Page 10 of Rose's One Night to Forever
Oh no. No, no, no.
When the mystery man finally turned and faced the crowd, smiling warmly at the loud round of applause, Rose accepted three undeniable truths.
Chance was just as handsome as she remembered. Just as quiver inducing. And clearly, she sucked at secretive one-night stands, because someone in their small town would ferret out the information eventually.
She and Tansy sat far enough back from the stage that Rose didn’t need to worry about meeting his gaze directly, which meant she got to look him over and try not to drool.
Chance had been easy on the eyes the night she’d picked him up, dressed in tailored pants and a button-down shirt. She’d seen him naked—also amazing. But dressed in that suit…
Dear Lord, she was about to fall over.
While she’d been mentally scrambling for balance, her father had started the next auction. Cody was up, it appeared, as he stepped forward and waved at the woman to the right of the stage who’d just offered three hundred dollars.
“Three-fifty,” Tansy piped up.
Rose covered her face with a hand. “Please don’t do this.”
“Have to, I’m afraid.” Without a speck of regret, Tansy counterbid until she finally shot to her feet and boldly announced, “Eight hundred dollars. And I’ll double it if you throw in his brother as well.”
Shouts and amused gasps echoed off the roof.
Malachi Fields glared at his daughter. “I thought we outlined the rules—no buying multiple bachelors. No sharing bachelors between bidders. Also, did we not specifically outlaw you from bidding after last year, when you somehow bought three dates and ended up with a chicken coop?”
Tansy pressed a finger to her lips and considered then shook her head firmly. “Nope. No law, unless you count that night at dinner last month when you extolled the virtues of considerate and thoughtful daughters and suggested I rethink attending this year’s auction for the good of your blood pressure.” She waved a hand regally around the room. “Don’t worry, everyone, I checked with Mom. His vitals are as spry as a spring chicken. It seems that might have been a wee bit of hyperbole on his side, so voilà, here I am.”
Their poor father was having kittens behind the auctioneer’s podium. He actually pinched the bridge of his nose. “Someone remind me why I volunteer to do this every year?”
While the crowd laughed and offered suggestions, Rose shot a question at Tansy as quietly and frantically as she could. “Two guys? What are you doing?”
Tansy shrugged. “There’s two of us. I’ll date one, and you’ll date the other. I thought it was in the interest of expediency, you know. To keep things rolling.”
The retired teacher in the row ahead of them overheard and twisted in her seat to nod firmly at Tansy in approval. “I like how you think.” She turned away before Rose could object and waved at Malachi to get his attention. “Don’t you worry. You’ve got good kids here, Malachi. Two for two, Tansy says. She gets one, and Rose gets the other. And since I’ve got a ham in the oven I need to get home to, I’ll toss four hundred in the pot on their behalf to make that an even two thousand dollars for the Gabrielle boys.”
Money for the fund was money for the fund. Malachi glanced around the room. “Any higher bidders than that for our last two bachelors?”
“Going, going, gone,” Mrs. Wilson shouted over him, shoving to her feet and grabbing her bags. “Lovely day, all. Thanks for the pie, Tansy. You girls enjoy flipping a coin to figure out who gets which bachelor.”
5
Teasing laughter continued to dance on the air as the purchased bachelors made their way toward their future dates.
Rose was ready to vanish. If only she could disappear as easily as she had the night she’d met Chance.
Since that wasn’t possible, she’d do the next best thing. She whirled on her sister and smacked her on the arm. “Did you even ask if I wanted to date one of them?”
Tansy wrinkled her nose. “Oops. Didn’t think of that part.”
“Of course you didn’t,” Rose complained. “Plus, where did you get all the money?”
It was easier to focus on that than the real issue. On how Chance was making his way across the stage with Cody at his side. The two of them on a slow but deliberate path that would be Rose’s undoing.
Thank goodness for the community members who wanted to be introduced to Chance because he was new in town.
Oh, dear Lord, what had she done? Not today but one steamy night three months ago.
For once, observant Tansy seemed oblivious to Rose’s discomfort. She eased really close and whispered so low, no one could overhear this time.
“Karen Coleman gave me money to bid. Said she wanted a way to get it anonymously into the community. A day later, Kelli Stone did the same thing. They both swore me to secrecy, so this information stops here.” She pulled back and met Rose’s gaze. “Ah, hell. You’re truly upset. I’m sorry. I didn’t think it was that big a deal.”
