The bidding finally ended at $18,000 with him being sold to the eerily calm blonde in the front row. The amount of money boggled his mind. He had contributed more to various charities than that last year, but he would have never paid that much for a date. Of course, looking into Mia’s twinkling eyes and seeing the way her dress had crept up to expose a mile of tanned thigh, he had to wonder if he was wrong. How much would he give for one date with her? He averted his gaze and tried to shake her from his thoughts. Maybe the mystery blonde who had paid so much for a date would be a good distraction. Hell, she was attractive and he needed to get his mind off Mia. She was a complication that he didn’t need right now.

Mia couldn’t remember the last time she had enjoyed something more. Watching Seth shift uncomfortably on stage while the women in the audience went crazy was hilarious! Beside her, Margie added to the noise level with some encouraging wolf whistles of her own. She had to admit, he did look amazingly hot in his tailored suit. The fact that he wasn’t even trying to work the crowd like his predecessors made him that much more desirable. Women tended to want the men who didn’t seem interested and he was definitely giving off that vibe. When the bidding started, women were screaming amounts. As the action continued though a blonde at the end of their row clearly became the front runner. No matter the top bid, she would immediately counter it. She smiled at Seth, but found herself becoming strangely annoyed at this woman’s determination to have him. She wasn’t surrounded by a group of friends egging her on as many of the others were. No, she worked it almost like a job. Mia had no doubt: this woman was going to win the date with Seth. Why that bothered her, she had no idea, but it did.

When the bidding ended, Margie leaned in saying, “I can’t believe he sold for that much. I’m never going to be able to live with him. He’ll probably demand I call him Mr. Jackson now and spend half the day staring at himself in the mirror.” Nodding to where the winner was acknowledging everyone’s congratulations with polite nods, she added, “Boy, Blondie sure is hot for him, isn’t she? He might get more than he bargained for out of that one.”

Mia had to admit that she was curious. She knew most of the people here tonight and she was certain she had never seen the woman before. Looking back at Margie she asked, “Do you know who she is?”

Margie shook her head. “Nope, I sure don’t. She seems a little calm though to be buying a date. What do you think? Maybe she went off her meds recently?”

Mia giggled at Margie’s joke. She really did like Seth’s assistant. It made her wish that she had this kind of relationship with her own mother. What would it be like to actually joke and have fun with her rather than the distant relationship that they had? Oh, well, if that hadn’t happened by now, it wasn’t likely to.

“Even uptight women get horny, ya know,” Mia deadpanned, which sent Margie into a fit of laughter loud enough to draw the attention of everyone in the vicinity.

When she had calmed down, Margie said with a wink, “Honey, we all get the urge, but if I’m gonna buy it, it’s not going to be in public.”

“You did what!” Mia stuttered. “Oh my God, why would you do that?”

Her mother sat across the table from her at Starbucks sipping a non-fat soy latte. “Please lower your voice, Mia; we don’t need the entire place hearing our conversation.”

Mia knew it was bad when her mother called her early the morning after the charity auction and demanded that she meet her for coffee before work. She had imagined a million different reasons but none of them came close. “I can’t believe you had your secretary buy Seth Jackson for me. I . . . don’t even know what to say. Does Dad know about this?”

“No, he doesn’t. Your father would never pay attention to a bachelor auction, so he never noticed Cathy bidding. She has only been with me a few months.”

“Okay,” Mia sighed. “That still doesn’t answer why.”

Her mother appeared to take her time answering before finally saying, “You never seem to be interested in anything other than work. I watched you with Seth at lunch yesterday and you were so at ease with him.”

Exasperated, Mia said, “Mom, it was just business.”

“You laughed, you smiled, and your whole body was relaxed. I haven’t seen you like that in so long. I know you will finish your work there and move on. But, I thought if you and Seth had the opportunity to get to know each other in a social setting that maybe your connection might continue after your assignment there is complete.”

How was she supposed to respond to a statement like that? She was attracted to Seth and she had been hoping something might come of it after her job at the Oceanix Resort was done, but she hadn’t been expecting this. Normal mothers bought their daughters dinner or some new shoes. Her mother bought her a man. It completely boggled her mind that her polished, society darling mother had even thought of it, much less taken the time for the careful execution of the scheme. Was she that concerned about her love life or lack of one? It wasn’t as if it would reassure her if she confessed that she had casual sex when the need arose or used her vibrator. Yeah, that would be a proud moment for any mother. The need just hadn’t arisen lately. “Mom, I . . . I guess this is one of those, ‘it’s the thought that counts’ moments, so er . . . thank you for that. I think though considering the circumstances, that we should just let Seth off the hook. You can just make the contribution and everyone will be happy.”

To her surprise, her mother shook her head saying, “Oh, no, I wouldn’t be happy. Seth agreed to the arrangement and it will stand. If anyone backs out, I will withdraw my money.”

“What? You can’t do that to your own charity.”

Smiling, her mother said, “The charity wouldn’t suffer, dear. Seth would pay the money instead. That was part of the agreement. If, for some reason, any of the bachelors were unable to fulfill their obligation, they would make the donation instead. It wouldn’t be fair to the person bidding for one of the men to drop out now, would it?”

Wow, her mother was more than a little scary. She didn’t know whether she was impressed or pissed off. She had Seth all neatly tied into the deal. If she backed out, then her mother would probably find some way to make Seth pay as well. Good Lord, it seemed as if the wrong person was running the family business. Her mother was something of a shark. Maybe there was more there than the cool façade that she always presented to the world and to her daughter. Sadly, this was one of the few times in her adult life that she felt some kind of connection to the woman who had given birth to her.

She would just talk to Seth tomorrow and let him know what was going on. They could go out somewhere for a quick dinner to fulfill the terms of the auction and make everyone happy. No one at Danvers had to know about it. They were both adults here. “Alright, Mom, it looks like you won this one. It’s just dinner though so don’t bother contacting a wedding planner.”

Her mother gave her a satisfied smile in return. “I knew you would come around, dear. After all, why would any woman in her right mind argue over spending an evening with Seth Jackson?” Why indeed, Mia thought. She had to agree with her mother, but likely for different reasons. Her mother was thinking of his wallet size and Mia was thinking of the size of something else.

Damn, where was Seth? He hadn’t been in his office all day. She had been all prepared to talk to him about their “date” tonight and he was a no-show. Margie said that he had driven down to Charleston to the resort there to meet with his brother. She thought that he would be back sometime that afternoon. Looking at her watch, she uttered another curse. It was after four and there was still no sign of him. What was she supposed to do now? Her mother had called her earlier and told her that Seth had called Cathy and made arrangements to meet her at the restaurant Ivy at six. She finally gave up at five and went home to get ready. She would just explain it to him in person. He would be surprised to see her, but surely, he would understand.