throat.
They were going to have to do better than this. Much better. Again her gaze locked in on Jane, and her unease grew. Someone sank into the chair next to her and since her nipples got hard, she knew it was Ty. “Go away,” she said, not taking her gaze off the stage.
Ty said nothing, and she glanced over just as he rose his paddle, bidding two hundred dollars higher than she could have even thought about offering.
She stared at him. “What are you doing?”
He didn’t even look at her, just eyed the crowd with interest and a smile she hadn’t seen from him before. It was a killer smile, she admitted to herself, and when someone joined him in the bidding across the room, he flashed it again and raised his paddle to up the bid.
And then the oddest thing happened.
More people joined in. Unbelievably, the bidding for the “Night on the Town” continued for five more minutes, until the money offered was nothing short of dazzling.
Ty won.
Apparently satisfied, he set down his paddle and leaned back, long legs stretched out in front of him, perfectly at ease as he watched the proceedings. Mallory should have been watching too, but couldn’t take her eyes off him, while around them the night kicked into full gear with a new excitement. Everyone in the whole place was now bidding on all the items, playfully trying to outdo each other, or in some cases, not so playfully. It was…wonderful. But she couldn’t get her mind off the fact that Ty had spent hundreds of dollars to get it going. “What are you going to do with that package you just won?”
“Have a night on the town, apparently.”
There was no way he was an orchestra kind of guy. “But—”
“Trouble at three o’clock,” he said casually.
She turned to look and found Lucille and another biddy from her blue-haired posse bidding fiercely for the next auction item—a date with Anderson Moore, the cute owner of the hardware store in town.
“This Anderson guy,” Ty said to Mallory, still watching the old ladies upping the bid with alarming acerbity, “he’s ninety, right?”
The auctioneer jokingly suggested the two older women share the date, and the bidding ended peacefully.
Ty winced in clear sympathy for Anderson, who now had to date not one, but two old ladies.
“Don’t feel sorry for him,” Mallory said. “He’s got it coming to him. He goes after anything with breasts.”
Ty slid her a look. “You have a little bit of a mean streak.”
She laughed. It was true, even if not a single soul in Lucky Harbor would believe it. She had no idea what it said about her that Ty, a perfect stranger, saw more of her than anyone who actually knew her.
At her smile, Ty leaned close, his gaze dropping from her eyes to her mouth. “I like a woman with a mean streak.”
She stared into his eyes, nearly falling into him before letting out another low laugh, this time at herself. God, he was good. Really good. “Save the charm. I’m immune.” And look at her displaying another shockingly bad girl characteristic—lying through her teeth.
“Explain something to me,” he said.
“What?”
“Why does everyone think I was your date tonight?”
She stared at him. “Last weekend, when I pulled you out of that storm, Amy told you about the auction and how I needed a date, remember?”
“No, actually.”
She gaped at him. “Seriously?”
“I remember the storm,” he said slowly, as if wracking his brain. “I remember getting hit by the tree. I remember you.”
She was wondering if that was good or bad when he added, “Sort of.”
Sort of? He “sort of” remembered her? What did that mean? She reached for her wine, wishing it was something harder.
“I remember there being a list,” he said. “A list of…Mr. Wrongs.”
She choked on her wine.
“And I definitely remember waking up in the ambulance with a mother of a headache.”
She was silent for a shocked beat while she digested this astonishing fact. He had absolutely
They were going to have to do better than this. Much better. Again her gaze locked in on Jane, and her unease grew. Someone sank into the chair next to her and since her nipples got hard, she knew it was Ty. “Go away,” she said, not taking her gaze off the stage.
Ty said nothing, and she glanced over just as he rose his paddle, bidding two hundred dollars higher than she could have even thought about offering.
She stared at him. “What are you doing?”
He didn’t even look at her, just eyed the crowd with interest and a smile she hadn’t seen from him before. It was a killer smile, she admitted to herself, and when someone joined him in the bidding across the room, he flashed it again and raised his paddle to up the bid.
And then the oddest thing happened.
More people joined in. Unbelievably, the bidding for the “Night on the Town” continued for five more minutes, until the money offered was nothing short of dazzling.
Ty won.
Apparently satisfied, he set down his paddle and leaned back, long legs stretched out in front of him, perfectly at ease as he watched the proceedings. Mallory should have been watching too, but couldn’t take her eyes off him, while around them the night kicked into full gear with a new excitement. Everyone in the whole place was now bidding on all the items, playfully trying to outdo each other, or in some cases, not so playfully. It was…wonderful. But she couldn’t get her mind off the fact that Ty had spent hundreds of dollars to get it going. “What are you going to do with that package you just won?”
“Have a night on the town, apparently.”
There was no way he was an orchestra kind of guy. “But—”
“Trouble at three o’clock,” he said casually.
She turned to look and found Lucille and another biddy from her blue-haired posse bidding fiercely for the next auction item—a date with Anderson Moore, the cute owner of the hardware store in town.
“This Anderson guy,” Ty said to Mallory, still watching the old ladies upping the bid with alarming acerbity, “he’s ninety, right?”
The auctioneer jokingly suggested the two older women share the date, and the bidding ended peacefully.
Ty winced in clear sympathy for Anderson, who now had to date not one, but two old ladies.
“Don’t feel sorry for him,” Mallory said. “He’s got it coming to him. He goes after anything with breasts.”
Ty slid her a look. “You have a little bit of a mean streak.”
She laughed. It was true, even if not a single soul in Lucky Harbor would believe it. She had no idea what it said about her that Ty, a perfect stranger, saw more of her than anyone who actually knew her.
At her smile, Ty leaned close, his gaze dropping from her eyes to her mouth. “I like a woman with a mean streak.”
She stared into his eyes, nearly falling into him before letting out another low laugh, this time at herself. God, he was good. Really good. “Save the charm. I’m immune.” And look at her displaying another shockingly bad girl characteristic—lying through her teeth.
“Explain something to me,” he said.
“What?”
“Why does everyone think I was your date tonight?”
She stared at him. “Last weekend, when I pulled you out of that storm, Amy told you about the auction and how I needed a date, remember?”
“No, actually.”
She gaped at him. “Seriously?”
“I remember the storm,” he said slowly, as if wracking his brain. “I remember getting hit by the tree. I remember you.”
She was wondering if that was good or bad when he added, “Sort of.”
Sort of? He “sort of” remembered her? What did that mean? She reached for her wine, wishing it was something harder.
“I remember there being a list,” he said. “A list of…Mr. Wrongs.”
She choked on her wine.
“And I definitely remember waking up in the ambulance with a mother of a headache.”
She was silent for a shocked beat while she digested this astonishing fact. He had absolutely
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