The MC cleared his throat. “Well, you heard him, ladies and gentlemen.” A small pause. “Miss Ashton? Any reply? A bid for a date with Caleb St—Uh, a bid for a date with just Caleb?”
She stared straight into his dark eyes and he didn’t look away. Didn’t smile. Just let her see everything. Hope and fear and desire. And something else, something that made her throat close.
Slowly she rose to her feet, barely conscious of the room holding its collective breath.
“I don’t want the charity to be out of pocket,” she said in a shaky voice. “This auction was going to earn a lot of money.”
“How much is the date worth, Jude?” Caleb said. “Tell me and I’ll pay it.”
“I don’t—”
“My entire salary for my next endorsement deal. What about that?”
A gasp went around the room. Because everyone knew just how much money that was. Millions.
Her heart contracted. “You can’t, Caleb.”
“I can. You told me it’s never too late to care and you were so right.” Suddenly he moved, jumping down off the stage and coming toward her through the crowds, skirting tables and people with his usual athletic grace. His gaze was fixed on hers and she had the oddest feeling that once he reached her, he wasn’t going to take no for an answer.
And you don’t want him to.
Did she? Did she really?
Everyone was staring at them as he came to a stop, breathing fast, his eyes glittering. “You’ve never liked the fame or the money or the success. Which leaves me with nothing to offer you but myself. And I want to be that guy, Jude. I want to be the man you told me I was. And I swear that I’m going to spend the rest of my life proving that to you. Will you let me?”
His tall, powerful figure began to swim before her eyes and it was only when she blinked that she realized it was because there were tears filling them.
“Judith,” Christie hissed at her side. “For God’s sake, dude. Take the man. Before some other cow gets in first.”
She hadn’t thought she’d do this again. Find the strength to say yes. Find the courage to trust. Hadn’t thought she’d even want to. But she’d never thought he’d lay himself open in front of a room full of people. For her.
So it was easy after all to take that step toward him, to take his face between her hands, feel the warmth of his skin on her palms. “Yes,” she said hoarsely. “I will.”
She pulled his mouth down on hers. Kissed him the way she’d been missing for the past week. A long, deep kiss.
The rest of the room erupted into cheers and applause.
After what seemed like hours, Caleb lifted his head. The expression of grim determination hadn’t left his face. “Come on,” he said, and before she could say anything, he took her hand and began tugging her toward the exit.
They left, turning into a hallway that led to the lobby. A deserted hallway.
Then Caleb released her hand, swept her up into his arms, and kissed her hungrily, desperately. And she gave it back to him, all her own hunger and need flooding out.
A long moment later, he said against her skin, “I’m so sorry for what I said to you. I was so selfish. I was telling myself I didn’t want to care. Trying to convince myself I didn’t.”
She couldn’t stop touching him, his hair, his jaw, the warm hollow of his throat. “Stupid man. You’re the most caring guy I know.”
He kissed her hands. “I didn’t want to, Jude. I couldn’t fix Mum’s cancer. Nothing I did got her better. Nothing I did got Dad better, either. And then when he told me he didn’t want me around, I didn’t want to go through that again with anyone else. It hurt too much to give all the time and never get anything back.” A faint, rueful smile suddenly curved his mouth. “I guess you know that, right?”
“Yes, I do. Protecting yourself is easier, isn’t it?”
“I guess that’s what I’ve been doing all along. Being the guy with the success and the money and the reputation. Being someone else because God knows being myself didn’t help anyone. Didn’t fix anyone.”
“You fixed me. You freed me from all the stuff I’ve been carrying around all these years.” She bent her head, pressed a kiss on each of his knuckles. “And you cared about your father. That’s what’s so hard, isn’t it?”
For a long moment he said nothing, and when he spoke his voice was hoarse. “That morning when I found him and he told me he didn’t want me, I walked out of there and I swore I’d never go back. I didn’t want to feel so much about anyone like that ever again. And then Joseph came round to warn me off you.”