“I’ll bid on a date with Ms. Stewart!” someone shouted from the back. Kade looked down at the photograph of Brodie on the program and couldn’t blame the guy for trying his luck. She was gorgeous...
But, for the immediate future, she was his.
“She’s too smart to date you, Higgins,” Quinn warned. “A reminder, this is a matchmaking service for men looking for their perfect woman. So, who is going to give me a hundred dollars?”
Immediately a couple of hands shot up and Kade watched, astounded, as the bids flew up to a thousand dollars, then two. Bids were still bouncing around the room when a cool female voice cut across the hubbub. “Three thousand dollars.”
Quinn spun around and his genial smile turned to a scowl. Rory had her paddle raised and was holding his intense stare.
“On whose behalf are you bidding, Rory?” Quinn asked, his frown clearly stating her bidding had better not have anything to do with him.
Kade leaned back in his chair and grinned. Oh, this was going to be fun. Rory had been nagging Quinn about his ability to jump from woman to woman and hobby to hobby—skydiving, white-water rafting, and his obsession with superfast motorcycles—and was determined to nag him into settling down with a wife and two-point-four kids.
She didn’t have a hope in hell of changing Quinn. He was even more entrenched in his bachelor lifestyle than Kade. But Kade would enjoy watching her try. He was also damn grateful she was nagging Quinn and not him...
He liked Rory, loved her even, but he wouldn’t tolerate her interfering in his life.
Rory’s smile was stolen straight from an imp. “Are you taking my bid or not, Rayne?”
Quinn held up two fingers, turned them to his eyes and flipped them around in her direction. “I’m watching you. McCaskill, make sure your woman behaves.”
“Yeah, right.” Mac leaned back and folded his arms against his chest. “This has nothing to do with me.”
“Three-five.” A voice from the back got the auction back on track.
“Three-seven,” Rory countered.
“Three-eight,” Wren calmly stated. She was bidding on behalf of the silent bidders, those who didn’t want the room to know they wanted to use a matchmaker.
“Four.” Rory waved her paddle in the air.
Four grand? Wow, not bad. The audience obviously loved the notion of being professionally set up.
The bids climbed and Rory matched every one. As the bids went higher, Quinn’s face darkened. Oh, yeah, he knew exactly what she was up to. She was buying Brodie’s services to find Quinn a woman who would stick around for more than a nanosecond. She was playing with fire, Kade thought, but he couldn’t help admiring her moxie.
“Rory,” Quinn warned after her bid topped five thousand dollars.
“Quinn,” Rory drawled and added another hundred dollars onto her bid.
“You can’t bid against yourself,” Quinn snapped.
“I just did.” Rory’s face was alight with laughter. “Oh, I am so going to enjoy this, Rayne. And so will you. So, be a darling. Bang your gavel and tell me I’ve won.”
Quinn looked at Mac. “Doesn’t she drive you crazy?”
Mac dropped a kiss on Rory’s temple and smiled. “All the time.”
Quinn smacked the gavel and told her she’d won the bid before pointing the gavel in her direction. “I won’t use it. You can’t blackmail me into doing this, Rory.”
Rory placed her hand on her heart and batted her eyelashes in his direction. “Quinn, you wound me. I would never dare to set you up.” Kade, along with the rest of the guests, leaned forward in their chairs, eager to hear more. “You keep telling me you’re not ready for a relationship and I respect that. I do. Besides, wait your turn.”
Huh? If this wasn’t for Quinn who was she setting up?
“It won’t be my turn. Ever.” Quinn looked relieved and perplexed at the same time. “So then, pray tell, who is the sacrificial lamb to be led to slaughter?”
Kade smiled at his description as Rory stood up and walked around the table to his side. Oh, crap, oh double crap, he thought as she placed a hand on his shoulder. Kade felt his teeth slam together.
She wouldn’t dare. She wasn’t that brave.
“Why, who else but one of my favorite people in the whole world? I bought this for my very good friend, Kade Webb.” Rory sent Kade a huge smile. As if she could charm him into changing his mind about tossing her from the nearest balcony.
“I just know Brodie will find Kade a stunning woman. I’m counting on her to find someone who’ll make him supremely happy.”
Dammit, hell, crap.