Chapter 21
CHAPTER 21
“B achelorettes and bachelors! Can I have your attention, please?” Zuri whistled piercingly, and the chatter of voices quieted.
Rayna squeezed past Jesse, a local fireman and one of their bachelors, and joined Zuri as she smiled at the crowd.
They were standing backstage in what the community center called its studio - a large room with a small stage that local theatre groups often rented out. A heavy burgundy curtain was pulled across the stage, but Rayna could still hear the faint murmur of voices from the guests at the fundraiser.
Zuri, holding a clipboard and wearing a stunning turquoise dress that gleamed against her dark skin, took a deep breath. “I just got the news that tickets for the fundraiser are completely sold out.”
There was a smattering of applause and cheers, and Zuri grinned at everyone. “I appreciate each and every one of you and can’t thank you enough for helping to make this night a success. And it will be a success, I know it. Now, I have a few last-minute instructions for our bachelors and bachelorettes, so if you can join me, that would be great.”
As the eight men and eight women crowded around Zuri, Arianna joined Rayna. “Ray-Ray! Did you see how, like, sexy and beautiful the bachelorettes are?”
“I did,” Rayna said. “You did an amazing job on their makeup, Arianna.”
“I totally did,” Arianna said proudly. “Edna Bakersfield looks seventy instead of ninety.”
“Edna is eighty-one, not ninety,” Rayna said as she glanced at the elderly woman sitting on a chair with her cane planted firmly between her legs, staring at Zuri as she talked animatedly to her and the others.
“What happens when no one bids on her?” Arianna asked.
“Shh,” Rayna said with another glance at Edna.
“She can’t hear me,” Arianna said. “She turned her hearing aids off earlier. She said all the noise was giving her a headache. But seriously, what will you do when it’s crickets in the audience?”
“Someone will bid on her,” Rayna said.
“Sure, Ray-Ray. Cheri Ladd was the only bachelorette who wouldn’t let me do her makeup.” Arianna gave the white woman who managed The Gemstone Gallery an annoyed look. “She was, like, super rude about it too.”
“Sorry, sweetie,” Rayna said. “I appreciate you volunteering your time tonight.”
“Oh, it’s, like, no problem. You know I’d do anything for you.” Arianna grabbed her phone. “I’m going to go take some video of the crowd for my Instagram post. I’ll be right back.”
She headed toward the side stairs as Emma walked up and slung her arm around Rayna’s shoulders. “I have some good news for you.”
“Oh yeah?” Rayna said.
“The protesters are gone,” Emma said.
“What?” Rayna said. “How?”
“Grace Larken,” Emma said. “Or rather, her fiancé, Sheriff Walker. Lennox and Ian spoke with the protesters and asked them to stop, but they were ignored. So Grace called the sheriff, and he agreed to come by.”
“Oh my God, I could kiss her right now,” Rayna said. “How did the sheriff convince them to leave?”
Emma shrugged. “I don’t know the details, but the sheriff has a way with people, right? Even supreme assholes like the Reverend Norwood. It’s what makes him so good at his job.”
“I am definitely buying Grace dinner for this,” Rayna said.
“In not-so-good news,” Emma said, “Phoebe Edwards is here.”
“For fuck’s sake,” Rayna snapped. She walked toward the curtain and pulled aside one end, peeking out at the crowd of people who were starting to settle at their tables in the large space.
“On the left, near the front of the stage,” Emma pointed over Rayna’s shoulder.
Rayna followed Emma’s finger, her upper lip curling when she saw the pretty, dark-haired engineer. “Ugh. What is she doing here? She hates me, animals, and doing nice things for others.”
Emma snorted. “Isn’t that the truth. She’s probably here because it’s the only way she can get a date.”
“I wish that were true,” Rayna said. “But you and I both know that the men fall all over her in this town. And why wouldn’t they? She’s gorgeous, smart, and an engineer. Ugh. Weren’t childhood bullies supposed to get what was coming to them as adults? Why does she get this amazing life when she spent our entire childhoods making ours miserable?”
“She’ll get her comeuppance,” Emma said. “Eventually. Holy shit, why is he sitting with her?”
“Who?” Rayna glanced at Phoebe’s table again, a little surprised by the hot jealousy that streaked through her when she saw Stark sit down beside Phoebe. His cousin Jasper sat in the chair on Phoebe’s left side, and she gave both men a slow and sexy smile.
“Who’s the handsome blond guy?” Emma asked. “Do you know?”
“That’s Jasper.”
“Stark’s cousin that you met on Tuesday?” Emma asked as Rayna let the curtain drop back into place. “You didn’t tell me how good looking he is. He wears a suit as well as Stark.”
“Yeah, he’s hot,” Rayna said.
“Maybe it’s a Stark thing,” Emma mused. “They all have, like, the handsome gene or something.”
“Bonus - he’s not a complete asshole like his cousin,” Rayna said.
“You did mention he was very charming.” Emma studied her. “Are you into him?”
“I don’t know him that well,” Rayna said. “But he’s cute and funny, and he was hitting on me at Stark’s.”
“If he asked you out, would you say yes?” Emma asked.
An image of Stark flickered through Rayna’s head, and she had to clamp down on the immediate ‘no’ that wanted to fly from her lips. Why shouldn’t she go out with Jasper if he asked her? She was single, and nothing was stopping her from going out with him.
Nothing at all.
“Rayna?” Emma prompted.
Before she could reply, Zuri and Arianna joined them. Zuri clasped her clipboard to her chest. “We have a serious problem, Rayna.”
“What’s wrong?” Rayna asked.
“Cheri just dropped out.”
“What do you mean she dropped out?”
“She looked at her phone, her face went red, and she said I have to go, and then she left,” Zuri said. “We need a new bachelorette.”
She stared at Rayna, who said, “Why are you looking at me?”
“Because you’re my new bachelorette,” Zuri said.
“The fuck I am,” Rayna said.
“The fuck you aren’t,” Zuri said.
“Just go with seven bachelorettes,” Rayna said.
“No.” Zuri was gripping her clipboard so tightly that it looked like she might crack it in half. “I said there would be eight bachelorettes, and there will be eight bachelorettes.”
“Zuri, there has to be someone else who can -”
“There isn’t,” Zuri said. “You’re the only single lady.”
“You’re single!” Rayna said.
“I’m not. I’m dating someone.”
“Since when?”
“For almost four months now. She’s from… Willington,” Zuri said.
“Oh, gross,” Arianna said. “Is she, like, super rich or something?”
Zuri ignored her as Rayna said, “Wren! Wren is single!”
She stared desperately at the tiny blonde woman who hovered near the bachelors and surreptitiously eyed Deputy Ian like he was a tasty snack.
“She has a total crush on that deputy guy, right?” Arianna said to Emma. “She looks at him like she wants to ride his face like a pony.”
Emma burst into laughter as Zuri said, “I already asked Wren. She can’t afford to take someone on a date. It’s your rescue, Rayna. You need to take one for the team.”
“I’m wearing a t-shirt and jeans,” Rayna said. “I didn’t do my hair, and I’m not wearing any makeup.”
“You never wear makeup, Ray-Ray,” Arianna said. She eyed Rayna up and down before reaching out and tugging out Rayna’s hair elastic. She sighed dramatically and handed it back to her. “You really need to do something other than a ponytail for your hair. It’s, like, permanently indented from the elastic.”
She gave her another critical look as Rayna scooped her hair back into a ponytail. “Okay, so I can’t do anything about your hair or your clothes, but I can work my makeup magic.”
“No time,” Zuri said, taking Rayna’s arm and tugging her toward the other bachelorettes. “You have a natural beauty, Rayna. Don’t worry about it. Now, think of an idea for your date. You have three minutes.”
“Zuri, I…”
Her voice died when Zuri gave her a fierce look. “I need you to do this, Rayna. Okay?”
She sighed. “Yeah, okay.”
* * *
“You look like you’re going to throw up,” Emma said.
“I might,” Rayna admitted. She fidgeted nervously, staring at James as he waited for Zuri to call his name. He stood on the other side of the stage, hidden behind the pulled-back curtains, and he looked just as nervous as Rayna. He was the last bachelor to go on stage, and he nodded distractedly to Wren when she patted his arm a bit timidly and said something Rayna couldn’t hear.
“I don’t want to do this,” she said to Emma for what felt like the thousandth time.
“I know,” Emma said patiently, “but I promise it will be fine.”
“No one’s going to bid on me,” Rayna said. “I’ll look like an idiot.”
“Of course someone will bid on you,” Emma said. “Rayna, you’re funny and smart and gorgeous.”
“I am wearing jeans and a t-shirt and my worse-fitting bra,” Rayna said. “My girls look like they fell off the back of a potato truck.”
Emma laughed so hard that it drowned out the sound of Solomon Whittaker’s voice as he called out for a final bid for the current bachelorette.
“The back of a potato truck?” Emma said, still wheezing laughter.
Rayna waved her off. “You know what I mean.”
“I don’t. I really don’t,” Emma said. “Besides, your boobs look amazing even in that bra. I’d kill for mine to be that perky.”
She suddenly paused. “Oh, just a second, I want to see who wins the bid for Cora.” She cocked her head, listening intently as Solomon shouted, “And the winning bid goes to Brent Davidson at three hundred dollars. You’ll be enjoying dinner at the Windmill followed by indoor rock climbing with the gorgeous and talented Cora.”
There was a loud whoop, and Emma grinned. “Oh my God, Brent has had a crush on Cora for months. He comes into the store all the time.”
“Is three hundred bucks our highest bid?” Rayna asked.
Zuri appeared out of nowhere, her clipboard still in hand and a pen stuck haphazardly into her long black curls. “Nope. That honour went to Edna Bakersfield. Walter Angleson bid five hundred dollars for a date with her.”
“Holy shit,” Rayna said.
“Yeah, he got into a bidding war with Ray Franklin over her. I guess they have a pretty big rivalry going on at the assisted living facility they both live in,” Zuri said.
Emma laughed. “That’s awesome.”
“Nix has the highest bachelor bid so far.” Zuri consulted her clipboard. “Carrie Wagston paid four fifty for a date with him.”
“The lady who owns the Sip and Gulp near Falls Park?” Emma asked.
“That’s the one,” Zuri said. She paused and then motioned frantically to James, who looked frozen to the floor as Solomon Whitaker called his name.
“Go,” Zuri hissed. “James, go!”
Wren gave him a gentle push, and with one last look of desperation at Rayna, James stepped out from behind the curtain and walked onto the stage.
“Oh God, I hope he doesn’t throw up,” Zuri said as she watched James stop uncertainly next to Solomon.
“He’ll be fine,” Emma said. “He’s just a little shy, that’s all.”
As Solomon told the guests what their date with James would include, Zuri disappeared down the side stairs, and Rayna glanced into the audience. Or, more accurately, she stared at Stark and Phoebe. After the first half hour of chatting to both Stark and Jasper, Phoebe had clearly chosen her victim, and she’d spent the last hour and a half talking to Stark, that sexy smile permanently in place and her hand grazing his arm and shoulder every few minutes.
Rayna gritted her teeth and told herself to look away. Instead, she continued to watch as Stark bent his head, and Phoebe said something in his ear that made a small smile cross his face.
“I can hear your teeth grinding, you know,” Emma said.
Rayna forced her jaw to relax. “No, you can’t.”
“You’re upset because Phoebe has been flirting with Stark all night,” Emma said.
“No, I’m not. He’s an asshole, and so is she. They’ll be the perfect couple,” Rayna snapped.
Emma didn’t reply, and Rayna sighed. “Sorry, I’m being a dick.”
“You’re not,” Emma said. “Look on the bright side. Phoebe requires a ton of attention. Maybe if Stark starts dating her, he’ll be too busy keeping her happy to bug you about selling your place.”
“Maybe,” Rayna said.
“And the winning bid of two hundred and fifty dollars goes to the lovely emerald-haired Jade! You’ll enjoy dinner and a horse-drawn sleigh ride through the Park with James.”
“Oh my God,” Rayna said as Jade made a soft squeal of excitement before waving at James. “Jade from Brandt Vet Clinic bid on James.”
Looking a little dazed, James waved back before walking off the stage toward the table where the other bachelors and bachelorettes had gathered.
“You’re up,” Emma said.
“Emma, I can’t do this. Not with Phoebe Edwards right there in the front goddamn row.”
Emma took her by the shoulders and gave her a gentle shake. “Yes, you can. Who the fuck cares about Phoebe? High school was a long time ago, and trust me when I say, you’re a million times more gorgeous than her. Go out there, stand tall, and enjoy having a bunch of dudes bid a shitload of money to spend time with you.”
“It won’t be a bunch or a shitload,” Rayna muttered.
“All right, folks, we have one last bachelorette. Now, this was a last-minute change-up,” Solomon said, grinning at the crowd, “but I guarantee y’all will be thrilled to see who she is. Let’s give a warm welcome to the lovely Rayna Abrams.”
“Go, sweetie,” Emma said, gently pushing her as the fundraiser guests clapped their hands.
Plastering a bright smile on her face, Rayna walked out onto the stage and stood next to Solomon. He slipped his arm around her and gave her a quick and friendly squeeze. “Hello, Rayna.”
“Hi there.” Her voice sounded terrified, and she forced herself to stand straight and smile at the crowd. “I can’t say thank you enough to all of you for participating in our fundraiser tonight. Little Whiskers Rescue does important work for a lot of innocent animals, and none of it would be possible without your generosity at events like this.”
The crowd cheered and clapped as Rayna risked a glance at Stark. He was clapping politely, and Rayna kept the smile on her face with grim force as Phoebe gave her a brittle smile. Phoebe slipped her hand around Stark’s bicep and lightly tugged until he bent his head toward her again.
Rayna looked away, scanning the rest of the crowd and hoping fervently that at least one person would bid on her.
“Rayna is offering dinner at the Bronze Blossom and ice skating at the Harmony Falls Sports Complex,” Solomon read from a small index card before smiling at the crowd. “Who will start the bid at fifty dollars?”
The silence spun out, and Rayna could feel the red creeping up her neck and into her face. Oh God, she would be forced to stand here in complete silence until the end of time.
Pretty sure the sheer humiliation of the moment will kill you first.
Christ, she hoped so.
“One thousand dollars.”
The crowd gasped, and necks craned to stare at the man who’d spoken. Rayna stared dumbly at Jasper, who grinned and winked at her before taking a sip from his wine glass.
“One thousand dollars!” Solomon roared happily. “Thank you, good man! Do I hear eleven hundred?”
Rayna turned to stare at Solomon. Was he crazy? No one else would bid -
“Eleven hundred.”
Her jaw dropped, and she stared wide-eyed at Stark. He returned her look calmly as Solomon shouted, “Eleven hundred from Mr. Stark.”
Solomon grinned at Jasper. “Do I hear twelve hundred?”
“Two thousand,” Jasper said with a glance at Stark.
Rayna grabbed Solomon’s arm. Before Solomon could say anything, Stark said, “Twenty-five hundred.”
Jasper glared at him over Phoebe’s head. Rayna’s gaze fell to Phoebe, and she swallowed the hysterical laughter bubbling in her chest at the look of - holy shit, that was jealousy - on Phoebe’s face.
What the actual fuck was happening right now?
“Twenty-five hundred!” Solomon shouted. The crowd clapped and cheered, and Rayna turned to stare at Emma, who was giving her a look of pure glee from backstage.
“What do you say, young fella?” Solomon winked at Jasper. “Do you want to make it twenty-six hundred?”
“Three thousand,” Jasper said.
“Holy fuck,” Rayna said.
Solomon laughed and turned his attention to Stark. “Mr. Stark? Thirty-one hundred?”
Stark glanced at Rayna, his blue eyes burning into hers before he shook his head.
Weird disappointment washed over her as Solomon said, “Three thousand, once, three thousand, twice… the winning bid goes to… what’s your name, young fella?”
Jasper’s grin widened. “Jasper.”
“The winning bid goes to Jasper. Congratulations!” Solomon shouted.
The crowd clapped, and with that useless disappointment still covering her like a thick cloak, Rayna forced a smile and a wave and walked off the stage.