Bachelorette for Sale

by Gail Chianese

  Brody watched silently for a few minutes. Always one to weigh the situation before passing judgment, he’d been their voice of reason more than once growing up and, on other occasions, the one to come up with the better plan so they wouldn’t get caught. They both winced as Tawny lifted the plate and held it at the perfect angle for smearing the pie in Dave’s face, but in the end she handed over the dessert.

  “She’s going to eat him alive.”

  Both men grinned and shared a mutual laugh, watching their friend flirt, then crash and burn. A new experience for David Farber. Jason might have the nickname Cupid, but Dave was the ladies’ man in their group. Jason had a feeling his friend had finally met his match. Speaking of . . . he watched the sexy redhead join Tawny at the table. She tugged on her tee, stretching it out, away from the jeans hugging her soft curves. He wanted to wrap her in his arms, tell her she looked beautiful, to pull her against him and show her exactly how hot she looked.

  Dave took his position to pitch the pie into the eye of their least favorite teacher. Together the women did a little cheer. They all waited while he stretched, shifted, and adjusted for wind velocity, only to miss by a good foot.

  A kid who couldn’t have been more than seven or eight stood next to Dave, shaking his head in disgust. A couple of guys in line slapped him on the back, probably wishing him better luck next time.

  “That’s embarrassing. We should disown him,” Jason said between chuckles.

  “Bet he was boasting about his pitching stats and his winning pass in the homecoming game senior year. I’d say ditch him but this is too good an opportunity to miss.” Brody nodded toward the pie table, a smirk across his usually serious face.

  Today was a good day. Regardless of the crappy reason they were all here, people were having a good time. Kids were running around laughing and playing. Parents socialized, bought and sold items, and relaxed. Smiles everywhere you looked. Times were tough, the economy had a long way to go on its road to recovery, yet today the people of the west end had come together and found a reason to be thankful, and it showed.

  He noted the nearby houses as they made their way to the table. Once faded, neglected buildings that housed faded, neglected families. Over the years, instead of falling down, turning to a pile of rubble as one would expect, they had started standing a little taller, a little bolder, becoming homes with loving families filling their rooms.

  Pride filled him. Once he’d been part of one of those faded, neglected families. He could have taken his old man’s route, let his life become a pile of rubble, because living your life staring at the bottom of a bottle led to nothing else. Instead, he’d chosen his own path, one that led him to a new home.

  Brody and Jason made their way to the table, dodging excited, sugared-up kids. The ladies teased Dave for missing, while Dave made up excuses and challenged both Jason and Brody to do better. Jason declined the invite, taking a position as close to Cherry as he could without arousing the interest of those around them. Brody paid his five bucks and got in line. Dave hid his face in mock embarrassment when the young boy hit a bull’s-eye before giving the kid a high five.

  A whisper-soft caress ran across the back of Jason’s hand, sending a totally different kind of jolt through his body. He wanted to feel her soft curves snuggled against him, and let her sweetness sweep them away. Soon the fund-raiser would be over and they could sneak off to his place or hers, forget about the outside world and lose themselves in each other.

  “You okay? You look pretty tense,” Cherry asked in a hushed voice. In the next breath she cheered Brody on with the rest of the group.

  “Yeah, just thinking if Brody misses, I’ll have to disown both of my best friends.”

  Brody nailed Mr. Lilly smack dab in the face, and the crowd cheered. The guys exchanged high fives and razzed Dave some more for missing.

  The day had been a success as far as Jason was concerned. He’d worry about the outcome on Monday. Right now he had other things on his mind, like carting his woman off to his place, where he planned to lock her in his bedroom and ravish her for the rest of the day.

  Turning to her, he leaned down next to her ear. “Cherry, let’s—”

  Yelling and laughter from the ball field caught both their attention interrupting his train of thought. The five of them looked to each other and then headed off to find out what was going on. The closer they got to the crowd, the clearer the words became, as well as the voice, and his plan to escape early went up in smoke.

  “You should be ashamed of yourself, asking an old lady intimate questions. Didn’t your mother teach you any manners?”

  Cherry cringed, wondering who had ticked off her gram and what on earth they had asked her.

  “Ow, ow, ow. Stop it you old bat. I didn’t ask if you were having sex. Good gawd. Why would I want to know?” Ford’s whiny voice grated right across her nerves like nails on a chalkboard.

  “What did you say to my wife?” Her grandfather’s voice boomed across the yard.

  Half-tempted to let the reporter face her grandfather’s wrath, Cherry slowed her steps for a couple of moments. It’d serve him right, accosting a senior citizen and sticking his nose where it didn’t belong. If he got it broken, so be it.

  Shoot, he’d probably sue her grandparents. She quickened her steps until she caught sight of her gram, smacking Ford with her purse. The reporter lay curled up on the ground trying to protect his head, whining and digging his foot in deeper with each breath. A circle of people stood around them, laughing and cheering her gram on. From across the field, George and his mother hustled toward them. Based on the livid look on George’s face, he’d caught enough of her grandmother’s comments to figure out what had happened.

  The devil inside urged her to step aside, let the men take care of the no-good reporter. Maybe then he’d learn to stop prying into people’s private lives, especially hers. The angel who lived on the other side of her brain, whom she regularly ignored, told her George and Jason would rip the man apart like a wishbone at Thanksgiving. Not quite the image she’d wanted for the center after all their hard work, plus it put the ammunition to get Jason fired in Stan’s hands.

  Cherry dodged her gram’s flying handbag, stopping it before it could make contact with Ford’s man parts. She really needed to work on her timing.

  “What’s going on? Ford, what did you do to my grandmother?” Cherry stood, legs apart, fists planted on her hips, staring down at the man.

  Ford peeked up between his fingers at her, scooting backward, only to be stopped by Jason, George, Brody, and Dave. “I didn’t do anything. I was doing my job, asking the people their thoughts on the community center and so on, and she started beating the crap out of me with that suitcase of hers. What do you got in there, lady, bricks?”

  Cherry tapped her toes, crossing her arms in front of her. “Asking a seventy-year-old woman about her sex life is part of your job? Try again.”

  The man squirmed, his eyes darting back and forth between Cherry and the four giant men standing on the other side of him.

  “She misunderstood me. I didn’t ask about her, I asked about you.” His voice came out like that of a sulky five-year-old whose hand had been caught in the cookie jar.

  Jason stepped forward, stopping before his boots collided with Ford’s backside. “Can I toss him out on his ass now?”

  Cherry held up her finger. Bending down, she stared the reporter in the eyes. “Listen up and listen good, because I won’t be repeating myself. That man next to Jason Valentine is my attorney. If I so much as catch you mentioning my name in any way other than helping with the fund-raising for this building, he’s going to file harassment charges against you. As a matter of fact, I think I’ve seen you hanging outside of my office and apartment, which counts as stalking. Are you understanding me?”

  He nodded.

  “Good. Now, I’ve tried to play nice and give you the scoop on the center’s progress, but I can and will take the story to someone
else. I’m sure your bosses wouldn’t be too pleased if that were to happen. Nor would they be pleased to be named in a joint harassment complaint.”

  He nodded again, whether to agree that she’d been playing nice or to how his bosses would react, Cherry was unsure and really didn’t care. She cared only that he listened.

  “I think you’re done for the day. Mr. Valentine and Mr. Torres are going to escort you and your photographer to your cars. You’re going to leave and not come back without a proper invitation. Doing so would be construed as trespassing.”

  Ford opened his mouth to speak. His twitchy gaze landed on someone in the crowd. A quick nod had Cherry looking to see who caught his attention. Not recognizing anyone, she turned back to the problem at hand, who had been flanked by the men who were currently chaperoning him to the parking lot.

  Now that all the fun and games had ended, the group of spectators dispersed, leaving her to calm her seething grandparents.

  “Wish I’d had my frying pan. That would have taught him some manners.” Her gram clutched her purse like a life preserver. “Imagine asking an old woman if she’s sleeping with the hired help.”

  Tawny came running up to them, panting. “What did I miss? I went next door to use the real restrooms and when I came back, some kids were talking about a fight. Did anyone get hurt?”

  Quickly Cherry filled Tawny in on what had gone down, while keeping a solid wristlock on her friend. In Tawny’s world, you didn’t mess with family, and Kitty Ryan was as much her grandmother as Cherry’s. “Relax, tiger. George and the guys are taking care of him.”

  Turning back to her grandmother, seeing the high color and glossy eyes, her heart broke. Her grandmother had been humiliated in front of her neighbors. Sure, she could blame Ford—after all, he’d done the deed—but he’d done it to get to her. Once again she’d turned her loved ones’ lives upside down with her choices. Maybe she needed a new plan? Drop off the committee now? They didn’t really need her anymore, today proved it. Then there was Jason. Hiding the relationship was starting to put a strain on them, cause little disagreements and hurt feelings.

  Let her little corner of the world forget about her. Again. Go back to school, follow her dream of becoming a counselor. Have a normal life, one that didn’t involve surprise photo shoots, people snooping through her trash and peeking through her windows. One that did involve actual dates instead of hiding out at home, preferably with a certain hot contractor whose kisses stole her breath away and whose too-intense blue-green eyes sent liquid pools of fire to her core.

  She didn’t realize how long she’d been lost in her thoughts until the conversation around her stopped. A warm hand slid along her back, pulling her close into a hard chest, surrounding her senses with a spicy sent of musk. Jason.

  “You plotting your revenge or a wild night of monkey sex for us?” he whispered in her ear, the warm breath sending chills down her flesh.

  “Maybe a little of both.”

  “Works for me, as long as I get to participate in both events.”

  “Definitely the star player in one of them.” Cherry looked up, realizing all eyes were on her, or them, and wondered how much of their conversation had been overheard. Based on her gram’s round-eyed expression . . . too much. “Gram, I’m so sorry. This is all my fault—”

  “Bollocks, young lady, and you know it. Now, your gramps is going to take me out for an early dinner to take my mind off my traumatic event, and I might even talk him into letting me pick out the movie tonight. You know, to perk up my spirits and all. You,” she pointed a finger at Jason, “need to take my baby out and get her mind off that bottom feeder. You all did a fine job with today’s event. Celebrate. Life’s too short, too unpredictable to wait until tomorrow.” Kitty kissed her girls on the cheek and let George walk her to the edge of the parking lot where her husband had brought the car for her.

  Gram was definitely working it tonight.

  “You okay, chica? You look a little flushed.” Tawny stood by her side as they waved off her grandparents and Tawny’s mom and brother.

  “Honestly, I could use a drink, and I’m not talking about water.”

  Tawny leaned closer and lowered her voice to a conspiratorial whisper even though no one else was within earshot. “You and Jason should take off, do what Gram said. This is Rosalie and Holly’s gig, they can close up tonight.”

  Cherry looked over to Jason, who was in a powwow with Dave and Brody. “Yeah, maybe. What are you doing tonight?” Before Cherry could step down from the committee, she’d have to tell Tawny. No way would she blindside her best friend. She knew while it left more of the burden on Tawny, she’d understand her reasons and fully support her decision.

  “I’m going shopping tonight.”

  “Shopping?” At the mention of the magic word, Cherry was all ears. “As in for clothes, groceries, or men?”

  “No, yes, and yes.”

  “Dish.”

  “I don’t have time for a full disclosure right now. I’ve got to get to Venda Ravioli before they close. I’ll leave you with this. Massimo: He’s tall, dark, Italian, and his ravioli melts in your mouth.” Tawny blew a kiss and sauntered off, laughing the whole way.

  Clearly Cherry needed to restock her pantry shelves and check out this pasta maker, make sure his raviolis weren’t being shared with other women and that he was worthy of someone as fabulous as her best friend. Tonight she’d take her gram’s advice and celebrate the day and the man in her life. Later they could discuss her stepping down, the impact it might have on his job and on their relationship.

  She turned as the guys walked away waving good night, which left her and Jason standing alone.

  “Where’s Tawny?”

  “Shopping. Where are those two off to?”

  “The pub. They wanted to join us but I refused to share.” He slid his arms around her waist, snuggling her up close to him. “How about we pick up Tucker and take him over to my place. He and Bam can play in the backyard and you and I can go to this great Italian place, Spiro’s. It’s small, dark, and romantic. You’d love their cannelloni.”

  “Mmm, I can already feel it sliding across my tongue.”

  Jason cocked his brow. “Damn, I feel like I’m behind a few steps, but I’m going to enjoy catching up.”

  Yes, she imagined they both would.

  They headed across the field to the main building. Cherry needed to tell Rosalie and Holly she was leaving, and Jason needed to double-check the building’s locks before they left. He’d also make sure the nanny cams were on and ready to catch any intruders. They’d all talked about it and figured if there was going to be another round of vandalism to set them back, tonight after the fund-raiser was the perfect opportunity.

  If they could catch whoever it was and prove they were the ones who did the original damage, the insurance company would pay up. Problem solved.

  The guys were all taking turns tonight to watch the video feed on the computers. A part of her hoped the vandals would go for it, because once they did, she was convinced she’d see Stan Nowak’s face on camera.

  Her gut told her no one else could be behind the troubles they’d had. Maybe Ford. Nah, on second thought, he didn’t have the brains.

  “Ready?” Jason asked, meeting her at the front door.

  “All set.” Together they walked to their respective cars, a couple of friends leaving an event at the same time, because out here in the front, prying eyes were everywhere, and until she stepped down, Cherry didn’t want to hurt Jason’s reputation.

  “Excuse me?” A small voice stopped them as they stepped on to the parking lot.

  Cherry turned to see a small boy standing with an older woman, probably his grandmother.

  “Hi, can I help you?” She bent down to be at his eye level.

  “Are you the lady from the TV?” Both front top and bottom teeth were missing, giving him a slight lisp. He didn’t make eye contact. One hand had a firm grasp of his guardian’s hand and
the other poised precariously close to his mouth, thumb at the ready.

  Cherry’s heart went out to this boy. This child, so like her long-ago self. She bent farther down to make eye contact with him and saw in his eyes uncertainty, fear, and hope.

  She sat down on the curb, gestured for him to join her, but he stayed rooted in place. “That’s me, or at least I think it’s me. I was on a TV show a couple of years ago, but I’m not anymore. Unfortunately I never got to meet anyone super cool like SpongeBob or Scooby-Doo.”

  “S’all right. They’re not real anyway. My gramma says you’re going to fix the center. When school’s out I can stay here. Is that true?”

  Oh boy. For the first time, the little guy looked up at her, looked her right in the face and let her see all the hope of the universe in his big brown eyes. She didn’t want to lie to this child. Deep down, she knew he’d been lied to before, time and again. Promising him it’d be done on time and then not meeting that promise would snuff out the light shining from his eyes. Damned either way, she took her time to find the right words.

  Jason squatted down beside her. “Hey there, big guy. What’s your name?”

  The little boy looked up to the woman, who nodded an okay. Smart kid.

  “Dominick.”

  Jason stuck out his hand and shook the boy’s. “Hi, Dominick, I’m Jason and I’m the contractor—kind of like Bob the Builder. You looking forward to shooting some hoops on the playground this summer?”

  Dominick nodded.

  “When I was little, not much older than you, me and my buddies, we’d come down here and we’d shoot hoops for hours. Back then they didn’t have a pool like now. Bet you’re looking forward to going swimming too.”

  “And playing video games. We don’t got no video games at home.”

  “I tell you what, Ms. Ryan and I are doing everything we can to get this place fixed up before school gets out. And when it opens there’s going to be a special Mario brothers game for you to play. Sound good?”