Bachelor Auction (9 page)

so in the closet.”

He peered over the copy of the bidding sheet

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Bachelor Auction

he’d received from the emcee. For just a moment, his

green eyes darkened, and Charlotte was certain he

remembered how he’d taken advantage of that lone

button.

Then his gaze cooled, and he thrust the sheet in

front of her. “Is this your signature?”

She glanced at the handwriting before turning

her attention back to the contents of the lap drawer.

“Yes, but that’s not what I bid.”

“So you say,” he muttered under his breath.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” She grabbed a

gator clip and used it to clasp the edges of her jacket.

“You said yourself you were paying me back.”

“That was before I realized you weren’t

responsible for this fiasco.” She stretched her arms

back to test the reliability of the temporary solution.

The metal clip slipped off one side of the slick

material, and she barely managed to keep from

exposing herself to Marcus. Again.

She glanced to see if he’d noticed and sighed

with relief. He was lost in thought, still frowning at

the bid sheet.

“I’m not talking about responsibility for the

auction or what happened in the closet,” he said, his

voice somber. He looked up, his serious gaze locking

with hers. “I’m talking about what happened the

night of the mayor’s party. All of this could have

been set up by you to get back at me.”

Charlotte stared open-mouthed for a moment,

amazed at his oversized ego, then shook her head

and tossed the clip in the drawer. “You certainly

think a lot of yourself.”

Or very little of me.

As the thought skittered through her mind she

recognized its truth. She’d known it, of course, and

many times used his low opinion to her benefit. Still,

the surge of hurt caught her unaware, as did the

burning sensation behind her eyes.

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Darah Lace

Needing to get away before she did something

stupid, like cry in front of him, Charlotte slammed

the drawer and strode around the desk on her way to

the door.

Marcus stepped in front of her, grasping her

arm. “What am I supposed to think? I said a lot of

things I shouldn’t have that night, things you’d

probably want to get back at me for. I’d say the

humiliation I just endured in front of half of

Houston’s society is one hell of a payback.”

“Sounds like a good plan; wish I’d thought of it.

But I assure you I had nothing to do with it.”

“Who else would gain from doing something like

this?”

“I would.”

Charlotte and Marcus turned as one to face

Melody who stood just inside the door, Spencer,

Mitch and Chad behind her. Charlotte wondered

how long they’d been there and if they heard

Marcus’s mention of the incident at the mayor’s

party. She hadn’t been able to confide that particular

event to Melody. Hell, she tried to deny it herself.

Marcus released her and shifted slightly away

as the foursome moved into the room. Charlotte

focused on her friend’s guilty expression. “Geez, Mel,

tell me you didn’t have anything to do with this.”

“Here, pull yourself together,” Melody said,

handing Charlotte a safety pin. She waved a tissue

at Marcus. “Clean the lipstick off your face.”

Marcus dabbed at his mouth and cursed when

the tissue came away stained with red. He glared at

Charlotte. “You could have said something.”

She dangled the safety pin at him. “I had my

own problems.”

He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and

moved aside to finish wiping away the evidence of

their passionate interlude. If only she could wipe

away the memory as easily.

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Bachelor Auction

“I had to do something,” Melody said, drawing

Charlotte’s attention. “It’s obvious you two are made

for each other, but at the rate you were going, you’d

never have gotten together. I thought you needed a

little help.”

“More like a miracle,” Charlotte mumbled as she

pinned her jacket together. She had hoped it was all

just a big mistake, better yet a nightmare she would

soon wake from. But she should have known better.

Especially when Melody had become such a romantic

since her engagement to Spencer, crooning on and on

about love and marriage and happily ever after.

Charlotte didn’t believe in those things but humored

her friend by pretending to understand.

“I don’t get it,” Marcus said, the rasp of his voice

indicating the restraint he tried to preserve. “Are

you saying
you
did this?”

Melody gave him a crooked grin. “Yes, and I’m

not sorry. You two were beyond hopeless.”

The vein on Marcus’s neck bulged, and

Charlotte readied herself for an explosion, yet his

voice remained deceptively calm. “How could you do

this?”

Melody swept a hand down the back of her gown

and settled into one of the wingback chairs near the

fireplace before she met Marcus’s gaze. “I simply

added a couple of zeros to Charlotte’s opening bid.”

“I meant why?” Marcus asked through clenched

teeth then held up his hand. “No, don’t answer that.”

Charlotte inhaled deeply, relieved he’d changed

his mind about wanting to know the
whys
of the

situation. She feared Melody wouldn’t hesitate to

offer her theories on Charlotte’s feelings for him.

“Just tell me this,” Marcus said. “What gave you

the right to play with my life?”

Spencer moved to stand between Melody and

Marcus. “If you want to take your anger out on

someone, take it out on me. I had as much to do with

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Darah Lace

it as Melody. We all did.”

“What are you saying?”

“We fixed it so that no matter which straw you

drew, you’d get the short one.”

Chad stepped forward from where he’d been

leaning against the glass trophy case. He pulled his

hands out of his pockets, revealing a straw in each

hand. He held up the shortest. “We all drew the

same size.” He indicated the other. “We had longer

ones in our pockets. You were so busy checking out

yours, you didn’t see us switch.”

“You set me up?” Marcus asked, looking from

one brother to the other, each admitting their part

with a nod.

The stunned disbelief in his voice echoed

Charlotte’s thoughts. It was bad enough to know

she’d been the target of Melody’s misguided

matchmaking, but to know Marcus’s brothers were

in on it as well was beyond belief. She cringed

inwardly at the thought that they believed as

Melody did. That she had feelings for Marcus.

“How could you do that to me?” Marcus slapped

the bidding sheet with the back of his hand. “And in

such a way that would draw the attention of

everyone we know.” He began to pace, his voice

rising with each step. “I mean fifty thousand dollars.

You might as well hang a sign around my neck that

says ‘Stud Service’ because everyone now thinks I’m

Charlotte’s next lay.”

Four pairs of sympathetic eyes glanced her way,

but Charlotte refused to let them see how much his

crude words hurt, that with each syllable he opened

a new wound. With a stiff shrug and a forced smile,

she said, “I’m sure you all meant well, but you can

see we don’t exactly get along.”

“And you.” Marcus turned to point a finger at

her before continuing his rampage. “Climbing all

over me in front of everyone when I’ve gone out of

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Bachelor Auction

my way to keep any contact between us discreet. If

I’d wanted my name added to your list of conquests,

I’d have stood in line a long time ago.”

Charlotte flinched.

Melody gasped.

Spencer and Chad both took a step toward

Marcus.

Mitch even straightened from his casual pose

against the mantle. “Apologize to Charlotte.”

Charlotte tightened her grip on the chair as

Marcus swung stiffly to face her. His dark green

eyes bore into hers. It took every ounce of strength

she possessed not to look away, to show him she was

indifferent to his hateful words. Then his features

softened, his anger replaced by chagrin, and she

knew she hadn’t pulled it off. He’d seen right

through her. Damn, she hated revealing her

weaknesses, especially to him.

“Sorry. No matter what’s happened, I shouldn’t

have said that.”

She waved a hand and circled the chair. She

could have argued that he didn’t know as much

about her as he thought, but what would be the

point when he believed exactly what she wanted him

to. “Don’t apologize for how you feel.”

To avoid looking at him, or anyone else, and

before her knees gave out from under her, she eased

into the chair, making a show of getting comfortable.

“At least with you I know where I stand. That’s more

than I can say for most of the men I know.”

An uncomfortable silence fell over the room

until Melody leaned forward, placing a hand on

Charlotte’s knee. “You have to believe we only did

what we thought best.”

“Best for whom?” Marcus grumbled.

Melody sat back in her chair. “For the two of

you.”

“Hmph.” Marcus wadded the bidding sheet in

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Darah Lace

his hand and tossed it into the wastebasket beside

the desk. “Well, you can count me out. The fact that

the bid was altered nullifies any agreement I might

have made,” he looked pointedly at Spencer, “had I

been selected fairly.”

Spencer nodded. “You’re right. You don’t have to

follow through.”

“No, he doesn’t,” Mitch said. “But one of us will.

Preston Enterprises can’t afford any negative

publicity.”

Melody turned to face him. “But Marcus was the

bachelor on the block.”

Mitch shrugged. “We could always make up a

story about an emergency business trip that

prevents him from fulfilling his promise.”

Marcus muttered a curse and rubbed the back of

his neck. Charlotte also understood what Mitch

meant and wondered if Marcus would cave to the

pressure or if he would take advantage of the

opportunity and bow out, leaving her to spend time

with one of his brothers. Part of her hoped he’d cling

to righteous indignation, while another part longed

for the opportunity to get back at him for the things

he’d said and done tonight.

“Hey,” Chad nodded. “I’ll do it.”

When Marcus remained silent, she assumed

he’d made his decision. One that should have filled

her with relief, yet instead, caused an ache so deep

in her chest she found it hard to breathe.

“It’ll be fun,” Chad continued, his enthusiasm

growing. “We’ll have a great time. Won’t we darlin’?”

She attempted a saucy grin to match his but

knew she fell short. “I’m sure we’ll find something to

occupy our time.”

He slapped his hands, rubbing them together as

he started toward her. “It’s settled then—”

“No.” Marcus caught his brother’s arm. “You

won’t.”

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Bachelor Auction

Chad’s grin widened. “Change your mind?”

Marcus ignored the taunt. “I don’t like being

manipulated like this, but I was the bachelor

auctioned. If I don’t follow through, someone might

find out the truth.”

“That’s true,” Mitch said. “If word of how we

fixed the auction reached the press, funds could

possibly be withdrawn and the children would be the

ones to suffer. Preston Enterprises would also find

itself involved in another scandal.”

Marcus looked pointedly at Charlotte. “The

company’s been dragged through enough mud in the

last few months.”

The reference to her father’s attempt to sabotage

Preston Enterprises wasn’t lost on Charlotte. As he

intended, she was flooded with guilt. Still, she did

her best to pretend otherwise and pasted a bright

smile on her face. “Hey, it’s no big deal. We can

arrange to have our picture taken while we have

dinner. Surely we can manage that. Two hours

together tops and we can go our separate ways.”

Spencer cleared his throat. She looked at