Chapter 13
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
“ H ey, Kelsey,” Lauren Martin said as I sat down at our table. She’d arrived while I was gone and claimed her seat next to me. “Everything alright—whoa. Are you dizzy?”
I nodded, gripping the edge of the table. Seriously? You’re going to faint? Lauren patted my back and pushed my water closer to my hand. I took a shaky sip. “Sorry,” I muttered. “Need to catch my breath.”
Lauren nodded. “I get that sometimes, too.”
“How are you?” I managed. “How’s your baby?”
She smiled. “Really great—and preventing me from sleeping like a normal person.”
“Can I see a picture?”
I stared at the infant on Lauren’s phone, wrapped in a floral blanket. Brad seemed to stand up and wave at me in my mind. He’d give you children—not make you nearly pass out.
Lauren and I caught up a little in between speeches at the microphone. She’d mostly dropped out of the Thursday night friend group after becoming pregnant last winter. I’d heard about her a bit from Raven, who she was very close to. Her brother, Beau, was one of the bachelors.
Dominic was like a speck in my eye, scratching at my awareness. He and Raven spoke to each other, and it hit me that he knew her somehow. They were looking at each other, smiling and chatting.
My shoulders tightened, and I had to stare down at my hands. Jealous? Poor, pitiful you. You think this is bad? It will only get worse.
“Is Beau here, Lauren?” Autumn called across the table, her blonde hair bright against her red dress.
Lauren shook her head. “No, but I think he’s supposed to be.”
“You’re bidding on him?” Maria asked, settling back in her chair with her wineglass.
“I am.” Autumn grinned. “And I’m ready to spend what it takes.”
Maria and I looked at each other, our eyes big.
“I want the firefighter,” Phoebe said, slapping the little riding whip she was carrying against her palm.
“Mason?” Lauren coughed, picking up her water glass.
Raven’s brother, Mason, was also being auctioned off. I’d only ever seen photos of him, a dark-haired firefighter who lived one town over to the east.
“Yeah,” Phoebe said. “He’s hot and looks naughty. What’s the matter—aren’t you married?”
Lauren waved a hand. “Just surprised. I’m not bidding tonight. Except on my brother. I could use a winery dinner.”
Autumn shook her head. “He’s mine.”
Lauren raised her glass. “May the biggest bank account win—no, wait, that would be yours. Obviously. How about this, may you come to your senses and go for the news broadcaster instead…”
Autumn smirked. “He’s a bore. And that hair is fake.”
Phoebe laughed. “I need hair I can pull.”
Lauren slumped next to me. “Oh well,” she said softly.
I glanced down at Lauren’s hand and saw that she’d taken off her wedding ring. See that? Love is a fantasy. You’d better be practical.
My eyes drifted over the room until they found Dominic standing alone. He met my gaze, and it was like I’d been shocked by a live wire.
I struggled to focus on what was happening for most of the night. Raven stopped by our table and announced that Dominic was a late addition. Everyone started talking about him. “Oh my God, he’s, like, rich rich… Thirty-seven. That’s not old, is it? Owns a vegan restaurant—okay, didn’t see that coming…that man is definitely a devil…”
The bidding started, and Raven was as charming on stage as she was in person. Phoebe won the date with Mason. They went off to a quiet and dim part of the ballroom to sit together at a private table—after she’d lashed his butt with her little whip.
“That’s…rude,” Lauren said, leaning in close. “I mean, would she like to be treated like that? Did she ask him?”
“I see what you mean.”
Lauren huffed.
Travis Dashiell’s turn came up, and Maria bounced in her seat, fanning herself with her paddle. She pointed at her chest and mouthed at me, “My turn.”
I’d always thought Travis looked like a diplomat or a fashionably dressed lawyer, pasty under his dark hair with solemn eyes. His clothing wasn’t flashy but beautifully made and tailored. He seemed like a serious and sincere person—it surprised me that Maria was interested in him.
Hands in his pockets, Travis finished his speech with, “I’m truly looking forward to what the night has in store for me.”
Maria winked at me. I grinned.
On stage, Raven seemed a bit tense. Wasn’t she with Beau now? I saw him propped against a wall, staring at the stage with his eyebrows drawn together.
“Here we go, folks. Fifty?” Raven called. There were bidders all over the room. “Seventy-five…one hundred, one-hundred-fifty, two hundred?”
As the bidding continued and passed five hundred, Travis glanced at Maria more than once. She stubbornly kept her paddle up, smiling and tossing her hair.
An older woman in the back of the room stood up and shouted, “One thousand smackers.”
Maria put her paddle down. She rested against her chair and took a sip of her wine. Even though she put on a cheerful, unaffected face, I thought she was crushed.
“Odd,” Autumn said.
Maria nodded. “Maybe they’ll flame out fast.”
Autumn won the date with Beau. Raven was silent at the microphone for a long time—until the other MC took over and did another raffle.
“I can’t believe what people are spending,” Lauren said to me.
I gulped, catching sight of Dominic chatting with a woman by the bar. She was an attractive blonde. Surely, he wouldn’t mind spending an evening with her? My gut twisted.
Then it was Dominic’s turn. Raven projected a picture of him grinning on a snowy mountain, ski goggles pushed to the top of his head. He stood gracefully on stage, the open-collared white shirt a sharp contrast to his black tux.
Everything about him pulled at me. His cool confidence, the strong lines of his face—even his dark, thick eyebrows. Why him?
Raven bent to the microphone for her introduction speech. “Dominic is new to our Northwest community. He came here from New York City after deciding to retire from investment banking. With a master’s in finance from Notre Dame University, he’s a highly educated and sophisticated bachelor. Currently, he owns an eclectic and fascinating Portland restaurant called Sidus and the hip club, Invocation. He’s a board member of two environmental justice charities. Dominic is a thoughtful, generous man who obviously needs a River Gorge woman in his life.”
I sat up straighter as the crowd cheered—I wanted to know why he’d left New York.
Dominic took the microphone. “Thank you. It’s only fair to say that I’m pessimistic about love and not likely to settle down. You might call me a devil. However, this has been a surprising night. Thank you for including me. I promise to provide an exciting and special date. And I will double the donation of my bid.”
I fanned my face with my paddle. There it was: confirmation that he didn’t believe in love and wouldn’t be interested in anything long-term. How much time would I get with him—a night?
Women were bidding all over the room. Dominic stared at me. Didn’t he understand I was a straightforward bird wanting to mate for life? That I couldn’t wait to build a tidy nest?
The bidding passed six hundred and slowed down. I hadn’t raised my paddle. I bit my lip hard. Dominic glared at me, his forehead wrinkling.
“Seven-hundred-twenty-five,” Raven called. “Do I have seven-fifty? Okay, seven-twenty-five going once. Going twice?—”
“One thousand,” I shouted, on my feet without realizing I’d stood.
“One thousand,” Raven echoed, grinning at me. “Last chance. One thousand, going, going, gone!” She banged down her gavel.