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  His grandmother’s laugh made him smile. “Yet like most men, you quite happily give it away when it suits you.”

  “That is different. That is my choice,” he said. Then he frowned into the tea kettle. “And I can’t even recall the last time I gave it to anyone. There are no good women in this town.”

  Pekala clicked her tongue in sympathy. “Where is your faith? Perhaps the woman who pays for your company will be a nice person. Perhaps she will even be your Ke Aloha.”

  “That would be miraculous,” Koka said stiffly, but then instantly regretted having taken too sharp a tone over her teasing. “I have some fish soup I could warm for you if you’re hungry.”

  “No thank you. Just tea, Ko`u Aloha. Just tea tonight,” she said. “I need to go pray to the goddess. I will ask her to send someone to whom you can give what you don’t want to sell on Saturday.”

  His grandmother meant well with her teasing. She meant to put him at ease. Koka knew that—he did. But thinking of an audience full of screaming women bidding on him, he rolled his eyes to the ceiling making sure his grandmother did not see.

  Chapter 2

  “I had to work late to handle an emergency for a client, but I’m here now. The auction is just getting started. Breathe, Joe. I’m sure I haven’t missed him.”

  Sabine held her cell phone tightly to her heaving chest, blocking Joe from hearing just in case she needed to lie to him.

  “What bachelor are they on?” she asked, whispering the question to the woman filling out her paperwork.

  “Number two I think,” the woman replied equally quietly.

  Sabine automatically took the auction-bidding fan that now had her name printed in giant letters on it. Sighing to see Martin’s name next to hers again, she ignored it and relayed the woman’s answer into the phone. “They’re just on bachelor number two. I’m sure I haven’t missed your Todd yet.”

  “He’s number five,” the woman said, her tone perking up. “Wow, I wish I could bid on him. He’s incredibly good-looking, even if he never smiles.”

  Sabine’s eyebrows raised at the detailed praise of the man. “You’re in luck, Joe. They just told me he’s coming up soon. So relax and drive safely. If I win Todd before you get here, I’ll call you.”

  Before Joe could protest further, Sabine clicked the phone off and dropped it into her purse. “God, I really hate doing this.”

  The woman laughed and smiled at her. “If you win, I’ll gladly take your date with Todd,” she said.

  Sabine thought of how flustered Joe would get and how badly she wanted revenge for the hell he’d put her through today.

  “Don’t tempt me,” she said with a grin, making the woman laugh. “That’s the best offer I’ve had all day. I traded money for going to the spa for this.”

  Shouldering her favorite large purse, Sabine bravely headed into the bidding area where a crowd of restless women were actively bidding on some great-looking guy standing on stage.

  The poor guy looked almost ill, but the screaming women didn’t seem to notice, or at least they didn’t seem to care. Looking around Sabine shook her head, unsure whether she should feel most sorry for the desperate women, the uncomfortable men, or herself for being stupid enough to do this for Joe.

  She plopped down in a vacant chair near the back. Counting seats to have something to do, she came up with just a little over a hundred thirty potential competitors. Hopefully not all of them had auction fans, so maybe she could shave another twenty or so from that. Then she factored in Joe’s comment about Todd being a diamond in the rough and thought maybe another fifty might not like him enough to bid. If her estimates were right, it meant the actual number of women bidding against her might be no more than sixty or seventy.

  Maybe she could do this—even if she hated every crazy second of it.

  Sabine jumped in her seat when the woman next to her threw up her fan and screamed out a number. Her attention was snagged seconds later by the auctioneer yelling loud enough to be heard above the commotion.

  “We have four hundred fifty. Do I hear five hundred? Do I hear four seventy-five? Four fifty-five? Going once. Going twice. Ladies, we have another winner. The winning bid for bachelor number four is four hundred fifty dollars.”

  Sabine made a face at the winning bid, but was secretly glad the amount was so low. Seconds later, the woman’s squeal of triumph was deafening. Sabine put her hands over her ears to protect them.

  “Sorry. So sorry,” the woman said in squealing apology.

  Sabine heard the woman giggle as she stood up. She almost laughed out loud when the woman rushed to the back of the room on six-inch pointed heels that any stripper would have envied.

  “Oh good. One more bidder down,” Sabine said softly to herself, watching her go. She set her purse on the woman’s vacated seat to save it in case Joe actually made it on time.

  While she waited for the next auction to start, Sabine studied the black ballet flats peeking out of her nicest pair of black leggings. Paired with a gold metallic tunic that covered her hips, the outfit was a good look for her. And flats went well with such outfits. Maybe three-inch heels would have made her legs look thinner. Was she going to have to learn to walk on heels again if she started dating? She hadn’t thought about that, but she hated the idea of hose and heels as bad as she hated being single.

  “Okay, ladies. I know you’ve been waiting patiently for this one. Bachelor number five is Seattle’s very own Todd Lake, The Sexy Chef himself. One of our sweetest deals tonight, Todd tells us Seattle Live is going to match whatever money is collected for the winning bid. And I hear Todd is planning to cook his date’s favorite meal tomorrow night. So what do you think? Does that sound good, ladies? Let’s open the bid at five hundred dollars and see how many takers we have.”

  Sabine drew in a breath as nearly every fan in the place was raised. “Well holy shit,” she said, forgetting her role in the auction as she dealt with her surprise. Joe hadn’t told her that the man was freaking famous. Was being a chef his hobby?

  She looked back at the stage at the tall stoic male who so far hadn’t smiled once at the audience. His serious and brooding expression seemed more natural for the intense face as he stood scanning the sea of squealing females.

  And Todd Lake was way more good-looking than Joe had indicated. Somewhere between deciding for the hundredth time that all the best looking men were gay and realizing her fan was still lifeless in her lap, Sabine remembered to raise it to enter a bid.

  “Wonderful! We now have a bid for two thousand. Lady in the gold shirt—I saw your fan go up too. Do I hear two thousand five hundred from you?”

  Before Sabine could recover from the shock of so much money already being on the block for good-looking maybe-gay Todd, a loud voice rang out from the back.

  “Three thousand.”

  Sabine pivoted in her seat to see an extremely tall woman standing at the back who was smiling evilly at the man on the stage. Sabine looked back at the stage and saw him frown as he glared at the back of the room. Whoever the woman was, Todd Lake definitely did not like her—not at all. She studied him as the auctioneer was calling for more bids. The last guy had looked ill as the bidding had neared a closing point. Chef Lake just looked really, really pissed. Yet for some reason, she still felt sorry for him. Her gut told her the woman at the back was up to no good.

  “Three thousand five hundred,” Sabine shouted loudly, turning and glaring at the woman for good measure.

  “Four thousand,” the woman shouted back, turning her evil smile toward Sabine. “What do you think you’re going to get for that much cash, honey? I can tell you that it’s only going to be dinner. The man doesn’t put out.”

  Sabine stood and felt all eyes turn on her. “Hey, this auction is being televised. There’s no need to be disrespectful to any of the bachelors. Mr. Lake is doing this for charity.”

  Sabine turned her attention to the stage. Her gaze sought and found his, while all gazes w
ere still on her. There was a glint in his eyes and something else. A plea maybe. Damn it, she was weak.

  Turning once more, Sabine looked at the woman just as the auctioneer was counting down for her bid. She held up her fan. “Six thousand dollars,” Sabine said firmly, her voice barely carrying over the now madly cheering crowd.

  “Are you are fucking crazy?” the woman shouted.

  Sabine shrugged and smiled at her competition.

  “The bid is now at six thousand . . . Going once . . . Going twice. Mr. Lake will be cooking dinner for . . . hold up your fan for me again, lady in the gold shirt. He’ll be cooking for Ms. Sabine Kendall. Congratulations, Ms. Kendall. You have the winning bid for bachelor number five.”

  The applause that broke out was the most deafening yet. Sabine laughed at the sheer amount of happy female energy in the room now directed at her. Feeling righteous and heroic, she shouldered her large purse again and headed for the back of the room.

  “You’re an idiot for spending that kind of money on Todd Lake. He’s so not worth it, lady. I was only going to make him pay for treating me like shit when we dated,” the woman yelled as she passed.

  “Maybe I am an idiot, but at least I’m the winning one this evening. And I think I just rescued a decent man from your evil bitchiness, which is the best thing I could have done at this meat show tonight. Do yourself a favor. Get help and stop hating the world,” Sabine ordered, smiling in triumph as the woman gave her the finger.

  She knew her smile would disappear the moment she signed over the remaining contents of her savings to some charity she had yet to identify, but what the hell? Rundgren was obviously supporting it too. That would look favorable for her. She would just split the difference of the money with Joe. It had been worth her half to put that bitchy woman in her place. She felt ten feet tall and thin at the moment. Those extra thirty pounds she was packing were wiped away in her triumphant female moment.

  Behind her, she heard bachelor number six being brought forward. It made her cringe. Despite the momentary rush she’d gotten bidding on Joe’s Todd, the whole auction business was still distasteful to her. Once again she shook her head at her stupidity for getting involved.

  “Joe, you owe me.”

  Chapter 3

  Sabine was sighing over her checkbook when an out-of-breath Joe finally ran in and skidded to a stop beside her.

  “Did you win?” he demanded.

  “Of course I won,” Sabine declared. “And my now empty bank account can attest to that fact.”

  She handed the check over to a giggling woman who congratulated her on her win.

  “And just how much did you have to pay for his rescue?” Joe asked.

  “Six thousand, hotshot. There was some crazy woman bidding on your diamond in the rough that ran his price up to four thousand in like a minute. She was a real piece of work, let me tell you. It felt so good to outbid her that I’ve decided to split the difference with you, so you only owe me three thousand. Plus I really enjoyed rescuing him. You were right—it was the most fun I’ve had in ages.”

  “Six thousand? You paid six thousand dollars for Todd?” Joe exclaimed.

  Sabine laughed at his genuine disbelief. “Yes. Apparently, every woman in the place saw the same diamond quality in him that you did. Now come on. I’ve got to go get my picture taken with your stud who’s waiting for me in the winner’s circle.”

  “I can’t believe they got through nine bachelors so quickly,” Joe commented as they walked.

  “It was only five. Todd was bachelor number five—not number nine,” Sabine corrected.

  “No, Todd was going to be number nine. I got a text about ten minutes ago confirming his place in the auction line-up.”

  Sabine snorted. “Simply not possible, Joe. The auctioneer said Todd Lake and the room erupted in bid fans going up in the air. I bid on your Todd—trust me.”

  “Todd Lake? Sabine . . . oh my God. That’s who you bid on and won? For six thousand?” Joe bent from the waist as he laughed. When he straightened, he turned and started back toward the sign-up table. “I’m going to have to go bid on Todd myself. This is too funny. Wait until I tell him.”

  “Joe, what the hell are you talking about? Come back here. This is not the time for a joke.”

  Joe stopped, laughing as he turned to look at Sabine’s blank face again. “Sweetie, do you have any idea who you won tonight?”

  “Yes. I won Todd Lake,” Sabine said. “It has to be your Todd. There couldn’t have been two Todds in the auction. You said so yourself.”

  Joe laughed. “What are the odds of two Todds? Sounds like a riddle, doesn’t it? Now I wish I could stick around to meet The Sexy Chef in person, but I need to go save my Todd. Have fun with yours.”

  Sabine stomped her foot. It was childish. Plus it didn’t help. “I already did save him. He’s waiting on me to take a freaking picture with him, Joe. Now stop fooling around and come with me. I don’t want to do this alone.”

  “Sabine, you bid on the wrong man. But don’t worry, I’m sure you’re going to have a wonderful time tomorrow on your expensive date. Todd Lake is a Polynesian chef and you love pineapple. I’m sure it will be fine. Oh, and I think he’s a bit younger than you. See how great this has worked out? Win-win and you didn’t have to hit a single bar.”

  Shocked at Joe’s revelation—and assumption—Sabine remained frozen in place, staring after him. Todd Lake was a real chef? What the hell? She didn’t watch cooking shows.

  “Oh dear God—now what am I going to do?” she asked aloud as she watched Joe walk away.

  “Sabine Kendall?”

  A deep masculine voice followed by a laugh had her spinning to face the speaker. Up close, Todd Lake was even larger and more impressive than he had looked on stage. His athletic cut suit fit him perfectly. The shaggy black hair and day’s growth of beard didn’t do the suit any favors, but social defiance somehow suited those piercing chocolate eyes of his. He looked very real as he grinned at her shock.

  Her sigh of resignation over what he must have heard was long and loud. Sabine ignored her face heating and sought for the composure she normally exhibited in uncomfortable situations. As a public relations specialist, she had handled some funky clients in her career, and certainly had her share of embarrassing moments. She just didn’t usually cause them for herself.

  “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean for you to hear all that, Mr. Lake. My error is not in any way your fault nor a judgment of your appeal. I’m sure you’re worth every penny I paid—for the charity donation, I mean.”

  “So if I heard your friend correctly, you rescued me thinking I was someone else?” Koka asked.

  “Well—yes, but it wasn’t as bad as it sounded. I promised a friend that I’d rescue a guy he’s . . . no let’s skip Joe’s story. It’s too complicated to get into. Plus I’m still not convinced the other guy even exists. Long story made short—apparently I bid on the wrong bachelor named Todd,” Sabine said. “I hope you’re not too offended.”

  Koka smiled—really smiled. The movement was so real and genuine for once that his face actually hurt. He put a hand up to rub the stiffness from his bristly jaw as he answered. “On the contrary, I am happy for the first time this evening—maybe this year. Thank you for rescuing me—whatever the circumstances.”

  Sabine sighed in relief as she smiled back. She put out her hand. “That’s very nice of you to be so understanding. I’m Sabine Blakeman by the way, not Kendall any longer. They took my name off my driver’s license and checkbook. I just haven’t changed it legally yet.”

  His hand engulfed hers and Sabine wondered how those large hands could possible manage in a kitchen. His fingers were long and the skin on his hands meticulously soft and clean.

  “They have a saying where I’m from, Ms. Blakeman. Mahalo E Ke Akua No Keia La,” Koka said.

  Sabine smiled. “That’s certainly a beautiful mouthful. Is it Polynesian?”

  “It’s the Hawaiian way of
saying thank the goddess such a pleasant woman won me,” Koka explained.

  When she laughed at his compliment, the ruggedly handsome behemoth towering over her tugged her hand gently until she just sort of naturally fell into step beside him. “Well, at least the mean woman in the back didn’t get you.”

  “Never. Not even when we dated briefly. I think she may still be angry about my refusal,” Koka said.

  “Oh,” Sabine replied, the single word encompassing her total understanding. The woman had insinuated as much, but she didn’t like to jump to conclusions. Then thinking about the sexually frustrated woman bidding four thousand for another shot at him, she snorted in evil laughter herself and felt triumphant all over again. “As good looking as you are, you can do a lot better than someone like her.”

  “My grandmother didn’t like her either,” Koka said, shrugging off his narrow escape. “So . . . shall we take the obligatory picture for the paper?”

  Sabine sighed and nodded. She might as well have something to show for her zero bank balance. Why not get a picture taken with her six thousand dollar wrong Valentine?

  “Sure. Why not? Otherwise tomorrow this is just going to seem like every other nightmare I’ve ever had and woken up from relieved to still be alive. I thought some of those women might murder me before I managed to write the check.”

  Koka laughed and the sound coming from his chest surprised him. He couldn’t remember the last time a woman had sparked humor in his soul. He took a closer look at her.

  “I am suddenly very glad you won me, Sabine Blakeman. Tomorrow I will make you the best dinner you have ever had. I heard your friend say that you like pineapple. Not one of my usual ingredients, but I’ll see what I can do.”

  Sabine groaned at his sarcasm and felt a blush climbing her face again. “I am so sorry. My friend Joe has an extremely big mouth. Make anything you want and I’ll eat it. Promise. I’m not picky at all when it comes to food, but then I guess that shows, doesn’t it? And for the record, I do like pineapple.”