Purchased For Pleasure

Why hadn’t they given it a go?

Had chasing their careers rather than following their hearts been worth it?

Had growing up changed them?

Needing a distraction from her futile questions, she glanced around the table and noticed every woman’s attention riveted to the stage. Not that she could blame them, considering what was on show up there.

They were a great bunch of girls to work with, all highly talented in their own right: journalists, editors and photographers. Diane, her personal assistant, had organised this gathering in support of the magazine’s sponsorship of the orphanage. In fact, Di had been in charge of choosing this year’s worthy cause and had taken care of every detail and all she’d had to do was turn up.

As if sensing her gaze, Di turned towards her.

‘Why don’t you put in a bid, Kate? About time you had some excitement in your life.’

Excitement? Her? No way. Been there, done that and still had the SEAL scars to prove it.

To her mortification, the rest of the girls turned to look at her so she schooled her features into her best ‘I’m too busy to have fun’ look.

‘Sorry to disappoint, everyone. No time for excitement. What would I do with an Odd Bod anyway?’

Though her voice remained steady the idea of Ty trailing after her for a week did strange things to her insides.

Things she shouldn’t be feeling…or remembering…

‘My point exactly,’ Di smirked. ‘If you don’t know what to do with a total hunk like that you need more help than I first thought. Why don’t you live a little and show us you’re human after all?’

The rest of the table joined in, goading her into bidding and she shook her head, chuckling at their enthusiasm.

So Di had a point. She did bury her life in her work, determined to show that effort and dedication were the keys to success. However, being a workaholic had its downside and she hadn’t had any fun in ages. She’d been fun and impulsive once, and she was too young to be living the sensible ‘all work no play’ life. Maybe a brief catch-up off-stage with an old ‘friend’ could be an antidote to that?

What harm could placing a bid do? It wasn’t as if she’d be the only one. Just one look at Ty and every woman in the room would be reaching for their cheque books.

‘Okay, okay. I’ll do it. Sheesh.’

She held up her hands in surrender and grinned as the girls cheered. Downing the rest of her champagne in two gulps, she raised her hand high in the air and waved it like a cheerleader on a caffeine high.

‘Five hundred dollars,’ she yelled, buoyed by the alcohol and a sudden rush to do something completely out of character.

Pin-drop silence followed and rather than sinking into her chair with embarrassment she straightened her spine, head up, waiting for the moment Ty laid eyes on his bidder, eager to see his reaction, wondering if they still had a spark.

She had her answer in the next loaded second when Ty focussed that too-blue gaze of his on her, the shock of recognition registering in the imperceptible widening of his eyes across the room as they stared at each other, neither backing down, locked in an invisible battle of wills so reminiscent of the past.

Maybe it was the champagne, maybe it was the number of women packed into the room, but while Kate sat trapped under the intensity of Ty’s stare she broke out in a sweat as her body temperature sky-rocketed and she could barely breathe.

‘Do I have any further bids?’ Kelly queried, surveying the room with a grin on her expertly made up face.

Please. Someone…anyone…

Kate’s silent plea preceded complete and utter bedlam as the ladies—and she used the term loosely—in the room erupted.

Maybe her initial bid had been a tad on the high side considering the average guy had gone for around three to four hundred all night. But she’d wanted to prove a point to the girls, show them she could lighten up when needed. Unfortunately, she hadn’t counted on the speculative gleam in her ex’s eyes or the competitive nature of her fellow bidders.

‘Five-fifty!’ shouted a boppy blonde.

Kate rolled her eyes. Blondes were so not Ty’s type.

‘Six hundred,’ yelled a willowy redhead who looked like Nicole Kidman, her smug smile indicating she thought she’d won.

‘Six-fifty.’

Kate sat up and took notice of the third bidder, a sultry brunette reminiscent of Catherine Zeta-Jones with breasts that could take out a guy’s eye at a hundred paces.

Now she was Ty’s type.

Di leaned over and muttered behind her raised hand. ‘Hey, are you going to let these amateurs beat you?’

Suddenly, Kate knew that was out of the question. Fuelled by a fierce competitive streak she’d had since birth, she downed her newly topped-up glass of champagne and jabbed her hand high in the air.

‘One thousand dollars!’

Chaos ceased as curious eyes—and several eyes shooting daggers if she counted the blonde, Nicole and Catherine—focussed on her and she clenched her fists under the table, her heart pounding.

‘Going once? Going twice? All done?’

As the gavel in Kelly’s hand hit the podium with a resounding thud Kate jumped.

‘Sold. To Kate Hayden, whose magazine is our major sponsor today. Well done, Kate. Why don’t you come up here and claim your prize?’

‘You go, girl,’ Di laughed, slapping her on the back. ‘Didn’t know you had it in you.’

Numbness flooded Kate’s body as she walked towards the stage mechanically putting one foot in front of the other as thunderous applause rang out, almost succeeding in drowning out the pounding of her heart, which still reverberated in her ears.

Well, wasn’t this just peachy?

She’d envisaged a brief catch up with Ty tonight, but not like this. A short, impersonal meeting off-stage had been her goal, not an up-close-and-personal encounter in front of the whole room.

As she dragged her feet up the steps she looked Ty in the eye and tried not to crumple into a pathetic heap at his feet. Up close he was even more handsome if that were possible. His vivid blue eyes, the spectacular colour of the Pacific Ocean at Malibu on a fine day, had a quizzical edge as his glance raked over her, setting her body alight.

Damn, he was hot. Hotter than hot and she was burning up from the inside out just being this close to him.

‘You’re looking good, Katie. Long time no see.’

His deep voice flowed over her in a warm caress just as it used to and her knees wobbled, an instant reminder of her foolishness when it came to this guy.

Rattled by her reaction, she aimed for cool. ‘Yeah, it has been a long time. Amazing what I’ll do for charity, isn’t it?’

The momentary warmth in his eyes sparked into fire, the same fire that had scorched her with its brilliance on more than one lucky occasion.

‘Now, now. Is that any way to talk to your fiancé?’