As Dylan drew away, Faith tried to catch her breath.
It seemed he was doing the same. Except she wasnât sure sheâd ever get her breath back againâthat kiss was unlike anything sheâd experienced before. In fact, if she just leaned forward a little, she could experience it againâ¦
And then the enormity of the situation hit her.
Sheâd just kissed her boss.
Or heâd kissed herâshe wasnât sure about the details of what had just happened. All she knew was sheâd never been kissed with that much hunger. That much passion. That much mind-numbing skill. That it had been her employer, someone she shouldnât have been kissing in the first place, was a cruel twist of irony. If sheâd screwed up her well-ordered plan, or caused him to not take her seriously, sheâd never forgive herself.
âFaith,â he said, his voice a rasp. âIâm sorry. That was completely out of line.â
Honesty compelled her to point out the truth. âYou werenât there alone.â
* * *
Bidding on Her Boss is part of The Hawke Brothers trilogy: Three tycoon bachelors, three very special mergersâ¦
RACHEL BAILEY developed a serious book addiction at a young age (via Peter Rabbit and Jemima Puddleduck), and has never recovered. Just how she likes it. She went on to earn degrees in psychology and social work but is now living her dreamâwriting romance for a living.
She lives in a piece of paradise on Australiaâs Sunshine Coast with her hero and four dogs, where she loves to sit with a dog or two, overlooking the trees and reading books from her evergrowing to-be-read pile.
Rachel would love to hear from you and can be contacted through her website, www.rachelbailey.com.
One
Dylan Hawke had done a few things he regretted in his life, but he had a feeling this one might top the list.
The spotlight shone in his eyes, but he smiled as heâd been instructed and gave a sweeping bow before making his way down the stairs and onto the stage. Applauseâand a few cheers that he suspected were from his familyâgreeted him.
âWeâll start the bidding at two hundred dollars,â the emcee said from the front of the stage.
Dylan sucked in a breath. And so it begins. Step one of rehabilitating his imageâdonate his time to charity. Now that his brother was marrying a princess, Dylanâs own mentions in the media had skyrocketed, and heâd quickly realized his playboy reputation could be a disadvantage for his future sister-in-law and the things she wanted to achieve for homeless children in LA.
âWhat do I hear for Dylan?â the emcee, a sitcom actor, called out. âDylan Hawke is the man behind the chain of Hawkeâs Blooms florists, so we can guarantee he knows about romancing his dates.â
A murmur went around the crowded room as several white paddles with black numbers shot into the air. He couldnât see too much detail past the spotlight that shone down on him, but it seemed that the place was full, and that the waiters were keeping the guestsâ drinks topped off as they moved through the crowd.
âTwo fifty, three hundred,â the emcee called.
Dylan spotted his brother Liam sitting with his fiancée, Princess Jensine of Larsland. Jennaâwho had been hiding incognito as Dylanâs housekeeper before she met Liamâgave him a thumbs-up. This was the first fund-raising event of the new charity, the Hawke Brothers Trust, which Jenna had established to raise money for homeless children. Now that she and Liam were to be married, they planned to split their familyâs time between her homeland and LA, and the trust would utilize the skills sheâd gained growing up in a royal family. It would be the perfect project for herâsheâd said it was something she could sink her teeth into.
Dylan believed in the cause and believed in Jenna, so his job tonight was to help raise as much money as he could. He just wished heâd been able to do it in a less humiliating way. Like, say, writing a check.
But that method wouldnât help rehabilitate his image.
Which had led him to this moment. On stage in front of hundreds of people. Being sold.
âFive hundred and fifty,â the emcee said, pointing at a redhead near the side of the room, whose paddle said sixty-three.
Dylan threw Sixty-Three a wink, and then crossed to where a blonde woman held up her paddle. The emcee called, âSix hundred.â
Dylan squinted against the lights. There was something familiar about the blonde... Then it hit him and his gut clenched tight. It was Brittany Oliver, a local network weather girl. Theyâd been out two or three times a few years ago, but sheâd been cloying. When he found out that she was already planning a future and children for them, heâd broken it off. He swallowed hard and sent up a prayer that someone outbid her. Maybe the cute redhead with paddle sixty-three.