Weekend With Her Bachelor (Bachelor Auction Returns Book 4) (3 page)

“So, are we bidding? Who are we bidding on?” Vivi asked, sipping her drink through a tiny straw.

Vivi, with her boundless enthusiasm and big personality, was going to exhaust them before the night was over. Her friend, a freelance assistant, kept the lives of very busy people organized, and she was doing well enough to buy an apartment for herself in one of the prettiest areas in Chicago. Fantastic as it was, Ally didn’t know how she kept her energy up.

“So, Lisa told me you might be bidding on Gavin,” Vivi wondered. “That’s brave after what happened.”

“Nothing happened.”

“Sure it did.”

“No, it didn’t.”

“Did…” Vivi teased.

“Stop. I’m not doing this.”

“Hmmpf,” Vivi snuffled before going back to her drink. “Did.”

Ally pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration. She spoke the truth, regardless of what her friend thought. To her great regret, nothing had ever happened between her and Gavin, save one very slow, sweet, perfect kiss the night before he left for college.

“We’re still the geeks,” Lisa said as she scanned the room. “Look at the crowd of A-listers rolling in here. I even heard Hayley is back in town.” Hayley Dawn O’Malley had gone to school with them, but left town right after graduation to make a name for herself in Hollywood. The combination of talent, looks, and brains proved unstoppable, turning Hayley into a bona fide movie star.

Ally also remembered her as being very sweet. “Didn’t her grandma just pass?” Ally asked, hoping to redirect the conversation. “My mom filled me in. Says Hayley’s been working at the old house.”

Truthfully, Ally couldn’t care less about what people thought about her. Neither should Lisa, who was five-ten, well educated, a successful lawyer, and stunning to boot. High school was a long time ago, and people changed. Hell, Ally had changed. A lot.

Done with thinking, or in this case over-thinking, it was time for a drink. “Hey, Mardie?” Ally flagged down the waitress and ordered a glass of white wine. She wished she could order a really big glass of white wine, like an extra-large coffee, but that might sound desperate.
Can I have an extra-large Pinot Grigio? You know, super-sized? You only have one size?
Damn.

“Anything else, ladies?” Mardie tilted her head at Vivi and Lisa, whose glasses were empty. And any empty glass at Grey’s was unacceptable.

“Bring them another round,” Ally said before they responded. If the three of them were going to have a good time in this madhouse, they’d need all the help they could get. The bar was electric, but Ally had to admit her own personal rush was being fueled by the money she had sitting in a bank account in Seattle, just waiting to be spent.

This was, without a doubt, the craziest thing she’d ever done. Allison Beaumont didn’t take stupid risks with money. She was practical, thorough, but never reckless, and this was pretty reckless. She could just donate the money. There were two or three charities, including the Marietta fundraiser, that could benefit from Lars’s tremendous ego. And that’s all the ring was. He hadn’t listened to Ally’s preferences for size or cut, he just went out and bought a big ring. Bigger meant better.

It was the beginning of the end for them.

In the long run, Lars dumping her just days before their wedding wasn’t a bad thing. Ally had seen the marriages that were built around excess and self-absorption unravel. It happened more often than not. Everything appeared perfect, until it wasn’t. The imperfection eventually took over the relationships, seeping out one drop at a time. Couples who relished the small things in life, the flaws and challenges, did a lot better in the long run.

That’s what Ally was holding out for, and looking back, she hoped that she would have walked away from Lars on her own before it was too late. But who knows. She was blinded by the white dress.

It had been over a year since her life fell apart. But she’d pushed forward, giving everything she had to other couples looking for a happy ever after. Her business took off like a rocket.

Mardie delivered their drinks and before Ally realized it, she was downing another. Liquid courage, her mother always called it.

The bar was standing room only. Looking around at the folks gathered for the event, she could see by the way everyone was talking to Coach Downey and his wife that this was more than social. This was support, and it was the thing she missed most about her home.

Ally glanced up to see the four bachelors looking down at the crowd from the landing above the main room. Damn they were hot, and each in their own way. But Gavin? There was something about him—strong, quiet, brilliant—the man had it all, and it was nicely wrapped up in a dark-haired, hazel-eyed, six-foot-four-inch package of gorgeousness.

There was a squeal from a table near the stage, and Ally saw Mandy Pryce and her mean-girl friends looking over the program and then glancing up at the landing. Jenny Gaston was with them, but she wasn’t looking at the guys. No, her wicked baby blues were trained right on Ally. Honestly, considering the trouble she caused, Ally was surprised Jenny even made eye contact. But always having more nerve than conscience, Jenny was behaving as she always had—like an entitled brat. She lied and manipulated people to get close to Gavin, and Jenny didn’t care who was hurt in the process.

Looking up at the guys one more time, Gavin was surveying the crowd, and Ally’s breath caught just taking him in. He was thirty-one to her twenty-nine, and once upon a time she’d dreamed of being with him forever.

Gavin had that effect on women. He was probably doing it right now, without even knowing it, casting his spell over the crowd. Ally—practical, focused Ally—was falling deep into the romantic well. Just looking at Gavin made her ache.

Some things never changed.

Without warning, Gavin turned his head and his eyes locked on hers. He froze. She could see his posture go rigid right where he stood. His face, stony and hard to read, made Ally reconsider her entire plan.

The last thing she needed was an angry cowboy on her hands.

No.
She couldn’t second guess herself.

Ally needed him, and there was no one else she could trust to play a convincing boyfriend, while keeping things platonic between them.

He was still staring at her, and in the excitement of the moment, she smiled at him. She couldn’t help it.

The problem was he didn’t smile back.

*

“Shit,” Gavin muttered.

Code Matthews looked over the rail and Gavin saw him scanning the crowd. “What?” Code asked. “Is crazy Mandy looking up here? She was scoping out Palotay earlier. And Jenny is here. You knew that, right?”

He’d seen Jenny; and he’d found out she intended to bid on him, just as his brother said.

Damn. “No. Not Mandy. It’s…it’s nothing. There are just a lot of people here.”

One person in particular, though, had his attention. She looked different, but there was no doubt the redhead sitting near the stage was Ally Beaumont. When she flashed her million-dollar smile up at him, Gavin was eighteen again.

What the hell was she doing here? The last he heard, she was running an event planning business in Seattle and she was engaged. His mother made sure to fill him in on that news; the guy’s name was Sven or Jan or some such shit like that.

Gazing down while she looked up, Gavin’s heart pounded. Women had come and gone in his life, but none ever stuck. In the back of his mind, he always secretly compared them with Ally. Never had anyone else been his friend, someone he could tell anything to. Maybe that made him a candy ass, but to him a woman was more than a warm body.

Ally had always been more than that.

“Okay,” Code said. “So the redhead who’s looking up this way is
hot
. Do you know her? She looks familiar.”

Gavin kept his eyes fixed. “It’s Ally Beaumont.”

He knew the silence from his friend was shock. In high school, Ally was the wallflower. The geeky girl who wasn’t petite and perky. Instead of being a cheerleader, she was in the band. Instead of going out on a Saturday night, she stayed home and read books. She was funny, and sweet, and there were times he’d have rather been with her than his boys.

But in true high school fashion, the mean girls got involved and preyed on Ally’s insecurities, making her second guess their friendship. She might have thought he considered her a pity case back then, but he didn’t. Gavin really liked her, and just when he thought they might have a chance for something more, she let him down in the worst possible way. He hadn’t ever considered having to see her again.

But there she was, and while he had no idea what she was planning, the look on her gorgeous face told him she meant business.

“I don’t remember Ally being so… uh…” Code didn’t know what to say. “She’s
really
hot.”

“Yeah. I need some air,” Gavin groaned.

“Air?” Rowan was behind him, hands on her hips. “Oh, no. You’re going to run for it.”

“Don’t be ridiculous—”

“Go! In there!” She pointed to the storage room where the food and beer had been set up. “There’s a window in there. But don’t even think about jumping and making a getaway. I will find you.”

“Jump? Are you nuts? I’m not jumping, Ro.”

“I don’t put anything past the lot of you.” With those words, she stormed off.

Colt looked straight at Nick. “Your sister is nuts.”

“This isn’t news to me. Just don’t get her mad or I’ll hear about it forever.”

“Come on, Cody,” Mrs. D said. “Let’s go.”

“First. Effing perfect,” Code mumbled, heading down the stairs with Mrs. Downey. All Gavin could think was that it was like a dead man walking. The hoots and catcalls started before his friend even hit the stage.

This was going to be a long, long night.

*

Ally was getting
nervous; some serious money had been tossed around tonight, and she just wasn’t used to being in the spotlight. Her bid, if she threw the whole thing on the pile of money already raised, would be the most forward, bold, and garish thing she’d ever done.

It could backfire in a big way. But it would get her a date. Gavin’s offering in the program was simple and direct.
“Your wish is my command…”

It was also complete crap.

“There’s no way he wrote this,” Ally said pointing at the program. Lisa and Vivi looked at the blurb and each raised a well-groomed eyebrow.

Ally shook her head. “No way. Gavin would never give up that much control. It’s not in his nature.”

“Who do you think is responsible?” Vivi wondered.

“Probably one of the organizers. They mean well, but seriously? This will definitely bring out all the crazies.” Crazies like Jenny.

She had no choice now. Ally had to save him.

“With that kind of promise, I might bid on him,” Vivi said under her breath.

However, once Ally, who’d felt a cold wave of anger wash through her body, locked her gaze on her friend, Vivi put her hands up in retreat.

“Kidding. Kidding. Wow.”

“And now for our last bachelor of the night, I give you Doctor Gavin Clark!” Coach was really enjoying his role as emcee, his voice booming, and she had to give credit—the guys were doing their best to play to the crowd of liquored-up women.

Gavin stepped onto the stage, escorted by Mrs. D, and when the lights came up, he couldn’t help but be who he was. Clad in an expensive dark gray suit with a lighter gray shirt open at the collar, Gavin tugged at his cuffs before flashing a devastating grin. Confident and sexy, without the cocky edge, there was a collective gasp as every ovary in the place exploded.

Ally’s sure did. Every emotion, every desire attached to Gavin flashed and burned. She ached watching him walk to the front of the stage, stopping and motioning for the crowd to bring it when it was time for the bidding.

“Gavin is an emergency physician in Bozeman, but he grew up right here on his parents’ ranch. An expert horseman, he was the tight end…”

Squeals of delight came up from the crowd. “I’LL BET HE HAS A TIGHT END!” someone shouted.

Coach waved his hand. “Keep it clean, ladies. He’s up for pretty much anything on his date with the winning bidder as long as it’s legal. So that leaves
lots
of possibilities. I’d like to start the bidding at five hundred dollars.”