Bound to the Bachelor (Montana Born Bachelor Auction #1)(3)

“I’ll send you through some of the dates the other guys are putting together so you can see what they’re offering. I’ll need the details of your date ASAP for the menu and our Facebook page.”

“What do you mean, my date?”

“What did you think people would be bidding on? Your body? We’re not running a brothel, you know.”

His breath hissed out between his teeth, and she knew she was pushing him with her teasing. It was hard to stop when she had him on the ropes, however. It was a rare day when she came out on top in an encounter with Beau Bennett.

“Send me through the other offers, I’ll come up with something,” he said.

“Try to make it romantic,” she couldn’t resist adding. “I’m sure Google will have some good suggestions.”

The fabric of his hoodie pulled taut and she guessed he was clenching his hands in the pockets. “Ever heard of quitting while you’re ahead?”

“Yep, that’s why I’m going now.” She turned to go, then immediately swung back as a thought hit her, the thick plait of her hair bouncing over her shoulder. “You’re not going to back out on me, are you?”

“I don’t back out. Of anything.” He said it grimly, like a soldier going into battle.

“Good to hear. I’ll send through those details tonight.”

She slipped back through the door into the reception area, striding across the utilitarian grey carpet toward the front entrance. She only slowed her pace when she was outside, sucking icy-cold air into her lungs.

“Thank God,” she breathed.

She unsnapped her coat and fluffed the front of her sweater, trying to cool her overheated body. That had been… full on. But it always was with Beau. There was something about the way he looked at her, the steady intensity of his bright blue eyes, and the way he held his body that never failed to make her skittish.

Pheromones, the voice in her head said. Hard-core, old-school alpha male pheromones.

Maybe that was what it was. Or maybe it was something else, some instinct in her that picked up his dislike and reacted to it. Whatever, she’d signed him up, and her ordeal was officially over.

Thank God.

Now she just had to pull the rest of this auction together and do her damnedest to raise a shed load of money for Josh and Molly…

After what she’d just been through, it felt like a piece of cake. Her step a hundred times lighter, she headed for her car.





Chapter Two





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Lily put the last tea-light candle on the last table, then propped her hands on her hips and took one last look around Grey’s Saloon.

The timeworn source of many Marietta, Montana, hangovers, Grey’s had had the same decor for years – battered bar along one wall, booths along the other, scarred floorboards, tarnished mirrors. Today, the saloon also sported a dozen extra cocktail tables with foldout chairs and a makeshift stage along the back wall where the noticeboard usually held pride of place. A mic and podium had been set up to one side for the auctioneer, leaving enough room for the bachelors to strut their stuff.

And what a selection of bachelors they had. Lily still wasn’t quite sure how she’d managed to convince six very hot, very single men to put their bodies on the auction block for a good cause. Some of them had been easy – cocky, gorgeous Jet Casey had put his hand up the moment Lily broached the subject with him, for example. Some had been tough – Beau Bennett sprang to mind. And some, like her friend Ryan Henderson, she’d had to coax and cajole and charm into making a commitment. By hook or by crook – or, more accurately, by flirt or by manipulation – she’d rounded up six hotties and in just a couple of hours’ time, they would know if all the effort had been worthwhile.

Damn, but she hoped so. She wanted Josh to have everything he needed and more. She wanted Molly to stop fretting, to be able to breathe and not have to worry every time an envelope with a telltale address window came in the mail. She wanted –

Lily’s eyes widened as she caught sight of the time. Where had the last hour gone? She needed to get home, shower, change, and then get back here in time to make sure everyone was ready to go when people arrived.

Spinning on her heel, she grabbed her bag from where she’d dumped it on the bar and called out to let Reese Kendrick, Grey’s head bartender, know she was leaving. He’d been great, answering her questions all afternoon, helping her move things around. She’d have to come up with some way to repay him when all of this was over.

His voice echoed out from the kitchen, letting her know he’d see her later, and she rushed out the door, shrugging into her coat as she went. It had snowed last night, but the streets had been cleared early and she had no trouble getting home. She tapped her foot impatiently as the elevator took her from the underground garage to her level, bolting out the doors the moment they opened. She’d laid out her dress and shoes this morning, and she was wearing her hair up, so she figured she could be in and out of the shower and out the door again in twenty minutes. Give or take.

She spared a glance for the door across the hallway from her own as she pulled her keys out, feeling a stab of nostalgia for the time when Andie had been just a few steps away. If Andie hadn’t married Heath and moved out last year, they would be getting ready tonight, maybe having a calming glass of wine before the inevitable chaos of the auction.