Most Eligible Texan

Then Billy’s brother and his wife offered to take Ellie to make Rachel’s life “easier.” What the hell? She didn’t care about easy. She cared about her child and providing a stable future.

Ellie was the only family she had and Rachel wasn’t going to be separated from her for any amount of time. She’d give up her degree first. Ellie was her world...a world Rachel hadn’t even known she’d wanted until the time came.

Billy hadn’t wanted children and they’d both been taken by surprise when Rachel had gotten pregnant. Rachel had slid into the idea of motherhood and couldn’t imagine a greater position to be in. Billy, on the other hand, hadn’t gotten used to the idea before his death. In fact, that was one of the things they’d argued about right before he’d left that fateful day.

Rachel didn’t have many regrets in life, but that argument still haunted her.

“Well, I hope you both are saving your appetites for a good dinner tonight.” Gus’s statement pulled Rachel from her thoughts. “I’ve got the chef preparing the best filets with homemade mashed potatoes and her special gravy, and baby carrots fresh from the garden.”

All of that sounded so amazing. Any other night Rachel would welcome all those glorious calories. In fact, she’d enjoyed each meal their chef prepared over the past several days. If she hung around much longer she’d definitely be packing on the pounds.

“I actually have plans.”

Alexis and Gus both turned to her like she’d just announced her candidacy for president. Rachel couldn’t help but laugh at their shocked faces.

“I ran into an old friend earlier at Daily Grind and he asked to see me tonight. I’ll be taking Ellie, so don’t worry. You won’t be babysitting.”

Alexis waved her hands and shook her head. “Hold up. Forget the babysitting, which I’d happily do. You said he. You’re going on a date?”

Rachel cringed. “No, not a date. Matt is an old friend.”

“Matt who?” Gus asked, his brows drawing inward like a concerned parent.

“Galloway.”

Gus’s features relaxed as he nodded. “Businessman from Dallas, also a member of TCC. So, he asked you on a date?”

“No, it’s not a date,” she repeated, feeling like perhaps she shouldn’t have disclosed her plans.

“Matt Galloway. Oh, I remember him,” Alexis murmured. “A businessman from Dallas sounds perfect. How old is he now? Early thirties, right?”

“A few years older than me. Why do you say he’s perfect?”

Alexis’s smile beamed and she merely stared. Then Rachel realized exactly where her friend’s thoughts had traveled.

“No.” Rachel shook her head and gripped the stack of photos. “We have our guys and I’m not asking my friend to do this. I couldn’t. We just reconnected after a year apart and he was one of Billy’s best friends. It would just be too weird.”

Not to mention her heart rate still hadn’t recovered from their morning together. Part of her felt guilty for the way she’d reacted. Yes, her husband was gone, but was it okay to already feel a flicker of desire for another man? And one of her friends at that. Surely her sensations were all just heightened over their reunion. Rachel was confident the next time she saw Matt it would just be like old times when they hung out as pals.

And if that attraction tried to rear its ugly head, Rachel would just have to ignore it. A romantic entanglement between the two of them was never going to happen. Besides, even though a chunk of time had passed, Rachel still considered Matt someone special in her life. So, no. She couldn’t ask him to put himself up on the stage...especially considering he was trying to stay out of the public eye.

“You didn’t tell me he was named Most Eligible Bachelor in Texas,” Alexis exclaimed.

Rachel blinked and focused on her friend who had her phone in hand, waving it around. An image of Matt in a tux on the red carpet posing in front of some charitable gala had Rachel sighing.

“No, I didn’t tell you that. One of the reasons why he’s in Royal is to lie low.”

“Rach, no guy can look like this and have women ignore him. It’s not possible.”

“Looks like a perfect candidate for you to bid on, Lex,” Gus chimed in with a nudge to his granddaughter. “You’re putting in all this work—you should pick out a date, as well.”

The idea of her best friend and her other friend hooking up hit the wrong chord in Rachel. But what could she say? She had no claims on Matt, and Alexis was single. They both could do whatever they wanted...but Rachel wasn’t so sure she’d like it.

“Poor guy,” Gus added, leaning over to look at the photo. “It’s hell when the women are all over you and you have no place to hide. I feel his pain.”

Alexis rolled her eyes and laid her phone down on the table. “Ignore him. He’s a romantic. But let’s focus on Matt. Seems like he’s the perfect big name for our auction needs. Figured I’d look him up really quick and see how we can market him.”

As if he were cattle ready to go to the market. Rachel was fine discussing the other bachelors; in fact, she rather enjoyed using her creativity and schooling to make each guy stand out in a unique way. But something about the idea of Matt up for grabs really irritated the hell out of her.

Perhaps it was because Rachel knew for a fact that the female attendees would bid high on the very sexy, very wealthy Matt Galloway, but she didn’t want to give them the opportunity.

First, she’d feel like a jerk asking him when he’d been up-front as to his reasons for being in Royal. He was dodging this new title and clearly not comfortable with the added attention.

Second, the idea of women waving their paddles and tossing money for a fantasy date with Matt...well, she was jealous. There. She admitted it—if only to herself.

Why was she suddenly so territorial? She’d always found Matt attractive, always respected and admired him. How could she throw him into the lion’s den, so to speak, and expect not to have strong feelings on the matter? They were friends. She should feel protective, but there were other feelings swirling around inside her, and none of them remained in the friend zone.

“Tell me you’ll at least think about it.”

Rachel met Alexis’s pleading gaze. She was here to help her friend—they were actually helping each other—and this auction was a huge deal to the Slade family. How could Rachel say no when Alexis had opened her home and heart to Rachel and Ellie?

“I’ll see what I can do,” she conceded with a belabored sigh. “But I can’t promise anything and I won’t beg.”

Alexis squealed. “All I ask is you try.”

Gus rested a large, weathered hand on Alexis’s shoulder. “My granddaughter is all Slade. When she wants something, she finds a way to make it happen. So, which guy are you bidding on, Lex?”

Alexis rolled her eyes. “Stop trying to marry me off. I’m working on raising money, not finding a guy to put a ring on my finger.”

Rachel scooted her chair back and came to her feet. “Well, I’m pretty determined to help bring in all the money possible, but I won’t make Matt feel uncomfortable.”

“I understand,” Alexis said, nodding in agreement. “But, I’ll wait up so I can hear all about your date and see if he agreed to be auctioned.”

That naughty gleam in her friend’s eyes was not going to last. If Alexis knew all that Rachel, Matt and Billy had been through, she’d understand just how delicate this situation was. But she wasn’t wanting to get into all of that now. She didn’t want to revisit the ordeal that was her marriage and the gap of time she’d missed Matt.

“Feel free to wait up, but I assure you I won’t be out long. I have a baby, remember? Early bedtimes are a must.”

“Why don’t you leave her here?” Gus suggested. “It’s nice having a little one around, and she’s no trouble.”

Alexis stood up and patted her grandfather’s shoulder. “If that’s a hint, relax. It’s going to be a while before I give you a great-grandchild. I’m a little busy in case you haven’t noticed.”

Rachel didn’t miss the way Alexis’s eyes landed on the top photo...which featured the very handsome Daniel Clayton.

Alexis Slade and Daniel Clayton had once been quite an item, but they’d fallen apart and Rachel still didn’t know what had happened. Whenever Rachel brought up the topic, her friend not-so-subtly steered their chat in another direction. Eventually, Rachel would find out what was going on between her friend and the mysterious ex.

“What time is your date?” Alexis asked.

Resigned to the fact nobody believed her about the nondate, Rachel shrugged. “We kept it open. He realizes I need to be flexible with a little one. I’ll head over to his hotel room later. Once Ellie wakes, I need to grab a shower and we both need to get ready.”