Lone Star Reunion

Act like the adult you are, Clayton.

Alex issued another set of instructions, none of which he listened to, his eyes too full of her to take in anything she was saying. How hard could it be? Walk on, try not to scowl, get sold, walk off.

At the end of her lecture, Alex smiled again, and Daniel immediately recognized that fake-as-hell, I’m-trying-to-act-normal expression. The other men in the room might have had all their brains fried by the combination of Tessa Noble looking super hot and Alex Slade looking super sexy, but in the small part of his brain that was still functional, he knew that something was up with Alex. Something life changing, crazy making, worry inducing. He could see the tension in her shoulders, the tight cords of her neck. And that blinding smile didn’t come anywhere near her sky blue eyes.

Daniel started to go to her but then her gaze clashed with his and he easily read her request not to approach her, her guarded expression telling him that she couldn’t deal with him. Daniel lifted one eyebrow, a silent appeal, asking her what the hell was going on, and she gave him the tiniest shake of her head.

Daniel tapped his shirt pocket, where the outline of his cell phone was clearly visible, hoping she’d understand that he needed to know, even if it was only by text message.

A tiny nod, but Daniel didn’t fool himself into believing that his phone would soon buzz with an incoming message. Alex had only acknowledged his request, not agreed to do what he asked. The woman had her own mind and, God, he liked her that way.

Frankly, he liked her any damn way he could get her.

* * *

“Six thousand dollars, ladies, for Lloyd Richardson. Who has seven?”

I’m pregnant.

Alex acknowledged a bid from Gail, Tessa’s friend, and that bid was quickly topped by Steena Goodman. Alex briefly wondered what these women saw in Lloyd to make them go that high. Gail, looking sulky but determined to have her date with Lloyd, raised her paddle again. Well, she’d have to pony up because Steena had deep pockets and her wealthy now-dead husband’s money to spend.

She was pregnant with Daniel’s baby.

It was like two halves of her brain were operating independently. One half was playing the role of the merry, if slightly manic, auctioneer, while in the other half, she was curled up in a fetal position, battling for breath.

Grandpa’s first great-grandchild is going to carry Clayton blood.

“Eight thousand dollars, Gail? Wow, that’s super generous.” Too generous, Alex thought, alarm bells ringing in her head. Gail didn’t look like she had that sort of money lying around. “Oh, a new bidder at nine thousand dollars! Marvelous.”

She had to tell Daniel...and Gus. Daniel would have to tell Rose and, God, what fun that was going to be.

“Fifty thousand dollars.”

Alex blinked at Steena’s outrageous offer. She couldn’t possibly have heard her right. Alex looked at Rachel, who was standing to her right, and judging by Rachel’s shocked expression, she knew that her hearing wasn’t faulty. Steena Goodman had just bid fifty thousand dollars for a date with Lloyd. Was she out of her ever-lovin’ mind?

But knowing her money was good—those weren’t fake diamonds hanging from her ears and decorating her fingers—Alex gripped the gavel, preparing to sell Lloyd to the woman before she came to her senses. She flashed a smile at Rachel and lifted her gavel.

“One hundred thousand dollars.”

Oh no. Oh hell. Oh crap. Alex widened her eyes at Gail’s ridiculous offer, waiting for her to wave the offer away, to tell her it was a joke. But Gail just kept her eyes on Lloyd, one hand on her hip. A low buzz swept through the room as the drama unfolded. Alex knew that she should sell the date, that nobody—not even Steena—would top Gail’s ludicrous bid. She also knew that there was no way that the charity would see a hundred thousand dollars from Gail.

Call it a hunch.

Alex looked toward James Harris, the new TCC president, and he lifted his hands in a what-can-you-do gesture. Maybe she was judging a book by its cover; maybe Gail did have a hundred grand to spare. This was, after all, Texas, where anyone could be a billionaire. It had happened before.

Alex dropped the gavel, hiding her trepidation. “Lloyd Richardson has been sold to Gail Walker.”