Free Bachelor's Bait by Mari Carr Page A

excuses?”
    “Apparently he’s defending a man who’s been accused of murder. The trial’s going on a lot longer than he’d anticipated. Then last weekend he had to make a quick trip back home to DC for some family emergency, and he’s also working to find a loophole that may buy the community center more time to raise the funds needed for repairs.”
    Jordan’s face cleared. “Those sound like pretty good reasons to me. He’s just been busy.”
    “I know, Jordan. They’re all valid, even noble reasons.” Sophie tried to tell herself she was being a petty, selfish bitch, but she couldn’t shake the idea that karma was teaching her a lesson. How many times in the past had she played the “I’m too busy” card as a way to avoid an interested suitor? Hell, she was a master at the game. “Do you think I made a mistake with the blowjob? We’d only known each other a week or so. I’m afraid maybe I came off as slutty.”
    Stephanie slapped her hand against the bar. “Holy shit. Really, Soph? That’s what you think went wrong? I thought you said he went down on you too.”
    “He did.”
    “Fine. Then if you’re a slut, so is he. Goddamn double standards piss me off. I highly doubt that’s why he’s not calling you, but if it is, then you’re better off without the judgmental prick.”
    Sophie felt her face flushing despite the fact she should be used to Stephanie’s brutal honesty. Plus, hearing her friend’s assertions made her realize how stupid her concern was. “I actually don’t really think that’s why he’s avoiding me.”
    Jordan grinned. “If he’s a straight guy, I’m one hundred percent sure that’s not the problem. I don’t know any man who dumps a girl for giving him a blowjob.”
    They all laughed but Sophie was forced to admit she’d been building mountains out of molehills, spending the last few weeks grasping at any excuse simply to avoid admitting the truth.
    “I think it all boils down to the fact he’s just not interested in me. I should’ve seen it when he volunteered to be auctioned off.”
    Jayne squeezed her hand gently. “Then it’s his loss.”
    She nodded, wishing there weren’t tears forming in her eyes. “Yeah. Problem is, I really liked him. I thought we clicked. It’s stupid to let this get me down. We never even went out on a date. It’s just…” Her words faded away.
    Stephanie was first to break the silence. “I knew Jared was the guy for me the first night we met. It took me awhile to admit it, but I get what you’re saying. You can tell when you connect with someone pretty early in the game.”
    Jordan stepped closer and put her hand on Sophie’s shoulder. “I understand that feeling too. While Gabe and I have been friends forever, Casey and I are just at the beginning of our relationship. Even so, I feel like I’ve known him for years.”
    Sophie smiled and swiped away the tears. They really did understand. “So what do I do now?”
    Jayne released her hand and stood up. “You take it a day at a time. Luckily the next few days are going to be too busy for you to be sad. It’s T-minus seven days and counting on this big bachelor auction and we’ve got a gazillion things to do between now and then to get this place ready.”
    Jayne was right. Sophie had been working on a to-do list earlier this morning. After listing twenty time-consuming tasks that needed to happen to make the auction a success, she’d stopped adding to the list. In her current down-in-the-dumps state of mind, it had all seemed too daunting and overwhelming. Now it was the answer to a prayer. Keeping busy was just the trick to setting aside her sadness over Marc’s disinterest.
    “Good plan. I’ll start with the stage setup. My cousin is letting me borrow a makeshift one he uses for his garage band. It has spotlights and everything. He’s also loaning me sound equipment. He sent me specs and it should all fit in here fine. We’ll just have to clear out the tables on