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“Trust me, girlfriend. You need a break and so do we. It’s not like being a nurse is all that much more fun than going around wiping the noses of whiny little kids who’d just as soon kick you in the—”
“Addy!” Kristin laughed. If there was a softer touch in the world than Addy, Kristin had never met her. “So where are we going?”
“Uh, we’ll figure that out once we get started. For now, let’s plan to meet at the hospital about seven. We’ll go from there.”
Kristin didn’t like the hesitation she’d heard in her friend’s voice, but before she could ask for clarification, Addy said, “Gotta go, hon. There’s a big hunky UPS driver at my door. See you Wednesday.”
Left holding a silent phone, Kristin decided a night out on the town with her friends was exactly what she needed. She’d been spending far too much time in the past day or so thinking about a studly firefighter with a wicked smile and a dangerous reputation.
THEY’D tricked her!
Kristin had been thinking drinks and dinner with Addy and her friends, maybe a movie. What she got was a bachelor auction to benefit the hospital’s burn unit and an auditorium filled with giggling, out-of-control women. The aisles were crowded, the seats filling up quickly.
“There is no way I’m going to bid on anyone,” Kristin insisted.
“You don’t have to,” Addy assured her. “The looking is almost as much fun as the buying. It’s like window-shopping.”
Kristin wasn’t in the market for a bachelor of any size or shape. Forget that the money went for a good cause. She didn’t even want to look. Thinking about the absence of a special man in her life was a depressing exercise and one to be avoided.
“Look, Addy, you and the others can go ahead without me. We’ll do something together next—”
“Here we go.” Addy caught Kristin’s hand and forcefully dragged her into a row with several vacant seats. Connie was right behind her, pushing, and she was followed by the rest of Addy’s cohorts from the hospital.
Not only had they tricked Kristin, now they’d trapped her!
“You just let us know if you see anything interesting,” Connie said, settling beside Kristin.
The only thing in the room of interest to Kristin was the red Exit sign. And she couldn’t get to it without trampling an entire row of excited women.
As Kristin scrunched down in her chair in the faint hope none of her colleagues from work would see her, Connie passed Addy a big handful of money. With a smug smile, Addy tucked the wad of bills into her purse.
Kristin had the distinct impression her friends were up to some stunt she wasn’t going to like.
MIKE NOTICED her the moment he paraded out onto the stage with the other bachelors. Odd, in a sea of two hundred beautiful women, how he’d zeroed in on Kristin. Maybe it was because she was the only woman in the room who wasn’t screaming and waving. Or maybe it had to do with dynamite chemistry—on his side, at least. And he couldn’t help but wonder who she’d be bidding on.
Fire Chief Harlan Gray picked up the microphone to act as MC and auctioneer. “Good evening, ladies. I’d like to welcome you all to—”
“We don’t want any speeches, Chief,” someone shouted. “We’ve got money burning holes in our purses. Let’s have at it.”
The women in the audience whooped their approval. Instinctively, every bachelor on stage including the chief, who was a widower, stepped back a pace. These were some scary ladies. Nobody wanted to be in their way if they stampeded.
The chief sorted out the bachelors, asking Les Adams from Station Two to take center stage first. In all, about twenty bachelors were to be auctioned off, most of them firefighters, with a couple of doctors and a male nurse thrown into the mix. The bidding on Les started at a hundred dollars and made it to a hundred and fifty before running out of steam. Mike noticed Kristin wasn’t much interested in the proceedings.
An hour later, amid whistles and catcalls, Mike finally took his place out front. He grinned at the ladies and blew them a kiss, which brought another round of cheers. He’d like to do well at the auction, bring in the big bucks. In addition to an ego stroke, there was a friendly rivalry between the fire stations in town. The one that garnered the least money for the burn unit had to deliver ice cream to all the other stations.
Somebody started the bidding at two hundred. Before he could spot the first bidder, the price had gone up to two-fifty and he realized Addy Goodfellow had finally jumped into the fray with her first bid of the evening. Not Kristin, he thought with a twinge of regret. She looked like she’d rather be somewhere else.
Two-seventy-five quickly became three-fifty, and it looked like Mike was going to grab top honors for the night. Suddenly, he remembered that weeks ago Emma Jean had predicted he’d get the highest bid this year—and never be eligible for a bachelor auction again.
When Addy went to five hundred dollars, Mike began to sweat. He thought she understood he wasn’t a commitment kind of guy. She shouldn’t be spending—
“Five hundred once,” Chief Gray called. “Five hundred twice. Sold to the lady in the red blouse!”
The audience cheered at the top bid for the evening.
Mike mentally groaned. He’d show Addy a good time on their date, but he’d make it clear that as nice as she might be, and as much fun as she was, they had no future together.
The final bachelor went for two-fifty and the chief was about to call it a night when Councilwoman Evie Anderson stood up in the audience. An attractive woman in her sixties, she’d had her eye on the chief for some years, showing up at the fire station with home-baked goods for him and “his boys” and even baking him a birthday cake. Problem was, the councilwoman couldn’t cook worth a darn. From the taste of her strawberry syrup alone, which she’d brought to the pancake breakfast this past spring, Mike was convinced the woman was determined to poison every member of the fire department along with all their family members.
“We’re not done yet, Harlan,” Evie said.
“Yes, we are,” the chief insisted. “Steve was the last—”
“You’re single, Chief Gray. And I bid one thousand dollars.”
There was a moment of silence, as though everyone was intrigued by the blush that rushed up the chief’s throat and bloomed on his cheeks, virtually turning the roots of his gray hair pink. Then the audience cheered louder than they had all evening.
The chief banged his gavel. “Sold,” he muttered, and the whole crowd was on their feet practically bringing the auditorium down with their enthusiastic applause. Only two people didn’t look happy about the evening—Chief Gray and Kristin McCoy.
Despite the fact that he didn’t believe in Emma Jean’s psychic ability, Mike released a small sigh of relief. He hadn’t won the top-dollars honor after all. Logically, then, his bachelor status for next year’s event was still intact.
KRISTIN wanted to escape.
But Addy and Connie had her boxed in, trapped while Mike made his way through the mob toward where she was standing. Where Addy was standing, she corrected herself. She was the one who’d won the date with Mike, at no small expense.
Lord, he was a big man, she realized. At well over six feet, he towered over most of the women in the room, giving each of them a quick smile as he edged past them. They ate it up, all but swooning at his feet. Kristin knew better. A sweet-talking man with a sexy grin meant nothing but trouble in her experience.
When he reached the clutch of waiting women, Mike bent over and brushed a familiar kiss to Addy’s cheek.
“You must have won the lotto,” he said to her. “If you’d just called me up, I’d have taken you out for a lot less than five hundred bucks.”
She laughed a delighted sound. “Sugar, you and I had our fun, and I wouldn’t have missed it for the world. But I didn’t bid on you for myself. We all chipped in, pooled our money—” her gesture included all the nurses standing nearby “—for Kristin. She’s going to be your date.”
Kristin’s jaw dropped. If the gods had opened up the floor beneath her feet, she would have gladly slipped out of sight. Mike Gables was the last man on earth she wanted to date. He was too charming, too sexy—too damn tempting.
“No,” she murmured, her throat aching, barely able to find her voice.
His gaze swung in her direction, dark eyes filled with amusement and a challenge. “You didn’t know about this?”
“Not a chance.”
“Interesting.” His lips quirked into one of his patented smiles. “Surprises can be fun.”
His gaze was so intense, so totally focused on her, Kristin felt the rest of the room and everyone in it melt away. For all she knew, Addy, Connie and the others had abandoned her. She and this smiling, potently masculine man were the only two people left in the auditorium. An odd buzzing started in her head, blocking out any other sound. She couldn’t have looked away from Mike Gables if her life had depended upon it. If not her life, certainly her good sense was at serious risk.
“I’m not really into surprises,” she said.
“Then this will be a first for both of us. I’ve never had anyone bid five hundred dollars just to have a date with me.”
“I didn’t bid on you at all.”
“I know.” His slow perusal swept over her with obvious masculine interest. “That’s what’s going to make our date so interesting.”
It took all of her willpower to draw herself up to her full five-foot-five inches to challenge him right back. “Why don’t we pretend we had our date, we both had a great time, no one will be the wiser and the burn center will still be five hundred dollars richer.”
“That wouldn’t be honorable. I gave my word I’d go out with whoever bid the most for me—or her surrogate in this case. Your friends would be disappointed in us both if we didn’t go through with it after all the trouble they went to.”
“I’ll explain to them it just wasn’t possible—”
“Not good enough. How ’bout Friday night? There’s a great place in Pismo, good food, a small dance floor. We could—”
“No,” she gasped. “I’m busy that night.”
“Really?”
“Absolutely. Very busy.” Friday nights she collapsed after a hard workweek, rarely able to stay awake late enough to watch a movie on TV. And that was typical for her social schedule every night of the week.
He gave her a skeptical look, though his intense scrutiny didn’t let up an iota even as he tipped his head to the side, shifting those wavy curls off his forehead slightly. “Do you like scuba diving?”
Without thought, she nodded. Too late to take it back, she stammered, “I, well—”
“Great. I’ll pick you up Sunday morning at—”
“I’m perfectly capable of driving myself,” she said hastily. “But I have no intention of—”
“You know the marina at Morro Bay?”
“Yes, but—”
“Perfect. Meet me there at ten. My boat’s moored in row 57A—the Lady Be Good. I’ll bring a lunch and I’ve got gear for you if you need it.” He bent down, brushed the same familiar kiss to her cheek as he had with Addy, and gave Kristin another wicked grin. “We’ll have a great time.”
In stunned silence, Kristin stood in the middle of the aisle as Mike walked away. She wasn’t sure which was more irritating—his arrogant assumption that she’d go out with him, despite her refusal, or the fact that the quick brush of his lips had been a flashpoint of reawakened desire. Heated messages radiated through every nerve ending from that simple contact, speaking of possibilities and forbidden cravings. Low in her body she felt an unwelcome response, an ache of wanting she’d long denied herself.
Damn, if Mike Gables was that potent with only a peck on the cheek, how much more damage could he do to a woman’s willpower if he set his mind to it?
Turning, she spied her friends loitering near the exit, looking as smug as truants who’d made a clean escape from the school principal. She stalked toward them.
“What on earth possessed the four of you to—”
“It was for a good cause,” Holly Mae said, grinning like a fool.
“You spent too much money, for one thing. For another, I have no interest in—”
“You needed a date,” Addy said.
Not someone like Mike Gables, she thought wildly. “I could use a new car, too. Why didn’t you buy me one of those?”
Connie hooked her arm through Kristin’s. “We’ll work on that for next year.”
“But, you work hard for your money. You shouldn’t be spending it on me.” She whirled back to Holly Mae. “You’re single. You can go out with Mike. I’m sure you’ll have a wonderful—”
“Hon, just hush up and enjoy, have fun,” Addy ordered. “This is our way of thanking you.”
“Thanking me?”
“There isn’t another social worker in the county who cares about kids as much as you do. We figured it was high time you got a reward for all your hard work.”
County employees got a certificate of appreciation for extra effort. Or if they were lucky, a two-percent cost of living increase in their salary.
Kristin groaned.
They didn’t get a date with a studly firefighter who could trip-hammer a woman’s heart with a single sexy smile and an all-too-brief kiss on the cheek.
Chapter Three
Early Sunday morning, Kristin stood back and examined herself in her full-length bedroom mirror.
The goggles made her look like an alien from outer space and the mouthpiece puffed out her cheeks like a chipmunk. The wet suit was as tight as a full-body girdle and revealed every flaw in her figure, of which she had plenty. The weight belt added inches to her waist. Turning sideways, she noted the air tank made her look as though she were suffering from early-onset dowager’s hump. The flippers were a nice touch, too, giving her a waddle when she walked.
Perfect! There was no way a man could be attracted to a female dressed in this outfit. When her brothers had given her scuba gear several years ago and forced her to join them on their expeditions, she’d had no idea how useful the experience would be. With this equipment she was as good as wearing armor against any unwanted advances from Mike Gables.
Not that he’d be interested anyway, she told herself. Addy and her friends had bought and paid for this date. If it hadn’t been for the bachelor auction, Mike would never have asked her out. In fact, their paths probably wouldn’t have even crossed again.
Which would have been much better, she thought grimly.
Temporarily shedding her scuba gear in favor of loose-fitting jeans, a tank top and a windbreaker, she grabbed a bottle of sunscreen and scooped up her equipment, loading it all in her VW convertible. A few hours in the sun would bring out her freckles—the bane of all redheads—and then she’d hold even less appeal for a man like Mike. Although the way he appeared to date anything that wore a skirt, he wasn’t too discriminating.
All the more reason she needed to keep her distance.
As she drove away from her apartment, the early-morning sun cast a golden light on the buildings of downtown Paseo del Real, and traffic was light on the main boulevard. The big gas station on the corner of Paseo Blvd. and Broad Street had only one customer as she cruised past it and turned onto the highway heading toward Morro Bay.
The green hillsides of the coastal range had already given way to the golden brown of summer, spring wildflowers fading to white under the June sun. Cool, fresh-smelling air caught a flyaway strand of Kristin’s hair, whipping it across her face, and she brushed it back. A tiny thrill of anticipation rippled through her midsection, buoying her spirits in spite of herself.
Only the thought of a day of scuba diving had her on edge, she assured herself. Not Mike Gables. She’d make it a point to stay well out of his grasp.
Not that she’d be able to avoid his provocative smile the whole day. But underwater she’d be safe enough. After all, he’d be wearing a face mask too.
HE HADN’T been sure she’d come.
Grinning like some fool who’d just asked his first girl to the prom and gotten a yes, Mike leaped over the side of Lady Be Good and onto the dock. He tried for cool and casual, but his heart was banging against his ribs as if an old-time boxer had taken up residence inside his chest.
She had great legs, despite the fact she was trying to disguise them in baggy jeans, and hips perfect for nesting against a man’s pelvis. But it was her flyaway hair, all bouncy curls fiery red in the sunlight, that could drive a man to distraction. He wanted to comb his fingers through those curls and feel the strands part for him. Which probably wasn’t a smart thought at all.
“You found it,” he said when he reached her.
“The marina’s not that hard to find.”
He took the air tank she was carrying and slung it over his shoulder. She looked as nervous as an arsonist who couldn’t find a match. “I gather you’ve done some scuba diving before.”
