Breathe. This is supposed to be fun.
* * * *
Lydia waved Jessica down and said, “I just saw Troy’s truck pull into the parking lot. Did you see the crowd outside?”
“I did. I hope they’re going to the back doors.”
With dramatic big eyes, Lydia shook her head. “Charity said it was better for the bidding if they each walked through the front doors. Showing off the wares, so to speak. Sorry. I know their wares are already spoken for, but it’s still a really nice thing for them to do,” Lydia said as they went to one of the large casement windows in the foyer to try to catch a glimpse.
There was indeed a crowd of people in the pavilion outside the civic center, made up mostly of women, but with quite a few men, as well, all waiting on the main doors to open. There were a couple of groups that wore pink T-shirts and banners with #gingerhottiesrule emblazoned across their chests. One of the women in the nearest group had coloring similar to Tank and Troy’s. She was gorgeous, with long legs and gorgeous curves that she carried with erect confidence.
Lydia pointed at that particular woman and said, “Veronica and Charity designed those shirts and promoted them on Twitter, telling the ladies every dime of profit went to the charities we’re supporting.”
Jessica steadied her breathing and squared her shoulders as she stood next to Lydia, reminding herself she’d been the one to wake up with them that morning and she’d be the one they’d come home to after the night’s events were over with.
And in the back of her mind was always the worry that Four Bits had yet to show his scary face. Perhaps he’d left the area, but Jessica couldn’t deny the creepy feeling that told her he was just waiting for his moment. She was sure he’d known exactly what he was doing when he’d left that coin. Brian Dornan had checked his messages at home on his landline and hadn’t heard from either his brother or Four Bits. The men were sure now that Four Bits had intentionally ruffled Brian’s feathers, maybe surmising that he’d go straight to Jessica to warn her but, in essence, also giving him the chance to do what his brother had dictated. Doing so also put all of his targets within a convenient distance of each other.
She scanned the crowd for Four Bits, certain she’d be able to spot the intimidating man in any crowd. She just needed to stay sharp.
“There they are,” Lydia said, pointing at the two sexy giants.
Confidence and masculinity radiated from them, and she couldn’t help the big goofy grin on her face as she got a look at them in their kilts for the first time. They’d gotten all the Highland garb out the day before, so she’d seen all of it, but seeing them clad in full Highland regalia? Holy shit.
The redheaded woman on the other side of the glass caught sight of Jessica through the tinted glass, squinted at her, and then turned to look in the same direction she was looking. Through the glass, Jessica heard her scream, “There they are!”
There was more screaming. Members of the community looked around, frowning at the growing hysteria, moving away from the groups of women as they began to move, slowly at first, but gaining in speed until women were pouring down the concrete steps in a horde.
Lydia giggled as she took a picture with her smartphone and then sent a quick text.
“What are you doing?” Jessica asked as Lydia kept texting at a rapid-fire pace.
“Nothin’. Just letting Charity and Grace know how things are out here. Oh, look,” she said, pointing at the crowd, which slowed to a stop.
Tank and Troy were easy to spot since they were head and shoulders above most of the women and down two short flights of steps from where she stood in the foyer. They slowed their pace only slightly, giving the ladies cordial nods as the crowd parted. There was still some screaming, but for the most part, they’d calmed a degree. Tank and Troy remained stoic, nodding at some of the women. Gregarious Troy offered only the slightest of smiles, but the twinkle she loved was in his eyes. He was playing a role, as was Tank, not trying to get laid.
The same could not be said for the pair of cowboys that entered the pavilion from the opposite direction. Luka and Matthias, cleaned up and clad like the genuine cowboys they were, looking ready to be bid on, ridden hard, and put up wet.
Lydia let out a huffing breath and growled softly. “Those assholes. Look at them, strutting around like two peacocks.”
It had been obvious that they were pursuing Erin when she’d been at the Divine Creek Ranch earlier in the week. But the way they flirted with the crowd growing around them told Jessica they were there to have fun. Then she spotted the smile fixed on Matthias’s face.
She pointed at them and said, “I don’t know about that. You should’ve seen Matthias’s face when he was talking to Erin the last time I saw them together. Sure, Luka is a bit of a randy rooster, but Matthias had a different way about him, especially with her. Maybe this is an act, like…gosh, they look good enough to eat, don’t they?” she said as she shifted her attention entirely to Tank and Troy, who had topped the uppermost landing outside the civic center.
Women were openly gaping, even some of the more mature ladies who were there with their husbands. One lady had her checkbook out, probably checking her balance, and then looking Tank and Troy over.
Jessica giggled when she spotted Amelia Owen tilted a bit to one side as if she hoped to get a look at Tank’s legs in case an errant breeze lifted his kilt.
In the midst of one of the groups, an older familiar-looking lady maneuvered close, and when he turned to her, he smiled in surprise and she threw her arms around his shoulders.
Lydia looked up from her phone and giggled. “Oh, lookie! Tank’s mom came! All those women with her must be the Dripping Springs chapter of the #gingerhottiesrule fan club.” The gorgeous woman with auburn hair scooted up close to Tank like she knew him, kissed him on the lips, and then looked around the group like she’d just marked her territory. Tank looked surprised and turned back to his mother.
“Uh, whoa, dude,” Lydia growled as she watched the scene unfold. “Who in the fricking hell is that bitch?”
Emboldened by the woman’s display, a brunette sidled up to Troy while he was paying attention to Tank’s conversation with his mother, and kissed him square on the lips. He pulled back from her, attempting a lame smile, but the furrow between his brows said a lot.
Veronica Benedict hurried toward the doors, a ring of jingling keys in her hands, and said, “Not a moment too soon.”
Letting out a silent sigh, Jessica said, “I need to get back to the kitchen.” Because the next person that touches either of them is getting bitch slapped.
“Hey, Jess, I don’t think Troy welcomed—”
“I need to get to the kitchen. It looks like they’re fixing to open the doors. I’ll see you in there.”
She’d talked them into doing this, so she had no right to complain. Right then, she wasn’t feeling quite as philanthropic as she had been.
Thanks to Brian Dornan’s generous legacy, she should have more than enough money to win them and would’ve been willing to offer a pre-emptive, generous bid and withdraw them from the auction. But there’d been too much publicity around their growing #gingerhottiesrule brand, according to Charity, Grace, Lydia, and the rest of the ladies. So she’d had no choice but to let her men go through the motions and hope nothing happened to stop her from offering the winning bid when they came up on the auction block.
And she’d signed on to help for the whole evening, so she’d have to watch all the women present ogle their assets.
* * * *
Tank spotted Jessica across the expansive main room of the civic center. Her gorgeous auburn hair and beautiful face were like a beacon of hope that he could get through this evening as she greeted one of the dinner guests and placed a plate of food in front of them.
Tables were set up with tablecloths, centerpieces, and all the frou-frou for a formal meal on one side of the room. Every single seat was filled, and they’d even snuck in a few extra tables as ticke
t holders kept arriving.
The stage occupied the other side of the large room, and along the back wall, tables were set up to display the many items that had been donated to the live auction. Gwen Alvarez took tickets from the attendees at the front entrance, and Veronica Benedict and Presley Ann McCulloch manned a booth inside the door leading into the main room, where patrons were lined up, registering for numbered auction paddles.
His Jessica smiled at something the person she was serving said, and she nodded and replied and then laughed. She backed away as she returned to her large tray to serve the next guest, and her gaze met his across the room. She stole his breath with her smile, and then her expression clouded, and she mouthed, You okay?
On impulse, he put his hand over his heart and bowed slightly before nodding. She seemed a little shocked by the response, judging by the way her jaw dropped for a second before her face lit up.
He didn’t know if she’d seen Emmylou Hardman’s idiotic display outside. His mom had whispered to him that she hadn’t been able to dissuade his ex-girlfriend from coming with the Dripping Springs group to the auction.
Her kiss had only egged several women in the crowd on to try the same thing, which he and Troy had gently but firmly also put a stop to.
He’d wanted to just get inside the building so they could get backstage and away from all the attention until it was time for the bachelor auction. That was soon enough to be gaped at and objectified.
Really? Get over yourself, Drummond.
They’d been met backstage by a grinning Charity. The woman was everywhere at the same time, like some evil, sadistic Eveready Energizer Bunny in stilettos. As it turned out, they were needed to help with the live auction items, taking them around to show to the various patrons milling around and at the tables while purposely showing off their own “wares.”
He was currently hawking a diamond pendant and earrings set custom-made by Clay Cook Jewelers, which meant he came into contact with pretty much every freaking woman attending the event.
“I just got groped,” Troy whispered as he passed him. “Some blonde chick snaked her hand up my thigh, trying to get a grip on my junk before I got a grip on her groping digits.”
“It’s for a good cause.” At least he hadn’t been fondled yet. Yet. “Maybe that fancy black leather corset-thingy you’re showing to them is giving them ideas.” Tank was everlastingly grateful Charity had given Troy those items, which had been donated by Summer Webster of Discretion Boutique.
“Don’t start,” Troy said with a growl before he chuckled. “One of them asked if they could try out the black leather crop that goes with it—on me.”
“But you laughed and were entertaining, right?”
“Of course.”
“Then we’re doing the job they asked of us.”
“Getting yelled at by a drill sergeant would be easier than this.”
“Barracks tossed. Scrubbing the bathroom fixtures with my toothbrush. Nah, I’ll take showing off jewelry for a good cause any day. Just think. The boy’s ranch. Shriners Hospital for kids. The domestic violence shelter and the kid’s advocacy center.”
“Right,” Troy said with a nod. “Hey, I’m usually the level-headed one.”
“That’s what you tell yourself. I saw you flinch when they started screaming outside, though.”
Troy gave a small nod, obviously unwilling to talk about it. “We’d better mingle. I’ve got a corset-thingy and crop to show around.”
“Just keep one hand free for self-defense.”
Troy’s laughter drew many eyes, and one of the older ladies beckoned to him, wanting to see the corset up close.
The reminder of all the good they’d do re-invigorated his efforts to do a good job for the Divine ladies.
He approached the ladies clustered around his mother’s table. Some of them he knew and was happy to see while others, like Emmylou and her best friend, and one of Troy’s exes, he wasn’t as happy to see but would put up with.
Emmylou had already whispered to him, after laying an unwelcome kiss on him, that she intended to win his ass and bend him to her will for at least one night. Troy was just a “yummy extra,” she’d said.
He shook his head, willing the memory away. Jessica hadn’t said anything, but he hoped that she offered the winning bid. If for some reason she didn’t, for Jessica’s sake and the sake of the married men in attendance, he hoped the bachelor auction didn’t turn into a raunchy, wild event.
His smartphone vibrated in his sporran, and he groaned as he read the message. It was from Charity.
I have something new for you to promote to the ladies!
He looked across the room, and there the sadistic blonde stood, an evil grin on her face as she held up the item in her hand. A white silky, sexy, see-through nightgown and robe thing-a-ma-jigger on a padded white satin hanger. It was long so it would definitely require both hands to display it.
You hate me, don’t you? he texted in reply.
She threw her head back and laughed as she read his text across the room and shook her head.
No! You’re doing a fantastic job! Margot just brought this in, and no one has seen it yet. Btw, it would look perfect on a certain pretty redhead I know. Hint. Hint. Her text included a heart-eyed emoji thingy.
He eyed the lingerie as he crossed the room. Okay, so she’s not wrong. He nudged Troy as he passed him and said, “If you get a chance, register us for one of the auction paddles.”
“Oh, nice,” Troy said when Tank pointed out the item Charity still held up. “Check him out.” Troy said, indicating Luka Martinez who was promoting the leather strap and wooden paddle, items in the live auction that had been donated by Joseph and Bunny Hazelle, along with a weekend getaway in one of the fancy suites at Hazelle House that included three hours of “instruction” from the master himself. One woman took it upon herself to pop him on the ass with it while he was answering another woman’s question. Normally pretty gregarious, Luka had to work to keep his smile in place.
Tank’s nether regions clenched at the sound the leather strap made. Nope.
Maybe Charity liked him after all, he thought, as he handed in the diamond jewelry and exchanged it for the opulent lingerie.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Jessica wondered what Charity was doing as her friend took the velvet jewel case Tank proffered and handed him a white silk peignoir and gown to take around for the attendees to get a close look at.
She’d recognized it when Margot had brought it in earlier because the sumptuous and nearly transparent set was one she’d lusted after on her last visit to Summer and Margot’s adults-only boutique, Discretion, which sold all manner of delicious lingerie, clothing, and other goodies. With a growing little girl and bills to pay, she hadn’t been able to justify spending money from her discretionary fund that she might need for a new set of tires, but it’d hurt to walk away from it.
Tank smiled as he took it from Charity, using great care as if he was afraid his callused hands might snag it. He looked like a big gentle bear handling a hummingbird. It was sweet, especially when he smiled as he looked at the piece. It was good to know he appreciated such things. She’d never worn anything sexier than white cotton undies and T-shirt bras around them.
And then women started flagging him down, wanting to get a closer look. One stood up and had him hold it up while she cupped the lace bodice to her chest and asked for his opinion.
Grrr.
She heard a snicker behind her and spotted Cassie standing nearby, texting on her wristwatch. She was probably trading suggestive texts with one of her super-sexy hubbies. She looked up and spotted Jessica watching her and said, “What?”
“Don’t try to look innocent.”
“But I am,” she said with a big smile and rosy-red cheeks. “It’s going fantastically, isn’t it? Everyone loved the meal and the new dessert…” She splayed her fingers out like fireworks.
“Cass, that was nothing short of brilliant.”
The dessert was Ivan’s standard dark chocolate molten brownie and a huge favorite in Divine. As heavenly as it already was, drizzled with caramel syrup, he’d taken it up a notch, turning it into a true Divine Drip signature dessert.
He’d crafted shortbread into little cones that resembled the nozzle of a little firehose, filled them with caramel syrup, and fixed them to each brownie with chocolate-covered pretzels, so they resembled coiled-up firehoses gone wild. The surprise came when the diner lit a match and toasted the tiny marshmallow stuffed in the tip of the “hose,” releasing gooey marshmallow and all the caramel sauce onto the brownie filling the plate. And for the diners uninterested in setting their desserts on fire, they could eat them as is or a waiter could use a mini blowtorch to brown their marshmallow into gooey oblivion for them. She’d done several herself, to great effect.
The dessert was a tribute to the rebirth of Divine Drip after the original structure had been destroyed by fire. Ivan and Cassie were sort of thumbing their noses at a tragedy that might have made anyone else give up.
Cassie looked over Jessica’s shoulder and smiled. “Tank and Troy look like they’ve settled in, if not to have fun, at least to enjoy their jobs tonight. They were good sports about taking the auction items around so that the diners and attendees could see them up close. I really liked that diamond solitaire Matthias was taking around earlier. Did you see it?”
“Yes! Did you see when he—”
Cassie pointed across the room. “He’s doing it again!”
Jessica spotted Matthias just in time to see all the women within sight of him swoon with delight as he got on one knee and offered the solitaire for Kate Benedict’s approval. Matthias played along so well with the ladies, and although she didn’t care for flirts in general, he did bring flirting up to a new level for a good cause. He was also being smart by choosing the more mature attendees to pull that shtick.
Operation Ginger Avenger [Divine Creek Ranch 24] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Page 26