Bachelor-Auction Bridegroom

by Mollie Molay

  Emily grabbed the glass of water before it fell out of T.J.’s hand. She knew from the worn-out look of him that, although his memory seemed to have returned, he was still too sick to move. He needed his rest more than he needed the water. She set the glass on the dresser.

  Intending to ask housekeeping to change the linens on the bed, she took a blanket and gently tucked it around him. He muttered “Em” in his sleep.

  Bemused, she gazed at golden-brown eyelashes resting on suntanned cheeks. At the smile that curved at the corner of his lips. Was she in his dreams?

  It was strange that he should have called her Em, a nickname of endearment given to her by her aunt. A name that made her feel cherished, wanted. A nickname her former fiancé had thought too juvenile to use.

  She didn’t doubt that somewhere in this unexpected adventure, she had begun to care for T.J. Or that, somehow, he’d begun to care for her. She tucked in a corner of the blanket that had fallen away from his bare chest and smothered a sigh of regret.

  She also knew he intended to say goodbye after he helped her settle her inheritance. Maybe this time it would be forever.

  There was no future for them. No more than there had been a future with Sean when he’d found a wealthy widow. Her former fiancé hadn’t wanted her. It was clear that T.J. didn’t want her, either.

  No matter, she told herself. T.J. didn’t owe her anything, not after today. He’d come back to warn her, maybe even to help her, out of the goodness of his heart.

  She’d nurse him until he recovered. She would gratefully accept what help he might still intend to offer. After she settled with the lawyer, she’d sell her inheritance and live out the dream of visiting the real Venice, a dream she’d cherished from the time she had been a young girl.

  Alone.

  Chapter Six

  T.J. stirred and opened his eyes. To his relief, his headache was gone, his mind was clear and his vision sharp. He still felt a little shaky, but he’d learned a lesson the hard way. Stay out of the sun.

  He’d been in the building business from the time he’d learned how to wield a hammer. He certainly should have known better than to continue to work under the blazing sun, especially after he began to see double. The result of his stupid behavior was to get himself sidelined into Emily’s bed, a place he ordinarily wouldn’t have minded being found, except for the fact he was here to help Emily. Not to romance her.

  He glanced around him. A blanket had been tucked around his waist, and a glass of water waited on the dresser—both clear signs Emily had been taking care of him instead of him taking care of her. Judging from the scenes he was beginning to remember, he owed her big.

  Normally a take-charge guy, T.J. felt like a dog about abandoning Emily after their visit to Daniels, instead of finding a way to help her. Now that his mind was clearer, there was no way he was going to leave her to the sharks.

  Things were going to change.

  He stood, paused long enough to make certain he wasn’t going to fall over and slowly made his way to the bed where Emily was sleeping. With her tousled auburn hair spread across the pristine pillow, her creamy flesh rosy with sleep, Emily looked as vulnerable and as innocent as a child. No wonder Daniels thought he could take advantage of her, he mused as he willed himself to remember he was here to help Emily with her inheritance. Romance had to take a back seat.

  T.J. sensed Emily was stronger than he’d given her credit for. Although, he thought with a wry grin, the zany way she’d gone about gaining her inheritance was unusual and somehow fitting.

  Waiting for her to awaken, it occurred to him that he knew little about her outside of her foray into the auction. Why would her aunt insist Emily be a married woman when remaining single wasn’t a crime? And why wouldn’t Emily, a thoroughly modern woman, have contested the will?

  Clearly, outside of her brief foray into an engagement, remaining single had been Emily’s choice. Gazing down at the sleeping Emily, she sure didn’t look as though she would have had to buy a pretend bridegroom. Not when she was intelligent and beautiful and could have had a real husband by now.

  He paced the room in his rumpled jeans, looking for the rest of his clothing. Someone had neatly set his shoes at the foot of the bed, and had even taken time to tuck his socks inside. His jacket hung from a wooden rack. Everything looked neater than he felt. A shower was obviously in order.

  Inside the bathroom, Emily’s panty hose and underwear were gone. Fresh terry-cloth bathrobes were hanging on the door and fresh towels gleamed from a heated rack. A disposable razor and toothbrush waited on the sink. A check of the medicine cabinet revealed a bottle of mouthwash and shaving lotion.

  Muttering his relief, T.J. shucked his shirt, shaved with one eye on the door, undressed and headed for a long, hot shower. He thought of Emily and the way his attraction continued to cloud his vow to keep her at arm’s length. The problem was, although he’d made up his mind to help her and to put her out of his life, he couldn’t put her out of his mind. He had to remember that no matter how she lit his fire, any thought of romancing Emily would have to go on the back burner.

  Dressed again, he was buttoning his shirt when he heard Emily mutter in her sleep. Quietly making his way to her side, he had a vague memory of lying in the bed beside her. Of his arm holding her to him, his lips brushing her cheek. Watching her sleep, he ached to take her in his arms and bury his head between her breasts. To feel the beat of her heart, to kiss away the frown from her forehead and take up where he may have left off.

  Cool it, he told himself one more time. Pretend husband or not, he and Emily were practically strangers, weren’t they?

  He dropped onto the edge of the bed and tried to remember the past few days.

  The sequence of events was almost unbelievable, even to a guy who had been part of them. To begin with, Emily’s continued insistence he was the man she’d bid for and won at the bachelor’s auction was the most mind-boggling thought of all.

  Recalling Emily’s reasons for bidding on him made him smile. Dangerous? No way. He liked to think of himself as a strong man with a heart. Still, being called “dangerous” was an ego builder. Thank goodness Emily hadn’t chosen a really dangerous man. Otherwise, she might not be here sleeping peacefully with him watching over her.

  As if he’d spoken his thoughts aloud, Emily stirred, opened her eye and met T.J.’s interested gaze. A damp lock of hair fell over his forehead. His shirt was partially unbuttoned and gave her a glimpse of his muscled chest where drops of water lingered. The masculine scent of shaving lotion clung to him. The pulse that throbbed at his neck spoke of his thoughts. She felt the accelerated beat of her heart.

  “Thank goodness it’s only you!” she said. “I must have fallen asleep. For a moment I didn’t know where I was or who you were.” She slid out of bed, tugged at her neckline and wiggled her dress back into place. “After a night like last night, I would have thought you’d still be asleep.”

  “Nope, all cured,” he assured her cheerfully. “All cured, cleaned up and ready to talk.”

  It wasn’t only his gaze that was making Emily uneasy. It was trying, without much success, to concentrate on something less sensuous than T.J., his handsome appearance and the twinkle in his eyes. After being jilted, sensuous thoughts should have been the last thing on her mind.

  It was time to do something to take her mind off T.J.’s sexy appearance and concentrate on something more earthly. “Hungry? How about the coffee shop downstairs?”

  He seemed to hesitate before he shrugged. “Great. I’m as empty as a drum and as hungry as a bear.”

  “Sure,” Emily replied. T.J.’s feet might be bare, his clothes wrinkled, but with his innate sex appeal, the coffee shop was a lot safer than a cozy meal for two courtesy of room service. “Why don’t you finish dressing while I freshen up?”

  After a glance behind her to make sure he was strong enough to navigate by himself, she headed for a sweater to cover her suddenly too low neckline. />
  In the elevator, Emily felt as if T.J.’s gaze singed her skin through her sweater. After spending a memorable twenty-four hours in his company, she could understand why she’d chosen him for a husband at the charity auction. And why she’d been so carried away by his persona that she hadn’t stopped to realize a mere photograph wouldn’t have been enough to convince the lawyer T.J. was her husband.

  The ride to the crowded lobby in the closed elevator didn’t help much, either. While T.J. whistled under his breath, her heart was racing. When they finally reached the lobby, after several stops, she sighed in relief.

  They found the coffee shop largely empty. The hostess remarked that it was too late for lunch and too early for dinner. “No problem,” T.J. replied, “we’re here for breakfast.”

  To Emily’s chagrin, the hostess smiled knowingly.

  T.J. chose a table in a quiet corner, partially hidden from view by a large ficus tree. The hotel’s tropical gardens were visible through a large picture window. “Mind if we sit here out of the way of traffic? It will give us a chance to talk.”

  “Not at all,” Emily answered with a smile. Talking would take her mind off the way T.J.’s clear blue eyes were affecting her. How could she ever have believed that though they had been strangers when they met, they would still be strangers when they parted? “I may not have told you before, but I’m a librarian by profession. I’m used to quiet surroundings.”

  Her companion looked interested. “What else should I know about you, Miss Holmes?”

  Emily folded her paper napkin in neat squares. She was a private person by nature and from what she remembered about last night, T.J. already knew more about her than she cared for him to know. “Why would you want to know anything else?”

  “Because I’m here to help you.”

  She gazed at him warily. The kind of help she needed didn’t come with killer smiles and kisses. “What kind of help, exactly?”

  He looked around for the waitress. “I’ll tell you as soon as I get a decent cup of very hot and black coffee.”

  Emily shrugged and turned her attention to the yellow and white daffodils in a blue glass vase on the table. Spring flowers that reminded her of the garden she’d planted at her aunt’s cottage one summer. Those days were gone, and the cottage where she’d spent so many happy days would soon be gone, too.

  She raised her eyes in time to see T.J.’s inquiring look. She couldn’t tell him she’d been thinking about the cottage on her aunt’s property and how much she missed her aunt. Not when she was asking him to help her gain her inheritance only to sell it. It wasn’t the money she was interested in—she would have loved to move into the cottage. She belonged in Placerville, she told herself. In the position she’d worked years to earn. But not until she made her dream of visiting Italy come true.

  The waitress arrived to take their orders.

  “Just coffee and toast for me, please.”

  “Are you sure that that’s all?” T.J. eyed her with concern. “In my family, if you didn’t eat, it meant you were sick.”

  “I’m just tired and anxious, I guess.” Emily smiled and reached in her purse for the roll of peppermints.

  T.J. knew better. She was stressed-out over having to confront Daniels and worn-out from a night of caring for him. He offered up the menus to the waitress. “Are you sure you don’t want anything else, Em?”

  “Maybe a small fruit salad,” she agreed.

  “I’ll have bacon and eggs over easy. Hash browns and a short stack. Coffee too, black.”

  Emily waited until the waitress left. No way was she going to bare her thoughts with an audience. “I’m sure I’ll feel better when this is over. You said you wanted to talk?”

  T.J. hesitated for a moment, then plunged in. He’d come this far, and it was no time to retreat. “I wanted to discuss your aunt’s will. But first, if you won’t think I’m getting too personal, I’m curious about a few things.”

  “Such as?”

  “For one thing,” he began hesitantly, trying to gauge Emily’s reaction to his intrusion into her private life. “Why have you gone along with the marriage clause in your aunt’s will? From the little I know about women, most would have contested the will right away.” When she didn’t answer, he gazed at her quizzically. If she was going to tell him to mind his own business, now was the time. He hoped not. Emily was becoming more interesting every day.

  “Maybe it’s because I’m not most women,” she finally answered. “Besides, I’d known about the clause for some time before she died. My aunt often told me she hoped I’d marry and have a family of my own.”

  Her answer took T.J. by surprise. “And it never bothered you? Even after Daniels told you about the marriage clause?”

  “No,” she answered. “After my uncle was killed in a car accident, my aunt never remarried. I only visited during the summers before I went away to college. Unfortunately, her last years were spent in a convalescent home. I knew Aunt Emily must have wanted my life to be different than hers.”

  “I guess that accounts for the condition of the property,” T.J. said thoughtfully. “After you told me about the cottage, I couldn’t resist swinging by to take a look before I met you again. But there is a chance the cottage could be put into shape. How about giving me a chance to restore it for you so you can live there?”

  “It’s impossible. I work in Placerville and my mother lives nearby.” She pushed away her coffee cup, wiped her lips with the paper napkin.

  “So you intend to sell it?”

  “I’m afraid so. That is, if I can find a buyer.”

  “You’re looking at one,” T.J. replied. “The opportunity to restore the cottage is something I’d hate to miss. That is, if you’re sure you want to sell.”

  “It’s not mine to sell, at least not yet,” Emily answered as the waitress served the rest of their breakfast. “Ask me again later.”

  “You can count on it,” T.J. agreed. “But back to your aunt’s will. Why didn’t you try to change her mind when you got older?”

  “It didn’t matter. I was already engaged to Sean Foster, had been for several years. I didn’t dream there was going to be a problem.” Her smile was ironic, but he could sense her unhappiness under the wall of indifference she’d woven around her.

  “Ah, yes, I remember you told me you’d been engaged.” To her obvious discomfiture, T.J.’s gaze swept her and lingered on the jade charm she wore around her neck. “The guy must have been out of his mind to break up with you.”

  She shrugged. “It seems Sean found greener pastures.” When T.J. raised a questioning eyebrow, she added wryly, “A woman with money.”

  T.J. dug into his bacon and eggs. Across the table, as if food were the last thing on her mind, Emily toyed with her fresh fruit plate. She had his attention when she nibbled at a ripe strawberry and ran her tongue over her lips to catch the juice. Mesmerized, he couldn’t help wishing he could be the one to kiss the juice from her lips.

  Their waitress passed by and looked at T.J.’s plate. “Something wrong with the food?”

  “No,” he replied, surprised to discover he hadn’t eaten much. “I guess I wasn’t as hungry as I thought I was.” He was hungry all right, but it wasn’t for bacon and eggs. He lifted his empty coffee cup. “How about a refill?”

  “Too bad the guy didn’t hang around long enough to find out about your inheritance,” T.J. said when the waitress moved on. “He might have changed his mind.”

  “I’m glad he didn’t,” Emily retorted. “I wanted a husband who would stick by me, rich or poor. I wanted to start a family, he didn’t. As soon as I discovered Sean had dollar bills in place of a heart, I knew I never would have been able to trust him, let alone depend on him to become a part of my life. After he left, I discovered I was glad to see the last of him.”

  “And that’s where the auction idea came in,” T.J. added with an understanding smile. “What would you have done if you hadn’t won me?”

 
; Emily airily dismissed his question. “A man is a man. I would have picked someone else.”

  “Emily Holmes,” he answered with a hand over his heart. “You wound me deeply. And here I thought you bid on me because I was the only man for you.”

  Emily smothered a reply. T.J. had unwittingly hit the nail right on the head. At the time, she had thought he was the only man for her, even if it had been a different reason. After the way she was beginning to feel about him, he still might have been the right man if their paths had crossed under different circumstances. “Although winning you hasn’t done me much good, has it?”

  T.J. drained his cup and winked. “Em, brace yourself. I think you’re in for a surprise.”

  “A good one, I hope,” she answered, brushing toast crumbs from her lap. “I’m not sure I can take much more of this.”

  The waitress arrived and smiled at T.J. “Will there be anything else?”

  “Not for me, thanks. Emily?”

  “No, thanks,” Emily answered. “I’d much rather get on with the surprise.”

  With a lingering look at T.J., the waitress left a check. Emily smothered a remark. She obviously wasn’t the only woman taken by T.J.’s masculine charms.

  “In a minute.” T.J. felt the overwhelming urge to stand up and stretch. “If you don’t mind, I’ve got to get my sea legs, or I’m afraid I’ll wind up back in bed. Lazing around without working isn’t like me. How about going for a walk?”

  Emily looked doubtful. “Are you sure you’re up to it?”

  T.J. thought about the hotel gardens and the pool he’d seen the day he’d picked Emily up to visit Daniels. He thought about his impulsive public kiss on a busy thoroughfare. The surprising way she’d responded and how he wanted to kiss her now in a more intimate setting. A setting where they would be surrounded by the perfumed scent of flowers instead of carbon monoxide.

  He’d have to pass. He’d promised Emily a surprise and he had to deliver.

  “I’m sure,” he answered. He picked up the check and dropped a large tip. “Let’s go.”