Chapter Eleven

As Eliza walked out the door into the lobby, she reread the text from Nancy

Eliza dialed Nancy’s number and the call picked up on the third ring.

“Eliza, thank goodness.”

Nancy’s desperate tone raised concern. “Nancy, I don’t understand your message. Cal saw what about Max?”

“The pie I bought at the restaurant after we had dinner—I kept the plastic bag it came in. Cal needed a bag for something and when he went to use it, there was a flyer with a menu and an announcement about a bachelor auction. It had Max’s picture on it. Now Cal’s convinced that either the two of you aren’t together or that Max is up to the same thing Moby Prescott was when he cheated on his fiancée.”

Oh crap... “Nancy, this isn’t what it seems.”

“So Max isn’t in a bachelor auction?”

“He is, but—”

“Oh...” Defeat filled Nancy’s voice. “Cal said if that’s the case, he won’t sell. He doesn’t care how much money we’ll lose if we back out of signing the contract now.”

This couldn’t be happening. They were so close to completing the deal. “But the bachelor auction is a charity event. That’s all it is. If you put Cal on the phone, maybe I can explain it to him.”

“No. It won’t matter what you tell him. Cal is old-fashioned. The way he sees it, if Max is with you, he’s not a bachelor and he shouldn’t be in the auction. And Max taking some other woman out on a date means he’s stepping out on you. And Cal said he won’t sell his house to someone he calls a ‘low-down, dirty scoundrel.’”

“Max isn’t stepping out on me because—” She paused and drew in a shaky breath. “Look, Nancy, everything will be okay. Trust me.” Eliza rushed to the door leading into the event room.

“But how?”

“I can’t explain now, but I’ll call you back. Soon.” As Eliza disconnected the call and crossed the threshold, the crowd cheered.

“Whew! We’re kicking things off with a bang. That was intense.” Vicky mimed wiping sweat from her brow. “Congratulations to lucky lady number eight. Head over to the hitching post and claim your cowboy.”

Smiling, bachelor number one left the stage.

“And now, ladies, our next bachelor. There are way too many reasons to count why you’ll want a date with him. Come on up here, Max Fortune Maloney.”

Cheers filled the room, as he joined Vicky in the middle of the stage.

He was already up? Eliza wove through tables and chairs, hurrying to get back to her seat.

She put the mic in front of him. “All of the women bidding tonight are dying to know, what’s the date you’re offering?”

Max leaned toward the mic. “Uh...one big surprise, I guess.”

“Well, that sounds mysterious. And I know the women in this audience love big surprises. Let’s get things going with an opening bid.”

As Eliza sat down, Lo made an opening bid.

A second later, another woman shouted out a bid from somewhere in the room. Then another.

Shoot! Eliza searched in front of her on the table. Where was that darn paddle?

Sharon tapped her arm and leaned in. “Everything okay?”

“My paddle—have you seen it?”

Sharon pointed. “It’s under your plate.”

Eliza snatched it up and stood. I can’t believe I’m doing this... She threw up her paddle and entered the bidding fray.

The back and forth between the MC and the women in the crowd made it hard to keep up. But as the bid crept higher, one by one, women started dropping out.

But the woman in the tan cowboy hat who’d been in line with her friends outside was in it to win it. She steadily outbid Eliza and the remaining contenders.

Soon, only Eliza, Alana, Lo and the woman in cowboy hat were left.

Alana topped the next bid, but Eliza went higher.

Alana glanced back at her.

“Dang,” Sharon murmured. “If looks could kill...”

The woman in the cowboy hat sat down and tossed her paddle on the table in defeat.

“I’m out.” Lo gave Eliza a look of appreciation and teasingly bowed down in respect. “Go ahead, queen. You got this.”

But Alana wasn’t giving up. She got to her feet, shouting out an amount that made Eliza pause.

She looked to the stage and the MC stared down at her expectantly. For the first time since the bidding started, Eliza met Max’s gaze. He appeared cool and calm, but one of his hands was balled at his side, and his smile was tight.

He won’t sell the house to Max now.

I need your help.

The remembered defeat in Nancy’s voice just a minute ago echoed in Eliza’s mind, along with the determination in Max’s voice the day he’d first seen the house. She had to finish this. For Nancy and Cal. And for Max.

Eliza raised her paddle high, shouting out a number that raised oohs and aahs of shock from the crowd.

Alana dropped down in her chair.

The MC pointed to Eliza. “Aaaand sold to lucky number fifty with the winning bid! Ladies, thank you for the enthusiastic bidding. Especially the lady in red.”

I won... Adrenaline drained out of Eliza and her legs almost gave out. She sat down in a heap.

Everyone at the table and people nearby congratulated her.

Sharon leaned in and tugged on her sleeve. “Did you hear what the MC said? You need to go to the hitching post and claim your cowboy.”

“The what?”

“The table with the stanchions around it on the other side of the room.” She pointed it out.

Eliza headed in that direction.

On the way, the woman with the beige cowboy hat and the women at her table called out. “Congratulations, lucky number fifty.”

Eliza smiled her thanks. Hopefully her luck hadn’t run out. If luck were currency, the amount she just bid on Max should have more than covered it.

Onstage, Vicky Chandler continued with the auction.

“Ladies, welcome our next bachelor to the stage, the notoriously single Cooper Fortune Maloney! Yes, that’s right, ladies. He’s one of the Fortunes of Texas. Let’s hear it for this cowboy who promises you one wild ride!”

The crowd erupted in applause as Max’s brother walked on stage.

At the hitching post table, Eliza handed over her credit card and paid the smiling woman sitting behind the table.

The bidding for Cooper started, and Alana was constantly throwing up her paddle to counter the other women’s bids. The action was almost as fast and furious as it had been for Max.

Why was Alana being so aggressive? Either she was a true fan of the charity and was helping drive up the bids, or she really wanted to win a date.

Once the transaction was complete, she turned to leave and smacked into a familiar hard chest.

As Max held her by the shoulders, he looked happy, relieved and slightly dazed. “You bid on me. When you didn’t answer my text and I saw you walking out, I didn’t think you were going to. Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me yet.”

Shouting grew louder as the rapid-fire bidding for Cooper drew closer to an end with Alana and only a couple of other women involved.

“I didn’t hear you.” Max leaned in. “What did you say.”

“And sold to the lady in red!” Vicky Chandler pointed to Alana and the audience cheered.

Eliza took Max’s hand and pulled him out the room and into the lobby. She told him about her call with Nancy.

He closed his eyes a moment and shook his head. “I had a feeling this auction was a bad idea. So in Cal’s book, I’m neck and neck with his favorite lying cheat Moby Prescott. But you won me. That should make a difference, shouldn’t it?”

“There you two are.” One of the conservation society’s volunteers for the event walked out of the room with a photographer. “You can’t slip away yet. We need a photo. Get closer and smile.”

Eliza stared up at Max. A thought flitted through her mind. It probably fit in the “bad idea category” along with him being in the bachelor auction.

Rising to her toes, she clasped her hand to his nape and kissed him.