Underneath It All. Lori Borrill

she being played?

      “Nicole,” Eve warned. “This is getting pricey. You can’t count on the lottery, hon. We might not get our money thanks to Liza’s lawsuit against us.”

      Raising her hand, Nicole took over the bid once more, but this time less intently. She didn’t care about the money, but the sudden flash that something here might be foul.

      It was all too perfect, her attraction to this stranger, more hot and fiery than anything she’d felt before, all brought on by this undersea Eden set up to breed passion in everyone who entered. There was romance in the air, from the oysters on the half shell to the champagne to the plates of chocolate hearts on the tables.

      And to find this instant connection with someone who gave her every signal he felt the very same way? How likely was that to happen? How much of this was simply the act of being swept up into the evening?

      In a serious wave of doubt, her mind began spinning backward, rewinding to the first glance, her first impression, trying to recall what started all this and how she got caught up into it. Was this man sending her genuine signals or was he just trying to win the bet against his brother?

      “Going once,” she heard.

      Penny jabbed her in the ribs. “What are you doing? Don’t stop now.”

      With a quick jerk, she raised her hand and took the bid again, now unsure exactly how high it was. Then she tried to shake the clouds from her thoughts.

      This was silly, these doubts. If the man was trying to set up the bidding, he would have arranged it ahead of time, maybe with women he already knew. Not once had he approached her. In fact, he hadn’t approached any of the women here tonight. While all the other men were making contacts and getting to know the prospective buyers, he’d stood at the bar casually watching the room.

      No, she thought. This was real. There was real heat here. Real attraction and she really wanted this date.

      “What are you doing?” Penny asked. “You almost lost it.”

      “She’s regaining her senses,” Eve said. “Nicky, don’t get carried away. Like you said before, you have the man’s phone number. You can always call him after the auction.”

      “No,” said Nicole. “I want this.”

      Up flew her hand to take over the bid again, the brunette still going on as if she could do this all night. And Devon still held his eyes on Nicole—that intense stare focused directly on her, the smile telling her she won’t be sorry, and that brush of his thumb caressing back and forth, prompting her to keep bidding.

      To keep driving the price up so he can win the bet.

      Damn, that voice of doubt. It was the same voice that had been paralyzing her for too many months now.

      This was all about her parents and the situation that had stripped away her trust in everything pure and honest. And who could blame her? When the two people she should have believed in most handed her the greatest betrayal, how was she expected to have faith in a stranger in a bar? Maybe a year ago, she would have played into this without thinking twice. She would have taken everything at surface value, never considering that Devon and Cruella were conspiring to win this wager from his brother.

      But when her parents were forced to admit they’d lied to her about her birth, her basic trust in human beings was destroyed.

      It wasn’t even finding out that she was adopted that hurt the most. Millions of children are adopted and grow up with a solid sense of self. It was that her parents had never intended to tell her. That she’d always been led to believe that she was their natural child, that their heritage was her heritage, their culture her culture.

      That she was a Reavis, and Reavis’s were doers and go-getters and survivors. It was in her blood, who she was.

      And only when her mother became ill and the truth leaked out were her parents forced to confess the family secret.

      Everything she had, everything she was had been a lie. And Nicole hadn’t been the same person since learning the truth.

      “What are you doing?” Penny pleaded. “You’re going to lose!”

      “Going once,” the announcer said.

      “She’s wising up. This is too much money,” Eve said.

      And in the midst of it all, Nicole’s mind went blank with confusion, halting her from taking action or knowing which way to turn. The same way it had every time she tried to make a move with her life or to find the answers she’d been seeking.

      Perpetual limbo. Handed down by Don and Betty Reavis to their grown daughter.

      “Going twice,” the announcer said.

      “Come on,” Penny urged. “You’re going to be a millionaire. Who cares about the price? Get the guy, already!”

      “I don’t…”

      Nicole didn’t know what to do. Fixing her eyes on Devon’s she saw a mist of disappointment. A gentleman, he tried to hide it for the audience, but she could see the falseness in his smile. It wasn’t the same smile of expectation he had a moment ago, and she wondered if it had turned because she wouldn’t end up as his date or because the price hadn’t gone as high as he’d hoped.

      Closing her eyes, she fumed. This was silly. Ten seconds ago, she was having a great time, anticipating a romantic date with the first man to warm up her insides in as long as she could remember. The chemistry was real. So why was she standing here doubting it all?

      What happened to the old Nicole who went for what she wanted, reached out and grabbed the brass ring without worrying whether or not it was just worthless plated steel?

      What happened to the doer, the go-getter, the woman who made things happen?

      “Sold for three-thousand-five-hundred dollars!” the announcer said.

      Sold to another woman, Nicole conceded, pulling her gaze away from Devon and turning from the stage.

      “I can’t believe you let him go!” Penny cried.

      She looked to Eve and Penny. Only Eve knew the truth about why she’d come to Atlanta, but even so, she still couldn’t explain why she could be confident one moment then a pile of hesitation the next.

      Heck, even she didn’t get it. So instead, she lied.

      Sticking up her chin, she pasted on a smile. “Eve was right. The price got too high.”

      “But—” Penny started.

      Nicole held up the crinkled pages in her hand. “I’ve got his phone number right here, remember? Let the woman have her date. I’ll catch him on the rebound.”