Christmas With The Marine. Candace Havens
and practical.”
“She’s brilliant. Taught at Oxford. Still lives over there. She’s my favorite philosopher.”
“Ah, and it comes full circle. Oxford? Wow. That’s pretty fancy.” All this info made him even more curious about Ainsley. She was intelligent and beautiful, a dangerous combination. He could sit here all afternoon listening to her talk.
That had never happened before.
She nodded. “So I guess you didn’t mind the chili pie, after all?”
He held up the empty container. “One of the best things I’ve eaten in a while. Who is this Frank guy?”
“He owns a barbeque place out by the beach, Duley’s, which is named after his dad. They’ve been around a long time. And his ribs are even better than his chili.”
“Maybe I could take you there some time?”
“I don’t know. We’ll see.”
“You keep saying that. Do you have a thing about not dating guys in the military or something?”
Her head popped up. “A thing? No. Should I? And who says I want to date you?”
She had him there. He sounded like a jerk. “Sorry, I—”
She reached out and touched his arm. “I’m messing with you. Your face. That was classic. But I’m going to be straight with you. I’m focused on my career. I’m really not looking to date anyone right now. I don’t have a lot of luck with guys, and I find them kind of self-centered. Not that you would be. But...if you want someone to hang out with today, I’m your girl. Want to come shopping with me?”
“Uh, sure?”
The way she talked—so fast—it took him a minute to catch up.
“And for the record,” he said, clearing his throat, “I’m not looking to date, either. I simply wanted to thank you for helping me.”
She chewed on her lip as she eyed him. “Okay. So,” she began and waved to the empty containers, “we’ve had our meal. We should be good. You still want to hang out?”
He shrugged. With this one, it was probably best to play it cool. She didn’t want to date. Well, he’d been honest when he said that wasn’t his thing. His teaching at the base was keeping him busy, and besides, he didn’t do relationships.
But he definitely wanted to spend more time with her.
“I’m yours for the afternoon,” he told her.
And a small voice inside said “and more,” if she wanted.
BEN WAS SNIFFING some homemade candles at a booth, and Ainsley could not keep from staring at him. She had to stop ogling poor Ben, or he was going to get the wrong idea. But everything about him... Heck, she’d never been so attracted to a man. Never in her life had she believed in pheromones but it had to be something like that.
That and he had one of the most jaw-dropping examples of the male body she’d ever seen. Oh, and the fact he was sweet. Taking care of his mom and sister. Putting his life on the line for them, and his country.
A heart-stopping combo if ever there was one.
How many times do I have to tell myself no more men?
He glanced back and shot her one of his devastating smiles.
At least a hundred.
“My mom might like this vanilla one. Do you think giving her something like this would be a good Christmas gift?”
She nodded and smiled. “Everyone loves candles,” she said.
“What else is on your list?” he asked her.
Right. Stay on task.
“I have gifts for two executives I need to pick up. The client wanted something homemade but nice. Classy. Wood sculptures or pens. There’s a man here who crafts things out of old bourbon barrels. I usually buy him out. Those are popular gifts for men and women.”
Her phone played Ozzie Osbourne’s “Crazy Train.” It was the ringtone for her sister, Megan.
“Just a second,” Ainsley said.
“Help!” Megan yelled before Ainsley could even say hello.
“Megan, breathe.” Her sister was a bit of a drama queen in all things, but she loved her. She was the only person who made worse choices when it came to men than Ainsley did.
“Sorry. I’m freaking out. The bachelor auction is tonight, and,” she gasped and sniffled, “two of our guys had to cancel because they have the flu. I swear, if they’re faking I will kill them both. Dead.”
Ainsley thought to downplay the situation and scoffed, “It’s fine, Megan. So you have a couple less bachelors. No biggie.”
“Yes, biggie. It’s for charity. I promised twenty of the hottest guys in Corpus. What am I doing to do with eighteen? And those guys were my big tickets, the two that backed out. My end-of-show wow factors.”
“What?” Sometimes Megan talked in riddles.
“My moneymakers. They were going to push us over the top. I so wanted to beat Stephanie at her own game. She’s been talking behind my back about how she was so much more organized last year. And it’s true. But still. I want to win. And by win, I mean I want the children’s cancer fund to make a ton of money. The most money ever.”
Ainsley smiled. “You want to stick it to Stephanie in the worst way. Be honest.”
“Yes. Okay. Fine. But the only way to do that is to get the most donations for these guys, right? So, it’s a win-win, if I can make it happen. But I can’t do that without some hot studly studs.”
Her sister always had a way with words. “So call your friends. You know hundreds of guys.” Megan went through men faster than she did shoes, and she really loved shoes.
Her sister sighed. “Yeah, unfortunately, I do. I’ve called in all the favors I could. A lot of my friends already donated the silent auction prizes. They don’t like the idea of being in front of a bunch of drunk women trying to buy them.”
“I can’t imagine why.” Ainsley had never liked these types of events for that reason. Even though the guys were doing it out of the goodness of their hearts, she always felt it was kind of humiliating. The whole objectifying them, and then there was the women pawing after them on the dance floor. No, she couldn’t imagine why.
“Please,” Megan begged. “You know everyone. Surely you can scrounge up a couple of super good-looking guys. I’ll owe. Like, my life. Please don’t make me beg more.”
Ainsley glanced up to find Ben watching her intently. No. She couldn’t. He wouldn’t. But if ever there was a big moneymaker, it was him.
“Hold on.” She put her phone on mute and gave him her best smile.
“What are you and Jake doing tonight?”
* * *
“I’D RATHER BE in the middle of a war zone with insurgents ready to take me down,” Jake said, messing with his tie for the fiftieth time. Ben and Jake were both dressed in penguin suits for the charity auction. This was the worst idea in the history of ideas. That’s what he got for giving in to a pretty face.
“Right there with you, brother.”
When Ainsley had smiled that big, hopeful smile at him, he couldn’t say no. Heck, he’d probably have done just about anything to spend time with her.
But this. Well, it was definitely beyond the call of duty. Ainsley had talked about kids with cancer, and that was all it