“Welcome to our first annual charity auction.” Amy beamed at the audience and batted her fake lashes. When she moved, the spotlight made her rhinestones shoot laser beams around the room.

Amy clapped her hand against the mic and shot a grin as fake as her lashes at the audience. “I hope your cheque books are fat and happy and your fingers are itching to write outrageous amounts for the new children’s wing. Let’s get this thing off the ground tonight!”

Cheering anew deafened Char, and her lips stretched so tightly over her teeth they ached.

Her best friend, Beth, another surgical nurse, elbowed her. She rubbed her hands together, and there was a hungry gleam in her eyes. “My cheque book’s ready, willing and able. I moved money from savings to bid on Dr. Hottie.”

It was all Char could do to hold her smile in place and not growl at the sweet strawberry blonde. Since she’d never breathed a word about her brief fling with Dr. Hottie, she couldn’t accuse her friend of trying to steal her ex-boyfriend, yet her claws extended and her skin crawled. When her throat stopped constricting, she said as airily as possible, “Oh, really? Great minds think alike. Me, too.”

Their third musketeer, Jody, a surgical intern jumped up and down and waved her psychedelic-coloured cheque book in their faces. “Me three! Let’s do a ménage à trois with him and have our wicked way.”

Beth scrunched her nose at the perky child. With a duh hanging in her voice, she said, “Ew. I don’t want to see your naked tits. Besides a ménage à trois is three and there would be four of us.”

The three of them would be much too good for the louse. What she wanted to do to him involved whips, chains and video. He’d be so sorry he’d ever broken her heart…

“Aw shucks.” Jody scrunched her nose and pouted. “You two make three times as much as me. I’ll be lucky if I can buy Dr. Rob. I might as well go home since you two party poopers won’t share. It’s way too smoky in here anyway.” She covered her mouth with her hand and coughed as if to add emphasis.

Char’s gaze landed on Dr. Hunky, aka Ben Price, plastic surgeon to the rich and ritzy Boca Babes. “What about Dr. Hunky? He’s mighty cute.”

Jody rolled her eyes and shook her head. “Yeah, right. He’ll go for big bucks, too. I don’t stand a prayer.”

Char gave her friend’s thin shoulders a commiserative squeeze and worried when she felt her boniness. Still, she wasn’t ready to share that her great Aunt Laila had recently left her several hundred thousand dollars or that she had planned to share some with charity anyway. If she could get a little fun out of the deal, why not?

She whispered in Jody’s ear. “I’ll let you in on a secret. Dr. Hottie’s a big jerk. Don’t be fooled by those dreamy eyes or those firm, kissable lips, or his artistic, sculpted hands…”

Beth’s emerald eyes widened, and she shook Char’s arm. “Oh no! He’s gotten to you, too?”

Char stiffened her spine and her resolve. She lifted her chin a notch, turned on her heel and shot a lethal glare at Dr. Hottie. It was easier to think of him as the heart-breaking monster than as the sweet, lovable, adorable Dexter. ”You’re mine, sucker.”

Beth got in her face and snapped her fingers. “If he’s that terrible, don’t waste your money. Buy Dr. Hunky or Dr. Casey.”

Amy motioned for the crowd to quiet, and when they didn’t she made the mic whine again. As half the population of the room moaned, she gave her evil smile. “That’s better. Since we’ve had so many special requests for Doctors Hottie and Hunky-I mean Doctors Dexter Graham and Ben Price, I’m going to start the bidding with Dr. Graham then Dr. Price so that you won’t hold onto all that wonderful cash of yours for them.”

Amy winked at the rest of the bullpen. “Sorry, fellows. Maybe you should work out more before next year’s auction if you want to bring in bigger bucks.”

Several of the men on stage gaped at her. One walked off.

Jody hissed. “Bitch!”

“That’s ‘Major Bitch’, sweetie.” Beth returned Amy’s venomous glare.

“Don’t worry. She’ll get hers. Those guys don’t forgive and forget easily.” Char didn’t doubt her prediction for a moment. She’d seen these doctors in action for too many years. If the elite of Boca got wind of half their shenanigans, they’d be out on their collective asses so fast they couldn’t wink.

Amy crooked her red-painted fingernail at Dexter. “Why don’t you join me, Dr. Hottie, so we can get things hopping? You don’t mind if I call you that, do you, sugar?”

Dexter winked broadly at Amy then stood and bowed to the audience. He swaggered over to the administrator. “Not if you don’t mind me doing this.” Without warning, he bent Amy over his arm and kissed her hard on the lips.

The audience stomped and yelled. Jody snarled at Amy. “He’s slipping her tongue.”

“I told you not to trust him.” Char folded her arms over her breasts and glared at the big lummox. How dare he!

Despite the stifling heat of the ballroom, she shivered. Boy, is he ever going to get his and good!

Dexter peeked at Charity Reynolds, woman of his dreams and the one who had gotten away. He wondered if he was doing enough to make her jealous and to make her outbid everyone else for him?

Would she bid at all?

Since she’d supposedly caught him with another woman, she’d shunned him. She’d marked his letters “Return to Sender” and blocked his emails. She wouldn’t listen to him or stay in a room with him unless the job demanded it.

Not a masochist, he was about to give up on her. Self-flagellation wasn’t his thing. He had a roomful of panting women dying to buy him for a night so why should he hold out for one who didn’t want him?

The thought creeped him out. Was it his fault if women chased him and slipped their room keys and panties into his pockets? He needed to hire a bodyguard to keep them at bay.

But tonight was different. He was here for the kids, kids like his little sister Debbie who had died of cancer shortly before a cure had been found. Tears threatened to spill from his eyes and ruin his macho act, so he banished the gloomy thoughts.

Instead, he snuck a glance at the buxom brunette who starred in his nightly dreams, but now glared at him with daggers in her eyes. Their gazes locked, and Char’s narrowed to mere slits, cold as glaciers.

A chill coursed through him, but he forced back his shudders. If that wouldn’t ruin his rep…

Amy fanned herself and sidled up to him. “Can this man ever kiss! Whew! He’s worth every penny and more, ladies. Do I hear five hundred dollars to start?”

Dex nearly swallowed his tongue. When almost every female hand in the room frantically waved, he did a double take. Keys and panties were one thing, but so much money?

He tamped down his shyness. Making his voice husky as possible he said, “It’s for the kids. And I promise you a night you’ll never forget.”

Catcalls echoed from the rafters. Stomping shook the building. “How far will you go, Dr. Hottie? Second base? Home plate?”

“Is the SWAT team on call?” he whispered to Amy. He hoped so. This group could turn into an angry, ugly mob in a snap.

Amy clamped his arm tighter to her side. “Don’t worry so much. I’ll fire anyone who steps out of line, and they know it.”

Dex thought about that, and knowing she was right, his heart resumed its normal beat. He smiled at Char, daring her to bid higher.

“Do I hear one thousand dollars?”

Half the hands went down amidst a disappointed grumble.

Dex was heartened when Char’s hand remained high and unwavering. He willed her to stay in the war ‘til the end, then finally, he’d get her alone to talk to her. He was worried, though, that several of the wealthy Boca Babes were in the audience. He doubted Char could outbid them if they wanted him badly enough.