Page 8 of Just One Look

“I saw her leaving through one door and Courtney through another. Does she have my checkbook?”

“It was in my purse. I don’t know if she grabbed it with my bidding number or not.”

“Well, there’s only one way to find out.” Though he didn’t understand why both women had disappeared and why one of them wasn’t here either congratulating him for sliding by or gloating for finally winning.

“Let me grab my purse.” Emily didn’t wait for him, and even though he didn’t want to delay the inevitable, he followed her to the table. Quickly, she snapped her purse open and glanced inside. “Your checkbook is still here.”

“Dang it.” That was so not a good sign. It would have been worth every penny to him not to have to deal with Courtney the Barracuda.

Liz appeared at her sister’s side. “Why do you two look so glum?”

Her sister held up Devlin’s checkbook before handing it over to him. “Because you lost.”

“Lost?” Frowning, Liz glanced from her sister to Devlin.

Taking a step back, Emily turned to Devlin. “Excuse me, but now that you don’t need me any more, I’m going home and getting out of this wet—and dirty—dress. Besides,” she waved a thumb at her sister, “I hate the sight of blood.”

Staring at her sister’s departing back, before either of them could say another word, Courtney sidled up to Liz. “Next time, he’s mine.” Spinning around, she leaned into Devlin, ran her very long and shiny red fingernail along his chin, and licked her lips. “Darling, if you’re ever in need of a real woman, you know where to find me.”

Watching her strut away, Devlin waited till she was engrossed in conversation with a group of cackling women before turning to Liz and flashing his very best smile. “Sorry I ever doubted you two.”

“Two?” Liz slapped her hand across her nicely exposed cleavage. “I’ll have you know I learned how to count in kindergarten and haven’t forgotten. I didn’t need big sister to accomplish this mission.”

“Forgive me. And thank you.” Dev opened his checkbook and scribbled her name and the winning amount, or what he thought was the winning amount with a small bonus for the trouble, and ripped the check out. “Here you go. And again, thank you.”

Liz shook her head and held her hand up. “Oh no you don’t. I won you. Fair. And. Square.”

The only thing more fun than getting caught up in the bidding war with the plastic blonde was the look on Devlin’s face right now. If it were humanly possible, his jaw would have scraped the ground.

“Elizabeth Louise,” her sister plopped her hands on her hips and snapped her jaw shut. “Have you lost your mind?”

Probably. She’d just about maxed out her credit card, and no doubt it would take her forever to pay off the debt, but suddenly the idea of dining out with a man who could afford to spend that kind of money at the drop of a hat sounded like too much fun to resist.

“How about a compromise?” Devlin still held the check in his hand.

“Such as?”

“We go on the date with a billionaire as advertised…”

She waited for the rest of what he had to say.

“And you let me reimburse you for saving me from the Barracuda.”

That was seriously tempting. Especially since never in her life had she run her credit card bills that high. At least not her personal card. She’d spent small fortunes for work but that was always reimbursed by the clients, usually with a slight profit.

“What do you say?”

“Let me think about it.” She grinned at him.

“Liz!” Emily, always practical and rarely willing to take a risk, frowned at her twin.

A low rumble of a laugh escaped her lips. “All right. I’ll accept the check. But we agree that I still get the whole shebang?”

Still holding the check with one hand, he crossed his heart with the other. “Yes, ma’am, or hope to die.”

“Don’t do that.” Liz chuckled more loudly and folding the check, slipped it into her cleavage. Glancing up, she noticed Devlin’s eyes had rounded wider than an owl with insomnia. “Don’t worry, I’ll put it in my purse when I get back to the table.”

“Oh, I…” Devlin looked to Emily who merely rolled her eyes and Devlin sighed. “Sorry.”

---