Bad Boy…Best Man.
Natalie Campbell - super-organized, dutiful daughter, and manager of the family event planning business – is organizing her brother’s wedding. No matter how long her to-do list (and at the moment it seems never-ending!) she’s grateful for the distraction. Because if she’s fiddling with the table plans and arranging flower centerpieces she’s not thinking about last summer. When she fell into bed with Chase Malone—her brother’s best man. Now this is going to get awkward!
Chase is all wrong for Natalie – she’s sure even the word commitment would send him running for the hills! He never promised her a future, and he doesn’t want anyone to know about their past. But with the wedding coming up, their little secret is getting harder and harder to keep…and almost impossible not to repeat!
About Last Summer
Sandra Panting
HQ
An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd.
1 London Bridge Street
London SE1 9GF
First published in Great Britain by HQ in 2014
Copyright © Sandra Panting 2014
Sandra Panting asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.
E-book Edition © January 2014 ISBN: 9781472074980
Version date: 2018-09-19
Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
As a child SANDRA PANTING used to tell people that when she grew up she wanted to write Nancy Drew books, although in reality what she really wanted to be was Nancy Drew. She eventually gave up on the dream of imitating her favorite teenaged crime fighter, but her desire to become a writer never waned. Currently Sandra lives in Illinois with her husband and four children. Most days she can be found writing, spending way too much time on Twitter, and anxiously awaiting the next Dancing With The Stars elimination.
Thanks Dad
The last time Chase Malone had seen Natalie Campbell she had been naked in his bed, and when he awoke she was gone. That was over a year ago. He’d never asked why she left and, given the statute of limitations had no doubt expired on such a question, it was unlikely he ever would. Besides, asking those kinds of questions wasn’t his style.
From his secluded position, he watched as she stood on a small wooden pier, while an expanse of the Mississippi River held her gaze. Somewhere in the distance guests had gathered to celebrate her brother’s birthday, and it wasn’t like Natalie to not join in. But Chase hadn’t followed her to discuss her brother’s birthday. Actually, he wasn’t certain why he had followed her, but for some reason he couldn’t stay away.
Deciding he’d had enough of loitering in the shadows, he pushed away from the tree he’d been lounging against. The soles of his shoes clumped slightly as he strode across the wooden planking.
“You know that’s not allowed.” He crossed his arms on top of the railing, the polished plank adequately wide enough to rest his arms.
“What’s not allowed?” Natalie’s eyes remained focused on the dark surface of the river. If she was surprised to see him, she hid her reaction well.
“A long face at a party.” His gaze followed hers across the river to the houses dotting the shore. The view was the same as he remembered, the little of it he could see in the muted moonlight. “Care to talk about it?”
Instead of answering, she asked, “Are you sure you want to risk being seen talking to me?”
Chase didn’t need a road map to follow that remark, although he couldn’t tell whether she was asking out of spite or curiosity.
Going out on a limb, he chose the latter. “Well, considering your brother is wrapped up in his fiancée, I think I can risk it.” With a subtle shrug, he added, “Besides, Patrick knows we’re friends. Your parents may have an issue with us talking, but I doubt Patrick will have a problem with it.”
A soft June breeze carrying the scent of the river tousled Natalie’s shoulder-length hair. She’d cut it since the last time he’d seen her, although he hadn’t decided if he liked it or not.
“Is that what we are, Chase? Friends?”
That casual question struck a bit below the belt rendering him somewhat speechless. He could admit their former relationship lacked most of the usual boundaries, but he’d been under the impression she wasn’t interested in labeling it any more than he was.
Or had that been wishful thinking on his part?
Deciding to risk making eye contact, his gaze fell on her profile. “I’m not sure I understand what you’re asking.”
A