Or at least that was the story she was telling herself now.
At the start of the week, she couldn’t bring herself to look at the pictures of Liam...the ones that were still on her camera phone. As time wore on, her reason for him not appearing on the website had evolved into the version she’d told Pepper and Maya.
And wasn’t it true? She couldn’t look at the pictures, because she was trying very hard not to fall for a bachelor who preferred to remain unattached.
Chapter Eight
Be careful what you wish for, because you just might get it, Liam thought as he stood in the lobby of the Regency Cypress Plantation on Saturday night, staring at the Bachelor Board.
It featured the mugs of six of his colleagues, but his photo was missing. It was okay. In fact, as far as he was concerned, it was a very good thing. But it was also a very good thing that Rebecca Flannigan, Kate’s assistant, had called him on Thursday to fill him in on tonight’s drill. Otherwise he might have thought he was off the hook and didn’t have to show up at all.
Rebecca had told him when to arrive; she’d suggested what he should wear. She’d even said, “Ms. Macintyre asked me to give you a message that everything is still scheduled to go according to the plan. She will see you Saturday night.”
Okay. He got the message. Loud and clear.
And it was underscored when Rebecca—not Kate—emailed him a copy of the night’s schedule; he was last on the auction block. He figured Kate had designed it that way so that the bidders would blow their budgets on the bachelors who were up for auction before him, and few, if any, would have money to bid on him. That was a great plan, but it would’ve been nice if he could’ve heard it from Kate.
He hadn’t been able to reach her this week, and he couldn’t help but wonder if it was because of the kiss.
Well, yeah, it was because of the kiss, but he wished he could’ve had the opportunity to apologize, to tell her they could push the figurative reset button and go on as before.
No harm. No foul.
By this point he figured that he should stop calling. He didn’t want to be a nuisance. See, it had been so long since he’d been out in the field that he didn’t even know if that was how someone who wasn’t interested conveyed the message these days.
The no-message message.
He heard her loud and clear.
Liam made his way into the ballroom. A jazz quartet played music on the stage. Various food stations were set up around the room. He plucked a chocolate truffle off a server’s tray—a magical truffle, meant to help him fall in love, the server had said. Liam did his best not to smirk. Instead, he popped the candy into his mouth, went to the bar and ordered a beer. There was no doubt that the chocolate was delicious, but it didn’t make him any more eager to walk out on that stage and humiliate himself.
He got his beer, and stood back and watched the preauction cocktails/hors d’oeuvres hour unfold all around him. A chance for the bidders to eat, drink and check out the livestock before they made their final decision on whether or not they wanted to shell out serious money.
Liam might have felt like a piece of meat, if not for the fact that no one except Kate and his colleagues, who were all engaged in conversations at the moment, even knew he would be up for bid.
It was kind of entertaining to observe everyone. Leaning against a vacant high-top table, Liam took in the room, noticing the various women who were crowded around each of the bachelors, making mental bets with himself about who each of his colleagues would end up with. He liked being anonymous, being able to silently survey all the goings-on.
The guys were definitely in their element, like kids in a candy store with more choices than any of them could ever process, much less narrow down so they could select just one. But they didn’t have to choose just one, and for a moment, he hoped that each of them got their fill. They were all good guys, each and every one of them. They were single. Why shouldn’t they have some fun until the right one came along?
Liam’s gaze swept the crowded ballroom. Kate was still nowhere in sight. She had said that the plan was on. For a moment he hoped that she hadn’t sent her assistant, Rebecca, in her place.
He watched as a guy did something technical to the TV camera that was set up to tape the auction for that reality show.... What was it called? Something about catering. Liam didn’t have a lot of time to watch TV, and the girls didn’t watch it. So he couldn’t remember the name off the top of his head.
He hoped that the auction being broadcast would give the extra financial boost to the fund-raiser like Kate was hoping.
His gaze swept the room again. Still no Kate. He wished he knew who Rebecca was...just in case Kate blew him off tonight like she had his phone calls earlier in the week. He supposed, if a random woman bid five thousand dollars on him, that would probably be Kate’s assistant. He just needed to relax and go with it. The fund-raiser was almost over and then his life could get back to normal.
“Well, if it isn’t Dr. Liam Thayer,” purred a sultry voice. “Darlin’, it has been far too long.”
Liam glanced to his right and his neighbor Kimela Herring was standing there in a low-cut dress that accentuated her pumpkin-tinged tan and other bodily enhancements she was so proud of. She had a flute of champagne in her right hand. Her left hand was stretched out as if she were granting him permission to kiss her bulbous diamond cocktail ring.
Liam opted to give her fingers a polite squeeze. “Hello, Kimela. Why am I not surprised to see you here?”
“You know little ol’ me,” she said. “I always love a good party and this one is supposed to be hosting only the most handsome eligible men in town. Though, I was shocked to learn that your name was not on the roster. How in the world could that be? An auction of eligible doctors and you’re not in the big middle of it? Honey, I almost boycotted on your behalf.”
“Well, you can see that I’m here and no worse for the wear.”
“Yes, you are here, and you do look fabulous. I am so happy to see that you are not worse for the wear, as you put it. Because that would be a terrible thing.”
He knew what Kimela was insinuating—that they hadn’t said a single word to each other in the past year. Here she was making nice, as if she’d never tried to ship his daughters off to New York City...to that dance program. To hell with that.
At the time they were only eleven years old. Their mother had just died. Liam had still been in a state of shock. That was still the only way he could account for letting this woman worm her way in and wreak such havoc in their lives. He still got angry when he thought of it.
“So, Liam, tell me. Why are you not in this auction? Seems to me that you should be, since you are the head of pediatrics at the hospital. Don’t tell me you’re still swearing off women.”
He thought of Kate. His heart tightened. It was an odd sensation. If it were up to him, he certainly wouldn’t swear off her. His gaze swept the crowd yet again, but he still didn’t see her.
Some people might have taken offense to Kimela’s swearing-off-women remark. But Liam had heard that she liked to play rough. That was her way of baiting him, trying to get him to banter. He supposed it was her idea of foreplay—although he wouldn’t know since he’d never slept with her.
“Kimela, I’ve never sworn off women. I’m just waiting for the right one to come along.”
Then, by the grace of God, before she could respond, the program started.
“Good evening, everyone. Bonsoir, my name is Maya LeBlanc,” said the redhead at the podium on the stage. She had a lilting French accent, but her English was impeccable. “I am your mistress of ceremonies for tonight’s fun. Ladies, please step back and give the gentlemen some room to make their way backstage. And please don’t—how do you say?—Please, don’t squeeze the Charmin.
“You must give a very big donation to the foundation if you wish to do that.” A polite bubble of laughter rippled through the room. “And on that note I do hope everyone brought their
checkbooks and will be very generous to help us build the pediatric surgical wing at Celebration Memorial Hospital.
“I know everyone is excited to begin. No? Are you excited? If you are, please put your hands together and let our handsome bachelors know how much you appreciate them. Please remember that, since there are only seven bachelors to win this evening, we still have the silent auction happening in the lobby. It will close in ten minutes.
“Tonight you may purchase tickets to the fund-raising completion celebration. If you are one of the lucky ladies with the winning bid tonight, you and your bachelor will also win a ticket to the fund-raising completion celebration. So it is as if you will win two dates tonight. At this time we need all participating bachelors backstage now, please.”
“What?” said Kimela. “She said seven bachelors will be auctioned off tonight. But there are only six doctors listed in the program. I wonder if she made a mistake? Or are you a surprise guest?”
Liam shrugged. Why was it that this woman, who was possibly one of the most unperceptive people he’d ever met, always seemed to pick up on the things that he hoped would go over her head? He could club her with something obvious, trying to drive home a point, and it would completely escape her. No, Kimela Herring was not one to intuit subtle hints, or maybe she just didn’t care when an intimation went contrary to that on which she’d set her steel-trap mind.
“I need to go, Kimela,” Liam said. “And you should probably go stake your claim so you don’t miss out on casting a winning bid. Have fun.”
“Where are you sitting?” she asked. “If you don’t have a table, we can certainly make room for you at ours.”
“I appreciate the offer, but I have a previous commitment.”
As the words escaped his mouth, he finally spied Kate in the crowd. She looked stunning in a pink sparkly little number that hugged her curves in all the right places. She seemed to glow, and he wondered how he’d missed her until now. He knew she saw him too, because she didn’t break eye contact with him as she turned and whispered something to the blonde who was with her. The friend did a not-so-subtle turn-and-look, then said something to Kate.
As Kate and her friend were looking his way, Kimela chose that precise moment to angle herself in front of him, reach up with a possessive hand and pluck a piece of lint off his lapel. She finished the show by brushing something off his shoulder.
He felt her long coral-colored nails scrape his suit fabric. The talons looked like weapons, as if they could’ve left a mark if she chose to do so. Before Liam could take a step away from Kimela, a group of people passed in front of him, blocking his line of vision to Kate. By the time they’d moved out of the way, Liam had lost sight of her.
He knew there was no easier way to extract himself than to just walk away. So he did what he had to do.
“Excuse me,” he said, and turned and walked away. He felt Kimela’s gaze on him. So he went to the bar to kill time until he was sure she wasn’t watching him anymore.
“There you are,” said Rebecca. “I’ve been looking all over the place for you. You need to come backstage right now. Everyone is lining up.”
As he started to follow Rebecca, who was already ten steps ahead of him, Kimela crossed in front of him. She waved and gave him a knowing smile.
“Liam, come on,” Rebecca motioned from the stage entrance.
“I think they need you backstage,” Kimela said. Liam had a sinking feeling he’d just witnessed the harbinger of doom.
* * *
“Is he here with her?” Pepper hissed.
Kate craned her neck, trying to see around a knot of people who were blocking their view.
“Why would he come to an event like this with a date?” Kate challenged. “Let’s go sit down at our table. I don’t want Liam to see us gawking at him.”
Pepper told her husband, Rob, where they were going, then followed Kate.
“I can’t imagine that he would bring her,” said Pepper. “I did a little detective work and found out what Kimela did to make Liam so angry.”
“What?” Kate asked.
“I have a friend who is on the board at the New School of Ballet with Kimela. She told me that Kimela pulled some strings to get the girls a place with the Randolph Ballet school’s residential program in New York.”
“What’s wrong with that?” Kate glanced around to make sure no one was listening in on their talk. “It sounds like every little ballerina’s dream.”
“One would think, right?” Pepper leaned in closer and whispered, “Well, rumor has it that one of the daughters made it into the program on her own merit, but the other didn’t. The strings Kimela pulled were to get the other daughter a residency. I don’t know exactly what happened after all this. But obviously neither girl ended up moving to New York, and he and Kimela ended up on the outs.”
“Well, they are thirteen years old now, and so they were likely only eleven or twelve then,” Kate said. “That’s a little young to pack up and move to the big city on their own.”
“I guess you could look at it like a boarding school.”
“Where you study ballet rather than reading, writing and arithmetic. Given how short-lived a ballerina’s career is, I can’t say I’d be overly enthusiastic about my girls wanting to put all their eggs into that basket.”
“You do know that Joy used to be a ballerina, don’t you?” asked Pepper. “Apparently, she was quite good but ended up cashing it all in to stay with Liam. Maybe she had been grooming the girls to realize the dream she gave up for marriage and a family. She and Kimela were good friends. I wonder if Kimela was just trying to carry out Joy’s wishes?”
Kate shrugged, more so to ward off the uneasy feeling that always seemed to engulf her when Joy’s name came up. The woman seemed to get more and more perfect every time someone mentioned her.
“Enough about that,” Pepper said. “A better question is why are you not over there talking to the gorgeous Dr. Thayer? Or better yet, why didn’t he pick you up and bring you here tonight? That way we wouldn’t be speculating about what he’s doing with Kimela.”
Why not? If the truth be known, after that kiss, Kate had been scared out of her wits. She’d felt something the likes of which she’d never felt before, and suddenly she had a taste of what it just might feel like to be the person in the relationship who cared the most. And after all, she and Liam didn’t even have anything close to a relationship.
His kiss had rendered her so vulnerable that the only thing she’d been able to do was run and hide out all week like a scared rabbit. As she took a seat at the table, she felt foolish. If Maya hadn’t just called everyone to order, she might have gone over to Liam and said something, but by the time the crowd had cleared, she saw Kimela standing alone, with Liam nowhere in sight.
After the auction was over and the dust had settled, she’d apologize to him for being so scarce this week.
Her brother joined them at the table. Before he sat down, he leaned in and planted a quick kiss on Pepper’s lips. Kate looked away and smiled, though hit by a sudden, strange stitch of envy for what Rob and Pepper had. What was that?
She wasn’t jealous of her brother and sister-in-law. How could she be jealous? Just because she wasn’t in the market for a relationship didn’t mean she wasn’t thrilled that her brother had found someone as wonderful as Pepper. Pepper made Rob happy. In fact, Kate wasn’t sure if she’d ever seen her brother this relaxed and content before.
* * *
Once more, her gaze searched the crowded room for Liam. She didn’t find him. He must be backstage with the others. Kimela was still standing alone.
Kate was suddenly happy that she’d made the decision to not include Liam in the program because there was something kind of intimate about being the only one who was planning on bidding on him.
A knot formed in the pit of her stomach, reminding her that the kiss they’d shared the other day had been a mistake. That tonight was all about business, just an agreem
ent they’d made. She was happy to be single, answering to and worrying about no one other than herself. Her life was far better than one complicated by romantic entanglements.
Maya made several more humorous remarks.
“She’s good,” Pepper said. “Who knew? This will be a fabulous spot for the TV show.”
Since Celebrations, Inc., had provided the food and the event coordination, they had taped the preparation of the auction. It had been difficult for Kate to sit back and let event coordinator Sarah Cosgrove handle tonight’s logistics, but Kate had. And Sarah had done a beautiful job.
Kate had arrived an hour before the guests were set to turn up to make sure everything was in place. And it was. The plantation’s ballroom, which had good bones anyway with its stained-glass windows, hardwood floors and gleaming brass fixtures, looked beautiful decorated with strands of small white lights strung across its expanse. The stage was adorned with flowers and topiaries. Food tables with delectable selections were set up at various stations around the room.
The work was done. All Kate had to do was walk Maya through the program. Maya, the fabulous, was one step ahead of her. She’d already written herself an informal script.
With Pepper on her heels insisting that Kate enjoy the evening, Kate backed off and let the others do their jobs. Relaxing, however, was a completely different story. She wouldn’t be able to—not in the formfitting, pink-beaded bandage cocktail dress she was wearing—and certainly not until she’d fulfilled her promise to Liam Thayer, and he was bought and paid for.
The festivities got underway. They’d allotted fifteen minutes per bachelor with a break in between each to announce the winners of the silent auction items.
It was fun to watch the occasional bidding war erupt. Some of the women could be downright competitive. Case in point was when Kimela Herring, who was seated behind Kate a couple tables to the right, had gotten into a heated bidding war with two women over Quinn Vogler, the hospital’s staff orthopedist. Quinn was the last person before Liam would take the stage.
Celebration's Family (Celebrations, Inc Series Book 5) Page 9
