(This is the opening paragraph the editors gave to all five authors:)
"And the last bachelor up for bids is..."
Alex tuned out the auctioneer's voice and wondered for the millionth time how he'd gotten roped into this. A bachelor auction was definitely not his style — even on Valentine's Day. But, he reminded himself, this was for a good cause.
Tugging at the collar of his uniform, he shifted uneasily as the auctioneer continued his sales pitch. Should he smile? Pose? He just didn't feel comfortable up on stage with a blinding spotlight shining on him. He hoped he didn't look as nervous as he felt.
The auctioneer was driving up the bids — but all Alex could hear was the roar of the crowd as women yelled out numbers and cheered each other on. Squinting into the lights, he tried to make out who was bidding on him, but to no avail.
Then, before he knew it, the gavel sounded. He'd been sold! But to who...?
Taylor Fanning. He knew it, somewhere deep in his gut, before he even looked at her again. That was about his luck lately. Besides, Taylor had plainly told him that she was going to get him and she was famous all over Texas for always getting whatever she went after.
Sure enough, one glance at her confirmed his hunch. She shot him a blazing blue victory glance and a smile that sent a thrill down his spine in spite of his best effort to resist it. He looked away and set his jaw. He had to hold on to his aggravation or she'd have him roped and hog-tied before he knew what hit him.
Yet he felt the corners of his mouth lift in a grin as he followed the other bachelor rodeo cowboys, all dressed in the Valentine's Day "uniform" — tuxedos — that the auction had required them to wear, across the portable stage toward the steps leading to the floor of the arena. He was looking forward to being with her again. Taylor was a lot of fun.
And she was one bold woman, all right. He always liked the bold ones best, but usually they had no real power over him. Taylor was different.
Taylor could stir him, body and soul, with no more than a glance. No more than a hint of a smile. No more than one light brush of her fingertips against his hand. That fact scared him a little.
He'd found that out during their one previous date, which his supposed-to-be best friend, Monte McMahan, had set up for them. Well, actually, he couldn't blame good old Monte. It was Monte's wife, Jo Lena, and Taylor who'd instigated the whole thing, both of them not hesitating for a minute to own up to that fact. He and poor Monte had only been helpless pawns in the plan. But they hadn't had a second date planned — until now.
Taylor appeared at his side the minute his shining black boots hit the soft dirt of the arena floor.
"Alex, you look wonderful in that tuxedo," she said. "All of y'all look like movie stars, but you're far and away the most handsome."
"Ha," he said, tugging at his collar again, "we look like a bunch of idiots in these monkey suits and you know it. I never wore one before and I'll never do it again."
Taylor slid her hand into the crook of his elbow, sending the smell of her perfume drifting into his nostrils. The aroma was as bright and sassy as Taylor herself.
"Oh, now, don't talk like that," she said, with a twinkle. "This is just the beginning. No telling where we'll want to go together."
"Just so it's not to the altar," he said lightly.
She laughed. Taylor had a low, husky laugh that he loved to hear.
"What makes you think I'd be interested in marrying you?" she asked, tossing her long black hair back over her shoulder.
She looked up at him with such a grin, such a challenge, that he could do nothing but grin back at her.
"Oh, I don't know," he said. "Maybe because you were singing 'I'm Gonna Getcha Good' right before I went up on that stupid stage."
"Is there a line in that song about marriage?" she asked. "No-o-o. You're the one who brought up the subject."
Her long legs matched his every stride as they crossed the arena floor and wove their way in and out of the crowd, heading for the door. That was another thing he liked about her. She could keep up with him.
"I'm just setting us some ground rules," he said. "That's all."
"Jo Lena already told me the rules you live by, Alex," Taylor said. "I know them by memory."
She took her arm back so she could tick off the list on her fingers, and he got the weirdest sensation. He felt abandoned, somehow.
"Break up with your girlfriend — excuse me, girlfriendsnbsp;— before Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's Eve, Valentine's Day, the Fourth of July, and even such insignificant dates as Flag Day or the spring solstice, because any date or gift on such occasions carries extra significance and she could jump to the wrong conclusions. Never send red roses because they stand for true love. Never date the same woman for more than four months, and never date one exclusively. Am I right?"
His heart sank and lifted all at the same time, if such a thing were possible. It sank because she was so interested that she'd found out all that personal stuff about him. But it lifted, too, for that very reason.
That scared him. A lot.
He reached for her hand and pulled it back through the crook of his elbow — just to establish that he was in control of this whole situation.
"To tell you the truth," he drawled, "I don't even know when the spring solstice is."
She gave him another one of her million-dollar smiles.
"No problem," she said. "Today's Valentine's Day."
Another thing he really liked about Taylor was her eyes. They were a beautiful deep October-sky blue ringed by long, black lashes. But right now he didn't like the clear delight shining in them. It made him nervous.
"I admire your confidence, Taylor," he said. "I really do. But you seem to be falling into some kind of a fantasy here."
"Nope," she said blithely, "I've got both feet firmly planted on the ground."
She dug her heels into the soft dirt and stopped in her tracks, which naturally halted him, too, since he had her arm in his.
"Hey," he said, "you don't have to put down roots to prove it."
Then he followed her glance and saw Monte and Jo Lena heading toward them. He groaned.
"Oh, man, now he'll give me a hard time. Why couldn't you keep going?" he said.
"I want to show you off," Taylor said. "After all, it just cost me the price of a new show saddle to have world champion bull rider Alex Robertson on my arm."
She was talking to him but she was beaming at her good friend, Jo Lena. The least she could do was look at him and let him see her eyes when she called him a champion. And the most she could do was not just come right out and say that he was bought and paid for.
"The saddle would've been a better investment," he muttered grumpily.
Their friends caught up to them and Monte slapped Alex on the back.
"You done good up there in the bright lights, old bud," Monte said, laughing at him. "You cleaned up so good, all slicked up and dressed in your fancy tux that the pretty women in every corner of this arena were pooling their money to bid on you."
"You don't have to be so happy about it," Alex snapped.
Then he forced a smile onto his face. It wasn't like him to be so surly — he didn't know what had gotten into him. The humiliating auction was over and his very first rule of life was to enjoy every single minute that he was breathing, so he was going to relax and enjoy having the knockout Taylor Fanning on his arm.
Besides, it was always a mistake to let Monte see that he was irritating him. If Monte thought his teasing was getting under Alex's skin, he would, for sure, turn it up a notch.
"You're just lucky you weren't up there on that stage," Alex said. "You're lucky you're married."
The words fell into a sudden silence and made the women turn to him, bright-eyed and eager.
"That's exactly what I've been telling Monte," Jo Lena said, laughing.
"And exactly what Alex was just saying to me," Taylor said.
The other three stared at her.
Jo Lena gasped. "What?"
A great big knowing grin started spreading across Monte's face.
"Whoa, now," Alex said, trying even harder to hold on to his good humor. "How about you run that by me again, Taylor...."
"Well, it's not exactly what he said," Taylor amended, flashing him a sweetly conspiratorial smile, as if he, too, were just dying to share every minute of their recent conversation, "but he did mention marriage. He brought up the subject himself, and his only worry about it that I heard is that he doesn't want to wear a tuxedo to the altar."
"Listen here...." Alex said, but they were laughing, and it was hopeless to even try to get through to them.
"Great," Jo Lena said, clapping her hands with excitement. "Let's make it a horseback wedding. And I'll do a huge barbecue for the reception and decorate all the tiers of the cake with fresh wildflowers!"
"I reckon I'll be your best man, right, man?" Monte said, and clapped him on the back again.
Alex had a sudden urge to turn around and hit him. Or to stuff a sock in Miss Taylor's mouth. But he also had the most amazing bunch of horseback wedding images — he and Taylor in the starring roles — flash through his mind, every single one of them bringing a disconcerting sense of possibilities.
He took off his hat, rubbed his forehead, pushed his hair up off of it, and put his hat back on.
"Aw," Taylor said, "hold up here, y'all. We're making him nervous. Don't worry, Alex, honey, we're just giving you a hard time. No way am I ready to settle down yet."
"He is, though," Monte said. "Didn't he just say I'm lucky to be married?"
Alex grinned and recovered his balance.
"That's 'cause you're too ornery to get a date if you were single, Mont," he said. "Jo Lena, you're the bravest woman in the world."
Jo Lena patted his arm. "Thank you, Alex," she said. "You're a great judge of people — you got us both exactly right."
They all laughed and chatted a bit more, until Monte suggested that they make this another double date and go out for dinner.
"I don't think so," Jo Lena said. "Taylor didn't just now drop twelve thousand dollars to go out with a bunch of people. Besides, Mr. McMahan, don't forget this is Valentine's Day. How about a romantic private dinner for the two of us?"
Alex had mixed feelings as they said goodbye — it would be a lot easier, in a way, to have company — but somehow, just during that conversation, he'd already missed it being just him and Taylor. When he finally found himself outside in the fresh air with her, he heaved a sigh of relief.
"That's right, you relax after your terrible ordeal, and I'll drive," she said, leading the way to her Porsche convertible. "I've got the evening all planned."
They drove through the lively streets of downtown Ft. Worth at night while Alex steeled himself to be strong for the rest of the evening. This was exactly the kind of sentimental occasion he always avoided in his dating life. Tonight would be even more treacherous since he had to keep control of the pulsing attraction he felt for Taylor Fanning during the sharing of a romantic dinner — looking at her beautiful face in candlelight — and dancing with her in his arms.
And during the parting with her afterward.
When she turned off the street and pulled into the covered driveway of his hotel, he sat up straight and stared at her.
She shifted gears and cut the motor.
"We're here so you can take off your tuxedo," she said.
Another whole bunch of possibilities flashed through his mind. Taylor Fanning was even bolder than he'd thought.
"Whatever happened to our evening of romance?" Alex drawled.
She gave a low, husky laugh that stirred his imagination even more.
"You're one to talk," she said, "Mr. Anti-Romance."
"I'm not."
"You're anti-roses and anti-special celebrations," she said firmly.
"I never said a word against special celebrations," he said. "Or all roses. I only avoid the red ones."
She draped one arm over the steering wheel and turned in her seat to face him fully. Her eyes held a teasing smile and something else. Something that he couldn't read. Determination?
If so, it wasn't determination to help him get out of the tuxedo.
"I'll keep the motor running," she said. "You've been crying for your Wranglers. Do you want to change into them or not?"
She was wearing some kind of silky long skirt with embroidered boots and a thin, fancy blouse under a fur-lined leather jacket.
"Are you sure we can get in wherever you..."
"You have ten minutes," she said. "They're expecting us."
Changing his clothes made him feel like his real self again but it didn't help a bit to solve the mystery. Neither did driving through the night with Taylor because she wouldn't give a clue about their destination. A trendy, secluded restaurant, no doubt.
Finally, they turned off onto a farm-to-market road for a mile, then into a private driveway leading to a modest house and barn.
Taylor roared to a stop, parked, opened her door and got out, all in one fluid motion. She reached behind her seat for a bag.
"Come on, Alex," she said.
He decided that Taylor was bold and intriguing. He got out.
They climbed the steps and knocked on the door. Then she went right ahead and opened it.
"Don't get up, Rusty," she called softly. "Is he asleep?"
"No, ma'am," somebody squealed.
They stepped inside. A little boy, about four, came running to Taylor, arms outstretched. She dropped the bag, picked him up and snuggled her cheek against his while Alex watched in astonishment. Not what he'd expected. Not at all.
"Rusty, this is Alex Robertson," she said, turning to a man with crutches beside his chair. "Alex, Rusty Turner. He had a wreck with a bronc."
Alex stepped forward. Rusty reached for his crutches and stood to shake hands. He was well muscled and good-looking and about Taylor's age.
"And this is Cody," she said, as the wide-eyed child stared at Alex. "Cody, this is Alex Robertson."
Cody clung to Taylor's neck with one arm and held out the other hand to shake. It felt tiny and soft in Alex's.
"I saw you on TV," he said. "Daddy says you're the best bull rider ever."
Alex was never comfortable with that kind of talk.
"Did you see me get thrown?"
Cody nodded a yes. "But you rode the next one," he said.
"That's the way it goes," Alex said. "Gotta get on the next one."
Taylor's smile broadened and she gave Alex a thumbs-up sign behind Cody's back. For what, he didn't know. He didn't even know what he was doing here.
"You're one of Cody's heroes," Rusty said. "Mine, too."
"Before we go to the barn," Taylor said, setting Cody down as she bent to pick up her bag, "let's put these valentine cookies in the kitchen. Let's eat some, too."
She went into Rusty's kitchen, moved around as if she lived there, talked to his son as if she saw him every day, and exchanged smiles with Rusty as he hobbled toward her.
Taylor talked to Rusty with the same familiarity as she did Cody. And she had made the cookies herself.
As they all walked to the barn, eating heart-shaped cookies on the way, Cody clung to Taylor's hand and Alex came along behind them, slowly, with Rusty.
"I don't know what I woulda done these last few months without Taylor," Rusty said, watching her walking ahead of them with his child.
Alex was bursting with some emotion he couldn't quite name. Must be curiosity. "You known her long?" he asked.
"Just since I got hurt," Rusty said. "People have been so good to us. I can't wait to get well and start passing the favors on. Thanks for coming out."
"No problem," Alex said, his attention on Cody and Taylor. Rusty was still watching them, too. Taylor would be a great mother someday.
"Cody's had a rough time," Rusty said. "He's scared to ride now, since I got hurt, so Taylor brought her old show mare out here for him. He thinks Taylor's just about it."
And what do you think, buddy?
Alex slapped the thought away. He didn't like the fact that apparently Rusty was single, yet that was none of his business. Taylor was none of his business.
She and Cody flipped the lights on in the barn. It was new, with only three stalls out of twenty completed. Horses stood in only two of them.
"Alex, here's my mare, Missy," she said. "We won the youth world together. And this is Skipper, her barn buddy."
Alex basked in Taylor's smiles as he petted the gray gelding, then the soft-eyed, sweet mare. He helped Cody brush her off, and they got her out. Taylor took care of them all, insisting Rusty sit down on the chair she dragged out of the feed room, handing out horse treats and helping to saddle the mare.
"Ride with me, Taylor?" Cody asked, showing his first signs of nervousness.
Gracefully, skirt and all, she mounted and reached for Alex to hand Cody up to sit in front of her. They rode laps around the empty side of the barn for what seemed ages while Rusty talked on and on about Taylor being a real angel.
Finally, Taylor stopped the mare. "Cody wants to show Alex he can ride by himself," she called. "Y'all watch, now."
She stepped down and gave Cody the reins. He guided the mare around for a few laps more with Taylor close by and then followed as she walked toward Rusty and Alex. Once there, Cody heaved a big sigh of relief, grinning from ear to ear, looking to Alex, who went to his stirrup to congratulate him.
From the corner of his eye, he saw Rusty stand up using only one crutch — so he'd have an arm free to hug Taylor. Taylor threw her arms around his neck and hugged him back, much more affectionately than necessary.
It took forever to get untangled from the boy, who was a neat little kid, and his father, who seemed like a really nice guy — even if he was obsessed with Taylor. Finally, Alex got her alone and headed back to the car, to the passenger side.
"Mind if I drive?" he said, as he opened her door.
"No," she said. "Sorry. I should've asked you."
"You know," he said, when they were on the road back to town, "you wasted your money at that bachelor auction. For one thing, I would've tried to help Cody lose his fear for nothing."
His tone came out a little bit sharp. He was more irritated than he'd thought.
But one quick glance showed her profile in the moonlight, clear and pure and so beautiful it took his breath. She turned to look at him and he nearly forgot everything but gazing into her eyes forever. She smiled. He almost smiled back before he could stop himself. He turned and stared at the road ahead.
"And for the second thing?" she asked.
"Rusty's already crazy about you," he said. "You didn't have to try to impress him by dragging me out here for the old heroes and champions routine."
She gave that low, husky laugh of hers that touched him somewhere inside. But now it aggravated him, too.
"Why, Alex," she drawled, "I do believe you're jealous."
"Hmpf," he snapped. "I do believe I've been tricked."
He clamped his mouth shut but it was too late. She really laughed this time.
"Alex Robertson," she said, "you are hilarious. How have I tricked you?"
"This was supposed to be a Valentine's Day date," he blurted. "Wasn't that the deal?"
"The deal was to help the professional cowboys who got hurt," she said.
"With the auction money," he said firmly. "Not to chase all over Texas all night bringing them homemade cookies."
This time she didn't laugh. She just stared at him instead. He knew her gaze was resting on his face because he could feel the heat from it.
"Hmm," she said thoughtfully. And that was all.
Finally, he threw her an irritated glance.
"Hmm what?" he demanded.
She shrugged. "Oh, I'm just surprised. I thought you'd rather do something like this tonight than something romantic."
"There you go again," he said, more hotly than he intended. "You make me feel like a freak or something. I like romantic as well as the next man."
She sighed, as if he were a total pain to deal with.
"What I'm trying to say, I guess, is just that I thought, knowing what I know about you, that you wouldn't be comfortable going out on an auctioned date," she said patiently.
He glared at her.
"Hadn't you better watch the road?" she asked, smiling like the cat who ate the cream.
"'Knowing what you know about me,'" he said, in his most dangerous voice. "And just exactly what is that?"
"I know now that you're a really good man," she said. "You were great with Cody. In fact, you changed his life tonight, Alex."
The words sent a quick warmth through him, but he would never let her know it. He couldn't deal with that kind of praise.
"Cody would've started riding again if he never saw me in his life," he said harshly. More harshly than he had intended.
Which made him feel bad because she was still smiling at him.
"He would've conquered his fear," he said, more gently. "You had him just about there."
"But he hadn't made any progress in two weeks," she said. "I'm so glad that I guessed right — that if you were there, he'd reach down inside and get that extra bit of courage he needed to show off for his hero."
"I'm no hero," he said roughly.
"You're a hero to me," Taylor said.
He flashed a look at her and saw that she was completely serious. Her eyes were wide with sincerity. It made him want to touch her, to cup her cheek with his hand and keep looking into those deep, deep pools of blue. In the shadowy moonlight, she was even more mysteriously beautiful.
"What is he to you, anyhow?" he asked, in a gruff tone he hardly recognized as his. He hardly recognized the words, either. He hadn't meant to say that.
"A sweet little boy," she said, "who needs a mother and can't remember his own. She died when he was a year old."
Great. A widower. Wasn't that just too handy for words?
"I'm not talking about the boy," he blurted.
She kept on looking at him for a long time, but he kept his eyes straight ahead, fixed on the yellow line down the middle of the narrow black road. He held the wheel with both hands and listened to the car purring beneath them.
"I'm talking about the daddy," he said, since he couldn't squelch the stubbornness in him that demanded this information. "What is Rusty to you, Taylor?"
She wouldn't answer until he turned for his eyes to meet hers.
"A longtime acquaintance who has become my friend," she said.
"He's crazy about you."
"As a friend," she said. "He may even have a crush on me, but not for long. His pretty neighbor girl has her sights set on him. She'll be perfect for him — and Cody, too."
"But she can't compete with you."
He said it so flatly and so surely that it sounded like a declaration of something. And it was. He just wasn't quite sure of what.
Taylor threw her head up, tossed her hair over her shoulders, and searched his face. Then she smiled at him and the moonlight lit up her eyes.
"Alex? You know what I'm thinking? You're disappointed. No matter what you said, you were expecting a romantic evening in your tuxedo. Dinner for two at a white-clothed, candlelit table — maybe even with red roses in a vase — and chocolate for dessert and dreamy music and a walk in the moonlight."
"That's totally ridiculous," he growled.
But she was right. Disappointed was the way he felt. She'd known that when he didn't even know it himself. She knew him before they even had time to know each other. She knew him too well.
She was doubly dangerous now. He was not going to see her again. As for tonight, he was heading straight back to his hotel.
The air between them fairly crackled. Taylor watched him as he drove. She never took her eyes off him, but he made himself look straight ahead. If he didn't, he'd give in and reach for her.
In spite of his decision. In spite of knowing now that his only hope for self-preservation was to get away from her. His mind knew what to do, but his body was a traitor.
His blood was singing. She wasn't in love with Rusty. Even though she was attached to a cute little boy whom she loved, Rusty had no claim on her heart.
All Alex wanted in this world was to pull over, turn off the motor and gaze deep into her eyes. And to take her into his arms. To kiss her lush mouth. To find out if he could ever have a claim on her heart.
But he was going straight back to his hotel, where he would step out of the car and leave her. That was why he was driving. He didn't need any more surprises tonight and he didn't need any more time with Taylor Fanning. He was far too attracted to her than was healthy for his bachelorhood. Attracted in some dangerous way that was more than physical, different from any attraction he'd ever had for any woman. What was it?
"You're good to do so much for Cody and Rusty," he said. "Most girls in your position might give money, but that's all."
"I'm a grown woman, Alex, in case you haven't noticed," she said. "And what position are you talking about?"
He tapped the wheel of the expensive car. "Moneyed. Social butterfly. Jet-setter."
"Jet-setter?"
He glanced at her. "I hear you travel a lot."
She tilted her head and smiled flirtatiously. "Oh? So you've been checking up on me?"
"No," he said quickly. Too quickly. "Jo Lena mentions you sometimes."
"My grandfather's foundation aims to bring horses to children everywhere," she said. "I love to do as much of the work personally as I can."
His heart dropped into his boots. Was this her motive? Was this the reason she'd been finding out personal details about him and plotting with Jo Lena to set them up on a blind date and spending thousands of dollars for an evening of his time when she could go out with any man in Texas at the crook of her finger?
With a squeal of the tires, he wheeled the car off the road, parked it across the entrance of somebody's ranch, and turned in the seat to face her.
"So," he said, "when you sang to me, 'I'm Gonna Getcha Good,' and made that ridiculously high bid at the auction, all you were after was for me to help you with your grandfather's foundation?"
She flashed him that hot grin of hers.
"That'd be wonderful publicity," she said, "and fun, too. But it's up to you. I need you for a lot of reasons."
The grin faded. Her expression grew solemn. And sweetly, surely sincere.
"Alex," she said, "I've needed you for a long time now."
He took her face in his hands and kissed her. He meant to do it gently, slowly, but that would have to wait until the next one. He kissed her hard and deep, telling his hunger for her. Saying to her without words, I've needed you for a long time, too.
She understood the message just fine. She kissed him right back, her lips warm and spicy and eager beneath his. He breathed in the scent of her skin and her perfume, something light and citrusy that raced through all his senses as fast as the smell of rain on a dusty day. It was that earthy and feathery, too — it had the power to hold a man's feet on the ground and still lift him to the sky.
Her arms came around his neck, slowly, as if she were so far gone in his kiss that she couldn't quite remember how to lift them. They folded around him and held him closer yet. She met his tongue with hers like making a promise.
That word didn't scare him as it usually did. In fact, he was wanting a promise that this would not be their only kiss because if he didn't know that, he didn't think he could bear ever to end it.
Finally, their lips parted and she looked up at him, dreamy-eyed and wordless. The desire to kiss her again surged through him, but first, he had to know. He was about to lose his heart here.
"Taylor," he said, "what are you doing for the Fourth of July?"
Her eyes began to sparkle. It wasn't all moonlight.
"Are you sure you want to make plans that far ahead?" she asked.
"Yep."
He held her gaze with a look meant to tell her that he wasn't going to let her go.
"Well, then," she said, "I don't have any plans at all for the Fourth this year."
"How about Thanksgiving and Christmas and New Year's?"
Her smile began to blaze at him. "Nothing yet," she said.
He nodded, turned away and fired up the engine.
"I was sorta hoping for one more kiss," she said plaintively.
Alex reached over, took her hand and brought it over to rest on his thigh.
"All in good time," he said. "We'll get back to that."
He drove fast — very fast — to the corner where the road met the highway, to the twenty-four-hour grocery store. He stopped in front, parked and left the motor running.
"Be right back," he said. "Don't move."
To his relief, the place did have a floral shop. He grabbed a bouquet and threw a bill on the counter.
Outside, he could see nothing but the look on Taylor's face. He would never forget it.
He slid into the driver's seat and held the flowers out to her. She put her hands on top of his.
"Red roses," she said, smiling her most wonderful smile. "Why, Alex! What an honor."
"I'm ruined now," he said. "I've broken every one of my rules."
She leaned into him, the sweet smell of the roses rising between them, and lifted her face for his kiss.
"It's all right, darling," she murmured against his lips. "I'll help you make some new ones."
The End