Love, Laughter, and Happily Ever Afters Collection (Eight Fun, Romantic Novels by Eight Bestselling Authors)

by Violet Duke

  But Mason found it quite easy to keep his eyes on the woman to Hailey’s right. She turned and said something to Hailey. Hailey shook her head and the blond rolled her eyes and visibly sighed.

  “Charlene is first, boys.” A short redhead grinned and waved. “Who’s in?”

  “Ten bucks,” somebody yelled from the right side.

  “Twenty,” someone else called.

  “What’s going on?” Mason asked Drew, unable to keep from addressing the other man after all.

  Drew took a long draw of beer and then said, “It’s an auction. Kind of like those bachelor auctions. But the guys are bidding on dances with those girls. Later, the women will bid on ten guys. The money goes to the building fund.”

  Mason was sure the men were not bidding because of the building fund, but he refrained from saying so.

  “You one of the guys they’ll be bidding on?” Mason asked, already knowing the answer.

  “You bet.” Drew grinned. “It’s great for the ego.”

  Charlene ended up partnered for the next dance for thirty dollars.

  Linda, a forty-ish blond in tight black jeans, promised the next two dances for thirty-five dollars and Betty, a cute little white-haired lady with enough jewelry to fund the entire building campaign times three, went to stand next to a tall bald gentleman who was grinning widely in spite of having spent fifty-three dollars on two dances.

  Then Hailey stepped forward.

  “And who’s next on Miss Hailey’s card?” Jack asked the crowd.

  Several hands went up and Mason noticed that the guy she’d been dancing with was one of them. Mason leaned an elbow on the bar and took a sip of his beer while keeping track of the bid while it climbed.

  Finally, her previous dance partner agreed to pay eighty-one dollars for three dances and all the other hands fell.

  She looked less than thrilled but still gave the guy a huge smile as she went to stand next to him.

  “’Kay all, Adrianne’s next.”

  A hand shot up in front before Jack even asked for a bid.

  Jack chuckled and started the action at thirty dollars. It quickly climbed to two dances and fifty dollars.

  Adrianne. Mason had no idea who she was, but it was obvious she was damned popular. She was no Hailey Conner, and in Sapphire Falls she never would be, but at least the guys around here hadn’t missed the silkiness of the blond waves that fell to her shoulder blades, or the sweetness of her smile, or the perfect curve of her ass—

  Mason straightened. What the hell was that? His type was about four years younger than Adrianne, twenty pounds lighter and not from Sapphire Falls.

  “What’s her story?” he asked Drew.

  “Adrianne Scott,” Drew said with an appreciative sigh. “She’s new.”

  “Yeah. I noticed.”

  “Been here a couple of years. She’s friends with Hailey. Everyone wants her.”

  He’d noticed that too. And it bugged him.

  “She’s not dating anyone?”

  Drew chuckled and shook his head. “Nope. Not for lack of trying. She never dates. The first guy to kiss her gets a hundred bucks.”

  Mason raised an eyebrow. He didn’t necessarily approve of guys kissing a woman to win money, but then again, he was quite sure that no man would want to kiss Adrianne just for money.

  “Everyone wants her.”

  The guys in Sapphire Falls might have more taste than he’d given them credit for.

  He drained the beer he didn’t want and disliked immensely and decided to place a food order to go. This was all of no interest to him.

  “Okay, sixty-five dollars and three dances with Miss Adrianne Scott. Going once—”

  Then she laughed at something the woman next to her said.

  And Mason was in trouble.

  Well, hell.

  “Three hundred dollars,” he called out.

  CHAPTER TWO

  EVERY SINGLE PAIR of eyes in the room turned to look at Mason at the same time.

  He’d never been the center of attention without a microphone in front of him and a conference logo behind him before. Certainly never in Sapphire Falls.

  He stepped forward. He’d opened his big mouth, couldn’t really go back now. He should probably be more surprised that he’d bid like that, but he wasn’t. He was a genius after all, and while his brain and mouth almost never disconnected, paying a few measly bucks for a chance to dance all night with Adrianne Scott and hear that laugh again was a genius move.

  “Did you say three hundred?” Jack demanded, pointing a wooden gavel at him as if challenging him to take it back.

  “Yes, sir,” Mason replied, looking at Adrianne when he added, “For the rest of the dances tonight.”

  Adrianne’s cheeks were pink and her eyes wide. She wore no makeup to enhance the features that were completely captivating him. Her hair was loose and she wore a simple white cotton tank under a denim shirt with blue jeans. Simple, unadorned, and yet he had never been more drawn to a woman.

  Jack looked around the room. Obviously, it was unprecedented for a man to monopolize a woman for the entire evening.

  “But it’s only—” Jack started.

  “Four hundred,” Mason answered, still watching Adrianne.

  “I don’t—”

  “Maybe we should let the lady decide,” Mason interrupted, walking toward Adrianne.

  “I can’t,” she said, shaking her head as he advanced. She was breathing a little fast and she darted her tongue out and wet her bottom lip.

  He took another step toward her. “Then what are you worth?”

  She swallowed and glanced around. “There’s only three dances left,” she said. “I can’t let you pay three hundred dollars for that.”

  “I offered four,” he reminded her, moving in closer still.

  She smiled and he couldn’t stop staring at her mouth.

  “I meant that even three was too much.”

  He was directly in front of her now, and only those within about ten feet of them could hear the conversation. “I didn’t tell you what I expected those dances to be like for four hundred dollars.”

  ADRIANNE WAS HAVING a hard time breathing. A man hadn’t done that to her in a really long time. She liked it and hated it at the same time. She pressed a hand over her heart, which was, not surprisingly, pounding. She took another deep breath. It might be safer to say no. But she made the mistake of looking up into his eyes and knew instantly that she was not going to say no to this man. No matter what he asked of her.

  He was something. He wore khakis to everyone else’s jeans and a blue button-up shirt instead of a T-shirt. And he moved with purpose and confidence in front of this crowd even though he wasn’t one of them. He was tall, his smile was sexy, his voice was sexy—

  “How about you loan me that other hundred and I’ll bid on you next hour?” Adrianne asked.

  He cocked an eyebrow, having noticed her eyes on his mouth. “I’m worth two hundred less than you are?”

  She shrugged. “There are ways of finding that out, I suppose,” she said without thinking.

  Dammit. She was flirting. She didn’t do that. Not with guys in Sapphire Falls, for sure. She hadn’t flirted in almost two years with anyone.

  He gave her a lazy smile that clearly said he was willing to prove anything she asked and Adrianne felt her stomach flip.

  She felt his gaze follow every move as she shrugged out of the denim shirt she’d worn unbuttoned over the spaghetti-strapped white tank and tied it around her waist.

  “He wins,” Adrianne told Jack over her shoulder. “Make it a slow one.”

  She took the ma
n’s hand and led him to the edge of the dance floor while they waited for the other women to be matched with dance partners.

  “Is this dance auction a new invention? Because it’s an effective fundraising technique.”

  “Yeah, it’s been part of the festival for the past couple of years. At least it’s better than a kissing booth, which was also suggested,” Adrianne said, smiling up at him.

  He gave her a small smile in return, but his eyes were focused on her lips. Her heart tripped and she pressed her hand against her chest.

  “How is dancing better than kissing?” he asked.

  His voice sounded a little husky. Which was dumb, because she didn’t know him well enough to really know what his voice usually sounded like.

  “Um.” She rubbed the pads of her first three fingers in a circle on her chest, willing her heart to slow. With a deep breath, she dropped her hand. “A dance lasts longer than a kiss, for one thing.”

  He leaned in closer, his eyes on hers now. “I think maybe you’ve been kissing the wrong guys.”

  Yeah, definite heart pounding. “Wow. Who are you?”

  “Mason—”

  Her eyes widened. “Riley,” she finished for him.

  Mason Riley. Of course. She’d looked at a dozen online photos. How had she not recognized him? Probably because he hadn’t been smiling like that online.

  If this was how they grew nerds in Sapphire Falls, it was a wonder all the girls didn’t take the honors classes.

  He looked surprised. “You’ve heard of me?”

  “You’re here about the investment proposal.”

  “How did you know that?

  “I’m…on the committee. I wrote your profile.”

  “My profile?” He frowned. “Making sure I measure up to the standards?”

  “Making sure we’re not wasting your time.”

  “Or yours,” he said.

  She shrugged. “If you were pulling in minimum wage at a fast food franchise, we might not consider you a good match for our needs,” she said truthfully. Hailey might consider no one off-limits when it came to batting her eyes and asking for the world, but Adrianne wouldn’t let her guilt or coerce anyone into donating money he didn’t have. That was why she’d insisted on doing the profiles herself.

  “What are your needs, Adrianne?” Mason asked.

  She glanced up to find him studying her. She licked her lips. Her needs were pretty specific both right now and in regards to the Sapphire Hills project.

  One required several thousand dollars. The other required Mason Riley, a few less articles of clothing and a sturdy horizontal surface.

  She eyed the wall behind him. Maybe it didn’t have to be horizontal.

  “I need—”

  “Okay, everyone!” Jack Morgan interrupted. “Grab your partners and get out there. Miss Adrianne requested something slow so we’ll start with this…”

  The music started and Adrianne was glad for the distraction. This guy was really doing a number on her pulse, and she didn’t like it.

  The distraction lasted another ten seconds, until she stepped into his arms.

  She fought the urge to sigh as Mason pulled her up against his long, lean body and began swaying. Then she decided to just enjoy the rush it gave her. There was no sense being intimidated by it or over-thinking it. Her heart was racing a little, but her chest wasn’t tight or painful and she could still take a deep breath. She tested it out right then, to be sure. Yep, still breathing.

  “You’ve made quite a reentrance,” she said as they started around the dance floor, following the pattern of the other couples.

  “You think so?” he asked.

  “You didn’t tell anyone that you were coming. Then all of a sudden, you’re here. Like magic. After all this time.”

  “I didn’t decide to come until I was on my way out of Chicago.”

  He was looking right at her as they talked, but he seemed much more interested in something in her face rather than in what he was saying.

  “You couldn’t decide?” she asked.

  “Oh, I decided within five minutes of reading the letter,” he said.

  “To not come,” she said, without a question mark.

  If he meant to distract her from the topic with the way he pulled her even closer and spread his fingers on her low back, it worked.

  “Um, what…” She struggled to remember what she was saying as Mason’s thighs moved against hers. He was built for a woman to press up against. For sure. “What made you change your mind?” she finally managed to ask.

  “I decided that I was curious.”

  “About?”

  “Everything.”

  An old girlfriend?

  She wasn’t sure why that was what first popped into her head. But she did wonder. He wasn’t married, that was all she knew. And he’d been a great kisser, according to Hailey—who would definitely know—so who knew who he’d had a crush on or dated or…

  Oh, crap.

  Again, her heart thumped, but not in a good way this time.

  He’d wanted to date Hailey, but she’d never said yes.

  “Everything?” she finally managed to ask.

  There were a few changes in town. They’d raised money and put in a new public swimming pool. The downtown area had undergone a makeover about six years ago with new storefronts, new sidewalks and new signs. They’d also seen a small explosion of new houses built on the outskirts of town.

  “Did you stay in touch with anyone?” she asked.

  “No.”

  “So you were wondering about people and…”

  “How everyone would react when I walked in here.”

  She felt one corner of her mouth turn up. “And paid four hundred dollars for three dances with a stranger?”

  “I thought I paid three hundred.”

  “Was it worth it?” She really didn’t know where this bravado was coming from. Besides being out of practice, she was also dressed in denim, her new favorite fabric. Since moving to Sapphire Falls, it was practically all she wore, and she was in love. She was never going back to high heels and power suits and cocktail dresses. But she had never in her life flirted with a man while dressed in denim.

  “I’m thinking this dance auction is the best idea anyone’s had in a really long time around here,” Mason said.

  “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

  “Please do.”

  She smiled up at him and he smiled back, a lazy, sexy smile that made her warm all over.

  Crap.

  She couldn’t flirt with this guy. She shouldn’t be flirting with any guy, but especially not one she was going to be asking for money in a couple of days. He was here for the building project. Her job—or at least part of it—was making that building project happen. She needed to convince him that it was a good investment and did not want him to think that she was coming on to him to get money out of him.

  “I think it’s so great that you’re here.”

  Mason’s eyebrows rose. “Do you?”

  “Of course.”

  “Why is that?”

  The song changed, almost without them noticing. They continued moving without interruption to their steps or their conversation.

  “Yes, definitely. You’re going to add such legitimacy to the project.”

  “What do you mean by legitimacy?”

  “If you decide to invest, the other guys will surely think harder about it.”

  He frowned. “How do you figure that?”

  “Well, there’s the fact that you gra
duated when you were sixteen. You were a genius then, and I doubt you’ve gotten any dumber. Not to mention all the things you’ve accomplished since you left. And you’re a hometown boy like them. They have as much reason to support it as you do.”

  Mason leaned in a little closer. “I’m not sure I’m really a hometown boy.”

  She looked at his earlobe instead of in his eyes. “Of course you are. You grew up here. You graduated from here—”

  Mason pulled her up tightly against his body, eliciting a soft ooph from her and stopping her words.

  “You know exactly what I mean, don’t you, Adrianne?” Mason asked quietly. “You did my profile.”

  She looked at him. She could lie. She could try to ignore what he was talking about, avoid the discomfort. But she felt herself nod.

  “I wasn’t anything special here. I was different but not special. Until the other day when I got the letter. Now they need me…and want me. How could I not come and check it out?”

  “And how does it feel?”

  “Right now, I’m feeling really good about being back.”

  Adrianne didn’t think that they could get any closer together, but Mason somehow pulled her up against every available millimeter of his body. His gaze was hot on her and yet she felt goose bumps all over.

  “Oh?” she managed weakly.

  “Definitely.”

  Yeah, she was feeling pretty good too.

  The second slow song ended and the tempo kicked up into a country swing.

  They stood, plastered against each other, staring at each other until another couple bumped into them. Mason’s only response was to lift one corner of his mouth, and she saw the knowing look in his eye. Then, without warning, he spun her out away from him, and pulled her back in, but the twirling of the country swing was too upbeat and quickly changing to allow anything more than their hands to connect.

  She caught his eye and opened her mouth to say something, anything that might tell him how glad she was that he was here.