His Deception
Page 15
"So instead, you expect me to buy some cop? These things are always so...awkward."
"No you don't have to buy one of them, but we can look at the merchandise. Think of it as shoe shopping. You see something you like, you try it on, maybe you take it home, maybe not. Either way no harm done. Come on, it will be fun and its mostly over anyway. We'll have to sneak up toward the front. I see two seats on the side, over there."
Evie tried to calm her nerves. Nobody knew her here and where they had found seats was in the dark so most of the women couldn't even see them. She should just relax and enjoy the good looking guys on display. No matter what Eden said it wasn't like she would ever bid on any of them. She picked up the program and looked through the bios of the guys. All of them were cops, rugged macho types. She'd given up on the macho guys after high school. When she had lifted the program a slip of paper had fallen on the floor. She bent over to pick it up when the MC announced the next guy up. She banged her head on the table on the way up and it hurt like hell. She wasn't able to stop her shout in pain but she had a greater shock when she looked up on the stage.
Cam had expected crickets. Gasps of horror seemed a little much even to his way of thinking, okay maybe just one gasp of horror, but still. He narrowed his eyes trying to see the audience through the blinding stage lights. He couldn't make out any faces. He could tell the shout had come from the left side of the stage but since he couldn't see anything he just glared at all of them. The MC read his information off and started the bidding at five hundred dollars. Thank God he hadn't pulled himself back together and retied his tie because he'd be gasping for air now. He smiled his best panty melting smile, the one his sister said she wrote into all her novels. For half a second he wished she were here, she'd bail him out. What were big sisters for? Of course then she'd never let him forget it. Delia wouldn't be any different. His niece was tough as nails and under normal circumstances he loved her for it, except when she turned it on him. He had a real soft spot for the kid. The MC dropping his price down to three hundred pulled him back to reality.
He started cursing under his breath and heard rustling over where the gasp had come from. He focused all his attention on that corner of the room. He turned his chair in their direction andleaned back in what he hoped came off as an devil may care dare. He heard some frantic whispering, and a woman stand up.
"Three thousand!"
The MC croaked. "three..."
"Three THOUSAND dollars."
"Going once, twice, sold!"
What the hell had happened? One minute he wasn't going to go even at three hundred, he'd been sure of it and now he was the highest selling guy of the night. He hadn't thought about what happened next because he had figured there would be no takers. He was more than intrigued to find out about the woman would dump three grand on a date with a guy in a wheelchair.
"Damn Evie, what the hell was in your drink. three grand, you probably could have gotten him for the three hundred. You made him the most expensive guy of the night." Eden watched her sister smile.
"That was the point. Come on, I need to go pay up and then get the hell out of here."
"Aren't you going to stick around and even talk to the guy? I don't get it. You pay that much money and you don't even want to date him?"
"It wasn't about the date. It was about making sure he got through the auction. I owed him one."
"Are you going to explain any of this?"
"No." Evie found the table where she needed to pay and wrote out her check ignoring the curious looks from the ladies manning the cash box. When she turned around she almost fell on top of her prize. Physically he was different than she remembered, stronger, broader. Then there was the wheelchair. Her heart broke a little for him at that, funny how it didn't seem to have changed his sex appeal one bit. His attractiveness, for her, was always about his eyes and the way he smiled. Okay, it not like she hadn't ever noticed the gorgeous body but the smile and the way it lit up his eyes was always the part that grabbed her. AS if he had this wonderful secret and he was about to let you in on it. Her stomach did a flip remembering what that was like. He was smiling at her now but it was shyer more tentative.
"I owe you for saving my ego."
"No, you don't. I owed you one so we are even.
"Do I know you?"
"You don't remember me? Actually that's just as well, better actually. I have to go."
"No wait. We're supposed to make plans for the date you just bought."
"I have no intention of holding you to it. Bye Joseph." She stepped around him and disappeared into the crowd. Even if he ran over people he wouldn't be able to get near her again. He turned back to the cash table and put on his most winning smile.
"Ladies, a small favor."
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