Page 55 of The Marriage Auction 2: Part 1

He rubbed at his jaw. “Maybe you’re right. Still, this is going to be a major blow. Her dad found a woman and is all of asudden engaged? After eight years of not even bringing home a single girlfriend? Sure, I had some fun here and there, but nothing that would warrant an introduction to my daughter.”

The man had a point. Emily needed some time away from all of them. A little space to blossom, to find herself and mature. And I knew just the way to help make that happen.

“How about this? You were scheduled to come spend a couple weeks with us at the end of your Summer with Emily,oui?”

“Yeah,” he grumbled.

“Since I’m done with the auction, we’ll take Emily for the next couple weeks. Give you the time you need to get to know Maia personally, then you can bring her to France and meet up with your daughter. And Christophe and I can help with the transition.”

“Really? You want to take Em for two weeks?” He gulped. “She can be a real handful.”

I waved my hand in the air. “Christophe would love nothing more than taking her to every museum and castle in the French countryside. And it would give me one-on-one time with her. You know I live to spend time with my niece.”

“I couldn’t ask that of you.” He worried his bottom lip with his teeth as he considered it.

“You’re not asking. I’m offering. She’s already at our apartment here. Meet up with your intended, sign the contract, take her out to dinner, and I’ll secure Maia a room at Joel’s resort. In the meantime, I’ll discuss the idea with Emily about her coming to France with us for a couple weeks. Then when you arrive later in the evening to pick Emily up, we’ll discuss it further.”

“If you’re sure,” he said while rubbing at his jaw. “Sounds like a plan.” He took a breath as I opened the door to the signing room.

Maia spun around to greet us, her eyes as wide as saucers when she saw her bidder for the first time.

“Oh my God, it’s you!” Her hand rose to cover her mouth as she blushed deeply.

“Yes, it is, sweetheart. And you can call me Rhodes, your fiancé, or Mr. Davenport.”

Episode 21

Third Time’s a Charm

MEMPHIS

I paced back and forth in the signing room waiting for my bidder to enter. Energy sizzled up and down my nerve endings like electricity, making me feel buzzed and a little out of control. I shook my hands and jumped up and down a few times trying to shake it off.

“Memphis, get your shit together. You want to impress your bride, not freak her out,” I said to my shoes.

“Is that right?” A voice called from the door behind me.

I spun around and could not believe my fucking eyes. Even tried to rub them with my fists to clear away what surely had to be an illusion.

“Naomi? Holy—you can’t be here!” I choked out as my eyes widened with worry. “Fuck, this is not good at all.” I groaned and looked up at the chandelier hanging from the center of the ceiling, the crystals shooting rainbow rays of light in every direction. “God, seriously!” I snapped.

“I’m afraid God can’t help you now,” she said moving farther into the room.

I shook my head and lifted my hands in supplication. “Naomi, I’m so sorry to do this to you, but you have to go.”

“Why?” She smirked. “You have a hot date? Your fiancée meeting you, perhaps?” She blinked her long eyelashes in a slow, sultry move that was sexy as fuck.

Damn, she was beautiful. The kind of pretty that a man like me could never even hope to score long term.

Why was this happening? Come on, God. I trusted you,I mentally complained. The Big Guy always listened, even when I was having one of the most jacked-up moments of my life. Hopefully He could save me from the embarrassment I was about to befall if my bidder walked in on this situation.

“I am waiting for my fiancée.” My shoulders fell as defeat weighed me down. “She’s going to be here any minute, and I can’t risk her being angry seeing someone like you here.”

Her head snapped back with purpose, and she cocked her neck. Uh oh. When a woman cocked her neck to the side, eyes narrowed, you best be careful. In my experience, it was like poking a rattlesnake; you never knew when they were going to strike.

“Someone like me?” Those eyelashes fluttered with even more intent.

“Yeah. Someone who looks as gorgeous as you, talks with that sexy rasp, has the commanding presence you have. You could make anyone feel small in comparison. Yeah, I don’t need my fiancée feeling out of place. Especially after what we shared.” I lifted my hand to my neck and rubbed at the tension there. “I already feel bad.”

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