Lone Star Reunion. Joss Wood

their eligible bachelors would’ve generated so much buzz? Alex flicked through the program, looking at the faces of her bachelors and lone bachelorette. Who was she kidding? If was the perfect opportunity for wealthy singles with money to burn to buy themselves a hot date. Good, because she intended to make them pay mightily for the privilege.

      Alex glanced at her watch, saw that it was just past four and looked down at her messy list. The tables were set, and the flower arrangements had arrived and looked superb. The band was doing a sound check and she heard the haunting sounds of a saxophone drifting from the ballroom to this anteroom that would host the bachelors as they were waiting for their turns to be auctioned. Alex walked over to the fridge, yanked open the door and was relieved to see the bottles of beer that would be needed to calm nervous dispositions. She smiled. Her bachelors were successful businessmen, alpha men every one of them, but every time they were reminded that they’d have to stand in the spotlight and be auctioned off like prize bulls, they all looked terrified.

      Hearing the door to the greenroom open, she shut the fridge door and turned to see waiters from the Royal Diner entering the room, carrying platters of food. As she well knew, nothing short of a nuclear holocaust would stop her cowboys from eating.

      “Hey, guys.” Alex indicated the table where she wanted the platters to be placed. “Those look amazing. What did Amanda send over?”

      “The Royal Diner’s famous ribs, sliders, quiches. Doughnut and choc chip cookies for dessert.”

      “Please thank Amanda again for her generous donation. The guys and Tessa will appreciate it.” Alex dug in her pocket to pull out a tip. She waved away their thanks, and when she was alone, she placed her clipboard between two of the platters and ran through her list again.

       Flowers. Check.

       Band. Check.

       Food. Check.

      Test sound system. That was currently happening.

      Tessa’s makeover. Alex checked her watch again. She’d allocated forty-five minutes for her and Rachel to give Tessa a makeover. Well, to be honest, to hold Tess’s hand while the professionals she and Rachel hired did Tess’s hair and makeup. Tess was going to rock the house tonight. Alex smiled. Girl power was a marvelous thing.

      Tess reminded Alex of Gemma—she was as humble, as sweet and unaware of her good looks as Gemma had been. Alex pushed her fist into her sternum, thinking of her redheaded, emerald-eyed friend, a band of freckles across her nose. Sixteen years had passed since Gemma’s death, but there were times, just like today, when she felt that Gemma was just waiting for her to call, like she was around the corner, about to stride back into her life.

      She still missed her best friend; sometimes it felt like she’d lost her a few weeks back instead of so long ago. But grief, as she learned, had no respect for time. She’d lost her parents at ten, her best friend at twelve and Sarah just a year ago. She remembered her parents as well as she did Sarah. And Gemma as well as she remembered Sarah.

      She’d heard that memories fade, that lost ones become indistinct. It had yet to happen to her. She could be doing something mundane and she’d hear Gemma’s laugh, Sarah’s voice or smell her mom’s scent, and grief would slam into her, stopping her in her tracks.

      When the pain subsided, just a little, she was left feeling abandoned, so damn alone. She was able to wrangle grief back into its cage, but those other feelings always lingered, casually snacking on her soul.

      Could anyone blame her for pushing people away? She loved hard and she loved deep, giving all that she had. Sometime in the future, hopefully a long time from now, she’d have to face losing her grandfather Gus. Losing him, she hoped, would be easier than losing her parents, Gemma and Sarah. They’d all died way before their times, but hopefully her healthy and fit grandfather would live until he was a hundred and slip off in his sleep after a life well lived. She could live with that—it was the circle of life—and unlike before, she wouldn’t feel abandoned.

      Alex flipped the program over and traced Daniel’s gorgeous face with the tip of her finger. Although she was right to put some distance between them, she still ached for him for him with every fiber of her being. Warmth pooled through her as she remembered the way he kissed her, the way his clever hands would stroke her body, the rasp of his stubble, the play of hard muscles under her hands.

      The growl of his voice against her mouth, painting her skin with sinfully sexy words...

       Tonight is all about making you weep as I pleasure you...

       Just feeling your eyes on me makes me so hard.

       You’re going to pass out from satisfaction...

      Daniel was a master of the art of talking dirty, using words and phrases that upped the sexy factor by 1000 percent. Then he lived up to his words with his skillful touch and used his mouth like a Jedi Master.

      She missed him...

      No, her body missed him. Her body missed him a whole bunch...

      But stepping away from Daniel had been a wise move and one she’d make again. Her self-protection instinct had been carefully, meticulously honed and was now scalpel sharp. Nobody would slice and dice her again.

      Alex shoved the program under the rest of her papers and straightened. Returning to her list, she lifted the plastic cover off the nearest platter and reached for a doughnut. She groaned as the treat touched her tongue, sighing at the prefect combination of fat and sugar.

      God, so good. Alex chewed, swallowed and chewed again, polishing off the doughnut in three bites. She reached for another and it was halfway to her mouth when she heard a horrified gasp from the doorway.

      “What the hell are you doing, Slade?” Rachel demanded, hands on her slim hips, brown eyes narrowed.

      Alex pulled off a piece and chewed. Swallowing, she lifted her eyebrows at the astonished look on Rachel’s face. What was her problem? “Um, eating a doughnut? Freshly made, courtesy of Amanda Battle.”

      “Actually, Jillian from the pie shop made them, but that’s neither here nor there.” Rachel stepped into the room and closed the door behind her. “Why are you eating them?”

      Was that a trick question? “Because they are good?”

      Rachel scratched her forehead, still looking confused. “Alex, I haven’t seen you eat sugar in four years. You don’t eat junk food, ever.”

      Alex looked at the doughnut in her hand, puzzled. Rachel was right, she never ate junk food and very infrequently ate carbs. So why on earth was she eating one now? And, knowing that, why was she unable to throw it in the trash?

      Alex popped the last of the doughnut into her mouth and contemplated her actions. Was she finally losing it? Was the stress of organizing the bachelor auction, breaking up with Daniel and trying to work through the job offer she’d had from Houston finally getting to her?

      “Alex, are you okay?”

      “It’s just a doughnut, Rach. Okay, two little doughnuts,” Alex retorted. Then she reached for a paper napkin and wiped the powdered sugar off her fingers. “My sugar levels are probably low. I just needed a boost.”

      “I’d believe that if I didn’t see the way you refused coffee this morning, wrinkling your nose at the smell. And last night you drank some chamomile tea.”

      “I had indigestion.”

      “You loathe chamomile tea,” Rachel pointed out.

      Was her best friend trying to make a point? Because if she was, she was taking a hell of a long time to get to it. “You’ve obviously got something to say, Rachel, so why don’t you spit it out so I can get back to work?”

      “Ooh, grumpy,” Rachel quipped, stepping forward to grip Alex’s biceps with her hands. “Honey, I think you are pregnant.”

      Alex