The Billionaire Cowboy's Proposition, page 16
Mallory wasn’t sure she wanted him to see how strongly she felt. It made her vulnerable, and she hated being vulnerable. But it was worth it if he believed her. “Anyone would be lucky to have you. As a friend, a lover, a partner, whatever.” It was becoming hard to get the words out. “You are kind, and that counts for so much. More than you can imagine. You can be funny, and you can be serious, and you can make me think harder than I ever have. You help me see the world in a new way. All that counts for more than your looks. But you are also handsome, with the scars, not despite them, and everything put together makes you one of the sexiest men alive.”
He gazed at her, eyes wide and lips parted as she glared, willing him to believe her. Then she leaned even farther forward and pressed her mouth to his again, this time firm, almost angry, a demand that he believe her.
His hand slid behind her head, and they kissed, open mouthed, across the table, and it was everything she’d dreamed of and nothing she could have imagined.
He released her, and she gasped for breath, grasped for sense. “You’re still the best kiss I’ve ever had.”
He gazed at her, his smile growing, but before he could speak, Aunt Julie got up on stage and announced through the microphone that everyone should take their seats, so dinner could be served.
Mallory backed up. Suddenly she didn’t want to hear what he had to say. She wasn’t sure she could handle it. “Better grab your seat. Mine’s over there.” Maybe he’d take her advice and dance with other women all night long. Then they could pretend this had never happened.
But was that really what she wanted?
Chapter Eighteen
Cody’s mind stuttered over what had just happened, but he tried to match Mallory’s casual tone. “I’m at twelve.” He glanced toward his table and frowned. “Why am I at a table that is entirely full of women?”
“Hallie took bribes.”
Cody swung back toward Mallory. “She what?”
Mallory snickered. “She had people asking how they could be sure they’d have a chance to meet the billionaire bachelor brothers. We joked that she should take bribes to guarantee them a seat at a table with one of you. Hallie ran with it. She’s pretty ruthless. Of course the extra money is going to the animal rescue. It’s not really a bribe so much as a premium ticket.”
Cody gave a reluctant chuckle. It was for a good cause. “Poor Xander. He’s not that comfortable with new people even when they don’t want something from him.”
“He’ll be all right. They put him at a table with a bunch of ‘entrepreneurs’ who want to discuss business ideas. Carly prepped him on what to expect, so he’s ready to ask about manufacturing costs and market research and so forth.”
Cody crossed his arms and narrowed his gaze. “How come nobody prepped me?”
“I’m sure you can flirt with women and turn them down if you don’t want them,” she said dryly. “It worked out all right with Amber, didn’t it?”
“Yeah. Did you know what she really wanted?”
Mallory shook her head. “And I’m not asking. But I knew you couldn’t avoid her forever. A fake girlfriend might fool the outsiders, although I imagine you’ll still have women trying to”—she made air quotes—“steal you away. I don’t look like much competition in this.” She gestured at her old-fashioned outfit.
“That’s only because they’ve never seen you in a fight.” It was a weak joke, and it wasn’t like Mallory went around getting into fights, but Cody felt like his mind was trying to go in about six different directions at once.
Mallory gave that comment the half-hearted smile it deserved and slid through the gap between the silent auction tables. She headed toward her dinner seat without a glance back.
Where did people get the idea that he had practice with turning down women? He dated some, sure, but it wasn’t like women flocked to him. The time in his life he’d been most popular was in high school, before the accident.
Mallory thought his scowl scared women away. Would that work here?
Probably not, since these women knew about the lottery. Besides, he didn’t know if he had it in him to intentionally scowl at people, especially when they were paying hundreds of dollars simply to sit at a table with him. He didn’t want to let down the people who had worked so hard to put this fundraiser together.
But that didn’t mean he’d sit down and expose himself to that kind of awkward attention one minute before necessary.
Xander stood against the wall, arms crossed and shoulders hunched, probably trying to be invisible.
Cody wandered over to him. “Hey. Would you say I’m good-looking?”
“No.”
That was exactly what Cody expected, and yet it hurt. Mallory was trying to build up his self-esteem or something. Xander wouldn’t lie to him.
“I don’t think about those things,” Xander continued. “But everyone else says you are.”
Cody blinked a few times, but his brother looked as serious as always. The best response Cody could come up with was “Huh?”
“Josh is brooding and handsome, apparently. TC is goofy and”—Xander winced as he got the word out—“cute. You’re sexy.” He frowned over that, as if he didn’t understand the concept. “I don’t know what they say about me, and I don’t want to.”
“What—but—That’s all since we got the money though, right?”
“No, they’ve said that for ages. I don’t get it either. We all have brown hair and brown eyes.” Xander seemed to struggle to think of another noteworthy characteristic. “TC is the tallest and I’m the shortest, but that’s only a couple of inches difference. We basically all look the same.”
Maybe based on a list of physical characteristics, they did look alike—except, of course, for Cody’s scars. But add in personality, and you’d hardly know they were brothers. Josh was serious. Cody might have said dour or grumpy rather than brooding, but maybe that made Josh seem responsible, a good caretaker. Some women would like that. Carly did, for all she’d been a free-spirited teen ready for any adventure. She’d grown more serious as she aged, so maybe that was why she fit with Josh now, or maybe she wanted Josh to balance out that side of her.
TC had energy, enthusiasm, and a sense of humor. Cody had heard Hallie call TC “cutie pie” often enough. He wouldn’t want the term used on himself, but he could admit it fit TC if it fit any guy. The way they nuzzled and cooed at each other was enough to make Cody want to move out of TC’s house. Since he didn’t know where he’d go, he generally just groaned, rolled his eyes, and occasionally made gagging noises for their amusement. He would never admit out loud the pang of envy he felt.
Xander was thoughtful and intelligent. Maybe people made him nervous, but anyone who bothered to look closely would see the appeal of a brilliant guy with a soft heart for animals. At the moment, Xander was looking past Cody’s shoulder with a frown. Cody turned to see what had caught Xander’s attention over by the entrance. Julie, who ran the wild animal rescue, was greeting people at the door. She looked back at Xander and Cody and waved a hand to motion them closer. Behind her stood a fairly young woman in a long white dress.
“I’ll see what’s up.” Xander headed over there.
Cody stood where he was, ignoring the chatter all around as he returned to Xander’s comment. He couldn’t get his mind around the word sexy. What did that even mean? Some women liked “bad boys.” Did they think his scars made him look dangerous?
He looked over at Mallory. Objectively, she wasn’t the most beautiful woman he’d ever met. Most people probably wouldn’t call her the most beautiful woman in this room. But when she was around, he didn’t notice anyone else. When she said she liked the way he looked, he believed her. Maybe the rest didn’t matter. Maybe he was the one who struggled to look past his scars. Anyway, it wasn’t the most important thing, as Mallory had noted. Cody now had the opportunity to be or do anything he wanted. He wanted to be useful, to make a positive difference in the world. He was still figuring out all the ways he could make that happen, but he didn’t doubt he could make it happen, and that felt great.
Xander crossed the room to the table where their mama sat with some of her friends. Sure, she got to sit with people she knew and liked. Cody couldn’t resent it though, since they had been trying to keep Mama out of the spotlight. Xander hovered by the table. Then he pulled out a notebook, scribbled a note, handed it to their mama, and headed back toward the door.
Cody stepped out to intercept him. “Something wrong? Need help?”
“No, I’ve got it.” Xander headed toward the women at the door.
Darn. If Cody had been a little quicker to rush over there to see what Julie wanted, he might be the one with an excuse to sit down late for dinner. He took a deep breath, tried not to scowl, and headed for table twelve.
He passed by the table where Carly and Josh sat with, yes, a bunch of women, even though Josh and Carly were engaged, for goodness’ sake. He leaned over Carly’s shoulder and whispered, “I’m going to get you all for this.”
She tipped her head back slightly to murmur in his ear. “Just ask lots of questions. Get them talking about themselves.”
Cody considered that as he sat at his table, feeling like a hamburger patty surrounded by hungry dogs. He forced his mouth into a smile, even though he’d rather be almost anywhere else, but most of all at a private dinner with Mallory. “Hi. I’m Cody. Why don’t we go around the table and all y’all can introduce yourselves?”
That worked pretty well. When questions came his way, he answered as vaguely as possible and finished with a question for the woman who’d asked or the table as a whole. While the women took turns telling him about themselves, as if this were a job interview, Cody had a chance to eat. His tastebuds told him the meal was delicious, but his mind was on Mallory and that kiss and what she’d said and future possibilities.
He was halfway through dinner when he noticed Logan slip past hurrying waitstaff and scan the room. Looking for Cody? If the teens needed something, obviously that had to be Cody’s first priority. If that meant missing some of this endless fancy dinner, so be it. Cody waited for a break in a woman’s story about her cotillion or something, pushed his chair back, and murmured, “Excuse me a minute.”
Logan grinned as he spotted Cody, and they met along the back wall. “What’s up?” Cody hoped the answer would include a problem that would take at least an hour to solve.
“I sent pictures of the performance to Lucy, since she couldn’t be here,” Logan said. “She messaged back that she broke up with Braden!”
“That’s great. Or rather . . .” Cody trailed off. He shouldn’t be happy about a relationship ending, or if he was, he probably ought to hide it.
“Don’t worry, I’m not going after her right away,” Logan said. “I’m trying to be a good friend, like you said. But I’m sure it was partly what Ms. Moore said that day, and what everyone’s been saying about the stalker who went after her cousin. Ms. Moore’s cousin, I mean. But Lucy is done with that creep, and even if I never get to date Lucy, I’m glad she’s free.”
“Yeah. Me too.” Maybe Cody shouldn’t be commenting on a teen relationship, but he couldn’t help responding to Logan’s broad grin. The thought of Lucy no longer with the guy who thought choking jokes were funny loosened something in Cody’s gut, even if he felt a slight pang of disappointment that he hadn’t been able to help rescue someone. That was foolish vanity. What counted was that Lucy didn’t get sucked into a long, abusive relationship.
“She’ll need her friends more than ever,” Cody said. Breakups didn’t always last. The most vicious jerks sometimes managed to be charming enough to persuade women to give them more chances.
Logan nodded. “We’ll be there for her. All the theater kids. Now she can join the summer musical revue too. Anyway, just thought you and Ms. Moore might want to know.”
“I’ll tell her. Thanks.”
Logan headed back out through the kitchens. Cody considered speaking to Mallory right away, but he probably shouldn’t leave his own table for too long. Besides, if he waited until after the event, he might be able to persuade Mallory to go somewhere with him for a celebration.
Time still dragged through the multicourse dinner and the blessedly brief speeches. They announced a countdown to the end of the silent auction, resulting in a last rush of people outbidding whoever had outbid them.
The live auction finally started, with an energetic auctioneer who made it fun. Cody bid on a couple of things that weren’t going for much, because he didn’t want the donors to feel bad and it was an easy way to send money to the wild animal rescue.
He’d donated a one-hour flight in his aerobatic plane. The auctioneer pumped him up so much that he doubled over with laughter and was tempted to crawl under the table to hide. The flight finally went to a swaggering, middle-aged rancher who whooped at his win and called out to Cody, “You and me are gonna do some tricks, boy! I got my pilot’s license, but I’ve only flown in a Cessna.” Well, Cody would give him an adventure, and it would be a lot more fun than if Hallie had stuck with her original plan of a bachelor auction featuring the Tomlinson brothers.
Finally things wrapped up. People who didn’t need to pay for and collect auction items drifted out or hung around to talk. Mallory, Carly, and Julie sat in the middle of the silent auction tables and collected money from anyone who’d won silent auction items. Carly’s accountant friend had her laptop out, her fingers flying over the keys as she updated the totals as divided between the wild animal rescue and the theater renovation.
Josh helped the auctioneer handle the live auction wins. They either took their money or passed people tickets to take over to the silent auction tables, if they had items from both. Xander was scheduled to help with that, but he was stuck at his table, looking bored and a little desperate.
Cody wandered past Xander’s table. A cadaverous man was making a long-winded spiel in a monotone voice. That had apparently driven away some of the other business hopefuls, leaving the table mostly empty.
Cody didn’t wait for a pause in the oration, since he might have had to wait an hour. He put his hand on Xander’s shoulder. “They need you over at the auction checkout.”
Xander fled as fast as he could untangle himself from the tightly placed chairs and long tablecloth, shot Cody a grateful look, and hurried away.
The cadaverous man paused with his mouth open, blinking. Cody said, “I’m sure you have the guidelines for submitting business proposals for funding,” and walked away without waiting for an answer.
Cody joined TC at the exit, saying last goodbyes as people left. It probably made things worse, having two of the “billionaire brothers” there, because people wanted to linger and chat, but Cody took cues from TC on how to nudge people out as quickly as possible, with handshakes, thanks, and vague promises of “later.”
Under normal circumstances, Cody would’ve escaped as soon as he could excuse himself from the dinner table, but he was waiting for Mallory. He wanted to hear how the theater fundraiser had gone. He wanted to celebrate with her if it had gone well. He wanted to share Logan’s news about Lucy and see Mallory smile.
He wanted all that badly enough that he hung around while the caterers cleared tables and the last guests drifted out, ignoring his sore feet in the pinching dress shoes and the temptation of TC’s ranch, with cold beer in the fridge.
When it looked like things were wrapping up at last, he headed to the kitchen and found two untouched bottles of champagne. It wasn’t beer, which was a disappointment, but the champagne would feel more like a celebration. He filled a tray with clean glasses and carried it to the auction table, where he poured drinks and handed them out to the women.
Mallory peeled off her historical costume to reveal yoga pants and a tank top. Cody had never thought seeing a woman strip out of heavy skirts to reveal more clothing underneath would be a turn on, but it was oddly fascinating and sexy.
His brothers joined them, looking a little worse for wear. Josh and Cody had already removed their tux jackets and bow ties. TC got rid of his. Cody didn’t think that was nearly as sexy as Mallory’s modest striptease, but Hallie watched TC with an appraising look that suggested she had a different opinion.
When everyone had a drink, Cody lifted his glass in a toast. “I hope this event raised a fortune. But no matter how much money we made, all y’all worked incredibly hard, pulled off an amazing event, and can be proud.”
The others cheered or murmured assent, clinked glasses, and drank.
TC finished his champagne in one go and gave a shake like a dog flicking off water. “Woo! I needed that. I’m parched from all the talking.” He sounded hoarse.
Xander’s face looked pinched. “My head is pounding from all the listening.”
Hallie stood up. “You boys sure did your part, getting people here and making them feel like they got their money’s worth. As far as the wild animal rescue goes, we exceeded our target by over twenty percent!”
They cheered. TC scrambled to refill his glass for another toast.
Cody gazed at Mallory. “How did the theater renovation do?”
Her eyelids drooped with fatigue, but her smile was smug. “With this and the grant money, we can pay our bills and buy that digital projector.”
More cheers. Cody wished he could hug Mallory, pick her up and spin her around, and then hold her close, but the tables between them worked as well as a wall.
Finally everyone headed out. Josh had his arm around Carly, and Hallie snuggled close to TC. The sight gave Cody a soft, happy feeling. He and Xander exchanged a glance, part affectionate amusement, and at least on Cody’s side, part envy.
“Do you need a ride?” Cody asked Mallory as he carried one of her bags out.
“I wouldn’t mind the walk.” She tipped her head back. “The night air feels nice. It got a bit stuffy in there.”
“I thought that was just the guests. Put your gear in my car. I’ll walk you home and come back for it. I assume you don’t need any of this tonight.”
