His Kind of Wonderful (Sugar Bay #2) (19 page)

The garage door for the warehouse rumbled and they both froze.

“Derek.”

Why was he back already?
Her brother’s timing sucked.

“I’m sorry if I hurt you Dani, but it’s better this way. You can do better than me. I hope you have enough material for your research. Let me know…” his voice trailed off, like he wanted to say more but thought better of it. “See you at the cottage.”

“Yeah. See you.”

She watched as he walked out the front door. A part of her wanted to call him back and retract everything she said and that it had been a mistake, but she didn’t. She knew she wanted more than physical release from him. She wanted Joe. Just like the other crazy women in town. Except she wanted all of Joe—the funny Joe, the sweet Joe, the Joe who played hide and seek with her nieces and thought nothing of having a pretend tea party complete with mud pies and teddy bears, the sexy Joe who made her twist and moan and forget her name.

There had to be a way.

She wasn’t ready to give up just yet.

“One more picture.”

“Jeez, Dani. How many do you need?”

“Be quiet and take the picture.”

Dylan rolled her eyes but did as requested. She was old school and didn’t understand Dani’s need—no, obsession—to record every moment for posterity. Although Dylan loved taking photos of her kids, she seldom took any of herself.

Dani didn’t have any kids but took pictures of each and every event. Maybe it was because she’d been basically motherless and had so few photo of herself as a child but she’d always felt the need to take photos. Her father had been to busy trying to survive to bother with photos and this was a huge moment in her life—her last moment with Thelma. Dani rubbed a palm over the faux wood grain dashboard with a loving touch.

“I think you’re crazy.”

“Of course you would.”

“I’ll loan you the money you need. Or ask Derek.”

“I can’t.”

“Tell me what it’s for.”

“I can’t do that either but thank you for the offer. Just know that it’s going for a good cause. It’s enough you’re letting me use Kurt’s old Honda.”

Dylan shrugged. “It’s not much but it’s too small for me and the girls. I should have sold it long ago but—“

A car rumbled into the parking lot where they’d planned to meet the interested buyer.

“You sure about this? You can get into Thelma and take off. I’ll tell them you had a momentary lapse of judgment when you put your beloved up for sale.”

Dani took a deep breath and shook her head. “No.”

An older couple stepped out of a classic red Ford truck. The man had a comb over that would have made Donald Trump proud. He wore a fringed vest over a white long-sleeved oxford and a turquoise encrusted silver string tie. His black cowboy boots jiggled with every step but his wife was the real star of the show.

“Whoa.” Dylan said next to her, as enthralled by the lady’s stunning proportions as Dani. She could have passed for Dolly Parton’s twin if Dolly had had pink hair. She wore aqua colored cowboy boots stitched with flowers and hearts and zebra patterned leggings.

“Close your mouth.” Dylan hissed next to her as the couple drew closer.

Somehow Dani shook off her awe and stepped forward with a smile. Thirty minutes later Thelma’s taillights rolled out of the parking lot and out of Dani’s life.

“Man, you look pitiful,” Dylan muttered. “Come on. Let’s go deposit the check so you can do whatever secret project you’re up to. It’s almost time to pick up the girls.”

***

Joe fixed his bow tie and shoved his hands into the shallow pant pockets of his monkey suit. He stood deep in the shadows behind the velvet curtain and hoped they’d forget about him but he knew he wasn’t that lucky. The Sugar Bay Bachelor Auction was set to start soon and judging from the roar of excitement coming from behind the curtain, it was going to be a success for the benefiting charities. The other poor souls who’d been dumb enough to say yes or simply hadn’t been able to say no huddled with him. No one looked exceptionally excited. Who would—except for maybe the truly sadistic.

There seemed to be a lot of those types around town. More so than he’d thought.

Charlie.

The traitor, Mrs. Mac.

Dani.

Because of their sadistic sense of humor he hadn’t been allowed to write a check, but at least he got pleasure from knowing Linda Vitas Hospice would benefit from his humiliation.

It was the perfect end to a perfectly shitty week as far as he was concerned. Dani had barely spoken to him. He’d been the recipient of a delicate cold shoulder that only a female could execute. He’d escaped the treatment only by working at the station or by hiding out in his garage.

When she spoke to him at all, it was with studied politeness. The kind of politeness you’d show a stranger or someone you’d recently met. Certainly not to someone who’d brought you to ecstasy with his fingers and tongue.

Who did that shit?

He kicked the pile of rags on the floor beside him.

“Women problems?”

Joe looked at the bald gentleman to his right and nodded, a little sheepish he’d been caught acting like a five-year old.

“They’ll do that to the best of men, son.” The man’s knowing eyes twinkled at him in the shadowed holding area.

Joe nodded in agreement.
Freaking ornery creatures
, that’s what they were but he didn’t voice his opinion out loud.

“But they sure are sweet.” The old man grinned, showing off his bright white teeth.

Joe lost some of his bluster. He couldn’t deny the guy had a point.

“That’s why I’m here, you know. It’s lonely up in my big house. It would be nice to have someone to share time with again—maybe dance with, cook with, snuggle with.” The last bit was said with such yearning Joe looked away. Poor guy.

“Judging by the number of females out there, this is the place to be. I think most of the women in Sugar Bay and the surrounding communities are here.”

The guy grinned. “That’s the plan. Although I’m not sure who would want an old fart like me with you young fellows up for bid.”

“Trust me, I’d back out if I could and you can have the lot of them.”

The old guy chuckled. “Enjoy it while you can, kid. One day when you lose the hair on top of your head and start growing hair in weird places, this will be a fond memory.”

“Maybe.” Or maybe not but Joe didn’t want to spoil the old guys excitement so he kept his thoughts to himself and went back to the original source of his frustration.

Dani
.

He was trying to do the right thing in protecting the stubborn creature. Couldn’t she recognize that instead of relegating him to being a bad guy? She deserved someone on her level because she was perfect—well, she was practically perfect.

A grin split his face. This week he’d discovered his little brainiac had a tendency to leave the toothpaste cap off after she used it, was truly incapable of holding a tune as well as had a habit of snoring. It wasn’t a loud trucker sort of snore—more in tune with a baby bear sort of sound. He knew this because he’d walked past her room when she was supposed to be working. Initially when he’d first heard the sound, he’d thought her laptop was running hot. But when he’d peeked in to check on her, she was spread out on the bed in the midst of papers and open books with her mouth open and a trail of drool coming out.

He shook his head with a chuckle.

Man, she was cute. And hot. And sexy. And completely stubborn. Their relationship had changed through the choices and decisions they’d both made in the last few weeks and he wasn’t certain how to get it back to the way it was before his great idea. He wasn’t even sure he wanted it back to the way it was. All he knew was what they had at this moment wasn’t working. They didn’t talk or tease. Hell, every morning they went jogging in opposite directions to avoid the other.

He hated the impasse.

Something had to change.

***

Dani smoothed her little black dress down her hips and subtly adjusted the neckline. She didn’t have much to showcase up top but did her best. Joe seemed to have a fondness for her legs and this dress emphasized them, making her legs look a mile long. The heels she’d borrowed from Anabelle helped with the illusion.

Her sister-in-law had a shoe collection a hooker would envy. Thank goodness they had the same size feet. She only hoped she’d be as graceful walking in them as Anabelle managed to be. Two inch heels was her usual but tonight she was in the four inches category. It would certainly be her luck to attempt a graceful entrance only to fall flat on her face in front of the good folks of Sugar Bay.

She grabbed a drink from a passing waiter and ignored the slight tremor in her hand. She didn’t think anyone else noticed because they were caught up in their own excitement. The liquid courage slid down her throat and she waited for the heat to relax her. She couldn’t believe she was about to go against the women of Sugar Bay. A part of her was scared she’d win and what Joe would think yet another part of her was worried she’d lose. Losing to some man crazy woman and
losing out on a really cool car would suck. When would she ever be in a position to own a classic like Thelma again? She almost whimpered but took a deep breath instead.

Courage.

Every heroine in her novels had that characteristic and she’d do well to remember that.

She thought about Tyler’s recent note she’d found tucked in front of her keyboard yesterday.

Vulnerability is our most accurate measure of courage

Dani let the words expand in her mind because she would need all the courage she could muster for tonight’s event.

The last row was almost filled so she claimed one of the few seats available. The entire room was visible from her position so she settled in to wait. According to the program, Joe would be the last bachelor up for bidding. The plan was to tease the crowd first with the other bachelors, work them into a bidding frenzy and culminate with Joe as the grand finale.

As hard as her heart was pounding, Dani wasn’t certain she’d still be alive by the time Joe made an appearance. Women of all shapes and sizes conversed in excited whispers. There were only a handful of men present and those who were, looked less than thrilled to be so.

The lights flickered signaling the auction would soon start.

“Here goes nothing,” she muttered.

“What’s that, sweetheart?” A little lady in pink settled in next to her. She was a tiny little thing with the doe brown eyes.

“Nothing.”

Lisa Strickland stood on stage as Master of Ceremony for the night. Her dress was red, tight and as eye catching as she’d intended. Music pulsed from the speakers and the first bachelor walked onto the stage. Dani winced. The guy looked petrified. He was young, probably still in college. No doubt his mother had signed him up for the cause. The good-looking kid looked ready to bolt but then the young ladies in the audience begin whistling and cheering. From her distance, she saw a bright red blush take over his face.

“Zachary is a junior in the pre-med program and loves tennis and the beach. His hobbies are kayaking and painting. He’s looking for a girl to enjoy the outdoors with. What do you think ladies?” Lisa called out.

The ladies hooted and demanded for Zachary to walk up and down the stage. At first the kid was stiff but seemed to gain confidence as the screaming ensued. Soon enough he bumped along to the music, posing every now and then, and flirted with the crowd. The bidding went fast until Zachary strutted off the stage while a young lady near the front bounced excitedly in her seat.

Following the adrenaline rush caused by young Zach, the next few bachelors were auctioned in quick succession. The men’s expressions ranged from stunned to smug at the amount that was raised. It would be a happy time for the various benefiting charities.

“Next up is Mr. Dean Markham, ladies.”

“Ooh. What a cutie. He’s mine.”

Dani glanced down at her little neighbor in pink. “Good luck.”

She was pretty sure the bald guy standing on the stage was the stud Mrs. MacKinnon had her eye on. It was confirmed when the bidding got brutal between a large group of older ladies, Mrs. MacKinnon included. She watched as her neighbor hopped up and down, trying to raise her paddle high enough to confirm her bid.

“Can you take care of this for me, sweetie? You’re nice and tall and have long arms.” She handed Dani her auction paddle.

“Umm…sure.”

The bidding was up to five hundred dollars.

“Raise the paddle, dear.”

She obeyed and Mrs. MacKinnon glared at her. Dani shrugged. Who knew the ability to dance was such a hot commodity for the geriatric set. And so it went for several minutes until Mrs. Peterson shook her head and it was only between her pink neighbor and Mrs. MacKinnon. At three thousand dollars Mrs. MacKinnon shook her head and her neighbor squealed with triumph.

“Thank you. Thank you.”

Mr. Markham looked pleasantly shocked that his donation was the highest so far. He bowed in their direction and her neighbor fluttered her fingers at him.

Dani shook her head.
Young love.
Such a sweet sight.

The next bachelors were auctioned but nothing else matched the excitement of the geriatric battle for the dancing Romeo.

At last the featured bachelor walked on stage. Excitement filled the crowd and a dull roar commenced. For a guy not wanting to participate Joe looked like a natural as he worked the crowd into a frenzy. He had all his clothes on yet they were in a crazed state. She didn’t want to imagine the blood lust had he been an exotic dancer and taken anything off. It might have been like feeding time in a pool of piranhas.

Dani recognized some of the faces of his adoring fans from the floral and basket drop offs over the last few days. Dani had barely seen Joe this week since they’d entered their silent impasse. She’d been busy tracking a buyer for Thelma and figuring out details for tonight. A deadline for her critique partner had to be met so she’d used the silence productively. He’d either holed up in his man cave or went to work and although she wondered what he did in his secret lair, she hadn’t ventured inside for a couple of reasons. One, she hadn’t been invited and two, there was an alarm panel at the door.