Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Autumn couldn't believe she'd let her mother guilt her into filling in at the last minute for this charity auction for the Ladies' Auxiliary. If she saw her cousin Vivienne anytime soon, she was gonna box her ears. How could she put her in such a position? For that matter, how could her mother agree to such a thing? Being sold to the highest bidder wasn't something that appealed to Autumn in the least.

No matter what they called it, it was sale. They could say it was a date, but it reeked of flesh peddling—especially with the way the women in question were parading around in their most elegant tramp attire. Autumn was no slut-shamer, but they looked like they were selling more than a couple of hours of their time. Looking down at herself, her floor length, shimmery rose gold evening gown looked like a nun's habit in comparison. Which was saying something, because her girls were sitting up nicely with more cleavage than she liked being on display by the vee in the neckline.

"Stop looking like you're ready to run for the door at any second." Her mother's admonishment was whispered in Autumn's ear.

When she pulled back, wearing an indulgent smile, no one would ever guess she'd been chastising her only daughter. If anything, they would think she was giving her a compliment. Returning a smile nearly as fake, Autumn tried one more time to convince her mother to simply let her write a check.

"Mama, are you sure I can't just make a donation? I'll bet it would get the charity more money than whatever someone might bid on me."

"Tut-tut, Autumn. Shush it. First of all, we need ten bachelorettes. If you drop out, we won't have enough. Second, are you insinuating my daughter isn't stunning enough to inspire these wealthy men to give generously in the hopes of winning an evening with you?"

"An evening? Why would the date have to be at night?" Autumn couldn't wipe the horrified expression from her face. "Besides, Mama, I'm not here permanently. I'm on sabbatical. I haven't quit my job and moved back to Lone Star Ridge."

Flicking her fingers as if she were waving away a pesky insect, her mother shook her head.

"I told you; every bidder was informed the date had to be approved by the young lady. So, you can set the terms. Stop being so dramatic."

"I'm not being dramatic. I'm just not keen on being some lecherous old man's date."

"Girl, stop it! There are plenty of young men here with pockets deep enough to pledge a nice sized donation to spend time with you."

Swatting at Autumn, her mother wasn't able to suppress her giggle. They both knew Autumn wasn't exaggerating about the lecherous old men. Their most recent conversations had included Autumn's lamenting of continuing to be the object of many a man over sixty-five's attention. And while she still thought of both her parents as vibrant, being involved with someone thirty years her senior wasn't Autumn's idea of a good time.

The problem was, she fell into the age range where the primary men who displayed interest in her were either old enough to be her father or young enough to be her son. There was no in between. When someone in her age range expressed interest, it usually lasted long enough for them to realize she actually used her own brain. So, she wasn't a fit for them. Translation. They couldn't dominate her the way they wanted, so they moved on.

Despite her mother's assurances, Autumn didn't hold out hope of being saved. Her mother had already nixed the idea of Nick bidding on her. So, she couldn't even ask her brother to bail her out of it. Speaking of whom, where had he gotten off to? Scanning the room, Autumn smiled politely when she accidentally made eye contact with any of the aforementioned, undesirable, potential bidders.

She had to admit, the ladies had transformed the Lone Star Ridge community center into an elegant venue. She'd thought they would move the event to Houston in order to have it in a classy ballroom in one of the major hotels. But, they'd managed to pull it off. They even made the small stage look like something from a fairy tale garden—gazebo style for the ladies to stand during the bidding.

When she finally located Nick, Autumn's heart lodged in her throat. He was standing next to Rothschild Stephens. Of course, he'd abandon them when he linked up with his best friend. The two were near one of the stand-up tables with the wall at their backs. Neither looked pleased to be there, but Roth appeared particularly uncomfortable.

"Mama, I'm gonna go talk to Nick and Roth."

Before she could make it more than a step, her mother grasped her wrist. Turning, Autumn gave her a questioning stare.

"Yes, ma'am?"

"Now, we've been jokie-ha-ha, but I'm serious. Don't you go over there trying to pressure your brother into bidding on you."

"I'm not, Mama." Autumn put as much sincerity in her expression as she could manage. "I promise."

"Mhm." Her mother delivered a curt nod, then let go of her wrist. "I need to find my husband anyway. If I leave him alone too long, he'll eat everything he's not supposed to then complain to me later about his ailments."

Autumn was stopped no less than three times on her quest to join Nick and Roth. She had absolutely no intention of breaking her promise to her mother. There would be no need, if Plan B worked out.

"Hey, y'all." Autumn's smile was wide as she approached them.

"Aw, hell. I need a fresh drink." Nick shook his head, then side stepped her on his way to the bar on the other side of the room.

"Wait! Why are you leaving? I didn't say anything but, hey."

Continuing to back away, Nick's expression said he didn't believe her. He confirmed it when he spoke.

"Nope. I know that smile. Whatever it is, I want no part in it."

"Nick!"

Remembering her mother's lessons about decorum, the smile never slid from Autumn's face as she whisper-hissed at her retreating brother. When she finally turned back toward Roth, he was leaning against the wall with his arms folded across his chest. His expression was unreadable, but somehow still managed to project intensity.

"Heeeyy, Roth."

Although Roth's responding nod was his only acknowledgement of her greeting, Autumn pasted on her most sincere smile as she moved closer to him. She stopped about a foot away, placing her beaded clutch onto the table before resting her forearm on the surface. Not wanting their conversation to be overheard, she glanced over her shoulder before angling her body so she could see both him and the rest of the room better.

She immediately wished she hadn't been so diligent. Standing two tables away was Vilmer Cartwright. The man wasn't a day under seventy-five, which was three years older than her father. And while she thought her dad a handsome and fit man, she didn't consider men in his age range potential dating material.

There was only so far she was willing go to for charity. Fending off a rich, handsy, grandfather wasn't anywhere on her list. Despite what her mother said, she knew moneyed men like Cartwright didn't participate in activities like this for the sake of giving to a good cause. They had other ways to get their tax write-offs.

He lifted his champagne glass in her direction before she quickly averted her eyes. When her gaze returned to Roth, a small frown line had appeared between his eyebrows.

"What do you want, Tummy?"

Autumn had to work not to grimace when he called her by the nickname her family used. It started as a cute way to acknowledge her rounded belly as a baby and play off her name. The nickname had stuck, even into Autumn's thirties. While she had long gotten over her teenage crush on her brother's best friend, something about hearing him call her Tummy, grated on her. Maybe because it made her feel like the awkward twelve-year-old she was when she realized Roth wasn't simply her brother's friend who was nice to her. He was seriously hot.

Where she'd used to chatter almost non-stop whenever he came over to hang out with Nick, she'd suddenly began stumbling over her words and forgetting how to form coherent sentences. When he took her back there, she always needed a moment to regroup. She had to remind herself she was very much an adult and no longer a slave to her hormonal crushes.

Tapping his folded arms with her fingertips, Autumn kept her smile bright.

"Don't be like that, Roth."

"Tummy..." The warning in his voice was accompanied by the lowering of his brow when he tilted his head down, piercing her with a penetrating stare.

Uncaring about her mother's lessons on ladylike behavior, Autumn sucked her teeth. She barely managed to refrain from stomping her foot in frustration.

"Okay, fine. You have to help me."

"Help you with what?" Unfolding his arms, Roth's expression shifted, giving Autumn a sliver of hope.

"You know what this thing is about. And while I believe the cause they're supporting is worthy, I didn't sign up to fight off unwanted advances from men I'd never date on purpose. I need someone I can trust to win the date."

Roth's head projected his answer before he spoke, dashing the shard of optimism Autumn was clinging to.

"Nope. I'm going home in exactly fifteen minutes. I will have been here a solid hour at that point and fulfilled my obligation. I showed my face. I plan to leave before any of that starts."

Autumn's heart landed in her stomach. Not bothering to take a cursory glance around the room, she stepped closer to Roth. The material of his tuxedo jacket felt heavy beneath her fingertips. Her grip was as desperate as the ball of dread building inside her.

"You can't leave! Mama won't let me bid on myself, she's forbidden Nick to do it, and you know no one here has the balls to bid against Mr. Cartwright. You have to buy me!"

Roth's dark amber eyes were shielded by his unfairly long eyelashes as he looked from her face to where her hand rested on his arm, then back to her face. Internally, Autumn gulped, but kept her stare firmly on him while she tried to ignore the firm muscles beneath her fingers and the heat wafting from his large body.

"Tummy... Sugar, have you thought about how it will look for me to buy you?" The air quotes around the word buy were implied in his tone.

A small line appeared between her eyebrows, and Autumn's head rocked back a little. Glazing over the endearment, she focused on his reasoning for saying no.

"Roth, I'm a black woman at a charity auction where I've been asked to parade across a stage to be assessed for how much money they want to spend on me. Of course I have. How is it better for some dirty old white man to buy me? At least you're a member of the same generation as me, and I won't have to fight you to keep your hands to yourself."

"How do you know I'm not a dirty, young white man?"

Autumn tapped his solid forearm, then squeezed it. "Stop playing, Roth. Are you going to help me or do I have to be low down and remind you of all the care packages and letters I sent you while you were deployed? The Christmas presents for you and your guys..."

Roth's expression went through another shift before he lifted one eyebrow and grumbled. "It seems like you don't have a problem going there."

She hadn't wanted to do it, but if the big guns were necessary to make sure she stayed out of the crosshairs of Vilmer Cartwright, she'd use them. If he were a kind man, she wouldn't have a problem, but he creeped her out. There was no way her mother would expect her to honor a date with him, but her mother was also under the delusion some of the younger wealthy men present would bid on her.

Autumn concluded that her mother's love blinded her to her daughter's reality. So, Autumn really needed Plan B to work. Giving Roth her most pitiful, big-eyed pleading look, she bit her bottom lip while staring at him.

"Shit... Fine. I'll bid on you. Just stop looking at me like that, Sugar."

The flip-flop in her belly and the flutter of her lady bits were hard to ignore, but Autumn managed as her lips stretched into a wide smile. Ignoring his shift to calling her Sugar , she bounced excitedly.

"Thank you, Roth. You won't regret it. I can transfer the money to you. So, you don't even really have to come out of your own pocket."

"Did I say I needed your money?"

Autumn immediately picked up on the change in his demeanor, and quickly tried to make amends.

"I'm sorry, Roth. I was just trying to say, I didn't expect you to spend your own money to do me a favor. The bidding on these things starts in the five-figure range."

The words kept coming out wrong, but Autumn couldn't stop them. After they hit the air, she knew she wasn't helping her case at all.

"Sugar, stop trying to clean it up. You're just making it worse. I don't need your money. I was planning to donate anyway."

Relief crashed over Autumn. The feeling was short lived. A moment later, there was an announcement for all auction participants to report to the stage. She was frozen in place until Roth placed his hands on her shoulders. Turning her in the direction of the stage, Autumn felt warmth against her back when he leaned close to her ear. His beard tickled her skin as he spoke to her loud enough for only her to hear.

"Go on, Sugar. A promise is a promise. You keep your word, and I'll keep mine."

With Roth's assurance, Autumn threaded her way through the attendees to reach the podium to get her number and take her place in line.