be twenty circles to hell, and she’d have visited every one of them.

Tall black walnut trees crowded either side of the rural route she flew down, shading the road and giving it an almost ethereal feel. Up ahead, the deep blue of the mountains loomed over the valley. There was no doubt, as long as the weather held up, the outdoor wedding was going to be beautiful.

A sudden pop jerked her chin up and the steering wheel to the left, right, and then left again. Heart racing, she gripped the wheel as she weaved and crossed the centerline like a poster child for DUIs.

“Damn it,” she muttered, eyes going wide as she regained control of the Charger. A tire had blown—a mother-freaking tire had blown. “Why not?”

Debating whether or not to attempt the next ten miles on her rim, she strung together an atrocity of curse words that would’ve made her brother blush. She whipped the wheel to the right and coasted to a stop on the shoulder of the road. Throwing the car into park, she debated getting out and kicking the damn car. Instead, she did the mature thing: placed her head on the steering wheel and cussed some more.

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