Page 26 of Race to the Beach

He restrained a sigh.Now his sister was eyeing them up with her own unspoken suspicions.He wanted to tell her she was jumping to all of the wrong conclusions, but she wouldn’t believe him.It would only make her more certain that she was right about them.

Owen swallowed hard."Josie, this is Maxine Daniels.Maxine, this is my nosey sister, Josie."He turned to the other woman with his sister.“And this is Sara.My sister-in-law.”

Sara said a quick hello followed by a friendly smile.

After a brief frown at him, his sister sent Maxine a big warm smile."It's nice to meet you, Maxine.Do you live here on the island?"

"My friends call me Maxi.And it's nice to meet both of you.And no, I don't live here.I'm just here for the race."

Ouch.Was that her way of saying they weren’t friends?Because she hadn’t told him to call her Maxi.

Obviously, she had absolutely no interest in him.He tried to tell himself it was for the best.After all, he didn’t have much luck when it came to women.His ex had let him think she was single, when in fact, she had a husband and child waiting at home for her.How had he been such a bad judge of character?

"Owen!"The feminine voice drew him from his thoughts.

He turned his head to find Paula Jones waving before heading in his direction with a smile on her face.It wasn't just a friendly smile.No.This was a smile like she had something on him.

Once more he inwardly groaned.When his gaze met Paula’s, there was a twinkle of mischief in her eyes.His chest tightened.He could only hope she'd pass by them quietly.

"Hey, Owen."Her smile broadened as she paused next to him."I'll be seeing you this weekend.I plan to have the winning bid."Her gaze lingered as it swept up and down his body."Mm...Hm..."

He inwardly cringed.This Bachelor Auction was totally out of control.He had to put a stop to all of the insinuations.But how?

After Paula passed by, Maxi leaned in close."Do I even want to know what that was about?"

"No."His voice was firm.Now was not the time for explanations.He turned back to his sister and Sara, who both wore amused expressions."The wait is too long.We're, uh, leaving."

"There's no need," Josie said."You can have our table.We have to get back to the inn."

"We do?"Sara asked with a confused look.After his sister shot her a look, Sara said, "Oh.Yes.We have to get back to work."

If Owen wasn't so stressed about being forced into the bachelor auction, he would have laughed at Sara's poor acting job.He had a feeling that later on his inquisitive sister would be drilling him for information about Maxi—not that he had anything to tell her.In fact, if this lunch didn't work out the way he hoped, he probably wouldn’t be seeing her again.

After his sister and Sara were gone, the server took their order.Maxi ordered a cheeseburger with a side of cheesy shoestring fries.He decided that didn't sound too bad, so he ordered the same thing.

After the server moved on, Owen leaned back in the booth.He closed his eyes as he gathered himself.He exhaled a sigh.

"Are you going to tell me what's going on with you and all of those women?"Maxi's gaze searched his.

He'd rather discuss her car and how she hoped to do all of the repairs in time for the race.He could see by her inquisitive gaze that she expected him to answer.The silence dragged on as he decided on an answer.

"So, are you going to tell me?”Her gaze prodded him.“Or am I to assume that you’re dating all of these women?"

He let out a laugh.No one who knew him would suggest that he was some sort of playboy.In fact, he was quite the opposite."No.I'm not dating any of them."

She arched a brow, as though she were still waiting for a legitimate explanation.

"Okay.So, it would appear that I've been entered in the bachelor auction on Friday night."

"It appears?You don’t know if you signed up or not?"

He shook his head."I didn't sign up."

"You didn't?Then how are you entered in it?"

"Let's just say that Bluestar is a really small island with some well-intentioned but meddlesome people.And I'm not certain which of them signed me up for the event."

"And you don't want to do it?"

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