Black Tie Bachelor Bid--A bachelor auction romance with a twist

  “Why, exactly, did you make such a ridiculous bid?

  I don’t know who you are, but I can’t imagine you have any problem meeting men or finding dates.”

  “What makes you say that?”

  “Look at you.” Roman’s gaze connected with hers and it felt a bit like she could see right through him. “You’re beautiful.”

  “Thank you, but I don’t need you to say things like that to me, okay?”

  “Okay...”

  “I paid quite a lot for a sliver of time with you, and I intend to get my money’s worth.”

  “What does that mean, exactly?”

  She turned to him and extended her hand. “My name is Taylor Klein and I have spent the last several weeks trying to get to you. I need you for your brain. And your creativity.”

  “So you don’t want to go out to dinner with me?”

  She sat back in her seat. “Not particularly. Especially not if you’re thinking about wine and candles and all of that.”

  Roman couldn’t have been more confused—or intrigued—if he tried. This exquisite woman didn’t want even a little romance? She only wanted his mind? “Okay, then. Tell me more.”

  * * *

  Black Tie Bachelor Bid by Karen Booth is part of the Little Black Book of Secrets series.

  Dear Reader,

  Yay! It’s time to roll out book two in the Little Black Book of Secrets trilogy. This sexy series centers on childhood best friends Chloe, Taylor and Alexandra, and an anonymous social media account exposing the secrets and scandals of old-money families like their own. It’s all quite juicy...

  The bachelor is Roman Scott, a mysterious and reclusive hotelier. Roman is also a widower and has shut himself off from women, but when his sister-in-law organizes a charity bachelor auction, he reluctantly says yes. That brings in determined Taylor, our heroine, who has failed at every career she’s pursued. Her latest idea is converting her family’s summer estate in Connecticut into a boutique hotel. But she needs the advice of a brilliant innovator like Roman. So she bids a wild amount and wins him. When they steal away to Connecticut, it’s passion like neither expected—and intrigue as they try to unmask Little Black Book.

  I hope you have as much fun reading this book as I did writing it! Drop me a line at karen@karenbooth.net and let me know your thoughts!

  Karen

  Karen Booth

  Black Tie Bachelor Bid

  Karen Booth is a Midwestern girl transplanted in the South, raised on ’80s music and repeated readings of Forever... by Judy Blume. When she takes a break from the art of romance, she’s listening to music with her college-age kids or sweet-talking her husband into making her a cocktail. Learn more about Karen at karenbooth.net.

  Books by Karen Booth

  Harlequin Desire

  Blue Collar Billionaire

  Little Black Book of Secrets

  The Problem with Playboys

  Black Tie Bachelor Bid

  The Sterling Wives

  Once Forbidden, Twice Tempted

  High Society Secrets

  All He Wants for Christmas

  Visit her Author Profile page at Harlequin.com, or karenbooth.net, for more titles.

  You can also find Karen Booth on Facebook, along with other Harlequin Desire authors, at Facebook.com/harlequindesireauthors!

  Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Excerpt from Secrets of a Wedding Crasher by Katherine Garbera

  One

  “No way. It’s too sexy.” Taylor Klein shook her head, dismissing the slinky low-cut black dress her friend Alexandra Gold was holding on a hanger. Along with Chloe Burnett, the three best friends were sifting through the most elegant contents of the expansive closet in Taylor’s Manhattan apartment, searching for a suitable gown for the high-dollar bachelor auction Taylor was set to attend that evening.

  “Why would you not want to be sexy?” Chloe flipped her sumptuous red tresses over her shoulder, a sure sign that she was exasperated.

  “Because I want to be professional.” Taylor zipped past more dresses. Nope... Nope... Nope... None of them were right. Or at least she didn’t feel like she could pull any of them off. Yes, these were her clothes, but her already shaky confidence had been worn down to a fraction of what it had once been. There was a lot on the line with this auction. She had to look perfect.

  “You’re about to pay money for a date with a handsome billionaire.” Chloe threw up her hands, giving up on the search and instead perching on the tufted white velvet ottoman at the center of the closet. “I’d say that any hopes of professional have sailed a long time ago.”

  Said handsome billionaire, Roman Scott, was one of the most innovative and successful hoteliers in the world. He took old buildings and gave them all-new lives as chic and ultracool lodgings. “My attempts at approaching him in a businesslike manner didn’t work. So now I have to go to a bachelor auction instead.” Taylor could hardly believe this was her lot in life, but she was determined to make it work. After years of failed career starts, she had an idea for a new venture—turning her family’s summertime estate in Connecticut into a boutique hotel. It would play to Taylor’s strengths—a flair for design, an endless need to make others happy and a great attention to detail. Taylor also believed in extensive preparation, and that meant getting the very best advice before jumping into the deep end on a multimillion-dollar venture. As far as she was concerned, the best advice would only come from Roman Scott. Only him. No one else.

  “I still can’t believe he didn’t call you back. I would be so mad. And insulted.” Alexandra, or Alex as they all called her, was a highly sought high-end floral designer, softhearted and optimistic to a fault. It took a lot to make her express any negative emotion.

  “How many messages did you leave for him? And did you make sure he knew that you’re a Klein? Your family is an institution, especially in the Northeast. He’s from this part of the country. There’s no way he doesn’t know who you or your family are.” This was a predictable reaction from Chloe, who owned a crisis PR firm. She was always looking for connections, in part because she had a knack at leveraging them.

  Nothing about this discussion was helping with Taylor’s confidence. “I left more than a dozen phone messages for him, plus I sent several emails, and I even tried a fax if you can believe that. Nothing worked. The guy would not call me.”

  “Maybe he’s a jerk,” Chloe said. “Isn’t that what he’s known for?”

  “Yes. In some circles,” Taylor said. Indeed, Roman Scott had a reputation for being moody and elusive. But Taylor knew that the most disagreeable people were often the most talented. Add in Roman’s good looks and it made the prospect of meeting him even more daunting, but Taylor needed to accept the fact that very little in this situation was in her control. “It doesn’t matter. I want this to work. I want to find something I’m good at. I need to find something I’m good at. I think Roman Scott can help me. So I have to try. Even if he’s a jerk.”

  Alex reached for Taylor’s arm. “Can I be honest?”

  “Always.” The three women had been
close friends since they were in seventh grade and met at the elite Baldwell School for Girls in central Connecticut. They each came from great wealth and power, but that could mean a chaotic existence, however privileged it might be. Friendship kept them grounded. They’d been a safe harbor for each other through countless ups and downs, including Chloe’s nonstop drama with her mom, Alex’s canceled million-dollar wedding and Taylor’s endless string of bad breakups. The three friends could tell each other anything. Anything.

  “You’re trying to impress a very powerful but enigmatic man. He has seen the world one hundred times over and probably been with countless women. You’ll want to stand out. And that means you have to dress sexy.”

  Taylor sighed. She knew Alex and Chloe were right. They simply hadn’t taken into account Taylor’s bigger problem—men plus sexy were a disastrous equation for her. She’d had her heart broken more times than she could count. It was so bad that her New Year’s resolution had been zero tolerance for romance. Love and men were off the table, and she’d done great with sticking to it so far. It was already May and she’d not only kept her promise, she was on a much more even keel. She didn’t want to stop now. Plus, a meeting with Roman Scott would be easier if she was sure he didn’t see her as a woman or a sexual being. But maybe it was time to admit that she needed to set aside her personal goals in favor of the professional. She wanted to get this hotel project off the ground. She needed Mr. Scott’s help, but she also needed his attention. “Fine. Tell me what you’d wear if you were me.”

  That got Chloe off the ottoman. She sprang to her feet and beelined for the black slinky gown she’d suggested minutes earlier. “This one. It’s a slam dunk.”

  Taylor’s stomach lurched just thinking about the horrible night she’d last worn that very expensive garment. “I got dumped in that dress. I should have burned it.”

  “Dumped by whom?” Chloe asked, incredulous.

  “Ian.”

  “Oh, right. Well, Ian isn’t smart enough to know how amazing you are. I bet you looked smoking hot in this.”

  “I did. It still didn’t change the fact that he’d met someone else.”

  Alex plucked the dress from Chloe’s hand, marched it to the other side of the closet and hung it up in a section near the door. “That needs to be donated. Immediately.” She turned and made her way back to a different gown. “What about this one? It’s gorgeous. Impeccably made. And it still has the tags on it, so hopefully there’s nothing bad associated with it.” Alex pulled out the hanger and presented her find—pale gold and strapless, with a fitted bodice and fine metallic threads woven into the full and gauzy skirt.

  “Honestly, I forgot I had it. I bought it on a lark. It was on sale and I just thought it was too pretty to leave in the store.” Taylor stepped closer and took the fabric in her hand. It had a beautiful drape and it sparkled in the light. Most important, she remembered how well it showed off her not-quite-ample bust. “I can live with this.”

  Chloe plucked a pair of strappy gold heels from the shoe section. “These will go perfectly.”

  “Okay, then. I guess I have a dress.”

  “Thank God,” Chloe said. “Now let’s get you into it.”

  Chloe and Alex helped Taylor get dressed, then went to work picking out accessories. They kept it simple and timeless—gold and diamonds, a necklace and matching earrings that had once belonged to her beloved grandmother. Taylor stood before the full-length mirror in her closet, while Chloe and Alex looked on. She felt confident in this dress, but even that made her second-guess herself. She’d felt sure of lots of things in the past—career choices and men, and she’d always been proven wrong.

  “I have a good feeling about tonight,” Alex said. “Roman Scott is going to be blown away by your beauty.”

  “And your business idea,” Chloe added.

  Taylor’s shoulders tightened. “I’m far more worried about the latter.”

  “You sure you don’t want either of us to come with you?” Alex asked.

  “I can’t. I have plans with Parker.” Chloe pulled her phone out of her bag and consulted it, surely looking for a text from her fiancé, Parker Sullivan.

  Taylor and Alex exchanged knowing glances. For two people who swore they didn’t believe in love or commitment, Chloe and Parker were inseparable and completely head over heels. Alex was holding out hope to find the same for herself someday, but Taylor was mostly convinced she’d already used up her chances at love. “Something romantic?” Taylor asked.

  “No,” Chloe said. “We’re having dinner at our place with Parker’s investigator, Jessica. He’s got her looking into Little Black Book. He won’t back off. He’s obsessed with stopping them. He says they’re pure evil.”

  Little Black Book was an anonymous social media account with millions of followers. It specialized in unveiling the scandalous secrets of rich and powerful people. At first, it had seemed as though Little Black Book’s approach was scattershot, but a pattern was developing, one that was quite scary for Taylor, Alex and Chloe. Thus far, every person targeted had a tie to either their alma mater, the Baldwell School for Girls or Sedgefield Academy, a boys preparatory school a few miles from Baldwell. Parker and Chloe’s mom had been the first to notice the connection.

  “I can’t say I disagree,” Alex said.

  “It’s gossip. People can’t let it bother them so much. You just give the situation more oxygen, and the world always moves on to something new. Always,” Taylor said.

  “No. You’re wrong. Gossip can destroy people’s lives.” The corners of Alex’s mouth turned down in a frown.

  Taylor realized how insensitive she’d just been. Alex had been dragged by the tabloids for weeks after she canceled her wedding, which had been dubbed the “society event of the year.” Taylor wasn’t about to mention the fact that Alex had survived all of it and was doing well now. “You’re right. I’m sorry.”

  “Well, regardless, I should probably run,” Chloe said. “Parker hates it when I’m late.”

  “It’s okay. Thanks for offering to come with me tonight, Alex, but I need to do this on my own,” Taylor said. “I hope you both know how much I appreciate your help and support. I love you.” She gave each of her friends a big hug.

  “We love you, too,” Chloe said.

  “Always,” Alex said, then she and Chloe headed for the door. “Good luck. We know you can do it.”

  “Thanks. I’ll let you know what happens.” Taylor grabbed a few essentials, chucked them into a matching evening bag and made her way downstairs to meet her driver. As she rode through the night, she ignored her nervousness. Roman Scott was just a man. She was going to bid on him for charity, win the auction no matter the price, and then she would mine him for information. This was not a complicated plan, even if it did feel a bit unconventional. She could do this. For herself.

  When she arrived at the hotel where the auction was taking place, she didn’t dawdle. She rode up the escalator to the second-floor ballroom, collected her auction paddle and took a seat in the front row. The room was abuzz with activity, slowly filling up with wealthy and powerful people, most of whom were women.

  Taylor was laser focused as the emcee, a woman named Fiona Scott, walked out onto the stage and the spotlight shined on her. Taylor, always thorough with her due diligence, had learned that Fiona was Roman’s sister-in-law, and married to Roman’s older brother, Derrick. The couple were clearly expecting a child soon. If Taylor had to guess, she would’ve put Fiona at around seven months pregnant. “Ladies, I’m so glad you’re here to support my foundation, which raises money for several rare diseases,” Fiona said. “I promise that you will not be disappointed with what we have to offer this evening, a truly stunning lineup of the most generous men you could imagine. Now, before we start the bidding, I’d like to whet your appetite for what’s to come. Gentlemen, can you please come on out?”


  The velvet curtain parted at the far end of the stage, and one by one, good-looking men in tuxedos filed onto the stage. The audience members stood, and quiet clapping gave way for more enthusiastic applause as countless flashbulbs from the press in attendance threatened to blind them all. Many of the bachelors responded with a flirtatious smile or a friendly wave. A few punctuated it all with a wink. Some delivered smoldering stares. All were men Taylor knew of—Hollywood actors, Wall Street bigwigs and real estate moguls. There were even a few male models thrown into the mix, which came as no huge surprise since the opening bid this evening was the considerable sum of $25,000. Fiona Scott intended to raise a lot of money.

  Taylor’s heart picked up when she spotted her intended target, Roman. She stood a little straighter as he strode across the stage. He was much taller in person than she’d pictured, even though she knew him to be six-three. Somehow he was far more handsome than any photograph she’d seen, as if no camera could fully capture the magic of his square jaw, straight nose and inquisitive eyebrows. His thick dark hair was a touchable mop, with a hint of sexy salt-and-pepper. Even from a distance, his eyes were the deepest blue she could imagine, leaving her with far more questions than answers. Roman was a lot to take in. A delicious mix of masculinity and mystery she hoped was the key to her future.

  Just as quickly as he’d walked across the stage, he disappeared behind the black velvet curtain. Taylor slowly dropped to her seat, noticing how short her breaths had become and the way her chest was heaving. Part of her couldn’t wait for the moment when she won her auction and could get Roman Scott alone. Another part of her was absolutely terrified.

  Roman Scott, in the flesh, was so much more enticing than she’d thought possible.

  * * *

  Humiliating didn’t begin to describe what Roman Scott was feeling as he walked backstage and tracked down his brother, Derrick. “Will you remind me to never, ever do you or your wife another favor?” Roman tugged at the bow tie that was currently strangling him. He’d worn black-tie clothing to thousands of events, but something about this particular tux on this particular night was making him feel as though he was being choked alive.