Six winners. Six fantasies.

Six Million Dollar SecretS…

Plain Jane Kurtz is going to use her winnings to discover her inner vixen. But what’s it really going to cost her?

She Did a Bad, Bad Thing by Stephanie Bond Available from Mills & Boon® Blaze® in July 2008

* * *

New girl in town Nicole Reavis is on a journey to find herself. But what else will she discover along the way?

Underneath It All by Lori Borrill Available from Mills & Boon® Blaze® in August 2008

* * *

Risk taker Eve Best is on the verge of having everything she’s ever wanted. But can she take it?

The Naked Truth by Shannon Hollis Available from Mills & Boon® Blaze® in September 2008

* * *

Young, cocky Zach Haas loves his instant popularity, especially with the women. But can he trust it?

For Lust or Money by Kate Hoffmann Available from Mills & Boon® Blaze® in October 2008

* * *

Solid, dependable Cole Crawford is ready to shake things up. But how “shook up” is he prepared to handle?

Tall, Dark and Filthy Rich by Jill Monroe Available from Mills & Boon® Blaze® in November 2008

* * *

Wild child Liza has always just wanted to belong. But how far will she go to get it?

What She Really Wants for Christmas by Debbi Rawlins Available in the M&B™ collection Her Christmas Temptation in December 2008

Lori BorriLL

An Oregon native, Lori Borrill moved to the Bay Area just out of high school and has been a Californian ever since. She credits her writing career to the unending help and support she receives from her husband and real-life hero. When not sitting in front of a computer, she can usually be found at the baseball fields playing proud parent to their son, Tom. She’d love to hear from readers and can be reached through her website at www.LoriBorrill.com.

Dear Reader,

When I was asked to write a novel for the MILLION DOLLAR SECRETS continuity series, I was thrilled. For years I’ve been contributing to my office lottery pool and have often dreamed of winning it big with my friends and co-workers. But I’ve also read enough real-life stories to know that winning a fortune doesn’t always bring happiness.

That’s what Nicole Reavis discovers when her lottery win brings more headaches than wealth, plus a slew of publicity when she moves to Atlanta seeking peace. Of course, when all’s said and done, she finds her peace thanks to a love that money can’t buy.

I hope you enjoy this continuation of the MILLION DOLLAR SECRETS series. Please drop me a note and tell me what you think of it. You can contact me through my website at www. LoriBorrill.com or mail me care of Harlequin Books, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario M3B 3K9, Canada.

Happy reading!

Lori Borrill

UNDERNEATH IT ALL

by

LORI BORRILL

www.millsandboon.co.uk

Many thanks to Kathryn Lye for giving me the opportunity to work on this project and having faith that I could do it.

And thanks to Leeanne Kenedy for giving me the support and encouragement I needed to see this project through. I can’t wait to return the favour!

This book is for Al and Tommy, my forever and always.

1

“OKAY, LADIES, THE NEXT man up for grabs is Evan Phillips, this handsome real estate broker for Century South.” The woman at the microphone motioned to the dark-eyed hunk on stage and added, “Evan, please tell the women in the crowd what they’re bidding on.”

While the man detailed a romantic evening starting with dinner at Atlanta’s infamous Sun Dial restaurant, Nicole Reavis turned to her friend and coworker, Eve Best. “Some days I love my job.”

Eve smiled. “As opposed to days when you’re stuck in a catfight between girlfriends?”

Nicole winced. As chief segment producer for Eve’s cable talk show, Just Between Us, much of her job involved researching topics for upcoming shows. Tonight, it was the annual Children’s Charities Bachelor Auction, a glamorous event at a trendy new club where some of the city’s most eligible bachelors auction off a night on the town for charity.

Three days ago, the job had her dodging blows between two women who’d claimed to get along beautifully even though they were both dating the same man.

Proof that in the world of daytime television, life was never dull.

“And I noticed you’ve come here tonight but were conveniently AWOL when I was screaming for security before those women destroyed our conference room.” Nicole shook her head. “Thank heavens we got them together before we put them on the air. How humiliating would that have been?”

“Hey, if I’d been there you know I would have jumped in and helped.”

Nicole smiled in agreement, knowing Eve would have come running if she’d been in the studio at the time. Though Nicole was the new girl on the set, she and Eve had hit it off right from the start. She’d hit it off with everyone on the crew, for that matter, and the catfight incident was quickly becoming known as Nicole’s official transformation from newbie into battle-scarred veteran.

“Besides, I needed to be here tonight to help make sure Penny doesn’t get herself into trouble.” Eve scanned the large crowd. “Where is she, by the way?”

Penny was one of Nicole’s new research assistants, a young woman just out of college, barely of legal drinking age, and highly naive, almost too much so for a talk show that focused on relationships and sex. But the eighteen to twenty-five demographic was a hot one, and Nicole was willing to overlook Penny’s inexperience for the perspective she brought to the show.

“She’s getting the list of participants from the organizers. It’ll be interesting to interview them after their dates to see how this sort of thing generally turns out for couples.”

“We’ll start the bidding at two hundred dollars,” the woman onstage said.

The announcement caused a swarm of hands to go up. It looked as though the sexy real estate broker would be a hot commodity this evening.

Admittedly, before she came here tonight, Nicole had faced the evening with skepticism, wondering why this group of obviously successful singles would pay such a high price for what equated to a blind date. Surely, they couldn’t expect to find their soul mates under circumstances like this.

But once inside the doors, she realized this wasn’t about finding soul mates, it was about fun and fantasy, and the organizers of this event had played every angle to that end. Every year, the auction was held at one of Atlanta’s swankiest new spots, tonight’s at a bar called Oasis. The place was high class all the way, the interiors alone surely costing the owners a small fortune.

Set up like an underwater tide pool, the walls were painted in murals that gave the feeling one was standing on the ocean floor. Art glass chandeliers hung overhead like floating squids and sea urchins, glass seashells adorned the sconces that lined the perimeter. The floor was tiled to look like sand with touches of mother of pearl embedded here and there, and the moment Nicole had stepped inside, she was swept into the surreal atmosphere.

The place was like entering the soothing realm of an underwater aquarium, deep and mysterious, the ideal canvas for the sensual prospects of what might come.

And then, of course, there was the man across the room. The one she’d been trying to ignore all evening without any success. Not that she had an aversion to sinfully gorgeous men. On the contrary, she happened to like them a lot, and this one in particular kept pulling her attention toward him like a magnet on steel.

That was the problem. She was supposed to be observing the crowd, selecting couples of interest and taking notes for the show, and she was having trouble doing that with Mr. Delicious over there tossing her thoughts between the sheets.

She was a sucker for a man in a suit, and the charcoal gray classic he wore did wonders for a body that probably didn’t need the help. The silvery blue tie matched his eyes, bringing them to life even under the dim lighting of the undersea bar. But it was his smile that did the most damage, the kind that could bring a woman to her knees: gentle but teasing, with a faint dimple on one cheek to temper his strong jaw. His dark hair was cut short and brushed back in a style reminiscent of James Dean’s rebel days.

He stood relaxed and casual, as though the suit he wore was as comfortable as a pair of old blue jeans, and he had a laugh that seemed to come from the heart. Everything about the man felt genuine, as if he was oblivious to his own appeal. There was nothing pretentious or calculating in his eyes as they scanned his surroundings, and the more Nicole watched him, the more she felt like she could stand and stare all day.

A sharp knock of the gavel brought her back to attention a moment too late, and she cursed under her breath. This was now the third couple she’d missed by ogling Mr. Delicious, and with a self-deprecating frown she turned to Eve and asked, “How much did that one go for?”

Eve chuckled. “What’s with you tonight? Too many sexy men putting you on overload?”

“No, just one,” she said, moving her gaze back to places it didn’t belong.

Eve followed her line of sight. “Which one?”

“The tall one in the middle,” Nicole said absently.

“What tall one, what am I missing?”

The question came from Penny who’d just returned with the list from the charity’s organizer.

“Nicole’s found a man to bid on tonight,” said Eve.

“What? No, I haven’t,” Nicole said. “I just find him attractive, that’s all.” Though increasingly, the thought of him being taken by another woman tonight brought her an uneasy pang of jealousy she didn’t quite understand.

Again her traitorous eyes wandered over in his direction. For nearly an hour, he’d been standing there, one hand in his pants pocket, gracefully pulling back the suit jacket to offer a peek of what looked like the rigid lines of a well-toned chest and abs. And for nearly an hour, Nicole had been trying to keep her mind on the job and off the tall stallion in the corner, but it was becoming increasingly difficult.

He took another sip of his drink and moved his eyes across the room as the man standing next to him continued to fill his ear with conversation. Mr. Delicious had one ear to the conversation while he masterfully surveyed his surroundings. Nicole suspected these types of affairs, this mingling of business and pleasure were a common occurrence for him, and she wondered who he was and what he did for a living.

Once again, the man laughed, the sound reverberating through her veins and numbing her fingers, and just when she felt she should really look away, his gaze swept back over the room and landed directly on her.

Those crystal blue eyes clicked squarely with hers, growing in intensity as she noted the faint rise of interest in his brow. That soulful mouth she’d just been admiring twitched and smiled, leaving her feeling aroused and exposed.

Was she hot from lust or the embarrassment of being caught ogling? And if it was the heat of embarrassment, why couldn’t she find the will to dart her eyes away?

His simple glance paralyzed her, freezing every bone in her body to the point where she couldn’t even blink. And when he brushed his gaze down her body, it was as though a thousand fingers moved with it, touching every sensitive spot on the way.

That a simple look could heighten so many nerve endings left her anticipating what he could do with the extra sense of touch. Given the way she felt right now, she almost didn’t want to find out. If there really was such a thing as spontaneous human combustion, this man had the power to unleash it.

“Oh, if that’s not an invite, I don’t know what is,” Penny said.

It was the jab to the ribs more than the comment that brought Nicole’s attention back to the conversation at hand.

She cleared her throat and spun around, feeling ridiculous that for the fourth time tonight, the man in the corner managed to derail her thoughts. Maybe everyone was right that she’d been working too hard in light of the recent fiasco they’d all been thrown into.

As if her life hadn’t been complicated enough, Nicole and the crew of Just Between Us had recently won Lot ‘O’Bucks, the state’s biggest lottery. The one-in-a-gazillion shot had transformed the five of them from average working class to multi-millionaires overnight.

For Nicole, the win had been a sign that her move to Atlanta had been the right thing to do. Up until then, she hadn’t convinced herself that leaving her home and a promising career back in California had been the smartest decision. At the time, she’d been reeling from the news that her life had been a lie, that she wasn’t the person she thought she was, and that her real roots hadn’t even been in California.

She was actually a native Southern girl, and like an immigrant looking to make her way back home, she’d come to Atlanta to try and sort through the clutter that had become her life. She’d taken a step down in her career, seeking out the small cable show believing the slower pace would give her time for reflection.

Unfortunately, the job proved to be more demanding and hectic than she’d expected. She hadn’t had time to think, much less reflect on where she belonged in this world. She’d become uncertain, a little homesick, and began doubting her move to Georgia. Until the lottery win that changed their lives and her perspective on everything.

Nicole had taken it as Fate assuring her that though this path might be rocky, she was on the right road, and despite the media frenzy the win propelled them into, it had given her a sense of comfort that she’d been longing for.

Until Liza and her lawsuit.

Liza Skinner was Nicole’s predecessor on the show and one of the founding members of Just Between Us. She and the other four lottery winners, Cole, Jane, Zach and Eve, had been playing Lot ‘O’Bucks since they started the show three years ago. But when Liza took off without a word, the group needed to replace her, and with Nicole coming in to fill her position at the station, she thought she’d go the distance and take her place in the lottery pool as well.

At just a few dollars a month, Nicole figured, why not? And when they won, leaving them all to split thirty-eight million dollars after taxes, she was happy she had.

Unfortunately, a win this big made national headlines and drew Liza Skinner out of the woodwork. She hadn’t wasted time coming back to Atlanta to claim her portion of the prize, and though the group hadn’t felt she was owed any part of it, apparently Liza’s lawyer disagreed. Since then, their winnings had been on hold, everyone’s plans suspended, and Nicole had gone back to wondering whether or not the South was really meant for her after all.

Surely, all these things coming to a head were simply catching up with her tonight. Walking into this undersea garden and its atmosphere of sex and romance, she was simply letting the strain of the last several months carry her away.

That’s all it was.

Right?

She looked into Penny’s evil wide-eyed gaze. “You should bid on him.”

Nicole attempted to act as though that were the most ridiculous thing she’d heard, but even she could feel the weakness in the effort.

“I’m not bidding on anyone,” she replied, not sounding the least bit convincing.

“Come on. We’re researching this auction for the show. What better way to gain insight than to play along.”

Nicole glanced at Eve, who actually seemed to be going along with Penny’s crazy idea.

“She’s got a point,” Eve agreed.

Biting her lip, Nicole turned and eyed him once more. It was one thing to admire the man from afar. Heck, it would even be another to wander over and start a conversation. But to force him into a date by winning him in an auction? Could she really go that far?

Taking in another drink of the sexy stud, she wondered who she was kidding. Of course she could. In a heartbeat.

“You need to do this,” Penny said. “For the show.”

“For the show,” Nicole repeated.

DEVON BRADSHAW SIPPED HIS bourbon while admiring the sweetest thing he’d seen since his mother’s peach pie. Tall, blonde and beautiful, the woman had captured his eye with just a glance and gave him hope that this night might not end badly.

He and his brothers, Bryce and Todd, had been roped into this charity event by their sister, Grace. At the time, she claimed she hadn’t realized it was a bachelor auction, and when offered the opportunity to back out, Bryce, the sensible one, did exactly that. Devon planned to follow until Todd challenged him. The one who goes for the highest bid wins, loser has to double the winner’s bid for charity. Even then, Devon tried to weasel out of it until word of the challenge got back to Grace and the charity organizers and one thing led to another and…well…here he was, wondering what he’d end up with after the night was through.

All in all, it was good for business, just another stop in a string appearances aimed at keeping Bradshaw Investments in good corporate standing with the major money-handlers of Atlanta. As future CEO of the family business, functions like this had become one of his least favorite parts of the job.

But the stunning blonde across the room changed everything.

Slim, striking, fresh as a summer day, the woman had that special something that left him with hope. More fit and slender than plush and curvy, she had a runner’s body and light caramel skin, the type who wouldn’t look foreign in roller blades and jeans, but easily softened into a Southern belle in that pretty pink dress and heels.

He liked the contradiction, and as he continued watching her through the crowd, he wondered if the look in her eye meant this night might end on a high note.

“I can’t believe you two are really doing this.”

The whining voice of reason came from Bryce.

“Would you stop with the complaining already? Besides, I thought you’d enjoy spending the evening watching Todd’s public humiliation.”

“Neither of you should be humiliating yourselves at this auction. We should all be back at the office trying to figure out who’s stealing money from the company.”

Devon scoffed. “We don’t know that there’s any stealing going on, and if there is, we’ll get the report from accounting once they pinpoint the discrepancies in the books.”

“This is serious. We should be more hands-on about this.”

There being the statement that reminded Devon on more than one occasion that Bryce should be the one inheriting the job as CEO of Bradshaw Investments. If their father had made the choice based on who was best suited, it would have been Bryce all along. The man had the eye for numbers and the wit for business that made him the natural choice. It was only birth order that put him in the position as head of finance instead.

According to their father, William Devon Bradshaw III, who inherited the family business from his father, William Devon Bradshaw Jr., tradition had it that the next logical CEO would be the next William Devon Bradshaw. That had been the assumption from the day Devon was born, and every step he’d taken in life had been leading toward that end. He had a masters in economics and business management, had been working with the firm since his apprenticeship back as a teen.

It was all laid out for him, just as it had been laid out for all the Bradshaws before him. The only problem with the whole scenario was that he was bored to death with the job, and he’d only now come to the realization that life wouldn’t get more interesting the farther up the ladder he went.

Though technically still in charge, their father had been slowly stepping back, letting Devon handle the operation, and now that he’d finally had a glimpse of the life he was to inherit, he didn’t like what he saw. This business of investments and numbers was comatose at best, and increasingly, he doubted he could last another year, much less the rest of his life.

The only question now was what to do about it. Given their annual audit had uncovered suspicious discrepancies in the books, now was not the time to start the certain shake-up that would occur when Devon announced he’d like to make a break from tradition. When it came to investing, people were nervous and image meant everything. If there was anything shady going on within the company, they’d need to resolve that first and let the dust settle before dropping any more bombs.

And the announcement that a first-born Bradshaw had his own ideas about his future was certain to create some fall-out.

“I mean it,” Bryce added under his breath. “We have to face the real prospect that someone’s stealing from the company.”

Devon slugged back the last of his drink, deciding the only prospect he cared to deal with tonight was the blonde across the room.

Slinging an arm around Bryce’s shoulder, he led the man the few steps toward the bar. “Let me give you some brotherly advice. For the next few hours, forget about the audit. You’re better off here exuding calm confidence than hovering over the accountants distracting them from their job. They’ve got your cell phone number and if something comes up, they’ll call.”

He ordered a drink and slid a twenty across the sleek marble bar.

“I see,” Bryce said. “And while I’m forgetting about the audit, you’ll be busy working the blonde over there.”

He winked and smiled. “I like the way you think, bro.”

Bryce frowned but didn’t press. More than anyone, he knew Devon’s heart wasn’t in the family business. He only doubted Devon had the guts to admit it to their father. And who knows, maybe he didn’t.

All he knew was that tonight he didn’t want to think about futures or audits or career aspirations. There was an intriguing woman with sharp-witted blue eyes calling for his attention, and there was nothing in the auction’s rule book that said he couldn’t try to influence the buyers in any way.

He gestured to Bryce. “Who’s that she’s talking to? Don’t we know her?”

Bryce eyed the shorter brunette from across the large room.

“You know who that is?” Bryce said. “I think that’s the woman with that talk show. Between Friends, or Our Time, or something like that. I forget the name. It’s kind of a chick show, but it’s getting pretty popular.”

“Oh, yeah. I know the one you’re talking about.” He picked up his drink and took a sip. “I wonder if the blonde works for the show.”

“If she does she’s a millionaire. You heard about that, didn’t you?” When Devon shook his head, Bryce explained, “A bunch of them won Lot ‘O’Bucks. They’re all millionaires—the brunette for sure.” He added with a shrug, “Maybe they’re here to spend their fortune.”

“Deep pockets would certainly work in my favor.” Setting his drink on the bar, he added, “I think I’ll go introduce myself.”

Bryce opened his mouth, no doubt to object, but before he could speak a low voice behind them interrupted.

“Why, if it isn’t my favorite investment broker. How much am I going to have to pay for you tonight?”

The cold chill told Devon it was Abigail Westlaw, a local real estate agent with whom he, in a temporary loss of sanity, had made the mistake of sleeping with. Once. Granted, it wasn’t that he didn’t find Abbey attractive enough to go back for seconds. A fair share of heat had simmered between them. The problem was that no sooner had they finished their morning coffee than Abbey was all over town spreading every detail of the tryst to anyone who would listen.

And thanks to that, out of the woodwork came a dozen other men who’d shared heat with Abbey, all interested in comparing notes.

Call him old fashioned, but Devon had never been interested in communal sex. He preferred being the one-and-only, and if he’d taken his time and gotten to know the woman better, he would have discovered before making the mistake that Abbey Westlaw liked her men frequent and interchangeable.

He forced a smile and replied, “Why bid on used goods? Surely, you’d be more interested in someone new and shiny.”

Please?

She threw her head back in an overexaggerated laugh and slung a bony arm over his shoulder. “Devon, you were always the funny one.”

The funny one?

Wincing, he tried to remain calm, remembering there were worse things than spending a romantic evening with Abbey. Though off the top of his head, he couldn’t come up with any.

Abbey kissed him on the cheek and gave his arm a squeeze.

“If the price is right, I might go home with several prizes tonight,” she said, her expression stating she had no clue as to how bad that sounded. “I just wanted you to know you’re my first choice.”

And with that, she walked off, leaving him standing at the bar with one sinking pit in his stomach.

2

“I HOPE YOU’VE COME prepared to lose,” said Devon’s brother, Todd. “I’ve got several women in this room ready to fork out big dollars for a slice of the best looking Bradshaw.”

“I’m glad you’ve come with confidence,” Devon replied half-heartedly. He wasn’t terribly interested in engaging in another battle of egos with the baby of the family. Abbey’s parting words were still hanging in his ears, leaving him thoroughly annoyed with his brother for talking him into this mess.

“It’s not confidence, it’s strategy,” Todd said, pointing a finger to his forehead. “A good gambler knows the way to win is to tilt the odds in his favor. So while you were standing here holding hands with Bryce, I’ve been securing bidders.” He scanned the room and smiled. “And I’ve got my odds set on a sexy redhead named Tammy.”

Devon had to admit, before spotting the blonde he hadn’t considered working the room, even though most of the men here tonight had been casually mingling through the crowd. He was still a little put off by the idea of auctioning himself off like a steer marked for stud. Playing along by actively promoting himself tipped the weird meter a bit too far.

But for Todd, this kind of thing was right up his alley. The born salesman of the three Bradshaw boys, Todd could talk a vagrant out of his last dollar and leave him sorry he couldn’t give more. Add the heat of competition and the spark of a friendly wager and this night was Todd’s all around, the kind of thing he was made for.

Their father hadn’t been stupid to put Todd in charge of investor acquisitions at the firm. He loved talking people out of their money and though Devon often found his younger brother’s ego tiresome, he had to admit Todd was good at his job.

Which was why Devon showed up tonight already accepting surrender. From the moment Todd could walk and talk the family learned not to go up against him when it came to competition. Even as kids at their old church fundraisers, if someone raised twenty dollars, Todd would work double-time to raise twenty-one. The little snot would do anything to win, and it was decades ago that Devon, Bryce and Gracie all learned it was easier to not compete than suffer through the lengths he’d go to come out on top.

But though Devon had no interest in trying to beat Todd tonight, he most certainly wanted to end up on a date with the only woman in the room who perked his interest—among other things.

Still talking among her friends, she’d turned around, giving him a glorious view of one heart-shaped behind, and he clenched his hands into fists as if to ward off the desire to walk over and caress them over her ass. Just that one heated glance they’d shared had left him feeling as though he had the right, as if he’d claimed her through the crowd, and he had to forcefully pull his civility back in check.

Like a caveman considering walking over and dragging her off to his cave, the woman had somehow reached in and yanked on his most primal instinct to conquer and possess, and before he approached her, he needed to remind himself that his species had supposedly evolved.

Right now, however, it didn’t feel like it.

“How about you? You got any prospects lined up?” Todd asked.

“Abigail Westlaw,” Bryce said with a smirk.

“Yeah, you and twenty others.” Todd studied Devon as if he were sizing up the competition. “Really, no joke. You haven’t talked to any women here tonight?”

“I was about to introduce myself to a lovely blonde,” Devon said, moving his gaze back across the room.

“The blonde from Just Between Us?” Todd asked.

“You know her?” Devon asked, his interest in his brother piquing.

Todd glanced over to the blonde and the two women she was with. “Know of her. She’s one of the producers of the TV show. Eve Best,” he said, pointing to the shorter brunette, “she’s the host. The shorter blonde with them is an assistant.” He shrugged and sipped his beer. “I don’t know them. I just happened to be there when the assistant was talking to the organizer. They’re here for the show. Want to do a segment on bachelor auctions, I guess.”

“So they aren’t here to bid on bachelors,” Devon said, his hopes sinking by the minute.

“Got no idea.”

“Well, there’s one way to find out,” Devon said. He moved toward the woman, but Todd stopped him.

“Whoa, where are you going? Evanne wants us up on stage. We’re next.”

“Already? They’ve barely started this thing.”

“Sorry, bro. If you haven’t talked yourself up to the women yet, you’re out of time. You should have jumped on the chance when you had it.”

Brilliant. Up for auction and the only woman openly interested was the last woman he cared to go on a date with. He thought of Abigail and the prospect of her winning, and for once he had to agree with his brother—that moving more quickly might have helped his situation.

Now, he’d have to move to the stage and leave the outcome to Fate.

Picking up his drink for one final sip, he hoped the stars would be on his side.

“HERE’S TONIGHT’S FEATURE, ladies. Two wealthy, eligible brothers engaged in a friendly wager to benefit Children’s Charities.”

Nicole listened while the announcer introduced the crowd to her sexy stranger and the reason the two men were up there together.

Devon Bradshaw, co-chair of Bradshaw Investment Group, and his brother Todd, battling against each other to see who would go for the most money. She took the sheets from Peggy and found their names on the list along with their contact information. No matter how things turned out tonight, she had a perfect excuse to call him up and request a meeting, and circling his name, she smiled at the thought that sometimes her job came in very handy, indeed.

“Here we go, are you ready?” Penny asked, her voice nearly breathless with excitement.

“You know, I can always track him down after the auction. That’s what we’re here for, right?”

Penny looked at her as if she’d lost her mind. “And interview him about his date with another woman?”

When phrased that way, Nicole didn’t like how it sounded, and the sour feeling sucked the last of her doubt away.

Rolling up the pages, she tucked the pen and note pad in her purse. “Only if I lose the auction,” she said. “And I won’t.”

There. She said it. Decision made and final. She was going to win herself a date with a torturously gorgeous man and start having fun for a change. Eve said the station would probably cover her bid, and besides, Nicole couldn’t remember the last time she let loose and had a good time. Tonight would be it. The night of rebirth. The night Nicole Reavis took a step forward instead of wallowing in her past.

For over a year, she’d been wrapped up in her problems and the turmoil that had followed. Ever since her mother had come down with cancer, things hadn’t been the same. Her parents had been forced to tell her the truth about who she was—or wasn’t, more accurately. The news that she’d been adopted had been a shock, had sent her three thousand miles east, away from friends and family and everything she’d known in search of the answers to questions that had come to haunt her.

Between making new friends, settling into a new job, moving to a slice of the country where she still felt like a foreigner, and then this lottery win, she hadn’t taken a moment to relax, let her hair down and enjoy.

A distraction might be just what she needed.

And the look from the man on stage promised all kinds of welcome distraction.

“Well, Devon surely looks like he wants you to win,” Penny said. “He hasn’t taken his eyes off you since he walked up there.”

Nicole licked her lips. No, he hadn’t. And the more he studied her with those blue eyes whispering unspoken words of promise, the more intent she was to go home the winner.

“Devon, please tell us what you have planned,” the announcer said.

He casually turned to the woman on stage and took the microphone, and when he spoke, his voice sent tingles up Nicole’s spine. He had a low, whiskey drawl that made every word sound like a private secret shared between lovers, the kind of voice that could spread velvet over your skin just by whispering sweet sensations.

She imagined that voice in the dark, his lips close to her ear, so close his warm breath tickled the hair at the base of her neck.

“We’ll hop in my vintage 1959 Cadillac convertible and head north to the new Santiago Resort and Spa in the beautiful Atlanta foothills,” he said. “My date will have a choice of how she’d like to spend the day. If she’s the outdoorsy type, they offer golf and tennis, or if it’s relaxation she’s after, there’s the full day spa or cruising on the lake.”

“Ooh, that sounds divine,” the announcer said. “And that’s a brand-new resort, ladies. I haven’t been but I’ve heard it’s beautiful.”

“We’ll finish the day off with dinner at the restaurant which sits right on the water’s edge,” he said. Then he turned and set his gaze directly on Nicole. “And with the right woman,” he added raising a brow, “who knows where the night could end.”

A million-dollar smile polished off his presentation leaving Nicole weak in the knees and ready to mortgage off the condo if she had to. With no effort, her imagination picked up where his description left off, turning the afternoon date into an adventure of sun, fun and sex.

She’d visited the Santiago Resort for a recent episode where they’d given away a romantic weekend for two. She’d toured the facilities and had no trouble imagining herself in one of those suites, buried under the fluffy down comforter with Devon Bradshaw in the flesh.

The thought swelled her insides and heated her blood, the way it apparently had with the rest of the women in the room. A round of hoots and whistles erupted, and though a number of women voiced their desire for that package, Devon never pulled his gaze from Nicole.

As if to signal her intentions, she smiled and faintly nodded, and the sexy expression on Devon’s face brightened to a grin.

“He’s mine,” Nicole said, twisting the pages in her hand, and when the announcer presented the opening bid, she raised her hand without hesitation.

And so did two dozen other women, but the numbers didn’t faze her. She was about to be a millionaire, and even though she didn’t have her money yet, staring into those beautiful blues with a weekend of sex on her mind, the sky was her only limit.

The price flew up from a few hundred dollars to over a thousand, and when it hit fifteen hundred, it was only Nicole and two other women.

“I don’t know if the station will go this high,” Eve said.

“I’ll pay for it myself.”

Fifteen-fifty and Nicole raised her hand taking the bid to sixteen hundred.

“Oh, my God,” Penny beamed. “He just passed the high water mark for the evening.”

A tall, too-thin woman, who looked a lot like the animated version of Cruella Deville, seemed as intent to win Devon as Nicole was. It was the same woman she’d seen him talking to earlier, and though that fact gave her pause, Devon’s heated stare swept away any doubts. Everything about his expression said he wanted Nicole to win, the smile of promise in his eyes, the sexy quirk of his mouth, right down to the way he rubbed his thumb against his fingers as he held his hand at his side.

It was his only hint of nerves, and Nicole couldn’t help but zero in on it. The higher the bid, the faster he rubbed, the faster he rubbed, the more intensely his eyes fixed on her. It was as if he was begging her to keep going, and she smiled, thinking he didn’t have to worry.

Nothing would make her stop.

Seventeen, then eighteen hundred, and the third woman finally backed out. Now it was just Nicole and Cruella, who really needed a solid meal more than she needed the date.

Like two opponents in a game of table tennis, the bids bounced back and forth between the two.

Eighteen-fifty, nineteen hundred, nineteen-fifty. Every time Nicole took the bid the other woman took it back and the higher they went, the more annoyed she became.

Who was this nightmare ?

Nicole nearly yelled out to tell the woman to give up, now understanding the fierce annoyance that could throw a civilized woman into a cat-fighting frenzy. She felt like storming over and giving her a push.

Not that it would take much.

“That other woman really wants him,” Penny whispered.

“I’m taking her out,” Nicole replied, not at all feeling like it was the joke she’d intended. The more persistent Cruella was the more aggravated Nicole became. The woman was relentless, like a dog with its teeth clenched tightly on a sock. No matter how many times Nicole raised her hand, she just smiled and raised hers. It was becoming a ridiculous test of wills and checkbooks, and if Devon hadn’t continued to encourage her with the pleading look in his eyes, she might have backed out by now.

The price was now topping twenty-five hundred, nearing its way to three thousand, and though she could care less about the money, something about the situation stopped her in her tracks.

The contest between two brothers. The brunette talking casually with Devon before the auction. Her unfailing insistence on keeping up with the bidding and Devon’s heated encouragement for Nicole to keep going, to keep raising the price.

Was she being played?

“Nicole,” Eve warned. “This is getting pricey. You can’t count on the lottery, hon. We might not get our money thanks to Liza’s lawsuit against us.”

Raising her hand, Nicole took over the bid once more, but this time less intently. She didn’t care about the money, but the sudden flash that something here might be foul.

It was all too perfect, her attraction to this stranger, more hot and fiery than anything she’d felt before, all brought on by this undersea Eden set up to breed passion in everyone who entered. There was romance in the air, from the oysters on the half shell to the champagne to the plates of chocolate hearts on the tables.

And to find this instant connection with someone who gave her every signal he felt the very same way? How likely was that to happen? How much of this was simply the act of being swept up into the evening?

In a serious wave of doubt, her mind began spinning backward, rewinding to the first glance, her first impression, trying to recall what started all this and how she got caught up into it. Was this man sending her genuine signals or was he just trying to win the bet against his brother?

“Going once,” she heard.

Penny jabbed her in the ribs. “What are you doing? Don’t stop now.”

With a quick jerk, she raised her hand and took the bid again, now unsure exactly how high it was. Then she tried to shake the clouds from her thoughts.

This was silly, these doubts. If the man was trying to set up the bidding, he would have arranged it ahead of time, maybe with women he already knew. Not once had he approached her. In fact, he hadn’t approached any of the women here tonight. While all the other men were making contacts and getting to know the prospective buyers, he’d stood at the bar casually watching the room.

No, she thought. This was real. There was real heat here. Real attraction and she really wanted this date.

“What are you doing?” Penny asked. “You almost lost it.”

“She’s regaining her senses,” Eve said. “Nicky, don’t get carried away. Like you said before, you have the man’s phone number. You can always call him after the auction.”

“No,” said Nicole. “I want this.”

Up flew her hand to take over the bid again, the brunette still going on as if she could do this all night. And Devon still held his eyes on Nicole—that intense stare focused directly on her, the smile telling her she won’t be sorry, and that brush of his thumb caressing back and forth, prompting her to keep bidding.

To keep driving the price up so he can win the bet.

Damn, that voice of doubt. It was the same voice that had been paralyzing her for too many months now.

This was all about her parents and the situation that had stripped away her trust in everything pure and honest. And who could blame her? When the two people she should have believed in most handed her the greatest betrayal, how was she expected to have faith in a stranger in a bar? Maybe a year ago, she would have played into this without thinking twice. She would have taken everything at surface value, never considering that Devon and Cruella were conspiring to win this wager from his brother.

But when her parents were forced to admit they’d lied to her about her birth, her basic trust in human beings was destroyed.

It wasn’t even finding out that she was adopted that hurt the most. Millions of children are adopted and grow up with a solid sense of self. It was that her parents had never intended to tell her. That she’d always been led to believe that she was their natural child, that their heritage was her heritage, their culture her culture.

That she was a Reavis, and Reavis’s were doers and go-getters and survivors. It was in her blood, who she was.

And only when her mother became ill and the truth leaked out were her parents forced to confess the family secret.

Everything she had, everything she was had been a lie. And Nicole hadn’t been the same person since learning the truth.

“What are you doing?” Penny pleaded. “You’re going to lose!”

“Going once,” the announcer said.

“She’s wising up. This is too much money,” Eve said.

And in the midst of it all, Nicole’s mind went blank with confusion, halting her from taking action or knowing which way to turn. The same way it had every time she tried to make a move with her life or to find the answers she’d been seeking.

Perpetual limbo. Handed down by Don and Betty Reavis to their grown daughter.

“Going twice,” the announcer said.

“Come on,” Penny urged. “You’re going to be a millionaire. Who cares about the price? Get the guy, already!”

“I don’t…”

Nicole didn’t know what to do. Fixing her eyes on Devon’s she saw a mist of disappointment. A gentleman, he tried to hide it for the audience, but she could see the falseness in his smile. It wasn’t the same smile of expectation he had a moment ago, and she wondered if it had turned because she wouldn’t end up as his date or because the price hadn’t gone as high as he’d hoped.

Closing her eyes, she fumed. This was silly. Ten seconds ago, she was having a great time, anticipating a romantic date with the first man to warm up her insides in as long as she could remember. The chemistry was real. So why was she standing here doubting it all?

What happened to the old Nicole who went for what she wanted, reached out and grabbed the brass ring without worrying whether or not it was just worthless plated steel?

What happened to the doer, the go-getter, the woman who made things happen?

“Sold for three-thousand-five-hundred dollars!” the announcer said.

Sold to another woman, Nicole conceded, pulling her gaze away from Devon and turning from the stage.

“I can’t believe you let him go!” Penny cried.

She looked to Eve and Penny. Only Eve knew the truth about why she’d come to Atlanta, but even so, she still couldn’t explain why she could be confident one moment then a pile of hesitation the next.

Heck, even she didn’t get it. So instead, she lied.

Sticking up her chin, she pasted on a smile. “Eve was right. The price got too high.”

“But—” Penny started.

Nicole held up the crinkled pages in her hand. “I’ve got his phone number right here, remember? Let the woman have her date. I’ll catch him on the rebound.”

3

NICOLE PULLED THE PEN and notepad from her purse and recorded Devon’s auction result as she had the others. On stage, his brother, Todd, was selling the crowd on his date, and when the bidding kicked off, a flurry of hands went up promising that the wager between siblings could be a very tight race.

Next to him, Devon stood by idly watching the proceedings. A few times he’d glanced over, winked or smiled in a no-hard-feelings kind of way, but aside from that he’d kept his attention on the show. He’d moved on, his focus back to his brother and the auction and no doubt the woman who’d be enjoying his fantasy date.

And the longer Nicole stood there the more foolish she felt for backing out the way she had. She’d been having a good time doing something wild and spontaneous. She’d seen something she wanted and had decided to go for it.

For that moment, she’d been her old self again, and it felt good. She shouldn’t be standing here noting the fact that another woman would go home with her prize. She should be standing by the stage waiting for Mr. Delicious to come down and take her hand.

“There’s three thousand, do I have three thousand one hundred?” the auctioneer announced.

Two women held up hands leaving Nicole all but certain Todd would win. The auction hadn’t even slowed and already the price had neared the thirty-five hundred Devon went for.

“I’m sorry, but no date is worth that kind of money,” Eve said.

“Tell me about it,” Nicole murmured then vowed to believe it.

Eve was right. She shouldn’t be making such a big deal out of this. It was just a stupid date that would have cost her more money than she had at the moment. Instead of complaining she should be pleased she’d come to her senses when she had.

“I’ll throw in a dozen roses,” Todd said when the bid hit Devon’s, and when one woman raised her hand and made Todd the winner, the crowd erupted. With the bidding still going, he raised his arms in victory and did a happy dance on stage, leaving Devon rolling his eyes on the sidelines. A few more bids widened the margin before Todd’s date finally sold for three thousand eight hundred, relieving the two brothers from their presence on stage.

And of course, waiting by the stairs to be the first to claim her trophy was Ms. Cruella Skin-And-Bones. Nicole turned her attention to her notes, not interested in standing witness to the grand induction.

“Well, that was exciting,” Nicole said, trying to shake off her disappointment and move on with the evening. “They’ve raised over twelve thousand dollars so far and they’re only halfway through their list of bachelors.”

“I wonder if they’ve got any more dueling brothers,” Penny said. “That was amazing. If I wasn’t so broke, I would have gone after Todd. He’s almost as adorable as his brother.”

“Hopefully, we’ll get a lot of responses on the flyers the organizers are passing out to the winning bidders,” Nicole said, again trying to yank the discussion off Devon and onto something more pleasant.

“We should. Most people love the idea of getting on TV,” Eve said. “It wouldn’t surprise me to show up at the station Monday with a dozen voice mail messages.”

“I wonder how many people end up seriously involved after these dates. You know? Like, how many marriages come out of bachelor auctions,” Penny speculated.

The image of Devon and Cruella at the altar flashed in Nicole’s mind, making her seriously wish she’d left Penny at home tonight.

“Probably not many,” Penny added. “But I’ll bet the bulk of them end up at least doing it. I mean, you have to consider the odds and—”

“Can we stop talking about this, please?” Nicole took a breath, hoping to calm her aggravation when a familiar voice sounded behind them.

“I’m disappointed in you, Nicole. I thought I had my lead story for tomorrow’s broadcast.”

It was Stella Graves, The Grave Digger, as the crew at CATL-TV called her. Stella was the entertainment reporter for their rival television station, WTVU. Nicole should have known she’d be sniffing around at this auction tonight. The woman had managed to make a local celebrity of herself by nosing about town speculating on the comings and goings of prominent people in the city. Until recently, only Eve had been notable enough to get an occasional mention in Stella’s nightly gossip segments, and even then it was rare, most likely because WTVU wasn’t keen on giving publicity to its competitors.

But the lottery changed all that. If the win itself hadn’t been big enough news, the scandal created by Liza’s return made them all ripe pickings for anyone looking for a story. And Stella Graves had been right at the front of the pack.

“Granted,” Stella continued, “the friendly wager between the Bradshaw brothers might be a fun mention, but I’d been rooting for you to win. Atlanta would love to know their favorite lottery winners were spending their fortunes buying bachelors.”

Forcing a stiff smile, Nicole replied, “Sorry I couldn’t help you, Stella.”

The woman turned back to the stage and sighed from under the brim of her black felt hat. Part of Stella’s image was to look as though she’d just flown out from Hollywood, though Nicole had been there enough times to know few Hollywood locals actually dressed like her. In California, the wide-brimmed hats and rhinestones were more commonly found on drag queens and stage performers, though in all irony, Stella somehow made it work, coming across as more eccentric than foolish.

And be damned if Atlanta didn’t love her, which made the subjects of her nightly segments all that more annoyed.

Stella spoke through a huff and glanced toward Devon and Cruella. “That Abbey Westlaw certainly isn’t news. If I devoted my segments to all the men she dates, I wouldn’t have time to report on anything else.” She raised a brow and added, “Looks like your Devon will be the next notch on her bedpost, if he’s not there already. They do look as though they already know each other, wouldn’t you say?”

Nicole gritted her teeth and eyed Eve who shot a look that said let it go. They’d all dealt with Stella enough to know this was how she incited news for her segments. Push a few buttons and people were likely to say all kinds of things they’d find repeated on the next day’s taping.

“So,” Stella added. “Have you got your eye on a consolation prize?” She motioned toward a tall blonde near the stage. “That hunk over there looks appetizing. They say he owns a construction company. He’s not quite as handsome as Devon Bradshaw, but he could certainly build you your dream house.”

“Actually,” Nicole replied. “I’m done bidding.” She shoved the notepad at Penny. “Keep track of the auction for me. I’m getting a drink.”

She didn’t ask Eve to join her, needing instead to get away from everyone and clear the garbage from her mind. This whole situation was ridiculous at best. It was bad enough moping over losing a date with Devon. Allowing a local gossipmonger to make her feel even worse tipped the scale to absurd.

Since when had men become such a prized commodity anyway? They came a dime a dozen and she could get any one she wanted without having to fork out thousands of dollars. So she’d come across a guy she found attractive. Big whoop. It wasn’t the first time, it wouldn’t be the last.

And as soon as she convinced herself of all that, she’d be fine.

She found one seat available at the bar, slid into it and calmed herself while the bartender finished with his other orders and came down toward her end.

He slid a cocktail napkin in front of her. “What can I get you?”

“I’ll have a glass of chardonnay.”

Nodding, the man turned, poured her glass and set it on the napkin. “That’s eight-fifty.”

She reached into her purse, but before she could pull out her wallet, a familiar low drawl sounded over her shoulder.

“It’s on me.”

One masculine hand slid a twenty across the bar, and when she followed it up to the man attached, she found herself staring squarely at two stunning blue eyes.

Her mouth opened, but nothing came out. If Devon Bradshaw had been handsome from across the room, he was doubly attractive just inches from her nose. His broad chest was wider than she’d noted before, the dimple in his cheek deeper, and the blue of his eyes so vivid they were nearly violet. He leaned against the bar, the motion stretching the dress shirt under his opened suit jacket and relieving any doubt that what lay underneath was one solid mass of chiseled joy.

She fought a gut instinct to reach out and touch him, opting instead to take a breath, and what she got was a lungful of fresh, woodsy aftershave that drugged her thoughts of everything but him…naked.

“Thank you” was all she could say, and even that came out slightly hoarse.

His smile broadened. “Considering what you almost paid for a date, this is the least I could do.”

Clearing her throat, she took a sip of her wine, then managed to utter, “Almost.”

He slid his empty glass across the bar and motioned to the bartender for another. “Well, it’s better you didn’t win the bid. I’d rather take you on a date free of charge.”

She blinked then blinked again. “Take me on a date?”

“If you’ll let me.”

The way he flashed that smile, that eager boyish grin, she doubted any woman could turn down his request—doubted any of them had.

He held out a hand. “I’m Devon Bradshaw.”

Taking it in hers, the warmth of his grasp sent a spray of tingles over her skin, and she now realized for certain that all the silly doubts she’d had about him during the auction amounted to nothing more than her own paranoia. His manner was too genuine, the heat too temperate.

She had, for certain, blown the opportunity to take the date she wanted, the date that should have been hers. It was a mistake she wouldn’t make a second time.

“Nicole Reavis.”

“Nicole,” he repeated, letting the word roll over his tongue as if he was trying it on for size. “It’s a pleasure.”

“Um,” she started, getting back to the subject at hand. “I thought you already had a date.” She scanned the room for Cruella. The woman had just forked out three grand for the man. Wasn’t it somewhat rude for him to be here buying her drinks?

Devon jerked his thumb toward the auction. “She’s moved on to her next acquisition.”

Nicole gaped. “She’s bidding on someone else?”

He smiled and shook his head. “Abbey’s an old…friend, a real estate broker with some strange ideas on how to drum up new business.”

Nicole searched the crowd and sure enough, Cru—er, Abbey, was back at the auction bidding on the next guy.

“So she’s—”

“Nothing more than a friend,” Devon said. “What I’d really like to do is get out of this fish tank and spend my evening with the woman I am interested in.” Taking her hand, he brushed his thumb over the back of her fingers. “Have dinner with me tonight.”

She glanced at the crowd and at Eve and Penny, who’d somehow managed to ditch Stella Graves. She really shouldn’t leave them here to deal with work alone. Although, on the other hand, they’d already accomplished what they’d come for and that was to meet with the organizers and get a sense of the auction. Even taking notes on the bidding results had been overkill since she probably could obtain the information from the organizers. They’d been so excited about the additional publicity of being on Eve’s show, they were willing to hand over anything they needed.

But still, the three women were here together, and though they’d taken separate cars—

She stopped.

She took a breath then wondered what the hell she was doing. Had she learned nothing tonight?

Closing her eyes briefly, she vowed that for the rest of the evening, there would be no more doubts, no more suspicions and no more questioning every turn she made. Her sexy bachelor was offering her the second chance to let her hair down and have a good time.

So without giving another second’s thought to what she should or shouldn’t do, she turned to Devon, smiled and said, “Yes. I’d love that.”

DEVON SHIFTED IN HIS seat for the third time since they’d taken a table at Portobano’s restaurant a few blocks from the auction. As if this wonderful evening needed anything more, his dinner with Nicole answered the age-old question: It was possible to get a hard-on just watching a woman eat.

Advertisers had been attempting the feat for years, running with the assumption that sex can sell anything from cars to sloppy burgers. Up until now, he hadn’t bought it. But for an hour now, Devon’s dick strained every time she slid that fork in her mouth and licked those luscious pink lips.

And it didn’t help that she found the meal delectable. When she’d taken that first bite of her lobster raviolis, her expression rolled into that of divine pleasure, a blissful look that he could only imagine seeing between the sheets, under his naked body, after he’d sent her over the brink into ecstasy.

She did the same thing with the green beans, the bite of steak he offered, his mashed potatoes and everything else he could convince her to taste. He needed to back off before she either caught on or he succumbed to his desire to duck under the table and move on to dessert.

“So you’ve just got the one brother,” he said in a valiant attempt to get his mind out of his pants and onto the beautiful woman seated with him.

“Yep, it’s just me and Nate,” she said. “He’s still in San Francisco.”

“And what had you packing your bags and moving across the country if all your family’s out west?”

“I was looking for a change of pace. Experience the world, kind of thing.”

There was a blankness to the statement that made it sound canned, but Devon didn’t press. Maybe she’d just been asked the question a lot. It wasn’t every day a television producer moved from a big market like San Francisco to a city half its size to take on a show even smaller than that.

As she brought another bite of ravioli to her mouth, he asked, “And how do you like Atlanta so far?” prompting her to stop.

She considered for a moment then said with resolve, “It’s good to get away.”

“From?”

“My family. That’s what I was looking for by coming here. I needed some space and time.” She set the fork back down on her plate. “My mother’s cancer took a lot out of me, made me see things differently. And when she went into remission, she didn’t need me so much anymore.”

“That’s all very understandable.”

“But it’s not only that.” She stared into space as if she were trying to put together the right words. “It was sort of time for me to get away from it all and find out who I was and what I wanted from life, without the distraction of all the opinions around me.”

Devon couldn’t help but laugh. “I understand completely.” And he did. He wondered if her leaving San Francisco came with the same uproar he would probably get when he announced to his father he wasn’t interested in the family business. Regardless, Nicole was here in Atlanta looking to find her own way which was the example he needed to follow.

“Sometimes family ties can feel more like shackles,” he said. “I admire your courage to make a break from it all. It’s something I plan to do myself when the time is right.”

“You don’t like running an investment company?”

“How do things like bond trading and corporate acquisitions and capital funding sound to you?”

She smirked and confessed, “A little dull.”

“A lot dull. I only suffered through economics in college because I thought life would get more interesting once I was running the show.”

“But it hasn’t.”

“Not by a mile.”

Taking a sip of her wine, she pushed her plate away signaling the end of her meal, and Devon breathed a sigh of relief. The woman was sexy to distraction, so seductive the simple act of chewing made him hot under the collar. Not that it was a bad thing. He couldn’t remember the last time a woman lit so many nerve endings. Not since those lustful days of puberty, when anything with breasts turned him on, had he been so wired over a woman.

The problem was, he was enjoying getting to know her and discovering the things they had in common. He’d like to keep his focus on the conversation rather than the many ways she could unwittingly arouse him.

“So, what do you want to do?” she asked.

“I want to build things. At the end of the day, I’d like to have created something that didn’t exist that morning. That’s what I don’t like about what we do. Bradshaw Investment Group doesn’t produce anything tangible. Basically, we help rich people get richer.”

“But this country is founded on commerce. You may not be building things yourself, but you’re providing avenues for those that do.”

“For a fee we find people the backing they need. But we’re just the money end of it, and even then, we aren’t paying for anything. We’re brokering in the middle, neither offering the cash nor creating a product.” He set his knife and fork on his plate and pushed it aside. “I guess I’d like to do something that really matters.”

“And how do you think your family will react when you break the news?”

He took a sip of his wine and considered the question. Before now, he hadn’t really put thought to how his father would react to the idea of him stepping down from the company. Though he’d joked to himself about a backlash, when pressed to really consider, he gathered the man would be more hurt than upset. The business was his pride, his life’s work. He’d wanted all his sons to keep going what he’d nourished, and though he’d been realistic enough to know not all the kids would want it, Devon doubted his father would expect him to be the one to opt out.

Devon had always been the easy one, the kid that went along and never made waves. And he supposed in order to please his parents he felt he owed them a shot at taking over the business. But now that he had, he’d confirmed this wasn’t the life for him, and though pleasing the folks was one thing, living for them was an entirely different matter.

“I don’t know,” he said. “How did your parents feel about your move to Atlanta?”

She shrugged. “I think they were as upset with the career change as the move. The show I produced back in San Francisco had a lot more exposure than Just Between Us. That and they’ve only got me and my brother, Nate. I think my parents had wanted a bigger family, but it didn’t turn out that way. With just the two of us kids, it’s been even harder for them that I moved away.”

He sensed an undercurrent of discomfort every time she spoke of her family, as if there was more going on where that was concerned. So he backed off the subject, preferring to leave his first dates on a high note—this one in particular, since he was hoping this would be the first of many.

Backing from the table, he motioned for the check then asked Nicole, “How would you like to go for a drive?”

The fire returned to her eyes. “Do you really own a 1959 Cadillac convertible?”

“Yes, and I happen to have it with me tonight.”

“This is Gabe,” Devon said after they left the restaurant and made their way to where he’d parked his old Caddy. He motioned to the car, a monstrous red Cadillac with white interior and a white canvas roof. “Gabe, meet Nicole.”

“You call your car Gabe?”

“Every old car needs a name. Gabe just seemed to fit.”

She chuckled. “Please don’t tell me you’re one of those people who names their home, too. That’s so pompous.”

“No, just the car…and a stuffed alligator named Crikey, but I don’t usually talk about that on first dates.”

He opened the passenger side door and she slid in, one long, silky leg after the other, and he had to remind himself he’d vowed to remain a gentleman tonight. Every moment he spent with Nicole furthered his feeling that she was the one, the woman he’d been waiting for to come along and turn his head. When it came to the right woman, Devon never had a specific list of attributes he was looking for, but always felt he’d know her when he found her.

And tonight confirmed that notion.

He wanted to see a lot more of this woman, which meant she wouldn’t be his one-night-stand. He’d made enough mistakes in his past to learn how to approach that one lover he wanted to keep, and now that he’d found her, he intended to learn from them.

His every move tonight would be honorable, right down to leaving the evening with nothing more than a goodnight kiss.

Even though it would probably kill him.

Slamming the door, he rounded Gabe and slipped into the driver’s seat, then turned the ignition and started them on their way.

Nicole looked behind them. “This thing’s a boat. How do you avoid hitting things?”

“I don’t,” he teased. “The beautiful thing about cars like these is you can run them into a train and step away without a scratch.”

She smiled. “I’ll take your word for that one.”

“Seriously, I don’t drive it often. It sucks up gas and you can’t park it anywhere. I only pull it out of the garage once a week to keep the juices flowing. It’s a real kick on a day when the temperature’s just right. I put the top down and take it for a spin.”

He pulled onto the street and drove her out of town, making his way toward one of his favorite vista points overlooking the city. He loved how readily they could talk, the easy comfort of her company and that west coast manner she had of speaking her mind without thought to propriety. It was refreshing, stepping away from the typical guessing games and double-speak he’d had to deal with on other dates.

She pointed to the red tomahawk hanging from his rear view mirror. “You can’t be a Braves fan.”

“Till the day I die.”

She sighed and shook her head. “And here I thought you had such promise.”

“Oh, come on. What’s wrong with the Braves?”

She quirked her brow and crinkled her nose in a way that made him want to kiss it. “How much time do you have?”

“So I suppose you wouldn’t be interested in going to a game with me one of these days.”

“And suffer through that stupid tomahawk chop and that incessant chanting? There’s not enough aspirin on the planet to get me through that.”

He deadpanned, “You’re a Giants fan.”

She smiled. “Till the day I die.”

“Do you think we can get past this?”

“No, I’m afraid I’m just going to have to use you then toss you aside with the other Major League misfits.”

Her wink said she was only kidding, but he still found himself picking up speed, interested in finding out more about how she might intend to use him.

She glanced into the backseat. “Speaking of which, there’s sure a lot of room in here. I’ll bet a couple could do all kinds of things in the backseat of this puppy.”

The comment nearly prompted him to pull over right there. He could think of a half dozen things he’d like to do with Nicole in the backseat of his Caddy, and her expression said she’d already considered several of them. If he’d intended to remain a gentleman tonight, this drive might have been a bad idea.

“Like?” he asked, not entirely sure he’d be able to handle her answer.

“Come on,” she teased. “A guy doesn’t have a car like this just for the bad gas mileage. These bench seats are roughly the size of a small bed. And you know,” she added, tugging at the belt at her waist, “they don’t make seat belts like they used to.” She flicked a brow. “I imagine these could hold a guy pretty firmly in place while a woman has her way with him.”

Was she talking bondage? The arid wasteland that had become his mouth said she was.

“I actually hadn’t considered that one,” he said, his voice hindered by a slight wheeze.

Unbuckling her seat belt, she slid over the long bench seat and placed an arm around his shoulder, resting her other hand on his thigh. Every muscle in his body twitched with electricity, and when he turned onto the access road to the vista point, he had to work hard to keep himself from barreling down the road.

“And here I thought you were a man with a vivid imagination,” she said, her lips close to his ear.

“You know, it’s dangerous to ride without a seat belt,” he said, his voice getting tighter by the minute.

“Then you should probably pull over pretty soon.”

Sliding her hand farther up his thigh, she stopped right before the junction of his legs and an erection quickly moved in to take up the space.

His hands sweaty and his neck tight with anticipation, he made the final turn and brought the car to a stop at the turnabout where a splattering of cars had parked to enjoy the view.

This spot offered a beautiful view of the valley and the night was exceptionally clear, but for all it mattered, they could have been parked behind a warehouse by the railroad tracks. The moment he turned off the ignition, Nicole snaked her hand up the nape of his neck and moved her body closer, the flowery scent of her perfume filling his senses, her tender touch aching his loins.

“Was this fast enough?” he asked, knowing the question would pull him far off the track of remaining a gentleman this evening. Nicole had all but nixed that idea the moment she placed her hand on his thigh, and though he’d still like to end the evening with his honor intact, that idea was becoming more doubtful by the moment.

She repositioned herself, moving up onto her knees, then straddling his lap, placing her body between him and the steering wheel then lacing her hands around his neck.

“Yeah,” she said, her voice breathy with sex and her lips a mere inch from his. She brushed the tip of her nose against his and teased him with a look filled with intent.

He raised his hands to her waist and squeezed, and her resulting shiver raised his temperature another notch.

The woman was insanely gorgeous and delightfully bold. In the darkness of the night, her sun-kissed features took on an erotic shade of gold, and the shadows shrouded her in a new kind of mystery.

She nudged her nose against his ear and sucked in a breath when he slid his hands up her waist and caressed his thumbs against her breasts.

“You can touch them, you know,” she whispered, then guided one hand down to her thigh. “Or are you a leg man?”

His dick hardened to steel while his will dissolved into space, and unable to answer the question, he simply nudged his lips to hers and crushed them with a kiss.

Her muscles tensed with heat then softened as if her whole body sucked in a breath then relaxed in his embrace, and he responded by groaning out a statement of unadulterated pleasure. The woman tasted of cream and felt like spun satin, and as he ran his hands over her, her moans of need urged him on.

She was going to kill him. Hot, ripe and ready, she claimed him with every brush of her tongue against his. She cupped his chin with her hands, driving the kiss deeper, sucking his gentlemanly intentions and chivalrous honor right out of him. Her body pulsed against his, her legs tightened at his waist, and when he slid his fingers up to the junction at her thighs, the liquid heat had him nearly bursting in his pants.

“Oh, God,” he groaned, but the words drowned in her mouth, lost in the passion between them. He slipped his thumbs up under her panties and brushed them against her folds, and when she sucked in a sharp breath, he knew he was a goner.

Condoms. There were condoms in the glove compartment. He was almost certain.

Sliding her hands down between them, she yanked against the seat belt and snapped open the lock, never once moving her lips from his. His mouth had become her mouth, his breath her breath, and if she was doing what he thought she was doing, the rest of their bodies were about to join as well.

He could feel her pulse in his hands, light moisture over her skin, and when she finally pulled away, he saw a fiery look in eyes filled with need.

“Tell me you’ve got condoms,” she said, the tone closer to a beg than a question.

He nodded, the affirmation bringing a smile of intention to her face. She unfastened his slacks and pulled the waistband down to his thighs, his hands never leaving the soft mounds of her ass. With the clothing pushed aside, his cock sprung between them, firm, hard and ready for whatever she had in mind.

“Ooh,” she groaned in a tone that spoke of pleasant surprise.

“You like what you see?”

“Oh, yeah,” she said, then pressed her lips close to his ear and added, “I’m just trying to decide whether I want to ride it or taste it.”

His cock jerked, his heart pounding heavy as more blood rushed to his loins. Did she have any clue what she was doing to him?

Sliding her hand between them, she palmed his erection and whispered in his ear. “Mmm, so many choices.”

Given the way she worked him, Devon feared her choices were about to blow. Gently, she slid her fingers over his shaft, caressing the soft tip with her thumb then gliding her hand down lower and tickling his balls. He swallowed, trying to hold on to his composure by concentrating on the heat between her thighs. Brushing his thumbs against her folds, the wet need greeted him, prodding him to go farther, and he responded by slipping a thumb inside.

She gasped and answered, “Yes,” as he began pumping his thumb in and out, matching the rhythm of her hand around his shaft. She began rocking against him, the two of them falling into a motion that would soon bring them to completion if one of them wasn’t careful. And Devon feared it would be him. She’d soaked his hand with her sex, the sweet scent permeating the space around them and driving him further toward the edge while her fingers touched just lightly enough to keep him aching for more.

The woman was good. Real good. Holding him right where she wanted him, on that searing edge where his climax threatened yet remained unfulfilled.

For the moment.

A bead of moisture leaked from his tip and she dabbed it then licked it off her finger, the sexy look in her eyes nearly sealing the deal right there.

“You’re driving me crazy,” he groaned, thrusting his thumb deeper inside while he braced her hip with his other hand. Her eyes grew heavy, as if her own orgasm was near, and Devon decided if he didn’t get inside her right now, this evening would end on a humiliating note.

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