into the foyer.
The auction was moving ahead at full steam now, and people were into it, jumping up and waving as they bid. Telling himself he had to stretch his aching leg, that he wasn’t at all curious about what had come so briefly over Mallory’s face, Ty left the hall.
In the entranceway, Mallory had her back to him, facing Cruella Deville. “Absolutely,” she was saying. “I’ll go upstairs and get it right now. Thank you for your addition, Jane.”
And then Jane went one way and Mallory the other, her sweet little ass sashaying as fast as she could move in those sexy heels.
Let it go, man. Let her go , he told himself. He’d heard enough from her mother to know she was a good girl just looking for a walk on the wild side. Probably she’d grown up in Lucky Harbor, which was pretty much the same thing as being in bubble wrap all her life. She was not for him.
Except.
Except here she was, clearly doing her damnedest to meet some pretty tough expectations from family and work and whatever, all while looking to spread her wings. She had guts, and he admired that. She was sexy and adorable, but no matter what she did to spread her wings, she wasn’t going to match him in life’s experiences.
Not even close.
She was clean and untainted and not jaded. She was his opposite. She was too good for him. Far too good, even when she was out there risking it all. She deserved way more than he had to offer, and he needed to just walk away. After all, he was out of here, maybe as soon as one more week. Gone, baby, gone.
He told himself all this, repeated it, and then followed her down the hallway anyway.
Mallory walked up the stairs, cursing the heels that were pinching her toes. Jane had sent her up here on a wild goose chase for an antique vase that had been accidentally left off the auction chopping block.
Mallory knew Jane’s family had built the Vets’ Hall in the early 1940s. Apparently the missing vase had sat in the entry for years, until last spring when the building had been renovated. The vase had never been put back on display and now Jane wanted it gone.
All Mallory had to do was find it.
The second story ran the length of the building. On one side was a series of rooms used by the rec center and other various groups like the local Booster Club. The other side was one big closed-off storage room. Mallory let herself in and flipped on the lights. Far above her was an open-beam ceiling and a loft area where more crap had been haphazardly shoved away. Mallory hoped like hell she wouldn’t have to climb up there in her dress and annoying heels to find the vase.
The place was warm, stuffy, and smelled like neglect. She took a good look around and felt a lick of panic at the idea of finding her way out of here, much less locating the missing vase. She moved past a huge shelving unit that was stuffed to the gills with long-lost play props and background sets, and various other miscellaneous items for which there was little use.
Not a single vase.
She walked past more shelves and around two huge, fake, potted Christmas trees before coming to a large stack of boxes leaning against the wall. Assuming the vase wouldn’t be stuffed away, she walked farther, gaze searching. Near the center of the room, she came to another long set of shelves. Here were some more valuable items, such as office equipment and furnishings, and miraculously, sitting all by itself on a shelf, a tall vase, looking exactly like the one Jane had described. Mallory couldn’t believe it. She picked it up and turned to go, and ran directly into a brick wall.
A brick wall that was a man’s chest.
Ty .
He’d appeared out of thin air, scaring her half to death. The vase flew out of her hands and would have smashed to the floor except he caught it.
His sexy suit might have given him an air of sophistication, but it did nothing to hide his bad-boy air. His hair was a little mussed, like he’d run his fingers through it
The auction was moving ahead at full steam now, and people were into it, jumping up and waving as they bid. Telling himself he had to stretch his aching leg, that he wasn’t at all curious about what had come so briefly over Mallory’s face, Ty left the hall.
In the entranceway, Mallory had her back to him, facing Cruella Deville. “Absolutely,” she was saying. “I’ll go upstairs and get it right now. Thank you for your addition, Jane.”
And then Jane went one way and Mallory the other, her sweet little ass sashaying as fast as she could move in those sexy heels.
Let it go, man. Let her go , he told himself. He’d heard enough from her mother to know she was a good girl just looking for a walk on the wild side. Probably she’d grown up in Lucky Harbor, which was pretty much the same thing as being in bubble wrap all her life. She was not for him.
Except.
Except here she was, clearly doing her damnedest to meet some pretty tough expectations from family and work and whatever, all while looking to spread her wings. She had guts, and he admired that. She was sexy and adorable, but no matter what she did to spread her wings, she wasn’t going to match him in life’s experiences.
Not even close.
She was clean and untainted and not jaded. She was his opposite. She was too good for him. Far too good, even when she was out there risking it all. She deserved way more than he had to offer, and he needed to just walk away. After all, he was out of here, maybe as soon as one more week. Gone, baby, gone.
He told himself all this, repeated it, and then followed her down the hallway anyway.
Mallory walked up the stairs, cursing the heels that were pinching her toes. Jane had sent her up here on a wild goose chase for an antique vase that had been accidentally left off the auction chopping block.
Mallory knew Jane’s family had built the Vets’ Hall in the early 1940s. Apparently the missing vase had sat in the entry for years, until last spring when the building had been renovated. The vase had never been put back on display and now Jane wanted it gone.
All Mallory had to do was find it.
The second story ran the length of the building. On one side was a series of rooms used by the rec center and other various groups like the local Booster Club. The other side was one big closed-off storage room. Mallory let herself in and flipped on the lights. Far above her was an open-beam ceiling and a loft area where more crap had been haphazardly shoved away. Mallory hoped like hell she wouldn’t have to climb up there in her dress and annoying heels to find the vase.
The place was warm, stuffy, and smelled like neglect. She took a good look around and felt a lick of panic at the idea of finding her way out of here, much less locating the missing vase. She moved past a huge shelving unit that was stuffed to the gills with long-lost play props and background sets, and various other miscellaneous items for which there was little use.
Not a single vase.
She walked past more shelves and around two huge, fake, potted Christmas trees before coming to a large stack of boxes leaning against the wall. Assuming the vase wouldn’t be stuffed away, she walked farther, gaze searching. Near the center of the room, she came to another long set of shelves. Here were some more valuable items, such as office equipment and furnishings, and miraculously, sitting all by itself on a shelf, a tall vase, looking exactly like the one Jane had described. Mallory couldn’t believe it. She picked it up and turned to go, and ran directly into a brick wall.
A brick wall that was a man’s chest.
Ty .
He’d appeared out of thin air, scaring her half to death. The vase flew out of her hands and would have smashed to the floor except he caught it.
His sexy suit might have given him an air of sophistication, but it did nothing to hide his bad-boy air. His hair was a little mussed, like he’d run his fingers through it
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