Merry edged her way toward the other woman.
What is she doing?Jason hoped she wasn’t throwing her own money into the mix. That isn’t what he had intended to happen, plus he was fairly sure she couldn’t afford it. But knowing her, even for as short a time as he had, he realized that’sexactlywhat she was doing. She’d never ask him to cover the extra expenditure unless they had discussed it ahead of time.
He tried to catch her eye, but the two women were glaring at each other and rapidly coming together toe to toe.
He had to stop her. If she won, of course he’d cover it—if she’d let him—but the more he thought about it the more he realized she’d take responsibility for her own actions, and the bidding was rapidly approaching the three thousand mark!
He cleared his throat. Neither of them slowed their efforts. A female reporter rushed toward the area where she could capture photos of both Merry and the other woman. Jason didn’t want attention being called to Merry any more than to himself. Identifying their relationship would put him at risk for discovery.Man, this whole auction wassucha bad idea.
Something about the reporter seemed to spook Merry and she glanced up at Jason, looking nervous.At last!Before she could look away, he sent her a slight head shake and hoped she’dget the message.
She must have. She frowned at him and whirled back toward her seat—letting her sign whomp the other woman’s hip before she trudged away and plopped into her chair, defeated.
The auctioneer jumped back into action and called out “Thirty-two hundred going once… Thirty-two hundred going twice…” He paused staring in Merry’s direction. She folded her arms and looked away—none too happy.
“Sold! To the lovely redhead in the blue suit.”
“It’s a good thing Jason Falco loves animals, because when my article comes out, he’ll be spending a long time in the doghouse.” Lila laughed. She had been speaking to her bottle of Bacardi 151, as if it was a living, breathing friend—or lover. Well, so what? Some days it was the only friend she had.
Lila Crum grinned as she edited that night’s photos.Three-timing. A perfect headline for a perfectly sleazy article.She’d followed the woman who won Falco to her home in Brookline. Now she knew where to find them together. If he was any kind of gentleman, he’d pick her up and drop her off at her door.
The photos she captured at the auction tonight would be terrific for tomorrow’s paper, and she already had her title:Catfight at Animal Benefit.
Wouldn’t a snapshot of the debutante’s goodnight kiss be just delicious? Even if he didn’t kiss her, if she found the perfect angle, she could make it look like he did.
“I already snapped my first picture when I saw him kissing the nurse in the parking lot. That was too easy! It was like they practically posed for it!” She spoke to her drink and took another swig.
Since tonight was a Friday, and the auction couples weresupposed to go out on their dates the following evening, she’d have the whole weekend to get her pictures and put the sordid story together.
“The originalmark, the woman who thought she was hiring a private investigator instead of a reporter, gave me a hundred bucks as a retainer. That will barely cover the cost of buying your clones for the week.” She patted the bottle of Bacardi 151. “I’ll ask her for five hundred before I cough up Falco’s address.”
She stroked the bottle, then grabbed it and tipped it up for a long sip. “Bleahhhh! Damn, you’re strong, but the Diet Coke is so far away.”
So, tomorrow, she’d do her thing. Hide in the bushes outside his auction date’s house, grab a picture, and then follow him home.
Her editor would find the juicy story and all the photos to back it up on his desk Monday morning—that is, if Lila didn’t oversleep, again.
Chapter 5
Merry shook her head at her own insanity. Jason wasn’t usually an asshole. For chrissakes, he’d been on his best behavior at all times, so why was she giving him the cold shoulder?
Because she wanted to. Maybe she was sick of him being such a perfect gentleman. Maybe she wanted to push him to his limit and see where and how he crossed that line. Maybe it was PMS.
As a nurse, she knew she could always blame it on the full moon and PMS, but as a woman, she knew it had more to do with losing her guy to a rich redhead in a bachelor auction—in other words, all of the above, plus her own insecurity. What a combination.
“C’mon Merry. We’ve been driving for half an hour, and you haven’t spoken to me once. I explained that I had no idea bidding would go that high. Hell, I would have even covered the extra, but I thought you’d refuse it. That’s why I gave you the head-shake.”
She turned away from him and stared out the window. Whoa, they had just passed Mass Ave and were heading toward Kenmore Square.
That’s when she realized he wasn’t taking her home.
“Where the hell are we going?”
“Someplace special.”
She crossed her arms and frowned. “Who says I want to go someplace special with you?”
“Look, I don’t know what’s going through that pretty head of yours, but I’m not taking you home until you tell me. Whatever it is, we’ll straighten it out.”
