Leaving Normal, Stef Holm [ebook reader screen .TXT] 📗

really high ones. Her blond hair was swept up in sparkling hairpins, and loose curls fell against the slim column of her neck. She turned slightly and spoke to a man at her side.

Familiarity punched Tony in the gut.

Natalie Goodwin.

An arc of heat pulsed through the blood in his veins. He'd thought she was an attractive woman in many ways. Now he saw she was unbelievably sexy, as well.

"Do you know her?" Rocky questioned, dragging him out of his thoughts.

"She's my neighbor. She lives across the street."

"Ding-dong," Rocky said, his voice filled with ad-miration…and sexual appreciation. That bothered Tony. Something squeezed his chest and made him fight off the feeling of misplaced jealousy.

Rocky drank a swallow of beer, his eyes leveled on Natalie as she smiled at the man beside her, then laughed. "If I lived across the street from her, I'd be knocking on her door to ask for some sugar."

Natalie turned toward them and walked across the ballroom.

She looked up, saw Tony, and her eyes met his. Her lips looked fuller, pinker.

"Hello," she greeted. "I saw you were on the program. You're brave." She spoke with an easy lightness, a tone he'd never heard her use before.

"Not brave," Rocky interjected. "Good sports." Then he extended his hand. "Rockland Massaro, but you can call me Rocky." She shook his hand. "Nice to meet you."

"I can be bought for cheap, honey," Rocky said, encouraging Natalie to bid on him.

Tony slanted Ms friend a look, wishing he wouldn't have said that, but didn't utter anything to the contrary.

Tony and Natalie exchanged a brief glance. There was something more to the visual exchange than he could identify. Maybe, for a moment, she was thinking about bidding on him.

Diamond earrings dangled from Natalie's ears. She wore a delicate necklace that hung low on a chain. The jewelry rested next to her skin where her breasts created a shadowed valley in the black fabric that was cut low. She showed a lot of skin—skin that looked soft and golden and very feminine. She wore a distinct perfume—not flowers exactly but maybe a trace. She almost smelled like limes. Limes and something really sweet. Whatever it was, he was very aware of how it clung to her warmth.

Natalie said, "Well, I should go—"

"How's your daughter?" Tony asked, dragging a subject from his mind that he knew would engage her in conversation. He didn't want her to leave, not yet.

"Cassie's doing well, thanks." Her green eyes were large, the lashes long and her makeup applied heavier than usual. Instead of looking overdone, it looked good. Exotic almost. "I talked to her yesterday. School is good, she's having fun."

An announcer began speaking through the microphone and asked everyone to take their seats.

"I'm going to sit down." She smiled, a smile that hit Tony hard. "Good luck to you. Thanks for doing this."

"Remember—I can be had for cheap," Rocky said, "but if you have deep pockets, I'm worth it."

Being a good sport, she laughed. Tony wondered if she'd take his friend up on his suggestion and bid on him.

Natalie sat at a table near the front. Tony sat wood-enly in his chair at a table he and Rocky had been assigned to, drank half his beer in long swallows, then loosened his tie some more. He couldn't recall the last time he'd worn the double-breasted dark suit, and couldn't recall when he'd last felt like ditching an obligation.

It was all he could do not to drum his fingers on the tabletop in edgy-nervous anticipation. After introductory speeches, the auction started and went on far too long before it got to the bachelors.

He had to stand up, walk onto the stage and smile as if he meant it. The strong floodlights rendered him almost blind to the sea of faces gazing at him. He was very conscious of where Natalie sat, and didn't want to look in her direction. To everyone in the room, he gave the illusion of confidence and easygoing masculinity, but in reality he was willing himself not to sweat.

In what felt like long and agonizing minutes to-get through, Tony Cruz "sold" to the highest bidder, a woman he couldn't see because she sat at the back of the crowded room and the lights drowned any image of her.

Now he had to go on a date of her choosing and they would have to dance the first dance of the evening after all the auctions were completed. He had never been a great ballroom dancer. His mom had made him take private lessons before going to his prom so he could at least waltz without stepping on his girlfriend's feet. He was no dancer—he'd played football in high school and college.

Rocky Massaro went for a little less than Tony, his winning bidder a nice-looking redhead at the next table over. Rocky got a stupid smile on his face, one he held on to until die music started playing and he escorted the lady onto the dance floor. If he was disappointed Natalie didn't make an offer on him, he didn't show it.

Tony stood and waited for whoever had won him to come forward.

A moment later, a throaty voice greeted him.

"Hello."

Tony's breathing slowing. The woman standing before him had an amazing presence, dressed in floor-length red satin and black heels. She was in her mid-thirties with long dark hair and a gorgeous mouth. She reminded him of Salma Hayek.

"Hey," he said, lifting his chin and turning on his best smile.

"I won you. You're mine."

He gave a light laugh, a slight shrug. "Well, okay."

The live band played an old tune, one that Tony didn't recognize.

"My name is Sophia. Have you heard of me?" Her eyes turned up slightly at the corners, their color a rich earthy brown.

"Should I have?"

"I own Sophia-Sophia. It's a ladies' clothing store on Bannock."

"I don't wear ladies' clothes."

She threw her head back and laughed, her throat an ivory column that captured his attention. The sound of her voice was low and sensual. She laid