LITMIR.BIZ

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rest of the table joined in, goading her into bidding and she shook her head, chuckling at their enthusiasm.

      So Di had a point. She did bury her life in her work, determined to show that effort and dedication were the keys to success. However, being a workaholic had its downside and she hadn’t had any fun in ages. She’d been fun and impulsive once, and she was too young to be living the sensible ‘all work no play’ life. Maybe a brief catch-up off-stage with an old ‘friend’ could be an antidote to that?

      What harm could placing a bid do? It wasn’t as if she’d be the only one. Just one look at Ty and every woman in the room would be reaching for their cheque books.

      ‘Okay, okay. I’ll do it. Sheesh.’

      She held up her hands in surrender and grinned as the girls cheered. Downing the rest of her champagne in two gulps, she raised her hand high in the air and waved it like a cheerleader on a caffeine high.

      ‘Five hundred dollars,’ she yelled, buoyed by the alcohol and a sudden rush to do something completely out of character.

      Pin-drop silence followed and rather than sinking into her chair with embarrassment she straightened her spine, head up, waiting for the moment Ty laid eyes on his bidder, eager to see his reaction, wondering if they still had a spark.

      She had her answer in the next loaded second when Ty focussed that too-blue gaze of his on her, the shock of recognition registering in the imperceptible widening of his eyes across the room as they stared at each other, neither backing down, locked in an invisible battle of wills so reminiscent of the past.

      Maybe it was the champagne, maybe it was the number of women packed into the room, but while Kate sat trapped under the intensity of Ty’s stare she broke out in a sweat as her body temperature sky-rocketed and she could barely breathe.

      ‘Do I have any further bids?’ Kelly queried, surveying the room with a grin on her expertly made up face.

      Please. Someone…anyone…

      Kate’s silent plea preceded complete and utter bedlam as the ladies—and she used the term loosely—in the room erupted.

      Maybe her initial bid had been a tad on the high side considering the average guy had gone for around three to four hundred all night. But she’d wanted to prove a point to the girls, show them she could lighten up when needed. Unfortunately, she hadn’t counted on the speculative gleam in her ex’s eyes or the competitive nature of her fellow bidders.

      ‘Five-fifty!’ shouted a boppy blonde.

      Kate rolled her eyes. Blondes were so not Ty’s type.

      ‘Six hundred,’ yelled a willowy redhead who looked like Nicole Kidman, her smug smile indicating she thought she’d won.

      ‘Six-fifty.’

      Kate sat up and took notice of the third bidder, a sultry brunette reminiscent of Catherine Zeta-Jones with breasts that could take out a guy’s eye at a hundred paces.

      Now she was Ty’s type.

      Di leaned over and muttered behind her raised hand. ‘Hey, are you going to let these amateurs beat you?’

      Suddenly, Kate knew that was out of the question. Fuelled by a fierce competitive streak she’d had since birth, she downed her newly topped-up glass of champagne and jabbed her hand high in the air.

      ‘One thousand dollars!’

      Chaos ceased as curious eyes—and several eyes shooting daggers if she counted the blonde, Nicole and Catherine—focussed on her and she clenched her fists under the table, her heart pounding.

      ‘Going once? Going twice? All done?’

      As the gavel in Kelly’s hand hit the podium with a resounding thud Kate jumped.

      ‘Sold. To Kate Hayden, whose magazine is our major sponsor today. Well done, Kate. Why don’t you come up here and claim your prize?’

      ‘You go, girl,’ Di laughed, slapping her on the back. ‘Didn’t know you had it in you.’

      Numbness flooded Kate’s body as she walked towards the stage mechanically putting one foot in front of the other as thunderous applause rang out, almost succeeding in drowning out the pounding of her heart, which still reverberated in her ears.

      Well, wasn’t this just peachy?

      She’d envisaged a brief catch up with Ty tonight, but not like this. A short, impersonal meeting off-stage had been her goal, not an up-close-and-personal encounter in front of the whole room.

      As she dragged her feet up the steps she looked Ty in the eye and tried not to crumple into a pathetic heap at his feet. Up close he was even more handsome if that were possible. His vivid blue eyes, the spectacular colour of the Pacific Ocean at Malibu on a fine day, had a quizzical edge as his glance raked over her, setting her body alight.

      Damn, he was hot. Hotter than hot and she was burning up from the inside out just being this close to him.

      ‘You’re looking good, Katie. Long time no see.’

      His deep voice flowed over her in a warm caress just as it used to and her knees wobbled, an instant reminder of her foolishness when it came to this guy.

      Rattled by her reaction, she aimed for cool. ‘Yeah, it has been a long time. Amazing what I’ll do for charity, isn’t it?’

      The momentary warmth in his eyes sparked into fire, the same fire that had scorched her with its brilliance on more than one lucky occasion.

      ‘Now, now. Is that any way to talk to your fiancé?’

      ‘Ex,’ she muttered, unable to keep her mouth from twitching at the teasing glint in his eyes.

      Those incredible eyes…she was convinced they had the power to make her do crazy things. Why else would she be standing here like a hypnotised chook unable to look away?

      Kelly’s head swivelled between them, her catlike eyes glowing with interest.

      ‘Well, well. Seems like these two are going to get along famously. They’re already chatting. Why don’t you say a few words, Kate, before we wind things up?’

      Kate tore her gaze away from Ty’s mesmerising stare and strode to the podium, hoping that her professionalism wouldn’t desert her while her mind was a useless jumble of unexpected memories.

      ‘As senior editor for Femme magazine I’d like to thank you all for attending our Odd Bod Man Auction here tonight.’

      Glancing at the piece of paper thrust into her hand, she continued, ‘Thanks to your generosity we’ve raised over ten thousand dollars for the Ramirez Orphanage. Well done, ladies.’

      Particularly well done to her considering she’d contributed one tenth of that money to ‘purchase’ the guy she had every intention of cutting loose once this evening was over. The money didn’t irk nearly as much as the fact he now knew she’d outrageously overbid to beat every other woman in the room to have him, not once, but twice.

      The smattering of applause died down and she forced herself to concentrate on finishing up the speech.

      ‘I’d also like to thank the men who generously volunteered their time tonight and for the next week. I’m sure the ladies will be more than thrilled to have personal Odd Bods for the week ahead. I know I am.’ Not.

      There, that last remark should show him that he hadn’t affected her. Not much, anyway.

      Squaring her shoulders, she turned to Ty and flashed him an uneasy smile. Once again loud applause filled the room as he blew her a kiss.

      Damn it, her knees wobbled again. All it took was one stupid little gesture and she was acting as she had when they first met: star-struck, smitten and totally unable to control her reactions to him.

      Leaning on the podium for support, she fixed a bright smile on her face and turned to the audience.

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