Authors: Jennifer Ryan
“The same.”
“It’d take Niagara Falls to wear down that woman’s sharp tongue.”
Bell went to the old man, put her hands on his chest, and leaned up to give him a kiss on the cheek. She caught Dane’s wide, surprised gaze out of the corner of her eye.
“Thank you, Sammy, for the new chicks. You know how much I love the docile Dorkings.”
“Just my way of thanking you for taking such good care of me, sweet thing.”
“I appreciate it. You take your medicine like I told you, and you won’t have to come see me quite so often.”
“I like coming to see you.”
“I know you do. I like seeing you, too, but I’d rather you visit me at home than at my office.”
“When did you two start hanging out?” Dane asked. The Kendrick brothers looked just as surprised.
“Sammy and my grandfather were close friends. When he passed, Sammy kept coming over to visit with me. He tells wonderful stories about my grandfather and his boys.” Bell smiled at Rory, Ford, and Colt. Dane wanted to punch all of them bloody for smiling back at her that way.
“This little sweet thing is a light in my life. I tell you. If any one of my grandsons was good enough for her, I’d have set them together long ago, but I’m keeping her for myself.”
“Thanks, Granddad. Real nice.” Rory rolled his eyes, used to their grandfather’s outrageous behavior.
“We better sit down to eat. You guys are up soon for the auction.”
“What the hell are you talking about, old man?” Ford eyed his grandfather.
“Didn’t I tell you? I entered you all for the bachelor auction.”
“The hell you did.” Rory fumed. “Is that why you got us to dress up and come to this shindig?”
“Anything for that Ella Wolf. That girl sure is pretty. Smart, too. She’s helping out my sweet thing with her clinic.”
“Jeez, Granddad, don’t you think you should have told us?” Colt scolded.
“Why? You’re here. There are lots of pretty women. They’ll bid to get a date with you, and maybe I’ll get a great-grandchild by the time I die.”
“You’ve got to stop with the grandchildren business. None of us is married, let alone seeing anyone.” The anger in Rory’s eyes glossed over the glimpse of resignation Bell caught before he shook his head and stared up at the ceiling.
Grandpa Kendrick wanted a great-grandchild and made no bones about getting one. Soon. He talked about it all the time and told her during their visits how reluctant his grandsons were to settle down and start a family. She wondered if they knew he was plotting to get what he wanted, despite his grandsons’ apprehension. She couldn’t wait to see if the auction sparked anything for the men, or if their grandfather would take his matchmaking to the next level to see his grandsons happily married and making babies. She thought it kind of sweet the way he good-naturedly plotted behind their backs to get them to do what he wanted. He had their best interests at heart, which showed in the way all three men shrugged off the fact they were about to be auctioned off to a room full of eager women.
Really good-looking men. Not quite as handsome as Dane.
There you go again, comparing others to him.
Still, no one really stacked up to Dane. Not even the ruggedly gorgeous Kendrick brothers.
Sammy leaned down and kissed her on the forehead. “See you, sweet thing. This one gives you trouble, you let me know.”
“He’s always giving me trouble. He doesn’t listen to a thing I say.”
“She never cuts me a break,” Dane complained.
“Good.” Sammy smacked Dane on the shoulder. “You need a woman like that.”
Dane nodded. “I guess I do, because I’m a glutton for punishment when it comes to her.”
Sammy laughed and smacked Dane on the back again. “Teach her how to be happy.”
“I’m working on it.”
Bell’s mouth hung open as the Kendricks walked away. “Well.”
Dane bent close. “He’s right, and you know it.”
Bell rolled her eyes. “Whatever. I’m starving. I need to find my sister and our table.”
“It’s this way.”
“Don’t tell me we’re sitting together.”
“Ella wants me to play my part as her most eligible bachelor, and I want to sit with you. She gets her way, and I get mine.”
“Right, except that you’ll be going out on a date with one of the blondes who can’t stop hanging on your arm.”
“My hands have remained on my crutches the whole time, and my eyes are glued to you in that dress. I wish you’d see what is right in front of you.”
She stopped short of their table and put her hand on his arm. “Dane, I’m sorry. That wasn’t fair. You’ve been a perfect gentleman all night. I did notice.”
“Whether we came together or not, I’m here with you, Bell.”
“I see that, too. I’m trying to get used to it.” She squeezed his arm, letting him know she meant it.
“Let’s sit and eat. You can tell me all about you and Sammy Kendrick.”
She laughed. “Jealous.”
“He got a hug and a kiss. You let him call you sweet thing, but I call you honey, and you shoot daggers out your eyes.”
“You know there’s a difference.”
“Which is why I’ve changed my behavior. For you. That should count for something.”
“It does.” It made her heart swell and reach out for him even more. It made her sprout dreams of them together. She could be the woman on his arm, the one every other woman wanted to be. She’d never thought she’d be that person to anyone. She’d never thought herself a desirable woman, but he made her feel that way.
He looked down at her hand on him and smiled. She took her hand back, and they walked the few steps to their seats. He touched her shoulder to stop her from pulling out her chair. He set his crutches aside and pulled the chair out for her. She sat, and he helped push her in before taking the seat beside her.
“Oh my God, that is so much better.”
Dane laughed. “Are your feet killing you in those pretty shoes?”
“They are lethal weapons.”
“Yes, they are. They make your legs look killer.”
The compliment made her blush. He gave her one of those dazzling smiles she liked so much. It warmed her insides more than the flush on her cheeks. Another thing he’d done to please her. He hadn’t given that smile to anyone else tonight. Oh, he’d been pleasant and smiled, but not at this wattage. No, he reserved that for her tonight.
“Bell, Dane, are you ready for dinner, too?” Katherine asked.
“I’m starving,” Dane replied, his eyes on Bell, letting her know without words the only thing he wanted was her. A shiver danced over her skin. She liked this. Him flirting with her, letting her know in every way that he wanted her, that she appealed to him.
“Ever since I found out I’m pregnant, all I want to do is eat,” Katherine confessed.
Bell felt the resentment rise that her sister had a wonderful family and a baby on the way. Dane’s hand settled over hers on the table. Her instinct was to pull her hand free, but then she felt the heat of his skin against hers. She didn’t move; she simply let that warmth spread up her arm and into her heart. She glanced over at him sitting beside her. He forked up part of his salad and put in his mouth, smiled, and chewed like he touched her every day. His eyes held understanding, which she took in and let settle in her heart.
She turned back to her sister, who stuffed half a roll in her mouth. “It’s the hormones and the growing fetus. You should eat when you’re hungry, but watch the added sugar and salt.”
Katherine laughed. “The sugar is the hardest. I crave chocolate like you wouldn’t believe.”
“That is definitely the hormones.”
“A friend of mine craved watermelon and cherries through her whole pregnancy . . .” Katherine rattled on about her pregnancy, plans for the nursery, and what she was going to do about working at the marketing firm. Her sister might not be a genius, but she was pretty darn good at her job, and she liked it a lot.
Dane jumped in, talking to Tony. They covered everything from rodeo bulls to cutting horses and everything ranching in between. At one point they got into a heated debate about NASCAR racing. All the while, Dane kept his arm draped over the back of Bell’s chair.
Dane groaned loud and long when Ella stood on the small stage at the podium and began the bachelor auction.
“I’d like to thank everyone for coming tonight and donating to this worthy cause. I’ll announce the winners of the spa retreat door prize in just a little while. Right now, ladies, I have assembled ten of the most eligible bachelors I could find, including this year’s Pro Bull Riders world champion, my brother Dane Bowden.”
A cheer went up from the crowd, from men and women. Dane’s popularity knew no bounds. The men all wanted to talk to him about bull riding and winning. The women wanted to sleep with the sexy cowboy. Bell wanted something she’d never had from anyone. For him to think her special.
Dane raised his right hand to salute the crowd. His left hand remained at the back of her chair. His fingers brushed along her shoulder in hypnotic circles. She turned and looked at him. He smiled for the crowd, then looked down at her, and the smile kicked up another notch. Unable to keep herself from getting caught up in his fame, she smiled back at him. The man had done something phenomenal and won an astronomical amount of money doing it. He risked his life every time he got up on those bulls, all to secure his future—and, let’s face it, for the thrill of the ride. He’d competed. Won. And ended his career the best at what he did. He had to be so proud of himself. Sure, that last ride ended badly, but not until he’d held on and won. He’d held on during the surgery, and even now, when he struggled against his nature and took things slow and easy through his recovery. The same way he was taking things slow and making them easy on her while she decided if she trusted him.
That’s what this came down to. Did she trust him? So far, he hadn’t given her any reason not to. Not really. The other women from his past were just that. His past. Since he’d met her, he’d stayed true to the fact he wanted to see her and only her.
“You okay, Bell?” His eyes narrowed with concern as Ella called the first bachelor up for auction to the stage. The applause grew and the women whooped and whistled for the handsome banker.
“I just figured something out.” She was special to him. Why else would he do all this? He didn’t have to, with dozens of women here tonight who’d accept his attention without questioning his motives the way she had all night. If he wasn’t serious about her, he could be with any one of the other women who’d flirted outrageously with him tonight. But he wasn’t. He stayed with her, even though she’d been difficult and made him work for it.
She tried to think of how to tell him what she was thinking, but she couldn’t come up with a way to say it that didn’t make her sound odd.
“What is it, Bell? You know you can say anything to me.”
“I trust you.” Wow, she really meant it.
“Then tell me what you figured out.”
“That.”
“What?”
She put her hand over his on the table and squeezed. “I trust you. You’ve never lied to me, or did anything that contradicted anything you said.”
“Uh, okay. Why would I?”
“You wouldn’t, because that’s not who you are.”
He turned his hand and held tight to hers. “I’m glad you think so.”
Bachelor number two went up to the stage after number one got a two-thousand-dollar bid. Dane shook his head at the raucous crowd.
“Let’s hope all the ladies bidding get a man before I get up there.”
Bell laughed. “Even if they already have one, most of these women are here for only one reason: a shot at one night with you.” The thought turned her stomach. She didn’t want him to go out with any of them. She wanted him to stay with her.
“They won’t get anything, because I’ll be with you.”
“What do you mean? No, you won’t.” The thought made her sad.
“Come on, Bell, friends don’t let friends go on dates they don’t want. You’re going to bid and save me from these women. You can’t let me get dragged away like that guy.” Dane cocked his head toward the stage, where bachelor number five got pulled off by his tie, straight into a rather large woman’s breasts for a hug. Good-natured, the guy smiled and hugged the woman, playing things up for the crowd.
“I don’t know. They kind of make a cute couple. He seems happy,” she teased.
Dane let his head fall back, and he sighed out his frustration. “Please, Bell, save me from all these women and my sister’s madness in making me do this. I don’t want to go to dinner with anyone but you.”
The sincerity in his voice got to her. She didn’t answer but let him hang, thinking she’d feed him to the she-wolves. The Kendrick brothers went up before Dane. Cody played it to the max for the crowd. Not surprisingly, his brothers didn’t want to be outdone by their little brother, and they played to the crowd of women, too, slipping off their suit jackets and flexing for the ladies. Cody undid his dress shirt and showed off his six-pack of abs.
“Now that’s what I’m talking about.” Katherine slapped Bell on the arm, smiling up at the stage.
“You want to see some muscles, Bell, I’ve got all you need,” Dane told her.
The memory of seeing all of them splayed out on the operating table sent a shiver up her spine. “I know. I’ve seen them all. Including that very interesting half-moon scar on your hip.” He eyed her, wondering how she knew that. “We checked you out extensively during surgery to make sure you didn’t have any other injuries. I peeked,” she admitted.
“Anything else you found interesting besides my ass?”
She hid a smile and tried to pull off serious. “Doctor-patient confidentiality. You understand.”
“We’re talking about me.”
“I’ll never tell,” she teased even more. It was so easy to rile the man when she allowed herself to engage him on this level. “Though I would like to know how you got that scar.”
“I’ll tell you over dinner if you save me from this.”
“The
man
doth protest too much, methinks.”
“What?”
“
Hamlet
.”
He narrowed his eyes at her, not getting it.
“Perhaps you protest going up there, but really, you like all the attention.”