Читать книгу Christmas With The Marine - Candace Havens - Страница 11

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BEN WAS SNIFFING some homemade candles at a booth, and Ainsley could not keep from staring at him. She had to stop ogling poor Ben, or he was going to get the wrong idea. But everything about him... Heck, she’d never been so attracted to a man. Never in her life had she believed in pheromones but it had to be something like that.

That and he had one of the most jaw-dropping examples of the male body she’d ever seen. Oh, and the fact he was sweet. Taking care of his mom and sister. Putting his life on the line for them, and his country.

A heart-stopping combo if ever there was one.

How many times do I have to tell myself no more men?

He glanced back and shot her one of his devastating smiles.

At least a hundred.

“My mom might like this vanilla one. Do you think giving her something like this would be a good Christmas gift?”

She nodded and smiled. “Everyone loves candles,” she said.

“What else is on your list?” he asked her.

Right. Stay on task.

“I have gifts for two executives I need to pick up. The client wanted something homemade but nice. Classy. Wood sculptures or pens. There’s a man here who crafts things out of old bourbon barrels. I usually buy him out. Those are popular gifts for men and women.”

Her phone played Ozzie Osbourne’s “Crazy Train.” It was the ringtone for her sister, Megan.

“Just a second,” Ainsley said.

“Help!” Megan yelled before Ainsley could even say hello.

“Megan, breathe.” Her sister was a bit of a drama queen in all things, but she loved her. She was the only person who made worse choices when it came to men than Ainsley did.

“Sorry. I’m freaking out. The bachelor auction is tonight, and,” she gasped and sniffled, “two of our guys had to cancel because they have the flu. I swear, if they’re faking I will kill them both. Dead.”

Ainsley thought to downplay the situation and scoffed, “It’s fine, Megan. So you have a couple less bachelors. No biggie.”

“Yes, biggie. It’s for charity. I promised twenty of the hottest guys in Corpus. What am I doing to do with eighteen? And those guys were my big tickets, the two that backed out. My end-of-show wow factors.”

“What?” Sometimes Megan talked in riddles.

“My moneymakers. They were going to push us over the top. I so wanted to beat Stephanie at her own game. She’s been talking behind my back about how she was so much more organized last year. And it’s true. But still. I want to win. And by win, I mean I want the children’s cancer fund to make a ton of money. The most money ever.”

Ainsley smiled. “You want to stick it to Stephanie in the worst way. Be honest.”

“Yes. Okay. Fine. But the only way to do that is to get the most donations for these guys, right? So, it’s a win-win, if I can make it happen. But I can’t do that without some hot studly studs.”

Her sister always had a way with words. “So call your friends. You know hundreds of guys.” Megan went through men faster than she did shoes, and she really loved shoes.

Her sister sighed. “Yeah, unfortunately, I do. I’ve called in all the favors I could. A lot of my friends already donated the silent auction prizes. They don’t like the idea of being in front of a bunch of drunk women trying to buy them.”

“I can’t imagine why.” Ainsley had never liked these types of events for that reason. Even though the guys were doing it out of the goodness of their hearts, she always felt it was kind of humiliating. The whole objectifying them, and then there was the women pawing after them on the dance floor. No, she couldn’t imagine why.

“Please,” Megan begged. “You know everyone. Surely you can scrounge up a couple of super good-looking guys. I’ll owe. Like, my life. Please don’t make me beg more.”

Ainsley glanced up to find Ben watching her intently. No. She couldn’t. He wouldn’t. But if ever there was a big moneymaker, it was him.

“Hold on.” She put her phone on mute and gave him her best smile.

“What are you and Jake doing tonight?”

* * *

“I’D RATHER BE in the middle of a war zone with insurgents ready to take me down,” Jake said, messing with his tie for the fiftieth time. Ben and Jake were both dressed in penguin suits for the charity auction. This was the worst idea in the history of ideas. That’s what he got for giving in to a pretty face.

“Right there with you, brother.”

When Ainsley had smiled that big, hopeful smile at him, he couldn’t say no. Heck, he’d probably have done just about anything to spend time with her.

But this. Well, it was definitely beyond the call of duty. Ainsley had talked about kids with cancer, and that was all it took. He couldn’t say no. And he’d coerced Jake into doing it with him by telling him not just about the charity, but that there would be hot women who wanted his body.

Jake seemed a lot more comfortable with that idea than Ben. He liked things quiet, without so many people. This would be mayhem. The sound of voices was growing louder and louder. The night had begun with free champagne and light appetizers since, as Megan had explained, “We like the women to be slightly tipsy because they spend more.”

Ben didn’t think that was a nice way to do things, but it was for the kids, which was what he kept telling himself. They’d just finished the video showing why the research needed to be done. There were some sniffles on the other side of the curtains.

“Sorry, ladies. That video gets me every time,” the announcer said. “But now, let’s turn up the music and have some fun.” The announcer went on to explain how the women could bid.

His gut twisted. One by one the guys went and strutted their stuff. The screams grew louder every time. When the bidding began for the first guy, Ben never wanted to retreat more than he did right then.

“We’re Marines. We can do this,” Ben said, more to convince himself than anything.

Jake turned to face him.

“Oorah,” they said together and high-fived. The other remaining bachelors laughed and shook their heads. They were pretty nice guys—had to be to do something like this.

“I bet I pull in twice as much as you,” Jake said. This is what they did—challenged each other. They’d been on two tours together and humor was the one way they all dealt with the horror.

Ben grunted. “Only if they like their side of beef with a hunk of cheese,” he said. “This,” Ben said as he patted his abs, “is the real deal.”

They both grinned. It was bravado, nothing more.

There was one more to go before it would be Jake’s turn. And then Ben was last. Ainsley had told him it was a prime spot, but man, he was feeling the pressure. Each bachelor was pulling in more than the next. The last guy had made two thousand for the charity.

The noise went up a couple of decibels and he and Jake peeked around the curtain. They were in a large hotel ballroom that had been set up for the event, with lots of tables and chairs, and a stage, or rather...a runway. It was a fancy affair with crystal chandeliers, gilt centerpieces and lots of pink and white flowers. Everyone was dressed up. None of the women were as beautiful as Ainsley, who wore a white gown that fit her curves. Her hair was up and she looked like a royal princess or an A-list movie star.

Damn, he couldn’t’ stop looking at her. She wasn’t even paying attention to the guys, but was glancing down at her phone. And then, as if she sensed him, she met his eyes and gave him a little smile. And she winked. He loved it when she did that. Like they were in on their own little secret.

“So out of your league,” Jake said when he figured out where Ben had been watching. Ainsley was sitting at a table, dead center.

“Yep,” Ben said. The music volume went up a bit more, as did the screams. The noise was getting to him. This happened sometimes. He backed away from the curtain and bent over to put his hands on his thighs, drawing in deep breaths. He concentrated on his breathing like his therapist had taught him.

“Hey.” Jake patted his shoulder. “It’s just a bunch of crazy tipsy women. I was kidding. It’s going to be okay. It really isn’t much different than the country bar we were at a few weeks ago. Remember all those women when we joined their line dance? At least, maybe these women won’t puke beer on your shoes.”

There was that. He’d had to toss out his favorite pair of cowboy boots because there was no coming back from that.

Ben hated this weakness. Nothing had ever bothered him until that last tour. They’d spent twenty-four hours holed up in a camp where they were hit with mortar after mortar. He’d been working maintenance on a downed Black Hawk. And they were only getting out when the chopper was fixed. Problem was, he didn’t have the parts he needed. It took every mechanical brain cell he had to figure out how to create something makeshift to get them to safety.

And it wasn’t as if he hadn’t done that sort of thing hundreds of times. They were always in some hot zone. Always under pressure. But that one hit him. It was the noise. The constant boom boom boom of the electronic music.

“Oh, no,” Jake said.

“What?” Ben glanced up to find his friend loosening up and cracking his neck like he was getting ready to go into the ring with a prizefighter.

“You’re on,” Megan said to Jake. Ainsley’s sister was the reason they were there. She’d needed help, and Ainsley had turned to him. And with that smile.

“Good luck, dude,” Ben said as he straightened and then high-fived his friend. “You got this.”

The noise level rose even louder. Ben pushed it away, focused on his breathing. He wouldn’t disappoint Ainsley or her sister. All he had to do was walk to the end of the stage, stand there and wait for someone to say “sold,” and he was done.

“Five thousand!” he heard a woman shout.

What the...? A date with Jake brought in five thousand dollars?

Ben had been hoping for maybe five hundred for himself. He’d even offered to give Ainsley two hundred and fifty if the bids didn’t go up for him. She’d kept telling him that he had nothing to worry about, but there was no way he would bring in that kind of big money.

Ben popped his jaw. This was nuts. He was a confident guy. He’d never had problems with being appealing to women, and this was for charity. He was going to have fun.

Sure. Keep telling yourself that, buddy.

“Okay, ladies, we’ve got another treat for you,” the announcer said. “Ben is a Marine, working on the base here in our lovely hometown. We hear he’s great with his hands, and that his abs—well, are to d-i-e for. Ladies, let’s welcome Ben.”

The women cheered.

Ben laughed. Yep. He could do this. Raise the most money for those kids. He wouldn’t be outdone by Jake. He didn’t care if he had to strip to do it.

In fact... He quickly undid his shirt buttons and held his tie in his hand. When the curtain opened he tossed the bow tie out to the audience.

The screeching reached an all-time high, but he forced a smile and walked to the end of the stage. His eyes found Ainsley, and his smile widened.

More screeching, but he wasn’t really listening anymore. She was smiling back, and then she winked at him and mouthed something. He had no idea what she’d said, but he nodded as if he did.

Then she made a motion to pull his shirt open a little and to turn around in a circle. She was doing a twirly thing with her fingers.

It’s for charity. He kept repeating the mantra to himself.

“Oh, my, we did not disappoint. Look at those abs, ladies. Those are scrumptious! And that tattoo. Does anyone have a fan? Now, can I get—” The announcer was interrupted.

“Two thousand,” a woman shouted. Ben ripped his eyes away from Ainsley and gave the woman a little wave.

Whew. At least he wouldn’t be some loser who didn’t bring in any cash.

“Thirty-five hundred,” another woman said.

All right, then. Things were looking up. Ben shook his head and laughed, then gave that lady an even bigger wave.

And so it went on. A few seconds later they were up to six thousand.

“Everyone wants to take home a Marine. We hear they never let a woman down.”

“Ten thousand dollars,” a woman at Ainsley’s table shouted, as she stood up and waved her paddle. She was probably in her late thirties.

There was a huge gasp. Then clapping.

Ben wasn’t sure he heard her right.

“That’s ten thousand going once, twice and sold! That’s table one, paddle thirty-five. And that’s it, ladies. The table monitors will be by to take your checks and credit cards. Please don’t forget to visit our silent auction next door. If you didn’t get some time with your favorite bachelor, bid on that trip to Fiji. A tropical vacation will get your mind off your troubles. And those raffle tickets for the Audi are still available. That thing is definitely going home with one of you tonight.”

Ben exited to the left, where the rest of the bachelors had gone.

“You put us all to shame,” one of them said. He was a doctor or something like that, and had been one of the first guys to be bid on.

“Nah,” Ben told him. “They’d just had more to drink by the time they came to me.”

The guys laughed.

“Speaking of our bachelors—gentleman, can you come back out onto the stage?” the announcer asked.

“Hey, guys, I need you to line up on stage again,” Megan said.

There was some groaning, but they did what she asked. Ben buttoned his shirt and tucked it back in. Megan handed him his jacket. “Thanks for what you did,” she said as he followed the other men.

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.”

He nearly tripped.

“It’s bad for me to objectify you,” she said. “But those abs mixed with that big heart of yours is kind of my kryptonite. Just sayin’.”

“Ainsley, you can objectify me all you want. Over and over again.”

She sucked in a breath and fanned herself. “Marine, you cannot say things like that. I might melt into a puddle at your feet.”

His mind flashed to her down on her knees in front of him. No. No. No. He had to get that out of his head. She was just flirting and having some fun.

“Hey, Ainsley, stop hogging the Marine,” Megan called to them.

“Yeah,” a chorus said behind them.

Then there were gales of laughter.

“Your ladies await,” Ainsley told him and made a show of curtseying. Then she waved her arm in a regal manner to the rest of the women from the table.

He’d play the gentleman and make them all feel like they’d gotten their money’s worth.

But there was only one lady he was interested in.

And he couldn’t wait for her to touch his abs.