COWBOY FOR SALE--A Second-Chances Spicy Romance (12 page)

With a press of a few keys, she saved and emailed her quarterly financial report to the corporate office, tidied up, then locked the salon door behind her. The event should be winding down, she figured.

As she walked toward the mall's courtyard she saw that the stage was still full, though the crowd had tamed down considerably. On the stage, all the men except for Luke and Jared had a woman draped on his left arm.

As Luke was being introduced, Lacey made her way to the side of the crowd, hoping to squeeze into a space toward the front to join Kandy and the others.

Kandy's familiar squeal caught her attention and she waved at her and her friends up front. The bidding was intense, but brisk, and Kandy was victorious.

“Mr. Luke Anderson has been purchased for the highest price of the night by the lady in red. Please join us on stage, Madame. Congratulations ! And you two will win the “Dream Date of the Evening” unless this last bachelor can fetch a higher price.”

Lacey's gaze returned to the stage as Jared walked to the auction platform. She felt a twinge of…regret? Jealousy? She wasn't sure.

One thing was certain, though, the man looked hot.

Very hot.

Then she shook her head.
Not my type. Remember the list. He's got a daughter. He’s divorced. He’d older.

She ticked off the details on her list with every beat of her heart as she stared at Jared who was now standing next to the emcee. She folded her arms against her chest.

“You're not for me,” she whispered.

The marketing director slid up next to her, grabbing her elbow. “Lacey, darling, aren't you bidding on your cowboy?”

“Did the charity do well tonight?” she asked, hoping to divert the marketing director’s attention. Her gaze didn't budge from the stage.

“Oh, this has been the event of the year,” she said. “We've raised almost ten thousand dollars already and the television cameras have even shown up. We're getting great publicity.”

A loud cheer from the crowd interrupted their conversation. Lacey stepped up on tiptoe to try to see who was bidding on Jared.

“Oh, my!” the marketing director squealed. “That woman over there just doubled the last bid!”

Lacey looked at a woman partially hidden in the middle of the crowd. Her gaze shifted to Jared's face. He looked relieved. Did he know her?

As if reading her thoughts, the marketing director asked, “Do you think they know each other?”

“Maybe.”

Gabe shouted to the crowd, “Will anyone increase the bid? Going once, twice, sold to the lady right there,” he said, pointing at the woman.

Lacey examined the expression on Jared's face. He looked genuinely happy. His grin looked…mischievous.

“Well, our final bachelor has fetched the highest price of the evening and will be escorting his date on an all expenses paid weekend at a secluded, romantic mountain getaway. Help the lady up to the stage, please.”

The mystery woman stopped on the top step of the stairway that led to the stage, her back to the crowd, and gestured to the emcee. Gabe covered his microphone with one hand and leaned down in order to hear her.

Straightening up, he nodded and then announced to the crowd, “Ladies and gentlemen, I have been informed that the winning bidder has purchased this last bachelor as a gift for someone. Would Lacey Murdock please join us on stage to claim her man and to accept the “Dream Date of the Evening?” Where are you, Lacey? Your cowboy is waiting!”

Lacey felt her eyes grow big and her lips part, then felt a hand in the small of her back as the marketing director gave her a substantial shove.

“Here she is! Here she is!” she shouted to the emcee.

Jared's gaze locked for a moment on hers, then Lacey forced a smile and made her way toward the steps leading to the stage. Her feet felt heavy but somehow she managed to climb the stairs. Gabe met her at the last step, then took her hand and guided her to a spot on the stage next to Jared.

“I had no idea—” Jared started to explain.

“Who was that woman?”

“My sister Jo,” he answered through clenched teeth.

The spotlight from a camera glared in Lacey’s face as the emcee stuck his microphone under her chin. “We're going live now for Channel 7 News,” he whispered. “Miss Murdock—it is Miss, isn't it?” His expression seemed hopeful.

Lacey commanded her weak smile to remain. “Yes.”

“And how do you feel about winning this eligible cowboy?”

Please let me say something intelligent.
She took a deep breath and prayed the right words would come. “I'm so pleased that the pediatric AIDS charity did so well tonight, thanks to this event. The Wentworth Mall should be proud to be a part of raising funds for such a worthy cause.”

She watched as the camera shifted toward Jared, wondering if he was feeling as caught off guard as she was.

***

Jared kept his gaze on his sister, dumbfounded at the turn of events. She looked quite pleased with herself as she wiggled her fingers at him, a satisfied grin on her face, easily ignoring his heated gaze. He should be glad, he supposed, that he wasn’t going to be spending the weekend with a total stranger.

“And Mr. Dillon, are you really a cowboy?” Gabe asked, tipping the microphone toward Jared.

He grimaced. Nothing to say but the truth, he supposed. “I grew up on a Colorado cattle ranch but after I moved to southern California I started raising alpacas. I own Harmony Ranch in the Cuyamacas.”

“Well,” Gabe continued, “I guess we can't always assume a cowboy wrangles cows, can we?”

Jared winced. He couldn’t help but hope Courtney wasn't in town and watching the news. He could imagine the sound of her demeaning laughter. She'd been embarrassed by his choice to work with alpacas—it wasn't her idea of a “real” ranch and she’d never let him forget it. He glanced at Lacey, trying to read her reaction.

“Don't they make a handsome couple?” Gabe asked the crowd, urging their applause as he nudged Lacey and Jared closer together. “Big smiles for the television cameras,” he coaxed.

The crowd cheered as they too turned to face the cameras, waving furiously in hopes of being seen on the eleven o'clock news.

“Lacey, I'm really sorry.” Would she believe this was all a surprise to him?

“Don't worry about it.”

“Maybe there's some way we can get out of the…the date part,” he whispered.

“Probably not,” she whispered back. “There’s a ton of publicity for the mall tied to this event, plus all the dates. And the charity is counting on the coverage and hoping for a bump in donations afterward.”

“I see.”

“Right now, Jared, let's just keep smiling for the cameras. We'll figure things out later.”

He slipped his arm around her waist and held her closer…for the cameras, he told himself. But she felt awfully nice snug against his hip.

She tipped up her chin and smiled for the cameras, then turned her head a little toward him, her pretty hazel-green filled with a whole bunch of new questions, he figured.

***

When the cameras and cell phones finally stopped flashing and the reporters were gone, Jared left Lacey with Kandy and Luke in search of his sister.

When he spotted her in the courtyard next to the stage, he could feel a vein in his neck throbbing with the instant rise in his blood pressure.

“Pretty pleased with yourself, aren't you, Jo?”

Joann flashed a smile reminiscent of their teen years. They'd fought like cats and dogs, but even then she'd had a habit of somehow getting what she wanted in the end.

“You should have seen your face—”

“Where's Jamie?” Jared asked, cutting her off, not wanting her to rub it in and tell him she knew what was best.

“Mom's got her. Before I left, though, I told her you'd have a surprise to tell her tomorrow. She's pretty excited.”

Jared shook his head. How had this happened?

Joann gave his shoulder a good-natured jab. “Hey, jerk, you were worth every penny. Why don't you just go on this Dream Date and have a little fun?”

“Because I don't want—” Jared stopped himself and took a moment to collect his thoughts. “Because, dear sister, she isn't the type of woman I would want—”

“—if you were looking, and you're not,” she finished.

Lacey looked around, then spotted Jared standing with the winning bidder. She walked quickly, hoping to join the conversation, thinking maybe they could come up with some kind of plan to get through the date without too much hassle. “Jared?”

He turned at the sound of her voice and gestured for her to join them.

The woman with him extended her hand, saying, “Hi, again, Lacey, I'm Joann. Thanks again for fixing Jamaica’s hair, by the way. She loves it. Oh, and please call me Jo—everyone does except for our mother and my boss. I hope you're not as mad at me as my little brother is right now.”

“Mostly surprised, actually,” Lacey replied. She moved to stand next to Jared, close enough to feel his body heat. She really wanted to get it over with—she was tired, her feet hurt, and she had to be at the salon bright and early in the morning.

As if on cue, Jo said her goodbyes, leaving them alone.

Jared cleared his throat and said, “Where are the others?”

“Kandy and Luke went to The Cantina to celebrate.”

“Any ideas about how to handle…the date situation?”

Lacey looked up at him. His voice sounded a little reluctant but his eyes looked almost inviting. Or was she reading more into them than was there?

She moistened her lips and took a deep breath. “Well, I do feel…obligated to go through with this for the charity's sake. They're really counting on the extra publicity.”

They said nothing for a few moments.

“It sounded like a nice place,” he said.

“What?”

“The Bed and Breakfast…the Dream Date?”

“Oh. Right.” She nodded, remembering how thrilled the marketing director had been to have secured a weekend at a secluded, pricey bed and breakfast in the nearby Cuyamaca mountains. She'd told her the cabins were large, cozy, and romantic, a favorite for local honeymooners and Hollywood types looking to get away from everyone. It had indeed sounded like the perfect spot for a couple’s dream date.

“Maybe what we need is a chaperon. A short, blond one,” he said, interrupting her thoughts.

Lacey looked up. Fine laugh lines crinkled around his gray eyes. “I think that would help,” she said. “A lot.” Maybe this could work after all.

“Jamie would enjoy the woods,” he added, “and she already thinks you're some kind of “magician-princess-maker. It might be fun.”

“Deal,” she said, watching a play of emotions on his face. Did he really think it would be fun or was he just humoring her?

“You want to ride together or meet there?” he asked, matter-of-factly.

“Together is fine.” No need to take two cars, she thought. With Jamie sitting between them, everything would be fine. It was an absolutely perfect solution.

Lacey sighed, the strain between them now reduced dramatically. “Why don't the two of you pick me up at the salon next Saturday morning. I'll talk to the mall office and get details about the publicity and we can get that part over with as soon as possible.”

“Agreed. See you then.” He tipped his hat to her and turned to leave.

Lacey stared as he walked away with no backward glance from him.
Why was she
expecting one?

What she needed to do was make the best of this. Get past it, and move on. At least with Jamie along it would be easier to pass the time. Jared and his daughter could go explore the woods and she could have two days of rest and relaxation. She could definitely use the break in her routine and a weekend off was sounding better and better.

***

Jared enjoyed the quiet as he sat in his truck with his eyes closed for a few moments. His feelings were a tangle of confusion. How in the hell was he going to survive a weekend with a woman who had somehow broken through his carefully built defenses? A woman who—even though he had a million and one reasons why he shouldn’t be interested—left him craving to touch her.

When he’d put his arm around her waist posing for the cameras, it had felt natural. Right. He’d loved the feel of her, how her curves fit perfectly against him—so unlike Courtney who was only happy if her ribs and collar bones protruded, assuring herself she was ‘thin enough’.

And Lacey’s hair had positively shimmered in the bright lights on the stage, looking even more beautiful than the last time he’d seen her. Whatever kind of magic she had, she sure used it on herself, making him want to run his fingers through her long hair, making him want to feel it against his bare skin.

Damn
.

He gripped the steering wheel tightly with both hands doing his best to ignore the fact his jeans felt tighter just thinking about Lacey. His good-intentioned, forever meddling sister had very nicely managed to complicate his life in one fell swoop, throwing her money where her mouth was, for sure.