The Bachelor Auction Read online

  Margot sucked in a breath.

  “I know! Thirty days!”

  “Did you say Wellington?”

  Please don’t say Bentley. Let it be Brant, he always had a teasing smile, or Brock, the serious one. No it wouldn’t be Brock; didn’t he just get married?

  “Bentley Wellington!” Her grandmother shouted with glee, confirming Margot’s worst fears and causing her eyes to search the room for her bottle of Xanax. “Lovely man. When he keeps it in his pants, which, let’s hope for the sake of my great grandchildren he doesn’t—”

  Tears burned the back of Margot’s eyes as she blinked away the blurry vision of a boy she’d always wanted.

  And never had.

  He was a man now.

  Featured in Forbes, among other magazines.

  He dated supermodels, celebrities, pretty women.

  Not her.

  She glanced down at her right prosthetic leg. The amputation had been made right below her knee, so while her thigh looked normal, there was no foot, no ankle, no toes.

  Definitely not women like her.

  “Oh, must go, I’ll fill you in later on the more pertinent details.” Her grandmother hung up before Margot could protest.

  Why would Bentley even agree to be auctioned off? It made no logical sense. He was either that bored, stupid, or doing it for good PR. God knew he needed it, since he’d allegedly been having an affair with a senator’s wife; not that the rumors were ever confirmed.

  And now she was going to be stuck with him.

  Margot shook her head at the memory of his smile and wandered over to the window. A sense of dread filled her as a red sports car sped up her driveway, scaring the crap out of every small creature in its way and kicking up enough dust to make the road nearly impossible to see.

  Bentley Wellington had arrived.

  Acknowledgments

  I could list all the hundreds of people who made this book possible. And I often do. I thank everyone in my life and I still always forget someone. It’s ridiculous. It takes the whole world (or at least it seems) to get a book off the ground.

  First, I’m so thankful that God has given me this incredible opportunity—all honor and glory always goes to him first. Second, my family is amazing for putting up with me when I’m on deadline! My husband took our son on a lot of walks when mama was “typing” furiously at her computer trying to finish this book!

  My amazing PA, Jill—more of a sister to me than anything: Thank you for your tireless hours working with me and thanks for being just amazing in general.

  My beta readers, sister Kristin Van Dyken (Vayden, her books rock!) Liza Tice, Jill, and Jessica Prince (more awesome books): Thank you for always being honest with me!

  To Bae (you know you who are) and Wife (aka Lauren Layne): Thanks for keeping me sane on most days and not thinking I’m crazy when I send you wine texts at noon that go, “It’s almost five in New York, right? RIGHT?”

  Erica: the best agent in the world. No, seriously, guys. I fully think she would take a bullet for me (let’s not ask her though, just in case) LOL. She is one of the hardest working agents out there, I still pinch myself when I think about how lucky I am to have her in my corner. If she ever breaks up with me, I’m stalking her (You know I would too, Erica).

  Amy: Hehe, this is our first “real” project together. I was terrified. I know how honest you are. But I also know you know what you’re talking about. Thanks for taking an “OK” book and making it spectacular, because I truly feel like you made magic. You completely shoved me off a cliff and out of my comfort zone, and for that I will always be thankful. You are absolutely fearless when it comes to editing, and I’m so blessed to also be able to call you my friend.

  I’m so happy to be back with Forever Romance.

  Dani and Inkslinger PR: Thanks for all your hard work with getting this book ready, and bloggers, GAH! You are incredible; thank you for all that you do! I know I don’t say it enough!

  Readers: There’s a reason you distracted me from deadlines; I literally just want to hang out with you guys all the time and talk about all the books. Thank you for being so loyal, so dedicated, and just being like family to me. I love you all so much!!

  I hope you enjoyed Brock’s story! Look for more of the Bachelors of Arizona in the next book, where we see Bentley get his ass handed to him ;)

  Hugs,

  RVD

  About the Author

  Rachel Van Dyken is the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author of Regency and contemporary romances. When she’s not writing you can find her drinking coffee at Starbucks and plotting her next book while watching The Bachelor.

  She keeps her home in Idaho with her husband, adorable son, and two snoring boxers! She loves to hear from readers!

  Want to be kept up-to-date on new releases? Text MAFIA to 66866!

  Also by Rachel Van Dyken

  The Bet series

  The Bet

  The Wager

  Eagle Elite series

  Elite

  Elect

  Thank you for buying this ebook, published by Hachette Digital.

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  Sign Up

  Or visit us at hachettebookgroup.com/newsletters

  Contents

  Cover

  Title Page

  Welcome

  Dedication

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  Chapter Forty

  Chapter Forty-One

  Chapter Forty-Two

  Chapter Forty-Three

  Chapter Forty-Four

  Chapter Forty-Five

  Chapter Forty-Six

  Chapter Forty-Seven

  Chapter Forty-Eight

  Chapter Forty-Nine

  A Preview of The Playboy Bachelor

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Also by Rachel Van Dyken

  Newsletters

  Copyright

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

  Copyright © 2016 by Rachel Van Dyken

  Excerpt from The Playboy Bachelor copyright © 2016 by Rachel Van Dyken

  Cover design by Elizabeth Turner

  Cover photography by Claudio Marinesco

  Cover photograph © Trinette Reed/GettyImages

  Cover copyright © 2016 by Hachette Book Group, Inc.

  Hachette Book Group supports the right to free expression and the value of copyright. The purpose of copyright is to encourage writers and artists to produce the c
reative works that enrich our culture.

  The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book without permission is a theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like permission to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), please contact [email protected]. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.

  Forever

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  First Edition: October 2016

  Forever is an imprint of Grand Central Publishing.

  The Forever name and logo are trademarks of Hachette Book Group, Inc.

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  ISBN 978-1-4555-9871-7 (mass market edition)

  ISBN 978-1-4555-9870-0 (ebook edition)

  E3-20160830-DA-PC