Underneath It All

The funny one?

Wincing, he tried to remain calm, remembering there were worse things than spending a romantic evening with Abbey. Though off the top of his head, he couldn’t come up with any.

Abbey kissed him on the cheek and gave his arm a squeeze.

“If the price is right, I might go home with several prizes tonight,” she said, her expression stating she had no clue as to how bad that sounded. “I just wanted you to know you’re my first choice.”

And with that, she walked off, leaving him standing at the bar with one sinking pit in his stomach.

2

“I HOPE YOU’VE COME prepared to lose,” said Devon’s brother, Todd. “I’ve got several women in this room ready to fork out big dollars for a slice of the best looking Bradshaw.”

“I’m glad you’ve come with confidence,” Devon replied half-heartedly. He wasn’t terribly interested in engaging in another battle of egos with the baby of the family. Abbey’s parting words were still hanging in his ears, leaving him thoroughly annoyed with his brother for talking him into this mess.

“It’s not confidence, it’s strategy,” Todd said, pointing a finger to his forehead. “A good gambler knows the way to win is to tilt the odds in his favor. So while you were standing here holding hands with Bryce, I’ve been securing bidders.” He scanned the room and smiled. “And I’ve got my odds set on a sexy redhead named Tammy.”

Devon had to admit, before spotting the blonde he hadn’t considered working the room, even though most of the men here tonight had been casually mingling through the crowd. He was still a little put off by the idea of auctioning himself off like a steer marked for stud. Playing along by actively promoting himself tipped the weird meter a bit too far.

But for Todd, this kind of thing was right up his alley. The born salesman of the three Bradshaw boys, Todd could talk a vagrant out of his last dollar and leave him sorry he couldn’t give more. Add the heat of competition and the spark of a friendly wager and this night was Todd’s all around, the kind of thing he was made for.

Their father hadn’t been stupid to put Todd in charge of investor acquisitions at the firm. He loved talking people out of their money and though Devon often found his younger brother’s ego tiresome, he had to admit Todd was good at his job.

Which was why Devon showed up tonight already accepting surrender. From the moment Todd could walk and talk the family learned not to go up against him when it came to competition. Even as kids at their old church fundraisers, if someone raised twenty dollars, Todd would work double-time to raise twenty-one. The little snot would do anything to win, and it was decades ago that Devon, Bryce and Gracie all learned it was easier to not compete than suffer through the lengths he’d go to come out on top.

But though Devon had no interest in trying to beat Todd tonight, he most certainly wanted to end up on a date with the only woman in the room who perked his interest—among other things.

Still talking among her friends, she’d turned around, giving him a glorious view of one heart-shaped behind, and he clenched his hands into fists as if to ward off the desire to walk over and caress them over her ass. Just that one heated glance they’d shared had left him feeling as though he had the right, as if he’d claimed her through the crowd, and he had to forcefully pull his civility back in check.

Like a caveman considering walking over and dragging her off to his cave, the woman had somehow reached in and yanked on his most primal instinct to conquer and possess, and before he approached her, he needed to remind himself that his species had supposedly evolved.

Right now, however, it didn’t feel like it.

“How about you? You got any prospects lined up?” Todd asked.

“Abigail Westlaw,” Bryce said with a smirk.

“Yeah, you and twenty others.” Todd studied Devon as if he were sizing up the competition. “Really, no joke. You haven’t talked to any women here tonight?”

“I was about to introduce myself to a lovely blonde,” Devon said, moving his gaze back across the room.

“The blonde from Just Between Us?” Todd asked.

“You know her?” Devon asked, his interest in his brother piquing.

Todd glanced over to the blonde and the two women she was with. “Know of her. She’s one of the producers of the TV show. Eve Best,” he said, pointing to the shorter brunette, “she’s the host. The shorter blonde with them is an assistant.” He shrugged and sipped his beer. “I don’t know them. I just happened to be there when the assistant was talking to the organizer. They’re here for the show. Want to do a segment on bachelor auctions, I guess.”

“So they aren’t here to bid on bachelors,” Devon said, his hopes sinking by the minute.

“Got no idea.”

“Well, there’s one way to find out,” Devon said. He moved toward the woman, but Todd stopped him.

“Whoa, where are you going? Evanne wants us up on stage. We’re next.”

“Already? They’ve barely started this thing.”

“Sorry, bro. If you haven’t talked yourself up to the women yet, you’re out of time. You should have jumped on the chance when you had it.”

Brilliant. Up for auction and the only woman openly interested was the last woman he cared to go on a date with. He thought of Abigail and the prospect of her winning, and for once he had to agree with his brother—that moving more quickly might have helped his situation.

Now, he’d have to move to the stage and leave the outcome to Fate.

Picking up his drink for one final sip, he hoped the stars would be on his side.

“HERE’S TONIGHT’S FEATURE, ladies. Two wealthy, eligible brothers engaged in a friendly wager to benefit Children’s Charities.”

Nicole listened while the announcer introduced the crowd to her sexy stranger and the reason the two men were up there together.

Devon Bradshaw, co-chair of Bradshaw Investment Group, and his brother Todd, battling against each other to see who would go for the most money. She took the sheets from Peggy and found their names on the list along with their contact information. No matter how things turned out tonight, she had a perfect excuse to call him up and request a meeting, and circling his name, she smiled at the thought that sometimes her job came in very handy, indeed.

“Here we go, are you ready?” Penny asked, her voice nearly breathless with excitement.

“You know, I can always track him down after the auction. That’s what we’re here for, right?”

Penny looked at her as if she’d lost her mind. “And interview him about his date with another woman?”

When phrased that way, Nicole didn’t like how it sounded, and the sour feeling sucked the last of her doubt away.

Rolling up the pages, she tucked the pen and note pad in her purse. “Only if I lose the auction,” she said. “And I won’t.”

There. She said it. Decision made and final. She was going to win herself a date with a torturously gorgeous man and start having fun for a change. Eve said the station would probably cover her bid, and besides, Nicole couldn’t remember the last time she let loose and had a good time. Tonight would be it. The night of rebirth. The night Nicole Reavis took a step forward instead of wallowing in her past.

For over a year, she’d been wrapped up in her problems and the turmoil that had followed. Ever since her mother had come down with cancer, things hadn’t been the same. Her parents had been forced to tell her the truth about who she was—or wasn’t, more accurately. The news that she’d been adopted had been a shock, had sent her three thousand miles east, away from friends and family and everything she’d known in search of the answers to questions that had come to haunt her.

Between making new friends, settling into a new job, moving to a slice of the country where she still felt like a foreigner, and then this lottery win, she hadn’t taken a moment to relax, let her hair down and enjoy.

A distraction might be just what she needed.

And the look from the man on stage promised all kinds of welcome distraction.

“Well, Devon surely looks like he wants you to win,” Penny said. “He hasn’t taken his eyes off you since he walked up there.”

Nicole licked her lips. No, he hadn’t. And the more he studied her with those blue eyes whispering unspoken words of promise, the more intent she was to go home the winner.

“Devon, please tell us what you have planned,” the announcer said.

He casually turned to the woman on stage and took the microphone, and when he spoke, his voice sent tingles up Nicole’s spine. He had a low, whiskey drawl that made every word sound like a private secret shared between lovers, the kind of voice that could spread velvet over your skin just by whispering sweet sensations.