Bachelor at her bidding, p.1
Bachelor at Her Bidding, page 1
Bachelor at Her Bidding
A Bachelor Auction Romance
Kate Hardy
Bachelor at Her Bidding
Copyright © 2015 Kate Hardy
The Tule Publishing Group, LLC
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
ISBN: 978-1-942240-40-2
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Keep Up with your Favorite Authors and their New Releases
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Epilogue
An Exclusive Excerpt from A Spoonful of Sugar
More Books by Kate Hardy
The Bachelor Auction Series
Keep Up with your Favorite Authors and their New Releases
About the Author
Keep Up with your Favorite Authors and their New Releases
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Chapter One
“Ryan Henderson. Just the man I was looking for.”
Ryan knew that drawl well. Lily Taylor was one of the regulars at Grey’s Saloon, and he enjoyed flirting with her as much as she enjoyed flirting with him – because both of them knew there was no chance of them being anything other than friends. Gorgeous as Lily was, Ryan wasn’t in the market for a relationship. Not now, and not for the foreseeable future.
But a friend was another matter. He could always do with a friend.
And he liked Lily Taylor. A lot. She was smart, sassy, and told it to you straight. He knew she was a favorite with Reese Kendrick, the laconic saloon manager, too – or she wouldn’t have been allowed back here in the kitchen. If anyone else had thought about coming back here, one look from Reese would’ve kept them on the other side of the bar.
Ryan looked up from the huckleberry pies he was making and smiled at her. “What can I do for you, Lily?”
“It’s about the Bachelor Auction on Saturday night.”
“The fundraiser for Josh Dekker, you mean?” The poor kid had been in a bad fall on Copper Mountain three months ago, and after he’d been airlifted to hospital the medics had discovered that Josh had a spinal cord injury, leaving him in a wheelchair. Molly, Josh’s mother, was a single parent; she was struggling to get the care her boy needed, let alone trying to meet the cost of refitting the house to meet Josh’s needs. Lily, as Josh’s godmother, had gone straight into action and organized a fundraiser to help.
“Reese has already talked to me about the food,” Ryan said, “but I’m happy to run the menu by you and tweak it if you need me to.” He grinned. “And – before you ask – yes, of course I’m making red velvet cheesecake. Especially for you.”
“Good boy.” Lily gave him a sultry look and flicked her long dark hair out of her eyes. “But it’s not the menu I want.” She paused for effect. “It’s you.”
“Me?” Ryan looked at her, perplexed. He was just the cook. If she didn’t want to talk about the food for Saturday night, what on earth did she want with him?
The question must’ve shown on his face, because she said, “As one of my bachelors.”
She wanted to auction him?
No way.
Ryan was more than happy to do his bit to help with the fundraising, but being auctioned off was something he most definitely wasn’t up for doing. “Whoa, there.” He lifted both floury hands in a “stop” gesture to back it up. “I can’t do that, Lily. What I can do is make you all the cakes you want – stuff you can auction off after you’ve done the bachelors.”
She gave him a pointed look, and he groaned as he realized what he’d said and how it could be taken. “You know I didn’t mean it like that.” Lily’s past had made some of the smaller minds in town snub her. But the people she allowed to know her well enough all knew that the ex-stripper had a heart of purest gold. Not to mention a smart mouth that could put down anyone faster than they could try to put her down. And watching Lily Taylor in full flow could be a lot of fun.
“Well now, Ry. I’m thinking you owe me for that one,” she drawled.
He sighed. “Lily, I’m sorry. I just can’t do it.”
“You’re a bachelor, right?” She hoisted herself up on to a clean area of the counter – something that nobody else but Lily would’ve dared to do – and crossed her legs.
Ryan couldn’t argue with her assessment. “Right.” But he could argue about something else. “I don’t date. I don’t have time to date.” When he wasn’t working at Grey’s, he was looking after Phyllis, his grandmother. And that wasn’t negotiable.
“If you weren’t so stubborn and ornery about it,” Lily said, “you know we’d have a rota of people to sit with Phyllis like a shot. She’s a legend.”
He knew that. His grandmother had been one of the most popular teachers in her years at the high school, always willing to spend time in her breaks or after school with someone who was struggling with math and helping them to get it. Her old colleagues from the high school dropped in to visit with her regularly – history teachers, Gemma Clayton and Chelsea Collier, who’d once been her pupils; vice principal, Kate Pearce; and even principal, Sharla Dickinson. They’d all told Ryan they’d be happy to sit with Phyllis for an evening – or any time during the day, out of term time – to give him a break from looking after her.
But Ryan wasn’t the sort to dump his responsibilities on other people, no matter how well-meaning they were.
“Yes, she’s a legend,” he agreed softly. “And she’s my responsibility.” Ryan was the only family Phyllis had left. She’d taken care of him when he’d needed her most; and now it was his turn to repay that favor and take care of his grandmother when she needed him most. He wasn’t going to let her down.
Lily sighed. “Ry, I know the situation at home. And I wouldn’t ask you to do something like this ordinarily.”
No. She would’ve just negotiated twice as many desserts as he had time to make. And for her he would’ve made the time to do it. “But?”
“Someone’s dropped out. I have two days to find a replacement bachelor. I need you.” She looked at him with those big, dark pansy eyes. “Josh and Molly need you.”
Ah, hell. How could he resist an entreaty like that?
“Please?” she wheedled, tipping her head to one side.
How did she make her eyes look so huge? Like the cutest kitten or puppy. One you couldn’t say no to. God help whoever she settled down with, if they had a couple of little girls like her. They’d wrap their father round their little fingers with a single one of those looks. “I...”
“One date. That’s all I’m asking for, Ry. One little package.”
Now he was on safer ground. “You won’t get very much if you auction me off.”
“Now that,” she said, “is where you’re wrong. Each bachelor is offering something special. Something unique.”
And, for the amount of money they needed to raise for Josh, each bachelor was going to be offering something expensive. Ryan had heard the rumors in town about what was going to be on offer, including a helicopter ride. Way, way out of his league. “Which is why I’m the wrong person to ask. I’m not a billionaire and I don’t have anything to offer.”
“No?” She gave him the sweetest smile. “Everyone in town knows your food is almost better than sex.”
“Almost?” he deadpanned, though he couldn’t help laughing. Lily always made him smile for the right reasons. She was one of those people who made your world feel brighter just by being there.
“It’s a close-run thing.” She spread her hands. “One night, Ry, that’s all I’m asking. And I’ll make sure Phyllis has someone with her for every second that you’re away, I promise.”
“And what does this one night consist of?”
“Dinner for whoever bids for you. Cooked by you. Some of that fancy stuff you learned in Paris.”
His cordon bleu training in France seemed a lifetime away now. Ryan stuffed down the longing before it had a chance to take hold. Family came first and it always would. His dreams could wait a while longer.
“And where am I going to cook this fancy dinner?” he asked.
She shrugged. “That’s between you and your bidder.”
“One night. One dinner.” He paused. “OK. I’ll do it. On the strict proviso that if whoever sits with Gram has even the slightest worry about her while I’m out cooking this dinner, they call me immediately and I get to go home straight away.”
“You’re a hard man, Ryan Henderson,” she purred.
Soft as butter and just as soft in the head, according to Lucille, his ex.
“How can you think of giving up our business venture to look after your grandmother? You’re not a nursemaid. You’re supposed to be a chef.” The contempt in Lucille’s eyes as she’d spoken had made Ryan feel sick – how had he
got so deeply involved with such a cold, selfish woman?
He pushed the memory away and tried to enjoy Lily’s innuendo instead. “Yeah, yeah.”
“It’s a deal,” she said. “I would shake your hand to seal it, but...”
Both hands were covered in flour and she didn’t want to get her clothes dusty. “A kiss would do,” he teased.
“No chance. There’s flour on your face, too.”
No, there wasn’t, but he let it pass. He and Lily weren’t kissy-kissy in any case.
She looked at the wire rack where a batch of red velvet cupcakes were cooling. “I think one of those will do nicely.” She gave him a saucy wink, hauled herself off the counter, filched a cupcake and sashayed out of the kitchen. At the door, she paused. “I’ll call you with the details. And thank you, Ry. I appreciate it. So will Josh and Molly.”
“It looks as if you,” Reese Kendrick said with a laconic smile as he walked into the kitchen, “have just been railroaded into something.”
“Let’s just say I’ve been Lily Taylored,” Ryan said ruefully.
Auctioned off. One night. One dinner. With some unknown woman who could afford to buy his time.
OK. He could do this. Just for one night. For Josh and Molly’s sake.
“Rach, you can’t refuse to date for the rest of your entire life,” Hannah said.
“No? Watch me,” Rachel said with a smile. “Han, stop worrying. I’m perfectly happy with my life how it is. I’m back home in Marietta, near my mom and dad, Susie and Ricky; I love my job; and I like my apartment.” The first two were true – it was good to be home and so close to her parents, her brother and her sister, and Rachel had always loved her job as a family physician. But the last one was a slight fib, because her apartment was tiny. Rachel’s sister, Susie, and her two closest friends were also good friends with Rachel’s two closest friends, and since Rachel’s return to Marietta three months ago they’d taken to meeting up on Thursday evenings for something to eat and a catch-up. Today was her turn to host the evening, and her living room was barely big enough to seat the six of them together.
But Rachel had no intention of complaining. As a divorcee come home to Marietta from Missoula to lick her wounds, she knew she was already enough of an object of pity in the town. She’d heard what Carol Bingley in the pharmacy in Main Street had said about her, and she was pretty sure the rest of the town shared her opinion. I’m not surprised Rachel Cassidy’s divorced. Always had her nose in her books when she was growing up – she never even had a date for the prom. A woman like her would never get to keep a man.
It was a little more complicated than that, but no way was Rachel giving the town gossip any juicy titbits. The last thing she wanted was for anyone – even her sister and their closest friends – to think that her life in Marietta was anything less than perfect right now.
“Your job isn’t going to keep your bed warm at nights, Rach,” Dayna pointed out.
“A hot water bottle and a down-filled comforter will do that just fine,” Rachel said firmly.
Susie, Rachel’s sister, sighed and shook her head. “I know Nick hurt you, honey, but he couldn’t see past the end of his nose. He was a total idiot and he wasn’t good enough for you in the first place.”
“Thanks for taking my part, Susie, but that subject’s closed,” Rachel said, fixing her smile in place. She knew her sister’s views on her ex-husband – and she hadn’t even told Susie the worst of it. Because it made her feel too ashamed. “I’m not interested in dating ever again and there’s an end to it, OK?”
She was relieved that the pizza delivery boy rang her doorbell only a few seconds later. With food on the table, her friends might just chill out and let her be.
“You’re not saved by the bell,” Dayna warned, almost as if she’d been able to read Rachel’s mind, “but we’ll shut up for now.”
After pizza, conversation turned to the weekend.
“You’re not on call on Saturday night, are you, Rach?” Lexy asked.
“No-o.” Where was she going with this?
“Good. Then you’re coming with us to the Bachelor Auction,” Lizzy said.
Rachel wrinkled her nose. “I want to support the fundraiser, and I’m more than happy to donate something for the raffle as well as buy a ticket to the auction, but I can’t really see myself actually going to a Bachelor Auction,” she said. “Like I said, I’m not interested in even looking to date anyone – and isn’t that the point of the auction, to buy yourself a date?”
Dayna rolled her eyes, “You don’t have to bid for anyone, Rach. Just drink margaritas with us and look at all the gorgeous men.”
“Don’t forget the huckleberry pie,” Susie added. “Jason Grey’s donating the food for the evening, and the pie at Grey’s is to die for. And I second looking at the gorgeous men.” She gave Rachel a cheeky wink. “I’m married, yes, but I’m not dead. I can still appreciate good eye candy.”
“And then there’s the red velvet cheesecake,” Lexy said.
“Thirded on the desserts and the men,” Hannah said, “and it doesn’t matter that I’m happily married and...” She patted her bump and grinned. “Well, I’m with Susie. We can still look and enjoy. So can you. Come on, Rach, it’ll be fun.”
Now she’d already admitted to being off duty, Rachel was fresh out of excuses.
“It starts at eight, so we’ll meet at seven downstairs in Grey’s. I’ll get our names down with Lily Taylor for a table for six, and we’re going dress up and drink margaritas – that’s virgin margaritas for you, Han – and then we’re going to enjoy some serious eye candy,” Susie said.
And what could Rachel do but give in? “OK. I’ll do it.”
Chapter Two
Saturday night saw Rachel walking arm in arm with her sister down Main Street toward Grey’s Saloon.
“It’s picture-postcard perfect, isn’t it?” she said to Susie. “With a fresh sprinkle of snow on the sidewalks and all the shop fronts lit up, Marietta has to be the prettiest town in the West.”
“Sure is.” Susie squeezed her arm. “Rach, are you sure you don’t regret moving back here from Missoula? I mean, don’t you miss all the bright lights?”
“Absolutely not, to both,” Rachel said with a smile. “I always loved coming home to Marietta. And now I get to do the job I love among the people I love. It doesn’t get better than this.” She wasn’t going to admit the loneliness she sometimes felt. That was nothing to do with Marietta and everything to do with what Nick had said to her – words that were branded across her heart. You’re just not enough for me. You’re not her.
How stupid she’d been, to marry a man who didn’t even love her.
She pushed the thought away and concentrated on the building on the corner. Grey’s was one of the oldest buildings in Marietta, and although it was a respectable saloon nowadays it had once been the town bordello. And it hadn’t really been updated much since it had first passed to the Greys in the 1800s. “Hey, Susie, did you know that the bordello girls used to walk up and down on that balustraded balcony to parade their wares?”
“Who told you that?”
“Chelsea Collier.”
“Figures. What she doesn’t know about the history of Marietta isn’t worth knowing.” Susie smiled at her. “Come on. Time for margaritas.”
They pushed through the swing doors together and stopped in front of the long wide bar so they could scan the room for their friends.
As well as the booths down the long wall opposite the bar, there were a dozen extra cocktail tables with fold-out chairs. Clearly the team organizing the fundraiser was expecting a big turnout. Which wasn’t so surprising – Marietta looked after its own. In back was a makeshift stage.
“There’s Lexy and Dayna,” Susie said. “And they’ve already got the first round in, by the look of it.” There was a pitcher of margaritas and five glasses on the table in their booth, along with another drink that looked like a non-alcoholic cocktail especially for Hannah.
“Susie! Rach!” Lexy and Dayna greeted them with a wave and they hurried over to join them.
Rachel shrugged off her coat. “I just need to change my shoes. Just as well I brought my highest heels, seeing how you’re all dressed up,” she said with a smile.
