“You’ve done a beautiful job, and I know you’re going to raise money, because I already see three pictures I’m bidding on.”

“Oh, perfect! Let me get you some more champagne so you’ll pay exorbitant prices and drive the demand through the roof.”

Lori laughed. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Geoffrey watching her curiously. “Oh, excuse me. I should have introduced you. Chloe Braunstein is the hostess of this lovely party. This is Geoffrey-I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your last name.”

“Taylor, Geoffrey Taylor. I’m pleased to meet you, Mrs. Braunstein. My stepmother, Charlene, asked me to attend on her behalf.”

Chloe’s eyes widened. “You’re the duke! Or the duke’s son,” she said, waving her hand. “I’m not sure how all that works. Love the accent. My stepmother is friends with Charlene. When she told us you would attend, we were all excited. Please have some more champagne. Bid astronomical amounts on a drawing or two.” She waved her hand toward a waiter. “More champagne here. Do you mind if I steal him away for a few minutes?” she asked Lori. “Alison Crandall will have a cow when she learns I have a duke at my event. She’s such a snob.” She turned back to Geoffrey. “You don’t mind if I briefly exploit your title, do you?”

He looked momentarily speechless, then shot Lori an uncertain look.

“You did say you were a rebel at heart,” Lori reminded him.

“So I did.”

“And it’s for a good cause,” Chloe said.

He gave a short nod. “In that case, I’m at your service.”

Lori snickered as Chloe ushered Geoffrey away. Poor thing, she thought. He would become the prize steer of the evening. Taking another sip of her champagne, she meandered around the room, enjoying the children’s art. She placed bids on three pieces that grabbed her and was writing a bid for another when a large male hand closed over hers.

Lori’s heart stopped. Oh, no, not him. She cringed, closing her eyes, wishing she were anywhere but here. Wishing Jackson hadn’t found her.

“I thought we agreed you were going to rein in your spending until you take care of your inheritance.”

Lori took a deep breath, inhaling his masculine scent, and wiggled her fingers as a broad hint for him to let go of her. “My spending is relatively reined,” she said. “I haven’t bid on every piece of art I’ve seen.”

“Four,” he said. “And you offered six figures for one of them. You should change your bid.”

Horrified, Lori turned, noting that he wore yet another dark jacket that didn’t fit him properly. “Absolutely not. That would be like welshing. I couldn’t do that to Chloe. Besides, it’s for a good cause.”

“Welshing?” he echoed, lifting that dark fussy eyebrow at her again. “What about your agreement to meet with me tonight to review your candidates? What do you call your failure to show up for that?”

Lori barely resisted the urge to squirm beneath his penetrating gaze. “I forgot about a previous engagement,” she said, trying to effect an air of importance and suspecting she wasn’t succeeding.

“Spending money you don’t have yet,” he said.

Her discomfort rising a mile a minute, she lowered her voice and stepped closer. “People are starting to stare. Could we conduct this conversation somewhere else?”

He ground his teeth. “Fine,” he said and grabbed her arm. “I’ll find a place.”

Lori raced to keep up with his long stride as he led her out of the main room and down a hallway. He opened a door and pulled her inside a utility closet. Flicking on a switch, he closed the door. “Is this private enough for you?”

Chapter Eight

Lori’s heart hammered in her chest. She stepped backward and her foot ran into a bucket. Jackson immediately put his hands on her shoulders and steadied her. She took another deep breath and felt oddly dizzy. “This isn’t exactly what I had in mind,” she said.

“Me, neither,” he muttered. “I didn’t think I would have to be chasing you down in some nightclub and tying your hands to keep you from writing checks for money you don’t have.”

“You weren’t very nice about it.”

He shot her an incredulous look. “How do you think I felt when your housekeeper told me you’d gone to a charity event instead of meeting with me? I’ve been waiting for days for your sisters to leave. If you’re really going to carry out your insane plan, then we need to get moving. At the rate you’re spending, you’re going to end up in a tent by the end of summer. And you don’t strike me as the type that loves camping.”

“Oh, you’re exaggerating.”

“Not by much,” he said grimly.

“You and I would get along much better if you would be a little more flexible,” she told him.

“Somebody has to hold the line,” he said with a growl in his voice. “I’m the unlucky guy.”

She could tell he didn’t enjoy his position any more than she was happy with hers. Lori sighed. “Are you nicer to your other clients? Can’t you be just a little nicer to me?”

“My other clients haven’t made any complaints, but I haven’t had to be as firm with any of them. The problem with being nice to you, Lori, is you are the proverbial example for give-her-an-inch-and-she’ll-take-you-for-a-hundred-miles.”

“Another exaggeration,” she said.

“Six figures for a finger painting,” he reminded her. “Six figures.”

“All right, all right,” she said. “I guess you should tell me about the prospects for the job as my husband.”

“Do you want to hear about it now or at your home?”

“Go ahead,” she said with a shrug. “I need to get my head turned back around to this idea. I may as well start now.”

He paused, studying her. “Second thoughts?”

She didn’t want to admit it, but he was clearly the kind of man who could smell any weakness a mile away. “Yes, and there will be more, but it doesn’t change my situation and it doesn’t change my decision,” she added quickly before he could interject anything. “I’m going to do this.”

“You have other options,” he said.

“This is the best plan. It’s just being around Delilah and Katie and hearing them talk about how much they love their husbands. And my little nieces and nephew, they’re so sweet, and-” A lump of emotion crowded her throat and she bit her lip. “And I need to stop thinking about it, because I’m on a different track. There.”

“Lori, are you sure?”

She met his gaze and felt his strength bolster her. Strange, she thought, that a person who annoyed her and frustrated her could make her feel more certain. “I’m sure,” she said and smiled. “Tell me about my future husband.”

He paused, and she saw a sliver of something almost like respect deepen his eyes. It was gone so quickly she wondered if she had imagined it.

“Bachelor number three,” he began.

“Let’s start with a fresh page. The first ones didn’t count.”

“These do,” he said firmly. “Bachelor number one is Dr. Frank Liebowitz. He’s a little older, but he has an excellent reputation and excellent communication skills. He would like to have money for research.”

It was weird, but Jackson approved of this guy just a little too much. “Why isn’t he married?”

“His wife passed away. He’s a widower,” he said.

“Oh,” she said, feeling sorry for the doctor she’d never met. “What kind of doctor is he?”

“A-” Jackson cleared his throat. “A psychiatrist.”

A shrink, Lori thought, noticing the way Jackson ’s eye twitched. “Not very subtle.”

“This isn’t a bad idea. Maybe he could do double duty. Help you with some of your-issues,” Jackson said and cleared his throat.

“As if I want someone around twenty-four seven putting me under a microscope, examining my every move, word, and thought. Wouldn’t you just love that, too?”