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"Hey, guys, don't you think Ms. Thorpe and I are entitled to a little time alone?"
"You have a three-day weekend to be alone," one of them said, and they all laughed.
"And a weekend to plan," Travis said. He looked down at Alex. "Right, Ms. Thorpe?"
"Right, Mr. Baron," she said, flashing him a smile that was vaguely reminiscent of the snarl of an angry Doberman.
"I just love that old-fashioned formality," the reporter gushed. "Mr., Ms.... So charming!"
Travis laughed merrily as he began backing Alex from the dance floor. "Well," he said, "Ms. Thorpe is just an old-fashioned girl."
As if on cue, the orchestra struck up another waltz. Come on, Travis thought, come on!
People surged onto the floor to dance.
Travis didn't waste any time. He let go of Alexandra's waist, grabbed her hand and all but sprinted for the door. She tried to tug free when they were halfway through the lobby but his fingers tightened on hers.
"Keep going," he said, and led her out the main doors, past the doorman and down the wide marble steps. Anybody watching would figure they were making a romantic getaway. He almost imagined it, himself, until they reached the street and she dug in her spiked heels, wrenched her hand from his and spun toward him.
"Exactly what do you think you're doing?" she said, turning her angry face up to his.
"Calm down, Sugar."
Alexandra stamped her foot. "Kindly do not `sugar' me!"
"My car is parked just up the street."
I 'Do you really think I give a damn where your car is parked?" Alex tossed her head. "Listen to me, Mr. Baron, and listen well. You are, without question, the most horrible man I ever—"
Travis rolled his eyes, grabbed her wrist and tugged her down the street and into a doorway.
"Don't you ever think before you make a scene, lady? Or do you like being in the spotlight?" "I cherish my privacy."
"Yeah, well, you've got a strange way of showing it." He waved his hand in the general direction of the main entrance to the Hotel Paradise. "What makes you so sure that nitwit reporter and her bozo cameraman weren't hot on our heels, huh?"
He could see her face pale a little, even in the darkness of the doorway.
"Were they?"
He leaned out and looked. "No," he snapped. "But you didn't even think about it before you started chewing me out. Just once, you might try thinking of the consequences before you act."
"Me? Me, think of the consequences?" Alex threw back her head. "Ha," she said, without the least touch of humor, "oh, ha, Mr. Baron, that is a good one! That's really something, coming from you."
Travis folded his arms. "I," he said loftily, "am not the person who got us into this mess."
And now that he thought about it, it was a mess. He'd made an idiot of himself, prancing around onstage. And then the Thorpe babe had made an idiot of herself, running away. And just now-he'd kissed her in front of a zillion people in a way he'd probably never, ever live down.
“I am the innocent party in this entire unfortunate affair, sir!”
"Hey, Sugar. Don't you pull that Ice Princess bit on me."
"Are you deaf, Mr. Baron? Do not call me `sugar."'
"Forgive me, Ms. Thorpe!" His mouth thinned and he shoved his face toward hers. Despite herself, Alex took a hurried step back. "Princess suits you," he muttered. "That little lady'll never know how right she was!"
"What little lady?"
"Never mind." A muscle knotted in Travis's cheek. "The bottom line here is that I am tired of being the villain in this piece."
"Are you suggesting that I am?"
"You bid on me, remember?"
Color shot into her face. "Permit me to refresh your memory. Mr. Baron. This was a bachelor auction. The whole purpose of the event was for women to bid on men."
"Uh-huh."
"What, pray tell, is that supposed to mean?"
"It means you didn't have to bid so much for me that you brought the house down."
"I don't have to listen to this—"
Travis grabbed her shoulder as Alex tried to brush past him. "And then," he growled, "as if you hadn't drawn enough attention to us already—"
"I drew attention?" Alex tossed back her head and laughed. "Oh, I love that, Mr. Baron. I wasn't up on that stage, prancing around like a—a male stripper!"
A smile tilted across Travis's mouth. He shifted his weight so that he blocked the doorway. All Alex could see were his broad shoulders and his ruggedly handsome face, only that and the dark night that surrounded them.
Her heart skipped a beat.
