Dirty Deal (Perfectly Matched 2)

“Oh my God, you rock!” her friend said, beaming. “That was genius. Thank you!”

“Glad you’re happy. Now let’s get the hell out of Dodge before Loony Tunes Magee here follows us.” She pulled her friend along to the backstage, where all the winners were being ushered in to collect their prizes for the night.

The auctioneer led them to a waiting room, and Serena glanced at her watch. “Okay, looks like my work is done here. You crazy kids have fun on your little date. And be good. Trick’s at home waiting for you, and he’ll spank you if you’re bad.” She shot her friend a wink. “I’m going to go curl up and watch five hours of Million Dollar Listing before passing out in front of my TV. I’ll see you at work on Monday.”

She grinned at her friend, but Grace grimaced in response.

Uh-oh.

“What?”

“I’m rethinking this plan,” Grace said, and then started chewing on her bottom lip.

“You’ll be fine. You’re a great businesswoman. Once you have his undivided attention, I’m sure he’ll cave.” Her stomach was wriggling in a way that let her know some shit was about to go down. Grace might be magic when it came to matchmaking, but Serena’s instincts when it came to impending clusterfucks was legendary, and something felt seriously off here.

Grace shook her head. “He doesn’t like me. I’m pretty sure he thinks I’m annoying. I’ve already tried a bunch of times to get this guy on board, and he won’t listen to me. I wonder if it’s time to bring out the big guns?”

“Like torture? Because I have some pliers if you need them.” Serena raised her eyebrows, sensing where this was going but refusing to bite.

“Not exactly. I was just thinking. You don’t have any plans tonight. Maybe he’d be more willing to listen to a young, single blonde with radiant charm—”

“Flattery will get you nowhere.”

And it was true. Sure, she had a way of getting what she wanted most times, but she wasn’t the one who wanted Bryan Metcalf. Surely the sheer passion and determination Grace had shown would have to net better results than anything Serena could do to convince him.

“I’ve called him a bunch and now he won’t even answer the phone. I’m pretty sure I’ve worn out my welcome, but you’re fresh meat. Look, all I’m saying is that you have a much better shot than I do. Plus, Trick just got back from a week of training new SWAT recruits at the academy. Come on, Serena, take one for the team.” Grace’s brown eyes went soft and pleading. “How bad could it be? Five-course dinner, a limo ride, the works. It’s one night out of your life. For the business? For me?”

Wow, the friend guilt. Hard core.

Still, maybe Grace was right. She’d go out, have some drinks, and try to charm the doctor. Then she could go home and have her HGTV marathon. No big thing.

After all, it wasn’t like one night was going to change the rest of her life.

Chapter Two

Close. Call.

His pulse was still pounding from the adrenaline rush of the near miss. Right when he thought all was lost, “Ms. Elliott” had swooped in and brought it home. He’d heard of the Elliott family growing up, and knew of the estate, but didn’t know them personally. He definitely would’ve remembered that blonde. She was a stunner.

He took another glance around and straightened his tie, wondering who his date for the night would be, her or Grace Love, when a sharp elbow to the side railroaded his thoughts as people pushed past him.

“Sorry, buddy.”

It was pandemonium backstage, with his fellow bachelors pairing off with their prizewinners like animals on Noah’s Ark. Now that they’d all had a chance to change back into their street clothes and were all in spitting distance of the winners, there was an overwhelming sense of relief, except from that one guy whose grandmother had bid on him and won. That was bound to be an awkward candlelit picnic on the beach.

“Bryan, nice to see you again.” Grace Love headed toward him, her blond companion by her side.

“Hi, Grace. Who’s your friend?” He offered his hand to the other woman, and she took it, a blindingly white smile playing across her full, pink lips.

“I’m Serena Elliott. Grace’s business partner. I’ll be your date for tonight.”

Business partner. Shit. “I see,” he said, pumping her hand once. She was hot, but if she was even half as relentless as Grace, it was going to be a long night. He’d thought he’d dodged a bullet with Piper, but now he wasn’t so sure. Better to let them know now so Grace didn’t get her hopes up.

“Listen, I appreciate you guys bidding, but I—”

“Bryan, hi.” The voice was wispy, high-pitched, and so close that he could feel hot breath on the back of his neck.

Piper.

Oh good, they were all in one place. Like the three horsemen of the manpocalypse.

He took a steadying breath and turned to give her a tight smile. “Piper.”

Her wild eyes shot from his face to his hand—which was still clutched in Serena Elliott’s.

Fuck it. He was Indiana Jones, and this boulder of crazy was hurtling toward him. He needed a vine, and Serena Elliott was it.

He closed his hand more tightly around hers and pulled her closer.

To her credit, she didn’t pull away, or even so much as blink. One point in her favor.

“What were you saying? You appreciate us bidding but…” Grace prompted him, glancing from Piper to him with a satisfied grin.

Damn her. She might look sweet, but she was crafty, and she probably thought she had him by the balls now. He’d take the hand up and try to repay the favor somehow, but it sure as shit wasn’t going to be by pimping himself out as the public face of their company.

“I was saying that I appreciate you bidding, but why buy the cow when you can get the steak for free, sweetie?” He wrapped his arm around Serena’s trim frame and squeezed.

He was just wondering if he’d pushed his luck too far when she patted his ass in response.

“And what a cut of meat it is, darling. But I wanted to support the hospital.” She gave him a toothy smile and he wasn’t sure if

it was flirtatious or adversarial, but either way, it made him grin in spite of himself. Maybe a few hours alone with her wouldn’t be so bad after all.

“I’m so glad you paired us up, Grace. I couldn’t ask for a better gal.”

Piper gave Serena a glare that would curdle milk and cleared her throat. “Right. Um, Bryan, I was just wondering if I’d see you at the reunion? And I’ll definitely see you at the wedding, right? I wanted to ask Q, but she never answers my calls.” Her tight smile went even more brittle. “Or my texts. Or my letters.”

He closed his eyes and swallowed a sigh. That was the one bad thing about being back home. Piper lived in the same town and, as the stepdaughter of one of his cousins, she was at half their family functions. He was bound to see her more than once while he was in town, and she was bound to act exactly like she had tonight.

Suddenly, heading back to Afghanistan early didn’t seem so bad.

“I’m not sure if we’ll be able to make it to that wedding. We’ve got so much to do, what with our trip to Cancun coming.” Serena gave a sad shake of her head and reached out to the other woman. “You’re a doll for asking, though. We’ll be sure to let you know.”

“I—” Piper spluttered, but Serena cut her off again.

“We really need to be getting on with our date. Have a great night.”

Serena entwined her fingers with his again, said a quick good-bye to Grace, and guided him through the crowd and out the back door of the auditorium. The summer’s breeze wafted over them as they walked to the edge of the sidewalk, past all the Dumpsters.

By tacit agreement, they both stayed silent until they reached the corner.

Serena looked around and nodded. The coast was clear.

“That,” she breathed, “is one crazy ho. We’ve got to get in the car before she spots us. I’d put money on her following us on our date and dressing as a restaurant chef in hopes of slipping some arsenic into my food.”