DARE-TO-LOVE-TRUTH-AND-DARE-DUET-COLLECTION-by-Lylah-James-pdfarchive

barely breathe.
As the car came to a stop, my stomach turned, nausea
building in my throat. We got out, still not speaking to each
other. An apology was on the tip of my tongue, for pushing
him harder than I should have, but I never got a chance.
The moment we walked through the double, wooden
doors of the venue… all eyes were on us. That was the
thing about the Coulters. They were always the center of
attention.
Maddox grasped my hand and brought it to his elbow.
When he finally spoke, his voice was soft. “Don’t leave my
side, please.”
What was he so worried about? Yes, this was out of my
comfort zone, but it wasn’t my first time attending one of
these fancy parties. In fact, we attended a charity gala just
about six months ago.
The same one that led us to skinny dipping in the
ocean…
Maddox tensed as his father walked over to us. “You
came,” he simply said, with a nod of acknowledgment in my
direction. If I wasn’t mistaken, I saw a silent thank you in
his eyes.
Tonight, Brad Coulter looked… different. Wary… tired,
like he was carrying a heavy burden on his shoulders.
Too soon, we were surrounded by business partners and
acquaintances. They were all interested in Maddox and
what his plans were, meaning when he was joining the
family business. We were approached left and right… and I
was jostled and soon forgotten.
I slipped from Maddox’s arms, and Savannah was by my
side immediately. I breathed a sigh of relief at the familiar
face. She grasped my arm and pulled me to a quiet corner,
handing me a glass of wine. “I was just like you when I was
around your age. We rarely fit in places like this. I
remember the first time I attended a gala; it was quite