Chapter 3
FORD
My sister was a force to be reckoned with, and this last-minute festival she’d helped Beck throw together was proof enough of that.
She’d also somehow talked two dozen eligible bachelors—only three of whom were her brothers—into donating their time for the auction, and she’d enlisted all the unattached parties in town to attend and spend their hard-earned money on us.
Unsurprisingly, Starlight Cove showed up in droves.
But that was what this town did when it came to a good cause.
And since the proceeds were going to Everly Bowman—a new-ish Starlight Cove transplant and my twin’s complete obsession—in the hope that we’d raise enough money so she could rebuild her vet clinic after a tragic fire, that fit the bill.
On Addison’s orders, Beck and I stood in the grass behind the gazebo as other auctions carried on to the excitement of the crowd.
My sister was running this like a military boot camp, barking orders to anyone who would listen—and even those who wouldn’t.
She was barely over five feet tall, but she still managed to have grown-ass men eating out of the palm of her hand.
Except for Brady and Aiden, anyway. The former had gotten out of this because he was already spoken for, and Luna wouldn’t stand for someone else going on a date with her man.
The latter…if I had to guess, I’d say he had something to hang over Addison’s head and threatened to use it if she made him take part in the auction.
Unfortunately, the rest of us McKenzies didn’t have an out.
Levi had already sold his soul to the devil and then gotten the fuck out as soon as possible. That only left Beck and me.
“I’m going to kill Addison for making me do this,” he grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest as he split his attention between glaring at our sister and staring out at the crowd, no doubt searching for Everly.
“I figured you’d be a lot less grumpy, considering this is all for your girl.”
“That’s exactly the problem,” he said. “ My girl is out there thinking I’m up here for a date. All because Addison decided that was how it was going to be. Apparently she didn’t get the memo that I’m not an eligible bachelor.”
“No one got that memo, man. You aren’t exactly transparent about your and Everly’s…situation.”
“Oh, so it’s my fault Everly’s standing out there thinking I’m selling myself off to the highest bidder, all because I didn’t tell Addison I’m in love with my best friend?”
“I thought I was your best friend.”
He slid his gaze to me, his lips pressed in a thin line, and I didn’t even try to hold in my laugh.
“It’ll be fine,” I said, clapping a hand on his shoulder. “She’ll find out soon enough the only thing they’re bidding on is your blueberry scone recipe, and the only woman you’re interested in is her.”
He gestured toward the crowd where Everly stood, looking a bit lost. “And in the meantime, she’s thinking the worst.”
“Nah, man. Going straight to the worst is your wheelhouse, not hers. She’s fine.”
“She better be. I should’ve…”
“What? You were the one who wanted to keep it a secret.”
“That was before I realized Addison’s sole purpose in life was to piss me off.”
“You just now realized that?”
“Oh, relax, Beck,” Addison said from behind us, the eye roll clear in her tone.
“Everyone who’s bidding on you knows the only thing they’re getting is your recipe, so your virtue is safe.
You can unclench. And I promise Everly will forgive you when you tell her we’re actually raising money for her.
” She tucked her clipboard under her arm, planted two hands on his back, and shoved him toward the steps of the gazebo.
“Now, get your grumpy ass out there and earn her some money.”
After shooting a scowl at Addison over his shoulder, Beck climbed the steps of the gazebo and walked out to the excitement of the crowd as the auctioneer introduced him, carefully explaining exactly what the bidders would be getting without cluing Everly in on the secret.
“You’re the last one. You ready?” Addison asked without looking up, too busy making notes on her clipboard. She just needed a headset and she’d be totally in her element.
“Born ready.”
She tapped the corner of the clipboard against my chest. “And that is why you’re my favorite brother today.”
“Just today?”
She lifted a single shoulder. “It changes on a whim.”
“I figured Levi would be your favorite right now, considering how much cash his auction brought in.”
She hummed, tipping her head side to side.
“Don’t get me wrong—I’m thrilled with his total.
But don’t think I don’t know that you two have a bet going about who’ll earn the most tonight.
And don’t think I also don’t know that you’ve already lost one bet this week, so you’re certainly not going to lose another. ”
I shot her a grin, no longer surprised when my sister knew even the most minuscule goings-on of our family.
She was like a bloodhound with any tiny detail, especially if it concerned us.
She may have been the youngest, but she mothered us to death.
And by that, I meant she bossed us around like she had a doctorate in it.
“It’s a good thing you’ve decided to use your powers for good,” I said.
She nodded once. “I could make your lives a lot worse than I do, it’s true. The five of you should remember that.”
“I am well aware.”
The auctioneer banged the gavel, calling sold for Beck’s offerings, which meant I was up.
“How much do I need to beat?” I asked, stepping up to the back of the gazebo as I cracked my neck, eyes on the prize.
“If you get to a grand, you’re golden.”
“Consider it done.”
If I had to whip off my shirt and pull a little Magic Mike action to make it happen, I was going to have this crowd eating out of the palm of my hand before I walked off the stage.
There was no fucking way I was leaving before I hit that grand.
Not when the consequence of losing to Levi was another body modification.
My dick didn’t need any more jewelry, and I wasn’t interested in getting my nipples pierced.
The auctioneer glanced back, and a grin spread across her face as she gestured me to step forward. “And the last bachelor up for auction tonight is none other than Starlight Cove’s favorite flirt, Ford McKenzie.”
I strolled down the makeshift aisle, one hand in my jeans pocket as I shot a smile at the crowd.
This was exactly what I needed. An escape.
A distraction. A little something to forget a certain blonde bombshell with curves for days and a smart mouth I wanted to put to better use.
The one who’d infiltrated my thoughts and haunted my dreams. Who’d somehow turned my own dick against me like the she-devil siren she was.
Well, no more. I was tired of jackin’ the beanstalk every night, and this was my comeback…the shake-up needed for my dick and me to finally be on speaking terms again.
“You know him best for shooting a salacious grin and a wink your way,” the auctioneer continued, “but he’s also good with his hands, if you know what I mean.”
The crowd whooped, and I played into it, giving them exactly what they wanted. Exactly what they’d come to expect from me.
Bidding started with a frenzy, several women calling out dollar amounts and rocketing the total into the mid-hundreds within seconds.
The two who were now locked in a bidding war were stunners—a brunette and a redhead with looks on their faces that said they were all too willing to spend our time horizontal.
And neither one of them did a damn thing for me.
It was official. My dick and I were in an all-out war.
The stubborn fucker couldn’t even muster up a yawn at the women’s enthusiasm, despite the fact that they were both objectively gorgeous.
Well, that was just great. Especially when I needed to sweet-talk whoever won this into joining me at my ex’s wedding. Maybe by that time, my dick would finally agree to be attracted to someone other than the one woman who hated my guts, and I could finally fuck out some of this bottled-up tension.
The bids crept toward a thousand and then slowed. I was so damn close to beating Levi… Maybe now was a good time to take off my shirt? I just needed a little—
“Two thousand dollars!”
I snapped my head in the direction the voice had come from and narrowed my gaze.
Even if I hadn’t been able to see her—which I could, plain as day, as she stood wearing jeans that should be illegal, considering what they did for her full ass and those thick thighs I wanted to sink my teeth into, and a black top that swept over her curves and dipped low enough to make my dick perk up, the disloyal bastard—I’d know that voice anywhere.
Quinn, my oldest rival and the woman who loathed me and made it her mission to make my life as difficult as possible, just spent two grand to go on a date with me. She also just took away any chance I had of fucking out this pent-up tension that’d been building up inside me, all thanks to her.
What—and I couldn’t stress this enough—the fuck .