Closing The Gap (Dangerous Pasts, #1) Read Online Free PDF Page B

dollars.
    Josh let out a sigh of relief as he gave his most charming smile to the audience whose facial expressions, he couldn’t make out from his vantage point.  He’d just become respectable.  A bidding war ensued between two women at one of the rear tables so the lighting man placed a spotlight on their entire group.  Josh relaxed even further, he could finally see actual people.
    The first lady raising her paddle had to be approaching seventy if her silver hair and black lined eyebrows were any indication.
    “I want this date for my grandson who plays youth hockey.  I’ll pay anything to get it!”
    The second woman, standing alongside, shouted over her that she wanted the date for her grandson too.  So much for being wanted for himself.  If that ever happened, he’d suffer a coronary event.  He hadn’t been desired for himself since high school, since Shelly.  Unfortunately, everyone knew how that one had turned out.  It was one of the hazards of being well known.  People wanted their own particular piece of you as they pursued a selfish agenda chasing fame and money they hadn’t earned themselves.
    “Twenty-two hundred dollars!”
    “Twenty-three hundred dollars!”
    The frantic energy of the crowd became heightened with each increase in the bid.  He saw shapes and shadows throughout the entire ballroom outside of the spotlight and none of them kept still.  It looked like a rain dance being performed in the dark with the tribal beat of the spastic energy keeping perfect time as the events unfolded.  The other bachelors before Josh hadn’t brought more than one thousand dollars, even Scottsdale’s most eligible.  The two women continued on in a battle of wills until the bidding reached twenty-eight hundred dollars.
    From somewhere near the front row where the darkness had cast shadows over the attendees’ faces, a melodic voice with a husky timbre rang out. 
    “Five thousand dollars.”
    Josh followed the voice with his eyes but still couldn’t see anything in the front but the outlines of bodies.  He waited, holding his breath, to see who he might be spending his evening with as the voice had a breathless quality not usually associated with those advancing in years.  Maybe luck would be on his side.  Jason’s sarcastic comments about physical handicaps rang in his ears.
    “Going once.  Going twice.  Sold, to our beautiful board member, Miss Lake Harrison!”
    What ?  He ran through the possible scenarios in his mind.  Who was this woman ?
    After the five thousand dollar bid, the entire room erupted in applause so thunderous it sounded like jets taking flight.  Women jumped up and down in the rear of the room and the vibe was electric.  The attendees seemed thrilled about what had just happened.  What in the hell had just happened?
    The spotlight moved to the break in the curtain for Ryan’s entrance.  Josh looked straight at the table where he’d first heard the sexy voice and locked gazes with the most compelling green eyes his blue ones had ever seen.

    When you tough it out, hold the line, and stay the course, Lake, I promise you there will soon come a day when you look back over your shoulder, shake your head in dismay, and seriously wonder what all the fuss was about.
    Just like all the other times~
    The Universe

Chapter Five
    L ake collapsed into her chair.  Her legs jiggled like Jell-O and they no longer supported the rest of her body.  A strange feeling had ripped through her body when she’d locked gazes with Josh and his compelling blue eyes.  Something she couldn’t describe or explain.  Something she had never felt before.  All she knew was that she wanted to be alone with her rioting thoughts and emotions.  She had to get away from the table.
    Tears welled up in the corners of Summer’s eyes from her uninhibited laughter.  Lake glanced at Chuck from underneath her lashes, grateful that he and Lois still acted normal.  She felt exposed, like Chuck could