“This is for charity, Braden. I want to see the department get that pumper truck.”
Jelly Bean answered for him, jumping a little for more of her attention and basking when he got it. Why didn’t he ever treat Cassie that way?
Speaking of Cassie, he tugged the leash gently. “I gotta go,” he said. “I’m late to see my girlfriend.”
“Braden.” She straightened and looked him right in the eyes. “I need to talk to you. Every time I see you, you’re busy. I need to tell you something very important.”
“What?”
She shook her head. “Not here, not now. But soon.”
“Sure. But I have to go.”
She folded over to give Jelly Bean another hug, then stepped closer to give one to Braden. “Good luck today,” she whispered in his ear. “May the best woman win.”
“Simone—”
She gave him an unwanted kiss on the lips, another flippy wave, and trotted away with her skirt ding-donging. What the hell?
He stood staring for a few seconds, trying like hell to figure out what she was up to, long enough for Jelly Bean to let out his low, slow, distrustful growl. Even before he turned, he knew who he would come face-to-face with.
Cassie. And she looked stunned.
“Hey, Braden.” Declan came hustling up on the other side. “They just announced the order, and you’re second. Get your ass over there. Sorry, Cassie, but this man’s gotta make some cash.”
She finally smiled and nodded. “I completely understand.”
She didn’t, but he’d explain after this was over. Assuming she won the auction.
* * *
He was gone before Cassie could say a word, any word—like It doesn’t matter, or I know she doesn’t mean anything to you, or Why the heck does that dog love her and hate me?
All those retorts got swallowed up in a moment of disbelief and hurt.
Nursing the latter, she headed back to where she’d been sitting on some temporary bleachers with a small group that included Ella, Darcy, Gramma Finnie, Yiayia, Aunt Colleen, and her mother, none of whom would be bidding, but were all there for moral support.
And she could use some of that right now because…was she doing the right thing? Should she be “with” Braden when another woman was so very much in the picture?
As she came up behind the bleachers, she spotted Ella talking to a tall man she didn’t recognize, looking up at him with an expression that hung somewhere between terror and uncertainty. But her whole face changed when she saw Cassie, and she broke into a smile of pure relief.
“Oh, there’s Cassie!” Ella exclaimed.
The man turned and pinned her with a dark gaze that was somehow familiar and haunting and, whoa, handsome. Tall, dark, and dimpled, with thick black hair, a jawline that could cut diamonds, and a long, lanky frame that was somehow powerful but without the brawn she’d been getting used to the past few weeks.
“Me?” she asked, coming forward.
“Cassie, this is Jace Demakos, vice president of public relations for Family First.”
Holy…whoa. “Jason the Argonaut,” she joked.
He beamed at her, blinding her, of course, with a set of gleaming pearly whites. “Cassandra the goddess, I’m guessing.”
Oh, strike one, dimples. Read that mythology again. “Welcome to Bitter Bark.” She held out her hand, and he took it, giving it a warm shake.
“It’s as quaint as I expected. And you’re…” He gave her a nearly imperceptible once-over. “Definitely Greek.”
“Only half, but my grandmother is here if you’re looking for one hundred percent.”
“I’m looking for…” He glanced around. “I was supposed to meet Bill Maddox, but I was late, and he texted me to watch the bachelor auction.” He added a snort. “As if that would be something I’d like to do.”
“Well, it’s not the usual bachelor auction,” she told him. “There are dogs involved, and dogs are…”
“Our target market.” He pointed to her. “You are correct, Cassie. So, take me to your dog and bachelor auction, but don’t expect me to bid.”
“You’re off the hook,” she said. “I, on the other hand…” Was supposed to be bidding on my boyfriend, who just kissed his ex in the middle of the square.
“You will have to step in and tell this big-city guy everything I need to know about this town and its dogs.”
A big-city guy. A Greek big-city guy. Oh boy. “I’ll be happy to.”
“At least half my family and some of Cassie’s are in these bleachers,” Ella said, pointing to the stands. “You’re more than welcome to sit with us.”
“Thank you, ladies, I’d love that.”
“Well, just be warned,” Cassie said. “It’s bleachers full of women. This is a bachelor auction, you know.”
He laughed easily. “Bleachers full of women? Doesn’t sound too awful.”
As they made their way up the steps, every one of the women at the top levels stared. Every woman on every level, to be honest. And the single ones were probably wondering why this particular eye candy wasn’t up for bid.
But it was her grandmother’s expression that caught Cassie’s eye as they climbed. A look of shock, joy, disbelief, and a lifetime of hope, all stamped on one filler-pumped, Botox-injected Greek grandmother’s face.
“And who is this?” she asked, practically climbing out of her seat as Cassie reached her.
Jace extended his hand and somehow managed to nod just enough for it to look like he might be bowing. “Yassou, Yiayia. Ti kaneís?”
His inflection was as perfect as his accent, and for a moment Cassie thought her grandmother might actually faint.
Oh, Yiayia. Your game is over.
Chapter Fourteen
Backstage at a bachelor auction was the last place Braden wanted to be when he was aching to clear up that misunderstanding with Cassie. She had to know that that kiss was one-sided and unwelcome.
“Can you switch that schedule around?” Braden asked Liz Winkler, whom Chief Owen had roped into managing the firefighters backstage.
“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that.” She looked way up at him, since she couldn’t be five two in heels, silencing him with an expression that probably had her kids running to their rooms to make their beds and do their chores.
“But, Liz, I have a personal emergency.”
“And we need a pumper truck.” She patted him on the arm as if he were one of those kids. “Braden, you’re going to get the highest bids. We need you to kick things off with those big ol’ shoulders, stud.”
He didn’t laugh. “I have to talk to my girlfriend.”
Tapping a clipboard, she shook her head. “Tell her to bid, because money talks, my friend. You’re on in two minutes, right after Cal.” She snapped her fingers and pointed to the younger firefighter, who wore bunker pants with his navy station T-shirt, holding a little brown dog with pointy ears on a leash. “Don’t forget to take off your shirt, probie.”
Cal blinked once, then gave a hoot, pulling at the T-shirt. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Not now, numskull.” She gave him a playful smack with the clipboard. “While you’re standing out there with your dog. You’re our number one piece of meat, Cal. Make it count.”
The kid grinned at Braden. “Sucks to be number two, Mahoney.”
Liz was having none of it, slamming him one more time with the clipboard. “When my husband and the captain are done talking, you’re on. Don’t come back in here with less than five hundred dollars for that fine ass, son.”
As Cal scooted away, Braden went in for another shot. “Liz, listen. My brother Connor is on the schedule second to last. I’ll switch with him.”
“Oh no you don’t,” she said, her dark eyes flashing. “He’s another hottie, and we don’t want the bids to fall flat at the end.” She added a grin. “But you don’t have to take your shirt off, Braden. Cal doesn’t have your brains or smile, but lawd, that boy has abs for days.”
“You hear that, bro?” Connor put his hand on Braden’s shoulder. “The probie’s got you beat in the abs department.”
“Now you.” Liz jabbed Connor with the edge of the clipboard. “You take off your shirt and pray there’s a woman out there you haven’t pissed off yet.”
Connor’s jaw dropped, and a few others around them cracked up, but Braden just grunted with frustration. If Cassie thought…and Simone bid…damn it.
On the other side of a large curtain, Chief Winkler was introducing Fred Flintstone, a border collie who’d lived at the firehouse for years. Since the chief wasn’t being auctioned, Declan, the second-highest-ranking Bitter Bark firefighter, would be the member of the team escorting Fred. At the rousing applause for the dog and Declan, who was well known and loved in this town, Braden knew he’d lost this battle.
Hopefully, Cassie would give him the benefit of the doubt. When this was over, he’d explain it to her.
“Let’s get the bidding started,” Chief Winkler called out on his microphone. “Our first bachelor is what we call a probie. That’s because he’s on probation and finishing his training. Ladies, get out your wallets for a date with Cal Norton and his Yorkie named Toto.” That got a big cheer, and Cal marched out with the toy-sized terrier.
Declan came over to join Braden and watch from behind the curtain. “Is he seriously going to strip off his shirt?” Declan asked.
“Mrs. Chief’s orders,” Braden told him.
“Then it’s brilliant,” Declan joked as the chief started calling out bids.
“Ladies, we will open the bidding at twenty-five dollars. Do I hear twenty-five?”
“Twenty-five!” a woman’s voice replied.
“Thirty-five!” another called.
“Remember, you get Probie Cal…and Toto, too!” Chief’s high-pitched imitation of a Wizard of Oz character earned a cheer from the crowd, but Braden took a step closer to see past Cal to the packed bleachers. It took exactly two seconds for him to see the two rows at the top of the middle section, where in a sea of familiar female faces, only one mattered.
He found Cassie almost immediately, getting a jolt of relief to see her laughing with his sister, Ella, and…who the hell was that? A guy in the middle of the Kilcannon-Mahoney-Santorini all-female cheering section?
He’d never seen the man before, but he was sitting next to Cassie, leaning back to talk to Yiayia behind him, who had not one but two hands on his shoulders as she yakked in his ear.
Cassie turned to them, joined in whatever was so freaking hilarious, not one of them paying any attention to poor Cal as he stripped off his shirt and got bids over a hundred bucks.
“You gotta beat whatever he gets,” Connor said, coming up on Braden’s other side.
“Yeah, you do,” Declan agreed. “Mahoney pride at stake.”
Braden ignored them, squinting into the sun at the bleachers. “Who is that guy up there?” he asked. “Second row from the top, with Ella and Cassie.”
Connor inched closer and looked. “I don’t know, but maybe he’ll bid on you.”
Braden shot him a look. “What’s he doing with them?”
“Do I hear two twenty? Two twenty-five?” Owen drowned them out as the inexpensive sound system crackled with his booming voice. “Going once. Going twice. Sold for two hundred! Congratulations to the young lady in the red dress. You are going to the Paws for a Cause Yappy Hour at Overlook Glen Vineyards with Cal and Toto tomorrow night!”
Declan gave Braden a nudge. “You can beat two hundred with your eyes closed.”
“Cassie said she’d go up to five, so we’re good.”
“Do you have to pay her back?” Connor cracked.
“Ladies, put your hands together for our next bachelor!” Some stupid music that sounded like the theme song of an old TV show started playing as his brothers gave Braden a push onstage.
He signaled for Jelly Bean, who marched out first as if he was born to be auctioned off to the highest bidder, easily able to follow orders with no leash.
“He’s handsome, buff, smart, and furry…oh, but that’s Jelly Bean.” Over applause and laughter, Owen continued his schtick. “His owner is one of three brothers who serve the good people of Bitter Bark. Ladies, let your dollars fly for our own Braden Mahoney.”
Braden gave a wave, feeling beyond stupid, but the women were clapping and hollering, and he had to laugh. He kept Jelly Bean right next to him, and together they walked down the stage, and he winked at a woman in the second row.
“One hundred dollars!” she called out, getting a huge response from the crowd.
“That’s what we like,” Owen said. “Do I hear one twenty-five?”
“One fifty!”
Braden turned toward where the voice had come from, knowing it couldn’t have been Cassie. Recognizing the voice, he spotted Simone in the first row of the far-right bleacher stand, two of her friends on either side, clapping.
“Nice work, Big Bray,” Owen teased, using the nickname he’d hung on Braden back when he was a probie. “Do I hear two hundred?”
For a moment, no one bid, and then he saw movement at the top of the stands. “Two hundred!”
He grinned up at Cassie, who smiled back. It was a good smile, a real smile, a trusting smile, but then she turned to that guy next to her, and the smile became a hearty laugh as she tipped her head back at whatever he’d said.
“Three hundred!” Simone called out, making the whole crowd hoot.
He walked the other way, toward Cassie’s section, knowing she’d come through.
“Take off your shirt and start a fire!” A group of women in the front clapped and hollered.
He teased them with a little pull of his T-shirt, getting the expected reaction, which made him laugh.
“Three fifty!” Cassie called.
“Four hundred!” This from one of the women in the front. “Five if you take it off, baby!”
“Work it, Braden.” He could hear Liz’s command from behind the curtain.
He reached down to Jelly Bean and flicked the navy bandanna he wore, pulling the loose knot and dragging it off very slowly, making everyone laugh and cheer. He twirled it in the air, and another woman in the front group yelled, “Five hundred!” and he tossed it to her.
Amidst the chaos, he shot a quick look to Cassie, who was leaning forward, taking it all in. Ella leaned over and whispered in her ear, and Cassie nodded.
“Six hundred,” she called out.
That’s my girl. He winked and gave her a thumbs-up, hoping this particular hell was about to come to an end. He held his breath, turned, and his gaze landed on Simone, who stood now with her hands on her hips.
“Seven hundred!” Simone called.
What?
The women in the front chatted with each other, and one shook her head as they all sat back down. So it was going to be between Simone and Cassie?
“Seven fifty.” Cassie called her bid with a little less enthusiasm, and who could blame her? Five was their agreed-on top, and he’d figured that would take any other bidder out of the running.
Of course, he hadn’t counted on Simone, who held up one finger like she was at Sotheby’s bidding on a Rembrandt. “Nine hundred dollars,” she said.
Good God. The crowd went wild as Owen repeated the bid, and Braden could even hear the cheering backstage. The noise was intense, making Jelly Bean look from side to side and pant a little as they walked.
“Hang in there, buddy,” Braden said with a brush of his fingers on the dog’s head. “This has to end soon.”
He just hoped it didn’t end badly.
He could see Cassie’s whole body leaning forward, no doubt seized by her need to take action and change the course of events. “Nine twenty-five,” she called.
He blew her a kiss, but Simone instantly stepped forward. “Nine fifty.”
Jelly Bean spun and barked, searching the gasping, cheering crowd for the familiar voice.
“Holy Moses!” Owen s
ounded more stunned than overjoyed. “That’s…that’s a record. Do I hear one thousand?”
Almost the whole crowd turned to look up in the direction of the second bidder, finding Cassie staring straight at him. Braden gave an infinitesimal nod to her, as if to say, It’s okay, we’ll cover it together.
Jeez, he really did have to repay her for the bidding.
“Nine seventy-five!” Cassie called, and the whole group around her hooted, many of them on their feet. And the guy, whoever he was, leaned back, looked at her, and said something that made her reward him with a billion-watt Cassie Santorini smile.
“One thousand dollars.” Simone stepped right up to the stage. “For the firefighter and Jelly Belly!”
JB barked again, spotting her now, batting his paw in excitement.
“One thousand dollars?” The chief sounded like he was about to implode.
“You heard me.” Simone leaned a little closer and gave a quiet whistle that probably no one else in the whole crowd heard, but it was enough. Jelly Bean launched toward her, adding to the wild chaos of screaming and hollering.
Jelly Bean reached the edge of the stage where Simone stood with her arms outstretched, and he leaped to give her a lick on the face. The crowd went insane, but Braden looked up at Cassie, wishing he could do anything at all to change this.
Along with the rest of the audience, she watched the woman and the dog with a cool half smile. Leaning back, she crossed her arms and shook her head a tiny bit in response to something Ella asked her.
“Can we top one thousand dollars?” Owen bellowed.
Nothing.
“Going once. Going twice. Sold to the woman who loves that dog.”
Simone giggled loudly, and Braden had to fight not to give her a dirty look when he went to get Jelly Bean.
“See you tomorrow, Braden,” she said sweetly.
He gave a silent nod, then walked backstage with Jelly Bean and ignored the high fives and fist bumps of his team.
“Watch him,” he said to Declan, guiding the dog close to his brother. “I have something to do.”
With that, he set off to find Cassie.
* * *
“Cassie! Why didn’t you outbid her?” Ella demanded, shock in her eyes as the chief dropped the final gavel. “My brother doesn’t want to go to Yappy Hour with Simone.”
Hot Under the Collar Page 15
