Boots and Roses (3 page)

Bunny’s heartbeat accelerated. She had over two grand in savings for a rainy day and maybe to pay off her ex when she got a little more saved. That money was not earmarked for a hot date with two sexy men.

It still galled her to no end that Ray got half of her business in the divorce, Texas being a community property state. Out of the “goodness of his heart” Ray had let her keep the flower shop, as long as she paid him for his half over time, as a loan. He never let her forget it either, always giving her his unwanted opinion on how to run the flower shop. Spending so much money on a date would have him questioning her ability to stay in business. He might even foreclose on his loan.

“Going once,” Charli said.

“What?” Bunny’s breath caught and she leaned so far forward on her stool she almost slid off.

“Going twice.” Charli paused. “They’re a steal at twelve hundred dollars. Come on ladies, won’t one of you bid thirteen hundred?”

Bunny’s hand shook, her grip clenching on the paddle. Before she could analyze her actions, she raised her paddle.

“Is that Bunny Leigh back there near the bar?” Charli shielded her eyes from the glare of the stage lights. “Y’all gonna let Temptation’s best florist go home with the two most drool-worthy men in the county?”

Cory and Jack stared across the room, straight at Bunny, both smiling.

Her pulse accelerated until she thought for certain her heart would jump right out of her chest. Her gaze panned the room, praying someone else would raise a paddle quickly before she bought the cowboy and the cop.

Charli grinned, and before anyone else could get a paddle above shoulder-high, she pounded her gavel on the podium and shouted, “Sold!”

Chapter Two

Her heart screeched to a stop and Bunny nearly fell out of her seat.

Audrey pounded her back, smiling from ear to ear. “I knew you had it in you.”

“Oh, my gosh.” Bunny pressed a hand to her forehead. “What have I done?”

“You’ve bought a date with two of the hottest men in the tri-county area.” Audrey wasn’t helping. Her joy didn’t make Bunny feel any better about having spent a good portion of her savings account on a single date.

“I can’t afford thirteen hundred dollars. I have to pay the wholesaler on Monday.”

Audrey hugged her. “I told you, I’d give you half. I wanted to contribute to the auction, and this is perfect. And I don’t have to explain myself to Jackson. You get to go home with the goods, not me.” She danced away, calling over her shoulder, “I’ll be right back with a check for my half.”

Okay, six hundred and fifty dollars was better, but still…what was she going to do on a date with two men?

One by one, women paraded by her, some glaring, others congratulating her on her purchase.

Mona, Bunny’s hairstylist and best friend, snuck in for a hug. “Wow, I wish I had that kind of money. Those two are priceless. I can’t wait to hear all about the date at your next hair appointment. And please, don’t scrimp on any of the details. That Cory has the moves. And Jack…” Mona pressed a hand to her chest. “Love a man in uniform.” She hugged Bunny again. “I’d give my right arm to trade places with you.”

Bunny opened her mouth to say she could, but her gaze caught Cory’s as he crossed the room, still in his stripper outfit of chaps, G-string and vest. Every woman he passed pinched his ass.

By the time he reached her, he was rubbing his bare ass, grimacing. “I’m not going to be much to look at with all the bruises I collected running the gauntlet.” He laughed and pulled Bunny into his arms. “Thanks.”

“For w-what?” Bunny stammered. “You’re the one who volunteered for this gig. I should be thanking you and Jack. Look, Cory, as for the date, you don’t have to—”

He grabbed her waist and swung her around. “Honey Bunny, you’re gonna love what we’ve got planned for you.” Cory slowed to a stop and set her down, holding her at arms’ length. “We’ll have double the fun.”

Stunned by the bare-chested hug, Bunny struggled to breathe and to recall what she’d been about to say.

Jack joined Cory, still shirtless and gorgeous. “Feels good to play the bad-boy cop.” He picked her up and kissed her soundly on the lips. “So when’s the big date night?”

Her head spinning, Bunny blinked. “I don’t know.” She didn’t know what had come over her, or Jack and Cory, for that matter. Why were they interested in her now? Why did she think she could handle two men when she hadn’t dated one in years? Her gaze landed on Cory’s rock-hard chest. Holy hell, he was even more attractive with his shirt off. Feeling like a cougar, Bunny forced her attention to Jack, whose dark good looks were completely opposite Cory’s blond sexiness. Dating both men could prove to be a minefield of possibilities that might blow up in her face every step of the way. Question was, would it be a good explosion or a bad one?

Cory was everything her ex wasn’t, and five years too young for her. If she was smart, she’d concentrate on Jack to keep from cradle-robbing the youngster. Not that Cory looked anything like a boy. Broad shoulders, tight abs and that huge black-clad bulge…

Bunny’s thighs clenched and her pussy heated. The only way this date would work was if she kept her head together and her hands off.

“We need time to make the arrangements,” Cory said.

Time was good. Bunny opened her mouth to suggest a year, instead she asked, “What arrangements? It’s just a date.”

“You know—reservations, renting tuxedoes, ordering flowers…” Cory counted them off on his fingers. “How about tomorrow night?”

Jack grinned. “No rush.”

Cory threw back his shoulders. “It won’t be just
any
date. Since it’s you, I have something even more exciting planned.”

Bunny’s heartbeat kicked up a notch at Cory’s air of steely confidence and the wicked gleam in his blue eyes. If she didn’t know better, she’d guess Cory was a lot older than his twenty-one years.

“You guys don’t have to go to a lot of trouble. Pizza and a movie would be fine by me.”

“No pizza.” Cory’s lips pressed together. “You deserve much better than just pizza.”

Bunny crossed her arms. “I’m not into fancy dinners at expensive restaurants.”

Cory frowned. “How fancy are you talking?”

“Anything fancier than what we have in Temptation.”

Jack laughed. “That narrows it down to PJ’s Diner.”

His frown deepening, Cory continued, “I wanted to take you out to dinner and dancing.”

“That would mean heading all the way into Dallas.” Bunny shook her head. “Too far.” And if they stayed the night in Dallas, would they share a hotel room?

A tingle of anticipation rippled through her. Two men, one woman and a hotel room? Her breath caught and her palms grew moist. Bunny reminded herself this was only a date, not an all-nighter. Keeping it closer to home would be a better bet.

And safer.
From whom? Cory had always been the perfect gentleman when working for her, never making crude comments or moves toward her that could be construed as come-ons. And Jack was a deputy, for goodness sakes. He wouldn’t jump her bones. Would he? The thought of either of these men jumping her was ludicrous.

Then why was her pulse pounding through her veins like a base drummer on steroids? Did she actually want them to try something wicked? Was she that brave?

Warmth stole across her body, pooling low in her belly. Man, it had been way too long since she’d had sex with anything but her vibrator. How would it feel to have a man between her legs instead of a battery-powered toy?

Her cheeks heated and she glanced at her hands in her lap to keep from revealing her thoughts. “I’d prefer to do the date locally.” Not to mention the other damper on that thought. “And tomorrow is out. I promised Lacey Lambert I’d go with her to the Temptation Garden Club meeting.”

Cory tipped his head, his eyes narrowing, staring at Bunny for an agonizingly long moment before he nodded, his face brightening. “Fair enough. How’s Friday?”

Bunny glanced around, searching for an excuse and coming up blank. “I guess Friday’s good.”

“It’s settled then.” He gripped her hands. “This is your date, so we’ll make it special here in Temptation.”

Jack’s brows rose. “What do you want me to do?”

“Leave it to me. I have an idea.” Cory clapped his hands and grinned.

Jack nodded. “Okay, and Friday night’s good. I’m off duty.”

Cory continued, “We can iron out the details later.”

Bunny’s gaze bounced from Cory to Jack and back to Cory, like a spectator at a tennis match. A tinge of irritation flared at the cavalier way they were talking around her, as if she didn’t have a say in how their date would go. “If you’ll excuse me, I’ll go pay out.” She slipped off the barstool and left the two men discussing the date the three of them would be going on.

Her knees wobbled as she set off across the floor to pay for her winning bid on the two hottest men in the tri-county area.
Holy rock stars!
She didn’t have a clue what to do with two men. Never in her entire life had she even considered going out with two guys at once. Friday night, it would happen.

Charli stood beside the cashier, her eyes wide, her smile growing. She glanced at Bunny. “The Ladies Aide made over ten grand on tonight’s auction. That’s the most they’ve ever made at one of these shindigs.” Charli slipped an arm around Bunny’s shoulder. “And the best part is that you have a date with the hottest duo on the program.”

Bunny closed her eyes and reminded herself to breathe. Every time she thought about Cory and Jack, her lungs wouldn’t work and that sensitive place between her legs ached in anticipation of Friday night.

She handed over Audrey’s check and wrote out another for six hundred and fifty dollars. As she passed it over to the cashier, she wondered yet again what the heck she was doing.

Six hundred and fifty dollars would pay one month’s rent on the flower shop. Six hundred and fifty dollars would go a long way toward a nice fat shipment of fresh roses. Six hundred and fifty dollars would make a dent in the eight thousand she still owed Ray for his half of everything she’d built while he’d gone to school. Instead, six hundred and fifty dollars was paying for the most expensive date she’d ever been on.

What did people do on dates these days? When she’d handed over her check, she turned to face the dance floor. Every woman in the place had taken to the wood parquet flooring and was gyrating to the tune of “It’s Raining Men.”

“Come dance!” Mona waved at her from the edge of the throng.

Still reeling from her spontaneous acquisition, Bunny smiled and shook her head, pointing toward the hallway that led to the bathrooms. She didn’t have to go, but the crowd, the noise and her insane bid had her heart beating too fast. She had to get away, to get out of the bar. As she pushed through the throng, she spied Cory and Jack ducking through the door behind the bar to the back of the saloon, presumably to change and possibly leave.

She couldn’t do it. Those two men were way more than she could handle. Bunny turned to follow, determined to tell the guys never mind, the date was off. She didn’t want to go out with either one of them; she wasn’t ready. After only two short years since her divorce, Bunny wasn’t ready to wade through the swamps of dating.

After bumping into two drunk women and dodging around several others, Bunny finally made it to the doorway leading backstage. She glanced around, looking for Greta Sue, the bouncer. When she spied the big woman across the floor near the exit, Bunny sighed. Too bad Greta wasn’t there to glare down at her and tell her the back rooms were off limits to customers. The bouncer’s interference would have saved Bunny from the additional embarrassment of a face-to-face meeting with the cowboy and the cop. She could have had Greta Sue give them a note, telling them she’d changed her mind. The money was paid. That was all that mattered. She didn’t have to follow through on the date.

Bunny slipped through the doorway into the back behind the bar, passing the storeroom where extra boxes of booze were stacked.

Audrey was inside, reaching for a box on an upper shelf. A man snagged her around the waist and pulled her back. “Jackson, stop!” The saloon owner giggled and turned into the man’s arms.

Jackson shifted into view. Before Bunny could look away, Jackson’s hands slid up Audrey’s shirt.

Bunny gasped softly, averted her eyes and rushed into the costume room.

Jack and Cory stood with their backs toward the door.

Cory had taken off the leather vest, boots and chaps and stood in nothing but the black G-string. He was holding his blue jeans in his hands. It wasn’t the jeans that captured Bunny’s attention and breath.

It was the smooth tanned perfection of Cory’s ass.

Jack was slipping his uniform shirt back on and buttoning. “I have to get back out there.”

“Talk when you get home?”

“I’ll be working late helping Audrey clean up, then I have to report into the station early in the morning.”

“How’s coffee at the diner at around ten-thirty sound?” Cory stepped into his jeans and pulled them up over that tight set of glutes.

“Good. I’ll double check the schedule and make sure no one penciled me in for the night shift on Friday.”

“I’m just glad it was Bunny who got us.”

“Me too. Some of those women out there were pretty intense.”

“Downright scary.”

“Practically rabid, if you ask me.” Jack chuckled. “Best part is, imagining all the sexy things we can do with Bunny.”

Bunny clapped a hand to her lips to keep from gasping out loud. Sexy things? Like what?

“You and me both. Good thing we can agree on that.” Cory laughed and turned toward Jack, his gaze tracking to Bunny. He smiled, his hands pausing at the bottom of his zipper. “We have company.”

Jack spun, his eyes wide. When he spotted Bunny, he smiled. “Speak of the devil.”

Heat climbed up Bunny’s neck into her cheeks. She felt like she’d been caught peeking into the boys’ locker room in high school.

“Let me just say thanks again for bidding on us.” Jack finished the last button on his shirt and tucked the tails into his uniform trousers. “I didn’t know what to expect when I volunteered for this.”