by Annie Rains
So instead of looking nice for this auction he’d agreed to, he was wearing a spare pair of Levi’s and a black T-shirt that he had in his truck. Oh, well. If the wives here were looking for someone to do yard work, he fit the bill. He ran a comb through his dark hair and checked his reflection in the rearview mirror before stepping out into the Veterans’ Center parking lot. The place was packed tonight. As he walked toward the building, he could hear Christmas tunes blasting inside.
His feet froze at the sound of “Merry Christmas, Baby.”
Fuck. No wonder Griffin had enjoyed getting him to agree to this so much. This was a Christmas party—something Troy had been dead set on avoiding this year. Why the hell couldn’t people just let him be?
He cast a longing look back at his truck. He could leave, but that would make him the jerk of the century.
“Troy!” Griffin’s voice carried across the parking lot. He was wearing jeans and a T-shirt, too, which put Troy at ease about his attire.
“It’s a Christmas party,” Troy ground out.
Griffin shrugged. “It’s for the orphans, man,” he reminded him, clapping a hand on his back and pushing him forward. “And it’ll be over before you know it.”
Troy continued walking, following Griffin inside. He blinked at the colorful lights and decorations. “Wow.” Even if he was avoiding this stuff, the room was quite impressive if not overly festive.
“Yeah, the girls really went all out for this event.” Griffin pointed to his girlfriend Val in a corner behind a table of treats. “I’ve got to go nibble on something sweet. I’ll see you in a few. Don’t bail. We need you.”
Troy watched his friend go. Then he scanned the room for other people he might know, his gaze snagging on a beautiful redhead with endless legs. As if feeling his eyes on her, she turned and met his gaze.
Sparks. And not from the excessive lighting in the room.
He straightened as she headed in his direction. She was wearing a knee-length blue dress that flattered her curves, and her hair spilled over ivory shoulders.
He swallowed, and tried to keep his eyes from running over her.
—
What was this guy doing here?
Allison’s calm, cool demeanor that she’d worked so hard to maintain tonight started to fray. She’d just seen him at Wine from the Vine yesterday, where he’d been charming, helpful, and oh, so sexy. So sexy, in fact, that she’d spent the rest of the afternoon and most of today distracted by the memory of how well he’d filled his uniform. Yeah. She’d been without a man far too long.
“Hi,” he said, beating her to the punch.
She lifted her chin, pulling her guard up with it. “Are you following me?” Of course, she realized how absurd that sounded as soon as she’d said it. He was a military police officer, not a stalker. Her gaze jumped to Melanie Harris in the crowd, aka Stalker Mel. Allison felt bad for the poor guy who got purchased by her tonight.
The sexy man in front of her took his time responding. “No. I’m here volunteering, actually.”
She usually knew every volunteer, but with the short notice of the add-on event, she hadn’t had time to meet everyone on the list. “You’re in the auction?” she asked.
“That’s right.” He shrugged. “I have no plans for Christmas, so I’ve got plenty of time to offer up here.”
Her posture softened. “You’re not going home for Christmas?” Marines who stayed in town during the holidays always tugged at her heart. The Veterans’ Center usually catered a meal for them, to give them a sense of belonging somewhere.
“Nope.” His dark eyes met hers. Honey tones shimmered in the light.
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
“What about you?” he asked. “Are you spending Christmas alone, or with a special someone?”
Her guard rose again. That was information he didn’t need. “I’m here because I organized this event. I’m the director.” She stuck out her hand. After meeting twice this week, she guessed it was time to formally introduce herself. “Allison Carmichael.”
He nodded slowly. “The heart behind the charity.”
The heart in question, hers, skipped a little as she met those twinkling brown eyes of his and slipped her hand into his warm one. “Thank you for volunteering your time.” Her insides sizzled as his gaze stayed on her.
She was trying to decide if she was irritated because he kept popping up, if she felt sorry for him because he wasn’t going home for Christmas, or if she was attracted to his dark, sexy look. All of the above, she decided, which was not a good mix.
“I’m Troy Matthews,” he told her, squeezing her hand gently before letting go.
“Well, good luck on stage, Troy Matthews,” she told him, prepared to walk away.
His brow lowered. “Luck?”
This made her smile. “Some of the wives here aren’t the easiest to get along with. If one of them wins you, you’ll need it. And also”—she leaned in to whisper, catching the scent of his aftershave; whoever won him was one lucky woman—“even though she’s not a military wife, Melanie Harris is in the crowd, and I hear she has a purse full of cash to spend.”
Troy frowned.
She was satisfied to see that she’d sufficiently rattled his confidence. Good. Fair was fair, because just sharing breathing space with him had her rattled. “We didn’t want to turn down anyone who might be able to donate and help the children at Mercy’s Place.”
With a wave, she continued walking. She headed toward an exit and stepped outside to get fresh air before the auction got underway. Leaning against the side of the brick building, she watched her breaths rise up in front of her in frosty white puffs. Her phone vibrated inside her pocket. She pulled it out and groaned. Her mother was relentless. On an inhale, she bit the bullet and answered. “Hey, Mom.”
“You said you’d call me.”
Allison nodded, focusing on the tiny stars lighting up the December sky. “Work. I’ve been busy. I’m actually at the Military Spouses Christmas function right now.”
“Oh, that’s right. So if you can make it to a work party, you will surely make it to the family’s Christmas Eve one next week.”
“I already told you I would.”
“Well, last year you were sick.” Her mother’s tone of voice made it clear that she hadn’t bought that lie for a second.
It had only been a white lie. Allison was sick, of having the wrong guy or no guy. She wasn’t sure which was less tolerable. She was also sick of having to explain her choices.
“And you said you might bring someone next week?” her mother asked hopefully.
“Mom.”
“I just worry about you, dear. After that last fellow you brought home, you seem to have stopped looking altogether.”
The last fellow being James. Allison would’ve sworn to the fact that James was a stand-up guy. She’d have sworn to the fact that he’d never hurt her, even though her mother was very open about her opinion of him. Her mother summed him up as the kind of guy who’d break her heart and cheat on her. And her mother couldn’t have been more right. Allison’s judge of character was rotten. And, until and unless it improved, she’d be going to the family’s Christmas Eve party alone.
The door opened behind her.
“The big event is about to start,” Julie Chandler, her assistant director at the Veterans’ Center, said, waving Allison inside. “Come on.”
Allison nodded. Julie and her impeccable timing deserved a raise. Allison planned on putting that on her list of things to talk about to Mr. Banks, the Center’s owner, when they met after Christmas. “Gotta go, Mom. I’ll call you soon, okay?” She hung up before her mother could inflict any more questions. Then she hurried inside and toward the small stage in the front of the large banquet room. The plan for the auction was that one man at a time would come onstage. Julie’s sister, Kat Peterson, was playing the role of auctioneer. She would initiate the bidding and the highest bidder would win up to five hours from the
guy being auctioned. Allison just hoped everyone was in a giving mood tonight.
She spotted Troy Matthews heading backstage in his jeans and fitted black T-shirt, remembering how he’d told her he had no plans for Christmas. Her phone vibrated. Allison pulled it out to read the incoming text from her mother:
Our discussion isn’t over. Maybe you should see someone about your reluctance to date.
Allison pulled back. See someone? Now her mother wanted her to go to therapy? She couldn’t win. It was either date a guy she might possibly really like and subject herself to heartache once her mother uncovered that he was inevitably a Mr. Wrong. Or date no one, which apparently made her mother recommend that she seek counseling.
Allison inhaled a deep breath, trying to stay calm. Then it came to her. The idea circulated in her brain, coming in foggy at first and gradually becoming clearer. She lifted one of the Christmas-tree-shaped bidding sticks that Julie and Kat had constructed for the auction, her heart bumping erratically in her chest. This was either the best idea she’d had in a long while. Or the very worst.
—
Troy wasn’t the type of guy to get nervous, but going out in front of a bunch of women and being bid on was pretty nerve-wracking.
He hesitated behind the curtain, listening as the crowd outside hooted over Lawson Phillips. Troy had thought these women were just interested in hiring someone for around-the-house chores. That wasn’t how it sounded out there, though. Instead, the crowd of women seemed ready to jump the stage, and Lawson’s bones.
He blew out a breath, reconsidering this. There were two other guys ahead of him. Maybe the women will have spent all their money by the time he got out there, he thought momentarily, then chided himself. This was for the kids. For the kids.
Allison’s face crossed his mind. She’d put this event together, which was pretty honorable in his opinion. She’d adopted this cause out of the goodness of her heart. She was counting on him and, even though he didn’t know her, he didn’t want to disappoint her.
Griffin Black walked onstage and the crowd roared with excitement. Troy listened as the bids went higher and higher, ending at $250.
Wow. That would buy a decent amount of Barbie dolls and monster trucks for the kids. Troy hoped to bring in half that much.
Adrenaline surged through his veins as Griffin trotted offstage.
His turn. Here went nothing.
Troy stepped out from behind the curtain, blinded by the amateur lighting that shone directly into his eyes. The cheers from tipsy women full of holiday spirit rose to a new earsplitting level. He had to admit, this was good for his ego.
“Okay,” Kat Peterson said behind the mike. “Who wants to start the bidding?”
A flutter of bidding cards flew into the air. From in front of the lights, Troy couldn’t tell who was holding up their cards. Kat’s response to the bidding seemed to be happening so fast that he had no idea what was going on. But he thought the commotion was a good thing. So he kept smiling, reminding himself that this was for the orphans. This was his one good deed for Christmas, to prove that he wasn’t Scrooge, despite Griffin’s insistence that he was.
“Sold!” Kat called, pointing her finger to someone offstage.
Troy blew out a breath and exited without looking to see whom he’d been sold to. Hopefully someone nice, who wouldn’t expect the world on a platter. A few guys high-fived him as he passed by.
Griffin waggled his eyebrows from a few feet away. Troy was just glad this was over with. He’d done his part and he could be on his way home now. He was sure Kat would contact him later with the details of who had won him and what he needed to do next.
“Nice!” Lawson said as Troy walked by.
Troy kept moving, even as he wondered about his friends’ reactions.
Then Allison stepped in front of him, chewing her bottom lip—a lip he wouldn’t mind getting a hold of himself. She had a sheepish expression on her face.
He stopped walking and grinned, loving how she flushed every time they saw each other.
“I’m so sorry,” she said. “I really don’t know what I was thinking. It all just happened so fast.” She wrung her hands in front of her. “This was stupid,” she mumbled under her breath.
Troy read her lips, unable to hear her over the loud music and chatter. He touched her arm, gaining her attention. “Not following you, baby.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Don’t call me ‘baby.’ You called me that at the wine store, too. And weren’t you paying attention up there?”
He glanced at the stage and back at her. “The lights are blinding and it’s loud up there. This crowd is man-hungry. Not what I signed up for.” Griffin had tricked him into coming to a holiday function; he’d be addressing that with his friend later.
Allison’s lips pinched.
“I mean, yes, I signed up for the cause. It’s a great cause, but I didn’t realize this was a Christmas party or that I’d be showcased like that. I just hope the lady who bought me isn’t crazy.”
She full-on glared at him now. She was hungry all right, but not in the good kind of way.
“What?” he finally asked. “Did I not earn enough for your cause? Want me to go back up there and flex some muscles?” He was kidding.
She didn’t laugh. “I bought all your hours. You’re mine for Christmas.” She started to walk away, then turned to look at him over her shoulder. “And I am a little crazy, according to my mother, who’s a trained psychologist, so she would know.”
“She sounds lovely,” Troy said. Almost as lovely as the woman shooting daggers at him right now.
“You’ll see. Since you aren’t going to your home for Christmas, I bought you to accompany me to mine. As my boyfriend.”
Troy’s eyes widened. He closed off the distance she’d started to create between them. “Listen, babe.”
Allison held up a finger. “It’s Allison.”
“Okay, but I’m not going home with you to meet your mother.”
She folded her arms across her chest. “She lives twenty minutes from here. A couple hours pretending to like me and you’re done. What’s the matter? You said you didn’t have a girlfriend.”
He scratched his chin. “I don’t.”
“Look. My mother and all my family hound me during these functions. If I have a real boyfriend that I actually like, they rip him to shreds. If I go alone, they rip me to shreds. Lovingly, of course. They make me miserable with all their comments and questions.”
“What questions?” he asked.
“You know. Why am I single? Am I a lesbian?”
He lifted a brow. That would be a damn shame.
“I’m not.” The corner of her mouth quirked. “Then the accusations start.”
“Accusations?” he asked.
“I must be too picky. Too uptight. Too…” She flung her hands up in the air. “There must be something wrong with me if I’m single. They’ll talk about me like I’m this pathetic, miserable specimen of a woman.” She looked at him and he was surprised to see the hurt shimmering there. These family gatherings she spoke of were actually painful for her.
He could understand that.
“So all I have to do is show up, hold your hand, and charm your relatives?”
She nodded. “That’s it.”
“You said that they will rip me to shreds,” he said, not liking the sound of that.
“Just behind your back. But it won’t matter because we won’t really be together.”
He nodded, supposing he could handle a few strangers. It was really just his family he couldn’t handle this year. And really, just one member of his family. “One condition,” he said.
She met his gaze.
“I get to call you ‘baby’ all I want.” He was teasing her like an elementary-school boy who hadn’t yet mastered the art of flirting.
She sighed. “Men. This is why I’m happily single. Kat and Julie have your contact information from the auction. I’ll call you tomorrow with
the details.”
“Can’t wait.” He watched her walk away. It wouldn’t be so bad to share a night with a beautiful woman like her, he supposed. Not that he was excited about mingling with her overbearing relatives. He had his own relatives giving him grief. Just one night, he told himself, wishing, without meaning to, that it would be more.
Chapter 3
Allison headed toward the back of the building. There was a bathroom she planned on ducking into in order to hyperventilate. This was never going to work. One: Troy was a Marine. Her mother would never buy into the fact that she’d fallen for a Marine. A Marine’s life was too unpredictable, whereas Allison liked routine and order. Two, and this was a biggie: Troy was the exact opposite of her, down to the relaxed way that he walked. No way her mother would fall for their farce. Then the prestigious Dr. Pierce really would be recommending therapy for her only daughter.
Allison closed the bathroom stall behind her and sat on the closed lid of the commode. She sucked in a deep breath, counted to ten, and then exhaled.
“Allison?”
Allison straightened to the sound of her name.
“Allison, are you okay?” It was Julie.
Allison opened the stall door and stared at her. “I bought a Marine to be my boyfriend for my family’s Christmas Eve party,” she said quickly, unloading her confession as she exhaled.
Julie blinked, then burst into laughter. “Geez. I stepped outside with Lawson and totally missed that….You do know there are dating websites for that kind of thing, right?”
Allison groaned and walked toward the mirror. “Troy isn’t going home for Christmas, so this is perfect. Or I thought it was, but now I’m positive that this is a disaster waiting to happen.” She turned to look at Julie. “You know my mother. She can smell a lie a mile away.”