And The Winner Gets...Married!

“You might as well stay,” Justin replied before she’d taken a step toward the door. “This shouldn’t take long and there are several things you and I need to go over before I leave.” He glanced at his watch. “All right, Tara. I’ve got all of five minutes to spare. So why don’t you tell me what’s got you so fired up?”

“I’m fired up, brother dear, because you think you’ve weaseled your way out of being in the bachelor auction fund-raiser this weekend like you promised.”

Justin sighed. “It’s not a question of my weaseling out of anything. I simply can’t do it.”

“Why not? And don’t hand me that lame excuse that you gave Jennifer about some unexpected business problem that you need to take care of, because I’m not buying it.”

Kim held her breath as temper flashed in Justin’s hazel eyes.

“It’s not an excuse. It’s the truth,” Justin countered. “Whether you believe it or not is up to you.”

“Well, I don’t believe it,” Tara returned.

“Suit yourself,” Justin told her, and picked up a report from his desk. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got work to do.”

“I will not excuse you, Justin Connelly,” Tara said. She slapped the gloves clutched in her fist against her opposite palm like a whip. “And don’t you dare pull that ‘I’m too busy’ number on me. Have you forgotten how important this fund-raiser is? That the money is going to be used to help the families of slain police officers?”

Tara didn’t have to add “families like Jennifer’s,” Kim thought, because they all knew that until Jennifer’s recent marriage to Chance Connelly, the former social secretary and her young daughter had been one of those families. That Justin remembered, too, was evident from his somber expression.

“No, I haven’t forgotten,” Justin said firmly. “I’ve already apologized to Jennifer for pulling out at the last minute. But I have an important meeting in New York that afternoon, and it would be nearly impossible to get back in time.”

“Then change the meeting or go a day earlier or next week.”

“Don’t you think I would if I could?” He raked a hand through his hair. “I had a difficult enough time getting this meeting on Friday and it’s something that can’t wait. If you’re worried about the money my pulling out will cost, I’ve already assured Jennifer that I’ll be sending a generous contribution to make up for canceling.”

“And just how do you propose we make up for the money that we’ll lose in ticket sales when word gets out that Justin Connelly, voted one of Chicago’s most eligible bachelors and the key draw for the blasted event, has pulled out of the auction? Of course, that doesn’t even begin to take into account the amount of money that we might have been able to raise if your tush were on the auction block.”

Justin frowned at his sister. “You make me sound like a side of beef.”

Tara sat down on the corner of Justin’s desk. “In a manner of speaking, you are.”

“Thanks a lot.”

Tara shrugged. “Can I help it if there are women out there willing to pay big bucks for the chance to spend an evening with you? Face it, pal, you’re a hot commodity. Not only are you the brother of a king, but you’re also an heir to the Connelly fortune. You wouldn’t believe the number of women who actually think you’ve got a pretty face and sexy body. And judging by the comments I’ve heard, they’d all like nothing better than the chance to get you between the sheets.”

“For Pete’s sake, Tara! Will you knock it off?” Justin snapped, his face heating. Pushing away from his desk, he rose and walked over to the windows to stare out at the rain that had begun to fall.

“Well, if this isn’t a first. I do believe I’ve embarrassed you.”

He whirled around, shot her a withering glance. “Of course you’ve embarrassed me. And Kim, too,” he added. “Since when do you and your friends sit around discussing men as though they were…were…”

“Sex objects?” Tara offered.

Justin glared at her.

Tara laughed. “Oh, come on, Justin. Did you really think that was a privilege reserved only for men?”

“You’re my little sister!”

“I’m twenty-five years old, a widow and a mother,” Tara said, her voice suddenly serious. “Believe it or not, I do know a thing or two about sex.”

Justin groaned. “I don’t want to hear this,” he told her, and, returning to his desk, he snatched up the report in front of him. “I’ve got work to do. I’m truly sorry about the fund-raiser, but I promise I’ll send a sizable check.”

“What about the auction?”

He sighed again, put down the file. “Tara, I’ve already explained, there’s just no way I can make it,” Justin said, and there was no mistaking the regret in his voice at having to deny his sister’s request. “I’ll admit, I’ve never been wild about the idea of being in this auction. I only agreed to do it because Jennifer and Mother asked me to and I know it’s for a good cause. But as much as I hate letting them or you down, there is simply no way I can be in two places at once.”

Kim hadn’t been any keener on the idea of Justin spending a romantic evening with some beautiful socialite than he seemed to be, she admitted. And she had been relieved when he’d canceled. But now, witnessing Tara’s disappointment and Justin’s distress at being the cause of it, she couldn’t help but feel guilty. Before she could change her mind, Kim blurted out, “Actually, there is a way you can do both.”

Both sets of Connelly eyes turned to her. “How?” Tara asked.

Kim swallowed. “A couple of things would have to be worked out first, but it is possible.”

“What do you need?” Tara countered.

“First you and Jennifer would have to arrange it so that Justin would be the last bachelor to be bid on at the auction.”

“That’s not a problem,” Tara assured her. “What else?”

“Justin’s meeting scheduled here Friday morning with the marketing department would have to be postponed until next week.”

“That shouldn’t be a problem, should it?” Tara asked her brother.

“I guess not.” He eyed Kim warily. “What about Schaeffer?”

“Your New York meeting with him could be moved up a few hours. Say a meeting over lunch instead of one that spilled over into the dinner hour.”

“What makes you think Schaeffer will agree to that?” Justin asked. “I had a devil of a time getting that meeting in the first place.”

“I’ve gotten to be sort of friendly on the phone with Mr. Schaeffer’s secretary,” Kim said. “She works closely with him. I think I can get her to convince him that it would be…beneficial to have an early meeting and leave his evening free.”

“I see,” Justin said.

Kim felt her own face heat at the knowing look in his hazel eyes. “That way even if your meeting with Mr. Schaeffer runs over, as long as you made it to the airport by five o’clock or five-thirty, I can get you on a shuttle that would put you back in Chicago in three hours. Allowing thirty minutes travel time to get you from O’Hare to the hotel, you could be there for nine o’clock.”

“And I can have a driver waiting at the airport to pick you up and take you to the hotel,” Tara concluded. She clasped her hands together and smiled. “Please, Justin, say you’ll do it.”

“Seeing how my assistant has conspired with you, I don’t seem to have much choice.”

Tara turned to her and beamed. “Bless you, Kimberly Lindgren. I owe you one.”

“Not at all. I was glad to help.”

“You did a great deal more than help,” Tara insisted before turning back to Justin. “The woman’s not only a diplomat, she’s a genius, Justin. I wonder if you realize how lucky you are.”

“I’m beginning to.”

Something in Justin’s voice and the way he was looking at her caused Kim’s pulse to race. Mortified that he might realize how she felt about him, she averted her gaze. “I’d better go see about making those calls,” Kim told them.