Authors: Darah Lace
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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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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“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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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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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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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