Underneath It All

Everything she had, everything she was had been a lie. And Nicole hadn’t been the same person since learning the truth.

“What are you doing?” Penny pleaded. “You’re going to lose!”

“Going once,” the announcer said.

“She’s wising up. This is too much money,” Eve said.

And in the midst of it all, Nicole’s mind went blank with confusion, halting her from taking action or knowing which way to turn. The same way it had every time she tried to make a move with her life or to find the answers she’d been seeking.

Perpetual limbo. Handed down by Don and Betty Reavis to their grown daughter.

“Going twice,” the announcer said.

“Come on,” Penny urged. “You’re going to be a millionaire. Who cares about the price? Get the guy, already!”

“I don’t…”

Nicole didn’t know what to do. Fixing her eyes on Devon’s she saw a mist of disappointment. A gentleman, he tried to hide it for the audience, but she could see the falseness in his smile. It wasn’t the same smile of expectation he had a moment ago, and she wondered if it had turned because she wouldn’t end up as his date or because the price hadn’t gone as high as he’d hoped.

Closing her eyes, she fumed. This was silly. Ten seconds ago, she was having a great time, anticipating a romantic date with the first man to warm up her insides in as long as she could remember. The chemistry was real. So why was she standing here doubting it all?

What happened to the old Nicole who went for what she wanted, reached out and grabbed the brass ring without worrying whether or not it was just worthless plated steel?

What happened to the doer, the go-getter, the woman who made things happen?

“Sold for three-thousand-five-hundred dollars!” the announcer said.

Sold to another woman, Nicole conceded, pulling her gaze away from Devon and turning from the stage.

“I can’t believe you let him go!” Penny cried.

She looked to Eve and Penny. Only Eve knew the truth about why she’d come to Atlanta, but even so, she still couldn’t explain why she could be confident one moment then a pile of hesitation the next.

Heck, even she didn’t get it. So instead, she lied.

Sticking up her chin, she pasted on a smile. “Eve was right. The price got too high.”

“But—” Penny started.

Nicole held up the crinkled pages in her hand. “I’ve got his phone number right here, remember? Let the woman have her date. I’ll catch him on the rebound.”

3

NICOLE PULLED THE PEN and notepad from her purse and recorded Devon’s auction result as she had the others. On stage, his brother, Todd, was selling the crowd on his date, and when the bidding kicked off, a flurry of hands went up promising that the wager between siblings could be a very tight race.

Next to him, Devon stood by idly watching the proceedings. A few times he’d glanced over, winked or smiled in a no-hard-feelings kind of way, but aside from that he’d kept his attention on the show. He’d moved on, his focus back to his brother and the auction and no doubt the woman who’d be enjoying his fantasy date.

And the longer Nicole stood there the more foolish she felt for backing out the way she had. She’d been having a good time doing something wild and spontaneous. She’d seen something she wanted and had decided to go for it.

For that moment, she’d been her old self again, and it felt good. She shouldn’t be standing here noting the fact that another woman would go home with her prize. She should be standing by the stage waiting for Mr. Delicious to come down and take her hand.

“There’s three thousand, do I have three thousand one hundred?” the auctioneer announced.

Two women held up hands leaving Nicole all but certain Todd would win. The auction hadn’t even slowed and already the price had neared the thirty-five hundred Devon went for.

“I’m sorry, but no date is worth that kind of money,” Eve said.

“Tell me about it,” Nicole murmured then vowed to believe it.

Eve was right. She shouldn’t be making such a big deal out of this. It was just a stupid date that would have cost her more money than she had at the moment. Instead of complaining she should be pleased she’d come to her senses when she had.

“I’ll throw in a dozen roses,” Todd said when the bid hit Devon’s, and when one woman raised her hand and made Todd the winner, the crowd erupted. With the bidding still going, he raised his arms in victory and did a happy dance on stage, leaving Devon rolling his eyes on the sidelines. A few more bids widened the margin before Todd’s date finally sold for three thousand eight hundred, relieving the two brothers from their presence on stage.

And of course, waiting by the stairs to be the first to claim her trophy was Ms. Cruella Skin-And-Bones. Nicole turned her attention to her notes, not interested in standing witness to the grand induction.

“Well, that was exciting,” Nicole said, trying to shake off her disappointment and move on with the evening. “They’ve raised over twelve thousand dollars so far and they’re only halfway through their list of bachelors.”

“I wonder if they’ve got any more dueling brothers,” Penny said. “That was amazing. If I wasn’t so broke, I would have gone after Todd. He’s almost as adorable as his brother.”

“Hopefully, we’ll get a lot of responses on the flyers the organizers are passing out to the winning bidders,” Nicole said, again trying to yank the discussion off Devon and onto something more pleasant.

“We should. Most people love the idea of getting on TV,” Eve said. “It wouldn’t surprise me to show up at the station Monday with a dozen voice mail messages.”

“I wonder how many people end up seriously involved after these dates. You know? Like, how many marriages come out of bachelor auctions,” Penny speculated.

The image of Devon and Cruella at the altar flashed in Nicole’s mind, making her seriously wish she’d left Penny at home tonight.

“Probably not many,” Penny added. “But I’ll bet the bulk of them end up at least doing it. I mean, you have to consider the odds and—”

“Can we stop talking about this, please?” Nicole took a breath, hoping to calm her aggravation when a familiar voice sounded behind them.

“I’m disappointed in you, Nicole. I thought I had my lead story for tomorrow’s broadcast.”

It was Stella Graves, The Grave Digger, as the crew at CATL-TV called her. Stella was the entertainment reporter for their rival television station, WTVU. Nicole should have known she’d be sniffing around at this auction tonight. The woman had managed to make a local celebrity of herself by nosing about town speculating on the comings and goings of prominent people in the city. Until recently, only Eve had been notable enough to get an occasional mention in Stella’s nightly gossip segments, and even then it was rare, most likely because WTVU wasn’t keen on giving publicity to its competitors.

But the lottery changed all that. If the win itself hadn’t been big enough news, the scandal created by Liza’s return made them all ripe pickings for anyone looking for a story. And Stella Graves had been right at the front of the pack.

“Granted,” Stella continued, “the friendly wager between the Bradshaw brothers might be a fun mention, but I’d been rooting for you to win. Atlanta would love to know their favorite lottery winners were spending their fortunes buying bachelors.”

Forcing a stiff smile, Nicole replied, “Sorry I couldn’t help you, Stella.”

The woman turned back to the stage and sighed from under the brim of her black felt hat. Part of Stella’s image was to look as though she’d just flown out from Hollywood, though Nicole had been there enough times to know few Hollywood locals actually dressed like her. In California, the wide-brimmed hats and rhinestones were more commonly found on drag queens and stage performers, though in all irony, Stella somehow made it work, coming across as more eccentric than foolish.

And be damned if Atlanta didn’t love her, which made the subjects of her nightly segments all that more annoyed.

Stella spoke through a huff and glanced toward Devon and Cruella. “That Abbey Westlaw certainly isn’t news. If I devoted my segments to all the men she dates, I wouldn’t have time to report on anything else.” She raised a brow and added, “Looks like your Devon will be the next notch on her bedpost, if he’s not there already. They do look as though they already know each other, wouldn’t you say?”

Nicole gritted her teeth and eyed Eve who shot a look that said let it go. They’d all dealt with Stella enough to know this was how she incited news for her segments. Push a few buttons and people were likely to say all kinds of things they’d find repeated on the next day’s taping.