A Man for All Seasons by Heather MacAllister

that?”
    â€œI was thinking that if he’s that good with two rings, he’ll be spectacular with five. That’s golden.”
    â€œWhat does that even mean?”
    â€œMmm.” Marlie smiled a little smile as she typed.
    Ty felt out of his depth, a totally foreign feeling. Depth like this was supposed to be his specialty.
    â€œThis next guy is all about laying.”
    Of course he was.
    Marlie clicked the mouse to bring up the next photo. Sure enough, there was a guy holding a goose. Shirtless. The man, not the goose. Though technically, the goose was already shirtless. “Axelle found these guys?” Ty’s voice was pitched higher than normal.
    â€œYes. Isn’t it great?”
    Ty deliberately relaxed his throat. “Couldn’t she have found anyone with a hobby requiring clothes?”
    â€œYou mean like a sports uniform?”
    â€œYes.” Ty thought about baseball. “Exactly.”
    Marlie brought up the next picture. “Behold. Seven Swans a Swimming.” She glanced up with mock innocence. “Check out the uniforms.”
    Speedos. Speedos worn by men with no body fat. Or modesty. “The entire swim team?”
    â€œNo,” Marlie said, her voice regretful. “Just him.” She cropped the other men out and enlarged the remaining swimmer, not that he needed enlarging, a point amply made by the skin-tight suit. “But he’s enough, don’t you think?”
    â€œYes. Plenty.” Which one of them had been afraid no one would bid on him? Sheesh. Ty didn’t lack for self-confidence, but these guys were enough to make him add another mile to his morning run.
    â€œAnd he’s a breast stroke champion. I should put that in the caption.”
    â€œMarlie.” Tyler began to sweat. He’d never seen this side of her. He didn’t know she had this side. She should keep this side to herself. He didn’t want to be responsible.
    He wasn’t responsible, was he?
    â€œWhat?”
    Eight maids a milking was up next and Ty could only imagine. “How is it possible for you to make ‘The Twelve Days of Christmas’ sound smutty?”
    â€œSmutty?” Marlie looked the picture of offended virtue. “Tyler, these men are donating their time in an effort to raise money for a program that provides a positive activity for underprivileged youth when they’re most vulnerable to bad influences. What exactly do you find smutty about that?”
    â€œI—”
    â€œFurthermore, I’ve been posting all these auction items and I’ve yet to see what you’ve donated. Don’t you support the business mentors program?”
    â€œI donated you,” he said.
    Marlie blinked. “Excuse me?”
    He gestured to the screen. “I suggested you for the website, since you do Axelle’s restaurant already.”
    Marlie’s eyes narrowed. “You mean I do the work and you get the credit?”
    How did he end up the bad guy, here? “I’m covering the expenses for the site and your fee after the discount.”
    â€œOh.” She looked back to the screen. “I’d like to tell you to forget about my fee, but I need the money.”
    â€œNo problem. You’ve put in a lot of hours and it wasn’t really your cause to begin with.” Or his, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t worthwhile. “You should find a cause. Volunteering would be a good way for you to interact with people.” Andby people, he meant men. And by interact, he meant talking in a controlled setting that was not a bar.
    â€œI’m volunteering right now.” Marlie had flipped into her photo editing program and was removing background clutter from the crop of the swimmer. “And I am so interacting.” She zoomed in on his head and removed the red rings his goggles had left around his eyes. “There. Not that anyone is going to be looking at his face.”
    Ty hadn’t