Chapter Four
Where the heck was Emily? It was taking every ounce of his poker face skills to keep from showing just how nervous he actually was. Two of the three serious bidders had fallen by the wayside and any second now, he was going to be at the mercy of Courtney Miller.
“Do I hear twenty-one?” At least that’s what Dev thought the auctioneer had said. The man had been told not to go as fast as a traditional bidding scenario, but a few times he’d rambled on so quickly, Devlin had lost track of where the bidding was.
To Dev’s relief, a card went up. Only it wasn’t Emily. Her sister was calling the shots. Not that he cared. As long as he didn’t have to deal with Courtney, he didn’t care which of the Carter twins bid on him.
More challenging than not letting the crowd see him sweat was not bursting out with laughter at the look on Courtney’s face when Liz waved her number with every increase. Courtney’s shock had transitioned to irritation, and now that the bidding was up to thirty thousand, he expected smoke to blow out of her ears any second now.
How he wished Emily were here to see the show. Last year, Courtney had walked away when the bidding reached thirty. She must be seriously ticked off to be pushing thirty-five now. For just a flash, he wondered if this was the year that she would stay in the game until Emily, or Liz, backed down. A few more waves and the two women seemed to have lost track of the money and were staring each other down clearly determined to win. Once again, Dev’s nerves were beginning to snap at him. All he could do is pray that Liz didn’t chicken out.
“Going, going…” the auctioneer’s voice penetrated the thoughts scrambling around in Devlin’s head. “And sold for thirty-seven thousand dollars.”
The room erupted in catcalls and applause, and Devlin’s gaze snapped around to Emily coming into the room, looking around and, her gaze meeting Devlin, she shrugged. That could not be good. Liz was gone from the table, and quickly scanning the rest of the room he spotted Courtney marching out the door.
What he couldn’t determine is who had lost and who was going to pay the bill, and considering Emily had his checkbook, his gut clenched at the thought that Courtney might be paying for him right this minute.
Nodding politely at all the guests still applauding and the MC carrying on over what a wonderful success tonight would be now that Devlin got the ball rolling, he strolled as casually as he could over to Emily. Even if what he really wanted was to sprint across the grand hall and if it turned out Courtney had won the bid, join his cousin Kyle on the family racing yacht and not stop till they reached somewhere safe, like Timbuktu.
The moment he reached his longtime friend, he glanced down at her dress. The sour cream was gone, but he could see streaks of light and dark where the gown was still wet. “You all right?”
“I’ve been better.”
At the same moment, their voices tumbled over each other, “What happened?”
“You don’t know?” Emily’s brows curved over the bridge of her nose. “You were there.”
“I was distracted. Didn’t you see?”
She shook her head. “No. I couldn’t tell who was winning the bets from inside the ladies room and by the time I made it back here it was all over. Where’s Liz?”
“I saw her leaving through one door and Courtney through another. Does she have my checkbook?”
“It was in my purse. I don’t know if she grabbed it with my bidding number or not.”
“Well, there’s only one way to find out.” Though he didn’t understand why both women had disappeared and why one of them wasn’t here either congratulating him for sliding by or gloating for finally winning.
“Let me grab my purse.” Emily didn’t wait for him, and even though he didn’t want to delay the inevitable, he followed her to the table. Quickly, she snapped her purse open and glanced inside. “Your checkbook is still here.”
“Dang it.” That was so not a good sign. It would have been worth every penny to him not to have to deal with Courtney the Barracuda.
Liz appeared at her sister’s side. “Why do you two look so glum?”
Her sister held up Devlin’s checkbook before handing it over to him. “Because you lost.”
“Lost?” Frowning, Liz glanced from her sister to Devlin.
Taking a step back, Emily turned to Devlin. “Excuse me, but now that you don’t need me any more, I’m going home and getting out of this wet—and dirty—dress. Besides,” she waved a thumb at her sister, “I hate the sight of blood.”
Staring at her sister’s departing back, before either of them could say another word, Courtney sidled up to Liz. “Next time, he’s mine.” Spinning around, she leaned into Devlin, ran her very long and shiny red fingernail along his chin, and licked her lips. “Darling, if you’re ever in need of a real woman, you know where to find me.”
Watching her strut away, Devlin waited till she was engrossed in conversation with a group of cackling women before turning to Liz and flashing his very best smile. “Sorry I ever doubted you two.”
“Two?” Liz slapped her hand across her nicely exposed cleavage. “I’ll have you know I learned how to count in kindergarten and haven’t forgotten. I didn’t need big sister to accomplish this mission.”
“Forgive me. And thank you.” Dev opened his checkbook and scribbled her name and the winning amount, or what he thought was the winning amount with a small bonus for the trouble, and ripped the check out. “Here you go. And again, thank you.”
Liz shook her head and held her hand up. “Oh no you don’t. I won you. Fair. And. Square.”
The only thing more fun than getting caught up in the bidding war with the plastic blonde was the look on Devlin’s face right now. If it were humanly possible, his jaw would have scraped the ground.
“Elizabeth Louise,” her sister plopped her hands on her hips and snapped her jaw shut. “Have you lost your mind?”
Probably. She’d just about maxed out her credit card, and no doubt it would take her forever to pay off the debt, but suddenly the idea of dining out with a man who could afford to spend that kind of money at the drop of a hat sounded like too much fun to resist.
“How about a compromise?” Devlin still held the check in his hand.
“Such as?”
“We go on the date with a billionaire as advertised…”
She waited for the rest of what he had to say.
“And you let me reimburse you for saving me from the Barracuda.”
That was seriously tempting. Especially since never in her life had she run her credit card bills that high. At least not her personal card. She’d spent small fortunes for work but that was always reimbursed by the clients, usually with a slight profit.
“What do you say?”
“Let me think about it.” She grinned at him.
“Liz!” Emily, always practical and rarely willing to take a risk, frowned at her twin.
A low rumble of a laugh escaped her lips. “All right. I’ll accept the check. But we agree that I still get the whole shebang?”
Still holding the check with one hand, he crossed his heart with the other. “Yes, ma’am, or hope to die.”
“Don’t do that.” Liz chuckled more loudly and folding the check, slipped it into her cleavage. Glancing up, she noticed Devlin’s eyes had rounded wider than an owl with insomnia. “Don’t worry, I’ll put it in my purse when I get back to the table.”
“Oh, I…” Devlin looked to Emily who merely rolled her eyes and Devlin sighed. “Sorry.”
“Come on.” Liz laughed and stretched her hand out. “Let’s grab a snack while these crazy people bid on the rest of the bachelors.”
“Crazy?” Again, Devlin glanced at her sister.
“What else would you call someone willing to drop five figures on a dinner date?”
This time Devlin laughed loudly. “When you put it that way…”
“Coming with us, sis?” Liz smiled at Emily.
“I think I’ve had enough excitement for one night.” She turned to face Devlin. “If you’re willing to see her home, I think I’m going to call it an early night and get out of this damp dress.”
“Of course.” Devlin nodded.
“All right.” Liz looked over to the spread of food in the adjoining salon and slapping her hands together, smiled. “Suddenly, I’m starved.”
And Devlin had never been more confused in his life. Where Emily was a calm and comforting force in his life, her sister Liz was a bloody tornado. The two might look similar at first glance, but the two women couldn’t be more different, and only one made his heart race faster than a thoroughbred at the derby.
“Ooh, look.” Liz had a plate in hand and was perusing the choices. “I love little meatballs.” She stabbed one with a toothpick and shoved it in her mouth. “Oh, they’re better than they look. Try one.” She stabbed at another, spun around and waved it in Devlin’s face.
All he could do was bite it off the toothpick before anyone noticed the interaction.
The auctioneer’s voice reached where they stood. “Sold for fifteen thousand.”
Liz stopped and holding an empty plate in one hand and a toothpick in the other, glanced over to where Devlin had been standing two bids ago. “Wow. You really do command top dollar.”
“If you take Courtney out of the mix, I’d probably not earn so much money for the charity.”
Plopping two or three more hors d’oeuvres onto her plate, she paused and tipped her head to one side, studying Devlin. “Wouldn’t it be easier to simply make a donation and skip the performance?”
He’d asked himself that same thing more than once over the last few years. “I have, but my family has a soft spot for all charities related to foster kids, so someone has to participate.”
“I suppose.” She frowned and jabbed at a stuffed mushroom.
The woman had a healthy appetite. Dinner may prove to be more costly than he’d anticipated. “The other thing is that letting Courtney bid helps set the mood.”
“Mood? For murder?” She chuckled softly before shoving the mushroom into her mouth in a single bite.
“No.” Though some days he did wonder. “Her crazy high bidding sets an example for the folks with disposable income to cough up more of it than they’d intended. And that’s good for the charity.”
“It is.” She nodded her agreement. “You know what this needs?” She waved her hand at the food on her plate.
“Ketchup?”
She rolled her eyes. “Bite your tongue. I was thinking a glass of wine.”
“There’s plenty of free booze around here.”
“Wouldn’t the charity make more if they charged for it?”
He shrugged. “Maybe, but tipsy people are more free with their checkbooks.”
“Ah.” She waved that toothpick around, this time with a stuffed date on the end. “Makes good sense.”
“Glad you approve.”
Her smile broadened and she cast a sideways glance in his direction. “You’re not what I expected.”
“How so?”
She shrugged. “Not sure yet, but I’ll let you know when I figure it out.”
Liz wasn’t the only one with something to figure out. Understanding women was not something that came naturally to most men and Dev was no exception. But right now, he was more than willing to give it a try. If he survived.