Candace Havens - Christmas With The Marine

They were back on stage, the lights beating down on them. “Gentleman, we could not have done this without you. Let’s give them a hand!”

There was a lot of clapping and plenty of wolf whistles.

“Take a bow, bachelors.”

They all gave awkward bows and then high-fived each other.

“Okay, ladies. Once you’ve paid for your bachelor, an escort will bring him to your table. Don’t forget our silent auction, it closes in an hour. I know I said that, but the hunkiness on the stage makes us all forget our own names. We’ll be announcing the winners in only two hours.”

“Whew. Glad that part’s over,” Ben said.

“Me, too. Did you see who bid on me?” Jake asked.

“Nah. Wasn’t watching.”

“It was the CO’s daughter-slash-niece’s table.”

“Clarissa?”

“Yep,” Jake said.

Ben couldn’t help but laugh. He’d had to take Clarissa to a couple of events for the CO. She was a wild one. They’d actually become pretty good friends because he didn’t put up with her drama. The CO thought she was a handful, but the truth was, she was confused about what was important in life. All she really wanted was to find the right guy. Even, as she’d told him, if she had to date a couple of hundred to find him.

She might have something there. There weren’t many people who could get along with someone like her. He wasn’t attracted to her, which was probably why the CO had stuck him on babysitting duty for a few weeks.

“Good luck with that,” Ben said.

Everyone knew the CO’s daughter-slash-niece was way off-limits. That was unless you wanted to be stationed in Antarctica.

“Hey, handsome,” Ainsley said from behind him. “You were fantastic up there.”

He turned and nearly bumped into her, she was so close. His hands rested on her forearms to steady himself. Her soft skin made him think of touching more of her and...

Focus.

“Thanks for getting that woman to bid for me, but that was a lot of money.”

She laughed, the sound sending heat through his body. “We actually bid on you as a table. So you don’t have one date tonight, you have ten.”

Wow. “How does that work? I thought I was supposed to take someone on a date or something.”

“Sorry, Megan and I should have clarified it for you sooner. Actually, the dates should happen tonight, here at the event. Takes the pressure off the guys having to plan something else. The bachelor basically dines with the lady that bid on him, dances a bit and that’s it.

“But some of the higher bidders did it as a table. So the guy, like you, has to hang out at the table, dance a little, if you want to with us, and then you’re done.”

Well, that was a relief. He’d been worried about taking some woman he didn’t know out on a date, especially someone from this crowd where money didn’t seem to be a problem for a lot of them. He’d been wondering if Ainsley might come from money, given the fancy gown she wore and the fact that her sister was covered in diamonds. At least, they sparkled like real diamonds. Maybe it was costume jewelry. But then, he’d remembered how Ainsley had been dressed at the toy store, and even her casual look at the craft fair was pretty classy.

“Is it the same way with my table?” Jake asked.

“Yes, they also bid as a table.”

Jake blew out a deep breath. “Saved.”

The guys shared a look.

“What is that about?” Ainsley asked.

Ben shrugged. “Our boss’s daughter is the one who was doing all the bidding. She can be a, um, handful.”

“You said it, brother,” Jake said. “So she has to share. That’s a good thing. What I do not need right now is the CO ridin’ my butt. You guys have fun.”

“So, let’s get you to the table. I’m your official escort.” She tucked her arm through his. “Oh.” She stopped and opened her hand. “I tracked down your tie. I promised Sandy—she caught it—that you’d dance with her later.”

“Thanks.”

A few minutes after that, Ainsley made the introductions. “And this is my mom, Carol. She’s the one who jumped up to bid on you.”

“Mom?” He frowned. “You can’t be old enough to have a daughter of Ainsley’s age and Megan’s.”

Her mom’s hand fluttered against her chest. “From the look on your face, I almost believe you mean that,” she said. “Either way, you made my night. Maybe even my month.” The women all whooped.

“I do mean it,” he said seriously. “I thought you might be late thirties when you were bidding. Now I see where Ainsley gets her beauty from. It’s very nice to meet you, ma’am.”

He shook her hand.

“Yes, you are something special,” her mother said. “Thank you for helping out Megan tonight. You and your friend were kind to show up at the last minute like that.”

“You’re welcome. That was a lot of money, though.”

She waved a hand. “Oh, hon, don’t worry about it. The women at this table were more than willing to keep you out of Steph Montgomery’s hands. That was the table that kept trying to outbid us. I couldn’t let that happen. She and her mother, well, it’s tacky but they weren’t winning this round.”

“That’s right,” Megan chimed in. She’d come up behind her mother and was giving her a hug. “Thank you. We doubled what they did last year. I know you had a lot to do with that. You and your friends. And they’re telling me that the bids on the auction items are already so high that we may even triple.”

Her mother turned to kiss her daughter’s cheek. “Our pleasure, dear. By the time that video finished, we were all in tears. That was brilliant of you, showing it at the beginning of the fund-raiser to get those purse strings loose.”

Megan squeezed her mom. “I learned from the best.”

Mother and daughter shared a smile. They must have done a lot of charity events together. All the women seemed very comfortable with one another. And he hadn’t lied about Ainsley’s mom—she was a beauty. The diamonds around her neck sparkled brilliantly. He was betting the necklace could pay for a house, or maybe two. Once again it hit him that Ainsley came from all of this. And here, he didn’t even have a couch.

“We should probably feed him so he has the energy to dance,” Ainsley suggested. “They’ve set up a buffet so we can grab some food before the music begins.”

Crud. The dancing. “Uh, just so you ladies know, I’m not exactly the world’s best dancer. I haven’t actually broken any toes, but I’ve come close,” he admitted honestly.

“You’ll be fine,” Ainsley assured him. Then she stood on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek. “You really are amazing for doing this,” she whispered.

For that he would have done anything. The kiss was like a slow burn on his cheek, spreading through his nerves like wildfire. All the anxiety he’d felt earlier in the night fled.

“Anything for—” He’d almost said you. Would that scare her off altogether? She’d said more than once she didn’t want anything serious. In fact, neither did he, so it was best if he kept this light. “The kids. Anything for the kids.”

“Such a good guy,” Ainsley said. “Let’s get some food in you. You’re going to need all your energy tonight.”

It was how she said it that made him do a double take.

They were a few steps ahead of the others.

She smiled but didn’t look at him. “Those abs were impressive. I might like a little alone time with them.”

“So are you saying you want to touch them?” He’d always been direct and wasn’t into games.

“Yep, all over.”

He laughed. “Well, at least you’re honest. What happened to not wanting to date?”

“I didn’t say anything about a date. I just want to run my hands across those abs more than I want to breathe.”