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needed to steer clear, no matter how attractive he found her. He wasn’t in the market for any of that.

Chapter Four
    Karen drove to Maddie’s with her car window open a crack, savoring the mild fresh air after a long, cold winter. She was looking forward to spending time with her friend and enjoying a nice dinner since she knew their time would be limited now with Chase back in town.
    Pulling up in front, she parked on the street and climbed out. After a quick jaunt up the sidewalk, she reached for the doorknob and caught herself just before she walked in, which she would have done before Chase moved in. She knocked like a polite visitor and waved when she spotted him through the screen door.
    “Hi there,” she said as he held it open for her while she stepped in. “How are you, sweetie?”
    He smiled, his big brown eyes brightening at the sight of her. “I’m good.” He leaned down to give her a hug. “Come on back,” he said as he motioned toward the kitchen. “Let me get you something to drink.”
    She followed him and glanced out the window over the sink. Maddie was taking advantage of the unusually warm spring day and had set the table on the back deck. Noticing that there seemed to be more plates than needed, she counted the place settings. “I see I’m not the only guest of honor tonight. Who else is coming?”
    He opened his mouth to answer, but was interrupted when Maddie breezed in with Bree right behind her.
    “Hi, Aunt Karen!”
    She leaned down and picked up the little girl for a hug. “Hi, mini-Maddie! How are you?”
    She giggled at the nickname, but was used to it since everyone always commented on how much she resembled her mother with her jet-black hair, fair skin and bright green eyes. “I’m good now that Chase is finally home.”
    “What? Do you think he’s going to play with you all of the time or something?” Karen teased as she tickled her. “I’m sure he has other things to do, like baseball.”
    Bree looked over Karen’s shoulder at him, suddenly uncertain. He grinned as he grabbed her out of Karen’s arms and hung her upside down from her ankles. “Of course I am! Don’t listen to Aunt Karen. She’s just teasing.”
    Bree laughed as he flipped her back up, then scuttled off to answer the front door. Chase raised an eyebrow at Karen before following.
    “Who else is coming tonight?” Karen asked Maddie. Maddie remained quiet, with a small smile tugging at her lips and her eyes twinkling, and Karen glowered at her. “This better not be a setup or something. I’m serious, Maddie. I’ll walk out of here if you’ve got some blind date thing up your sleeve...”
    “Relax,” she finally said. “It’s not a setup, but I do think you’ll enjoy the company tonight.”
    “Why? Who is it?”
    Maddie gave her a playful nudge before turning into the living room. Karen watched from the kitchen as Jerry stepped into the condo and felt her heart pick up a beat. He was dressed in a simple black T-shirt, which only accentuated his broad shoulders and massive chest, and low-riding dark jeans with frayed edges that hung loose, but didn’t hide his strong legs. She swallowed deeply and a flush of warmth broke out over her skin. She still hadn’t gotten over that spark that had flown between them when she’d seen him Opening Day and whenever she thought about it, a shiver traveled down from her head to her toes. She was glad that she’d taken the time to make herself presentable despite thinking it was only going to be dinner with Chase, Maddie and Bree, and thanked God she’d decided on her new cropped, skinny jeans.
    “Oh, it’s just you,” she said as she strode casually into the room.
    At the sound of her voice, Jerry looked up from his conversation with Chase and grinned. His deep brown eyes, framed by lashes so dark and thick that they were the envy of women everywhere, visibly brightened. “There she is! I knew she’d be sweating bullets until I got here.”
    He