The Bachelor Auction (The Bachelors of Arizona Book 1) (24 page)

I
just love me a man market.” Nadine clapped her hands next to Jane, then fluffed up her hair with her bidding paddle. It wasn’t shocking at all that Nadine’s number was 666.

Jane’s paddle was number one.

She smiled down at it.

When she glanced back up at the stage Charles was making his way across it, smile wide as he approached the podium. “I’m very pleased to bring to you the first annual Bachelor Auction!” Applause erupted all over the building, while a very smug Brock winked in her direction.

Jane inclined her head toward him and smiled. He was really going to do it!

“You.” He mouthed the word.

Charles continued talking about the cancer society and why it was so important to donate to a cause so dear to his heart.

Cancer was a bitch. Jane knew that firsthand.

When Charles was done talking, Brock stepped forward. He probably had a speech prepared, but beyond that, she had no idea how she was to proceed except for lifting the paddle to bid on him.

“Jane.” Brock gazed across the room toward her. “Would you stand, please?”

Loud whispers erupted from the crowd as Jane locked eyes with Brock and repeated the word “trust” to herself about fifteen more times before finally rising to stand.

Nadine elbowed her sharply in the ribs and whispered. “Well? Are you just going to sit there and gape like a fish? Stand, girl! Present! And for the love of God lift your tits; your slouch is horrific!”

Jane bolted to her feet—mainly to keep Nadine from repeating what she’d just said, only louder—and beamed back at Brock

Was this part of his great plan?

Because she wasn’t really sure how pointing her out to everyone sitting there was a solid idea. Especially since her face had been plastered all over the news as his “before-auction fling.”

“The Rosie Breast Cancer Foundation has special meaning to me, and to this young lady here. I only hope that with the money raised tonight, we can help find a cure for such a terrible disease.” Brock’s smile grew as he continued. “Young women taken too soon, daughters stolen, and mothers.”

Choking tears clogged her throat, and Jane had to focus really hard not to break down in sobs. He’d remembered.

“Mothers who must leave their young daughters behind,” His smile was sad when he looked back at her. “The auction may be a silly way to raise money, some may say it’s stupid, asinine, the dream of an old man popping too many blood thinners.” Everyone laughed, including Brock’s grandfather. “But it’s so much more. This annual auction will bring in millions for cancer research, this
silly
auction, may help cure breast cancer one day. If we had this cure today then this young lady right here, Jane, would not be standing alone, without her mother.” He smiled warmly. “So today we honor Jane, we honor the fallen mothers, daughters, sisters, wives who could not be present because they were stolen from us.”

Tears filled Jane’s eyes as a warm hand grabbed hers and squeezed. “I take it you knew Rosie?” Nadine whispered kindly.

“R-rosie.” Jane fought the lump in her throat. “Was my mother.”

“Oh, dear.” Nadine wrapped an arm around Jane and sighed. “I did not know your mother, but I am one. And us mothers, grandmothers—we’re all given that same gene from God. The one that allows us to inflict fear into the most wicked of toddlers, gives us the ability to multi-task and still enjoy life, the ability to love through the mud, sweat, tears, the strength to wake up every day and breathe life into the world, to make it a better place—so know when I say this, I do not say this lightly. I say this with the utmost wisdom from years of being a woman.” She paused. “Your mother would be so proud, baby girl.”

Tears spilled over Jane’s cheeks. “Thank you.”

“Now.” Nadine gave her one last squeeze. “Use all that money I deposited into your ghost account and buy yourself a man.”

“Ghost account,” Jane repeated. “I don’t know…” Shaking her head she stared down the obviously senile woman. “What do you mean, ‘ghost account’?”

“Well, the account!” Nadine waved her hand in the air. “The one you signed for when you walked in! Did you think thirty grand would win your man? Maybe his pinky toe.” She snorted. “But you want the whole thing, am I right?”

“Um, yes please.” Jane burst out laughing. Was this really happening? It was like she’d stepped into a fairy tale.

“Just think of me as your fairy godmother.” Nadine winked. “When Brock mentioned that he needed my help, I couldn’t transfer the money fast enough. Oh, he’ll pay me back one day so it’s not like I’m losing out on anything, and even if he didn’t—it’s for love. Right?” Nadine winked. “Besides, had anyone told you beforehand that we were planning this, your shock wouldn’t look real when you actually win. It’s why I told him not to text you or make direct contact, why we enlisted Bentley, that rogue, to help. I have plans for him, too. Just you wait.”

Everything suddenly made sense.

Bentley. Brock. Trusting both of them, and how Nadine fit in with everything.

“But, I still may not win. I mean if Brock is going to be a high bid…I would need…a lot of money.”

“Eh.” Nadine coughed into her hand and waved toward the stage. “Dear, I do believe Brock and I have thought of everything. Now, let’s have some fun.”

Jane looked up to see Brock smiling down at her. “Now, let’s get the First Annual Bachelor Auction started.” He nodded to his grandfather and took a step back as Charles grabbed the microphone.

“Item number one.” Charles paused and then looked up at Brock with a mixture of shock and amusement as he called out from the cards he was holding. “Bentley Wellington.”

Someone in the crowd gasped and then several people started clapping. Jane felt herself relax. Brock’s plan just might work!

“Five hundred dollars!” Charles yelled. “Do I hear five hundred dollars for Bentley Wellington?” He was shaking his head in disbelief at Bentley, who’d appeared on the stage.

Nadine laughed behind her hand.

There were five men on stage.

Three of them were Wellingtons.

Tears filled her eyes.

They were doing this for her.

For Brock.

Jane raised her paddle out of kindness. Bentley looked ready to kiss her feet and proclaim true love—damn, that man was a danger to women with his killer smile.

“Watch this,” Nadine snickered, lifting her paddle.

Bentley went completely pale, and his mouth dropped open as he gave Jane a psychotic, wide-eyed look.

“Bid me up, dear, this is how these things work.” Nadine said out of the side of her mouth.

Jane lifted her paddle.

Bentley, once again relieved, exhaled loudly.

Only to pale again when Nadine raised her paddle.

This went on for a good fifteen minutes.

“Most stressful moments of that boy’s life,” Nadine murmured. “Although I find I’m quite enjoying myself.” She lifted her paddle again.

Jane burst out laughing. “You really should put him out of his misery. He looks like he’s about to have a stroke.”

“Oh, fine.” Nadine coughed into her hand, and instantly another paddle rose across the room.

“Ten thousand dollars.”

Jane’s eyes widened as an elderly lady shouted from the back of the room. “Who’s that?”

“My first choice,” Nadine smiled warmly. “She’ll be so great for our Bentley. He’ll have to see past a few things first, but I have faith that it will go great.”

Jane frowned. “The lady looks your age.”

“Oh, Prudence isn’t bidding for herself.” Nadine laughed. “She has a lovely granddaughter that needs a little cheering up.”

“Cheering up?”

“Going once, twice,” Charles said in the distance. “Sold! To Prudence McCleery!”

Nadine sighed. “Yes well, ever since Margot lost her leg she’s been impossible to live with.”

“Lost,” Jane repeated, “her leg?”

“Just one.” Nadine shrugged. “She has another. But sometimes when in pain we focus on the loss, not the gain.”

“But—”

“Oh look, Brant’s up!”

Bentley walked off the stage, sweat marks marring his armpits as he tugged off his tie and made a beeline for the bar. He looked like he’d just seen a ghost.

“This one’s a good deal more difficult,” Nadine raised her paddle when the opening bid went out, then elbowed Jane to do the same.

Brant’s expression was stone. He didn’t show his emotions like Bentley did, so Jane had no idea if he was angry or just in his mental happy place drinking shots from some poor woman’s breasts.

Brant was walking talking sex, and so completely unapologetic about it that there had to be a story there.

One she knew she would most likely never get if Brant had anything to say about it.

For ten minutes Brant stood, expression indifferent, until Nadine coughed again and a new paddle flew into the air.

“Twenty-five thousand dollars.” A small voice echoed through the room.

Charles gaped and then glanced around the room. “Going once, twice, three times, sold, to number…” He squinted, “Ma’am, I need to see your paddle. what’s your number please?”

“Zero, Zero, Five.” A gorgeous Hispanic woman with bright red lipstick and jet black hair stood.

And Brant flinched.

Once, twice.

Until finally, his façade shattered and an expression of pure sadness crossed his features, only to switch to red hot anger as his jaw clenched.

“Who is that?” Jane asked Nadine, “She’s absolutely gorgeous.”

“Oh her? That’s Brant’s ex-wife.”

“What?” Stunned, Jane watched the gorgeous woman smile toward the stage, but not directly at Brant, and then a man to her side grabbed her hand and led her back to the table. “Wait, is she—”

“She went blind, from the accident.”

“The accident?”

Nadine didn’t say anything else, but Brant moved from the stage past the bar and directly out the doors of the ballroom.

“I sense a story.”

Nadine snorted. “You have no idea. That little jackass has had it coming for a while.”

You could feel the tension swirl in the room as the next two bachelors were auctioned off in the exact same manner as Brant and Bentley.

Nadine coughed.

Paddles were raised.

The next two bachelors, Nadine’s cousins, couldn’t have looked more angry if they tried.

“Oh good, Brock’s next.” Nadine sighed happily. “You know, if you want me to do the inspection before he jumps into the sack with you I’d be more than happy to volunteer.”

“I, uh…” Jane laughed. “I’ve seen under the hood.”

“A hussy after my own heart.” Nadine grinned. “Oh, the hoods I saw beneath in my day were—”

“And our last item of the evening!” Charles beamed. “My eldest grandson, Brock Wellington.”

Jane was just getting ready to lift her paddle when she locked eyes on her sisters across the room. Had they just arrived? She’d been there at least an hour and hadn’t seen them anywhere.

They were almost sitting outside, their table was so far away; and they looked pissed, so angry that Jane wanted to crawl under the table and hide. After all, they’d bragged about being able to buy tickets to the ball and still hadn’t talked to her since their falling out.

Served them right.

She smiled politely then looked back to Brock.

“We’ll start the bidding at five hundred thousand.”

Jane froze.

There was no way she had that much money in her bidding account, right?

“Honey, you’re going to have to lift your paddle.” Nadine kicked her in the leg.

“But that’s so much money!”

“Funding cancer research and securing the love of your life, priceless. Plus I deposited three million into that account this morning. I highly doubt you’re going to have any issues. Just toss up that paddle and have fun.”

“But—”

“To be fair, it’s all Wellington money. Remember, they’re paying it back. But I’m charging interest for my services.” She winked.

Jane didn’t want to ask what that meant. Not by a long shot.

She gulped just as Nadine reached for Jane’s hand and thrust it into the air.

Instead of looking upset, Charles beamed in their direction. What? That couldn’t be right, could it? “Do I hear five hundred and fifty thousand?”

“You do,” came a voice from the back of the room.

I
t worked.

Or it was working.

Every single time Jane lifted her paddle, his heart jumped in his chest.

God, he wanted nothing more than to run into her arms, kiss her senseless, bend her backwards over that table in front of friends, family, Nadine.

It didn’t matter.

He was tired of pretending.

Damn sick of saying yes all the time.

The bidding had just hit one million. He tried not to panic when several women continued to bid up Jane.

He was full-on sweating when it hit two million.

Thankfully two of the girls dropped out, leaving Jane and one of the supermodels he’d just seen on TV.

“Do I have two-point-five million?”

Jane didn’t lift her paddle, neither did anyone else.

“Going to paddle zero, zero, one…once, do I have two point five? Twice?”

Thankfully Jane thrust her paddle into the air. “Two point five million.”

“Sold!” Charles beamed.

Brock let out a breath and mouthed
thank you
to Jane, who beamed like she’d just won the lottery when it was he who was the winner—the lucky one.

“STOP!” a voice shrieked from the corner. “Stop the auction!”

Oh, hell.

Both of Jane’s sisters came barreling toward the stage, the blond one in such a skintight dress she could barely walk, while the dark-haired one had a slinky black number that was nearly identical to Nadine’s in cut and style.

“She’s an imposter!” The blonde shrieked.

“And who, my dear, are you?” Grandfather asked loudly.

She straightened. “We’re her sisters and I can tell you right now, unless she robbed a bank, she has no money. You’ve all seen the news! This is a setup, a complete setup! Brock obviously gave her money to bid on him! And that’s illegal.”

“No, it isn’t,” Charles said simply. “And even if it were, every person had to prove where their money came from at the beginning of the auction when they received their paddles and registered. This is Jane’s money. It’s not up to us to ask where she got it.”

Jane looked ready to crawl underneath the table and hide. Everyone was staring at her like she’d grown two heads. Some women had kind expressions while others were venomous, just like her sisters.

But again.

It was all part of the plan.

And he needed her to trust him.

She’d helped him make peace with his demons.

Now it was time to make peace with hers—in the flesh. Though he hadn’t thought it would be this public. He should have suspected as much when he’d donated the tickets for her sisters to attend.

His only goal had been to make sure that they were out of their minds with jealousy when Jane won the bidding—and when they looked ready to attack, he was going to be at her side, holding her hand.

Essence’s nostrils flared. “She’s a liar! And a fake.”

Esmeralda started to fake cry. “She’s such a horrible person. She makes us cook and clean for her and we don’t even have money for food most of the time because—”

“That’s enough,” Jane snapped and marched over to them. “Get out.” She pointed to the door.

Brock was just getting ready to open his mouth or possibly slap a woman or two for the first time in his life when Essence backed up. “See? She doesn’t have a decent bone in her body!”

Jane sighed and shook her head. “Give us a minute?”

Brock nodded as Jane walked away with her sisters. His grandfather tried to gain the attention of the crowd again, but everyone was fixated on the corner where Jane was currently talking to both sisters, her hands animated and in the air.

Sighing, he started to make his way over to her when Essence slapped Jane across the face.

Esmeralda cupped her hands over her mouth in shock.

Essence looked shocked as well.

Jane cupped her face with the palm of her hand.

Brock was at her side in seconds. “Are you okay, sweetheart?”

“I-I think so.” She frowned at Essence. “You slapped me!”

“I’m sorry, I…” Tears filled Essence’s eyes.

Jealousy was an ugly thing.

Her sisters stood frozen in place while Jane stared down at the ground, her hand still covering her cheek. “I don’t want to see you guys again.”

Essence shook her head. “I didn’t mean it, I didn’t mean to I just—”

“Leave.” Jane’s hand fell from her face. “Or I’ll have security escort you out. And the last thing you want is to be even more embarrassed than you already are.”

“But,” Esmeralda gaped. “We’re family! Family sticks together, you’ve always said that!”

“And I’ve always been the glue that kept us together. Do you realize how exhausting it is taking care of you guys? I love you but I’m not your maid.”

Brock wanted to applaud.

“Could have fooled me,” Essence said under her breath.

Brock had had enough. He motioned for security. Within minutes they were at the girls’ sides, escorting them out amidst screaming and name-calling.

If anyone wondered who the crazy one was they didn’t need to look any further than Jane’s sisters.

Jane stood there, calmly taking it all in.

“Would the winner of Brock Wellington please come to the stage immediately.” Grandfather said into the microphone.

“I choose you.” Brock whispered in Jane’s ear. “I will always choose you.”

He didn’t want to release her, but he knew his grandfather was most likely trying to do damage control; he just wasn’t sure how he was going to accomplish it.

Slowly, Jane walked up the stairs to the stage, head held high. Brock followed close behind.

The minute Jane was on the stage, Grandfather grabbed her hand and kissed it.

What the hell?

“This woman, right here”—his grandfather shook his head—“turned down a million dollars to stay away from my grandson.”

Brock beamed with pride.

“She’s also responsible for the very first real smile I’ve seen on my grandson’s face since he was twelve.”

Emotion welled in Brock’s throat.

Grandfather’s eyes started to tear up. “If all I knew were those two truths, it would be enough.” He nodded to Nadine. “Titus Enterprises was always going to sponsor a woman of their choosing in order to partner with the charity—the fact that they chose Jane just proves how smart it was for us to partner with them in the first place. A woman who would turn down money rather than never see my grandson again is a good pick. I’m proud to say that the first Bachelor Auction has been a resounding success.”

Stunned, Brock watched as Grandfather pulled Jane in for a hug and then whispered out of the side of his mouth, “Check Mate.”

Brock stared at him, confused. “I’m sorry; what?”

“Did you really think you could involve Nadine Titus and not your own grandfather?”

Brock’s mouth dropped open in shock. “But she said she wouldn’t involve you; she said—”

“That woman.” Grandfather shook his head. “Don’t trust her as far as you can throw her. But, we’ll talk later. What’s important is you finally understand that I never wanted you to marry someone I chose. Hell, if that were the case you’d be stuck with someone like that.” Nadine was pouring more wine into her glass while trying to talk on her phone and pull lipstick out of her purse.

“But all those conversations, the threat of the auction…” Brock nodded. “I still don’t understand.”

“Though,” his grandfather seemed to say as an afterthought, “I nearly did have a stroke when I saw four more names on the card—it does me proud that you’d throw your own brothers under the bus for charity—and that they’d agree to do it because they know how much you love her.” His lips twitched. “Your grandmother would roll in her grave if she knew how badly I’d hurt you. It seems we need to have a very long talk, son, but for now…” He motioned back to the auction and grabbed the microphone. “Now that we have that settled, shall we dance?”

“Take off your clothes!” A shout came from one of the tables at the back of the room.

“Pardon?” Grandfather sputtered. “What was that?”

“Brock Wellington!” Nadine shouted. “This young lady just paid over two million dollars for your sorry ass. You strip, and you strip right this instant!”

“She’s drunk; ignore her,” Grandfather chuckled awkwardly.

Clearly everyone was drunk, because soon women were chanting “strip, strip, strip.”

Jane burst out laughing and shrugged. “Give them what they want.”

Suddenly the music came on and the lights started strobing, and it was as if he’d been caught in a horrible version of
Magic Mike
.

Horrified, he was about to walk off stage, but Jane locked eyes with him and suddenly the rest of the world faded away.

Besides. It made her laugh.

And he had said that was all he wanted.

Her.

Her smile.

Everything about her.

Slowly, he shrugged out of his jacket and tossed it at Jane’s face; then, with a smirk, he started unbuttoning his silk shirt.

After the third button women started screaming.

Cameras flashed, and Brock strutted toward Jane as he undid the next few buttons, stopping in front of her when the last fell away.

He grabbed her hands and pressed them against his chest.

She helped him out of the shirt and tossed it into the air, amidst screams and whistles.

“I’m going to kiss you now.” He grinned.

“I’m going to let you.”

Their mouths met in a searing kiss. Too soon she pulled away, laughing as Nadine appeared beside her, phone hoisted in the air, snapping picture after picture.

“Humiliation’s complete.” He nodded. “Fantastic.”

“That is some stallion you’ve got there.” Nadine elbowed Jane. “Come on, stallion, give us a good neigh.”

“Grandfather,” Brock interrupted before things got even more awkward. If that was even possible. “About that talk.”

“Tomorrow.” Grandfather’s eyes seemed to twinkle. “For now, enjoy that you’ve bested me.” And then he winked, but before he walked away he paused mid-step, looking back over his shoulder. “By the way, you did me proud tonight.”

And then he was gone.