Chapter 6
The town hall had been completely transformed for the evening and Emma couldn’t help but admire all the hard work that had been put in by volunteers to make the night successful. Scanning the tables, she saw Daisy and Grace chatting with Sam in the far corner. She’d make her way over there after she looked over the items up for auction. If there was anything from the new spa attached to the Bed and Breakfast in Lark Lake, she wanted to bid before anyone else could.
“How nice of you to wear the dress I sent, Sprinkles.” The warm and gravel-filled voice whispered in her ear as she looked over the offerings.
She turned to see Sebastian, of course, in a black tailored suit that fit his body like a glove. There was a single red rose in the jacket pocket and her stomach did a funny little shutter at knowing he had worn it to match her. Emma swallowed hard, willing herself to look unaffected by the way his muscles curved and bulged beneath his suit.
He laughed, as if able to read her mind. “You look nice yourself, Emma. I like that you wore this for me tonight.” His fingers dusted over the fabric on her shoulder.
“I’m not wearing it for you, Sebastian. This is one hundred percent for me.”
“Tell me one thing. Did you think of me as you slipped into it tonight?”
“No,” she smiled. “I thought of myself, and how amazing I looked in it. I stood in the mirror, running my hands all over my body to memorize how the fabric felt on my bare skin.” She watched Sebastian swallow and wondered if he was imagining the scene she was describing. “As much as I love the little black dress I’d already picked out for tonight, I couldn’t let couture go to waste, even if it’s just for a small town fundraiser.”
“Mmm yes, I hear there are lots of interesting things up for auction tonight.”
“Perhaps you’ll be able to win the dance lessons from Ms. Kaitlin’s Dance Company.”
“And what would I do with a dance lesson?”
“Take someone on a date, obviously. Dancing is super romantic and there are at least a hundred eligible ladies in Clarence County who would love to be seen out and about with you.”
“Is that so?”
“Are you blind, Suits? Maybe you should opt for the free eye exam at Dr. Harmon’s office before you do any bidding tonight. I have to even stop all the ladies in their eighties from drooling over you when you come in for your morning order.”
“Too bad there is only one woman in Bell Ridge who I’m interested in.” His hand dusted lightly along her collarbone and her traitorous thighs clenched as her skin pebbled. Why did he have such an effect on her? Damn hormones.
“Well, on that note, I hope you have a wonderful time with her tonight if she’s here, and if not, get her a good gift, okay? Maryanne’s massages are amazing. I’ve got to go find Hank and Daisy.”
She turned to leave, but stopped when his warm fingers closed around her wrist. His body pressed against hers as he bent to whisper in her ear.
“Thank you for wearing the dress tonight, Sprinkles.”
“I might not have thought of you when I put the dress on, Seb, but I definitely thought about you in the shower before.” Emma whispered back, running her finger from his ear to his jaw before winking as she walked away.
* * *
His mouth fell open as he watched her hips sway while she crossed the room. Fuck. Emma looked amazing in the dress he’d sent her. He hadn’t even taken the time to say a proper hello to everyone. The second his eyes landed on her in the fire-engine red dress, her delicious curves on full display, he’d lost his cool and walked straight over to her.
If he was a betting man, he’d have lost a fortune because never in a million years would he have thought she’d actually wear it. But that last little whisper of her voice in his ear had him wishing his tailor had left these particular suit pants a little looser than normal.
A smile formed across his face as he lifted his drink to his lips.
“What’s got you so happy?” Jackson slapped his shoulder.
“Oh, just a certain baker who likes to keep me on my toes.”
“Ahhh. Are you responsible for that dress she’s in tonight?”
“I might be.”
“Well, the single men of Bell Ridge thank you, I’m sure.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Emma is our big prize tonight. We’ve had a lot of amazing things donated, but my beautiful wife and Daisy convincing her to auction off a date night…yeah, that certainly has been the talk of the town.”
“I had heard a rumor about that.”
“Don’t get any crazy ideas. She’s already made our buddy Sam promise to have the winning bid.”
“Well, I hope Sam is a very wealthy man, because there is one item I don’t plan on losing tonight, and that siren in the sexy red dress is it.”
Jackson laughed. “Jesus, Seb. You really are asking for trouble.”
“Nothing I can’t handle, I’m sure.” Sebastian took a sip of his drink. “How’s life now that you’re all domesticated?”
“It’s the best.” He watched his buddy scan the room for Grace, his eyes lighting up as soon as he found her. “I wake up some times and have to pinch myself, I still can’t believe we’re married, and that we have Jack.”
“I love seeing you happy, man. You deserve it.” Sebastian clamped his free hand down on Jackson’s shoulder.
“You deserve it too, Seb. If anyone can handle Emma, it’s you. I kind of do hope you out bid Sam. The look on Emma’s face is going to be priceless.”
His eyes roamed the crowd to find his little vixen. She wasn’t near the stage, or at any of the tables set out for the auction and dinner part of the night. There was a line of people near the exit, and that’s where his eyes finally found her. Seb’s heartbeat took off. Emma was speaking with a man he’d seen at the bakery a time or two, but he’d never caught his name. The bastard had her blocked in, and from the way Emma’s eyes were bouncing back and forth between the people around her, she was looking for a way out of the conversation.
“I gotta go, man.” Seb took off without waiting for Jackson to reply.
He saw red the instant the man’s hand landed on Emma’s arm, the way she flinched igniting every protective fiber in his body.
“Come on, Em. I know you’re not trying to get away from me again,” the bastard said.
“Again?” Sebastian growled, reveling in the way Emma’s eyes snapped to him and how she looked instantly relieved to see him there. “You’d think if a woman said no once, that would be enough for you to leave them alone.”
“Look, I know you probably think you can come in here with your money and fuck with people’s lives in Clarence County just because you want to, but this is between me and Emma. We’ve known each other a long time. There’s history between us.”
“The only thing between us, Alan, is the coffee you buy each morning. I’m sorry, but I’m not interested.”
“Emma.” Alan seemed determined to dig his own grave before the event even started.
Sebastian couldn’t take it any more. He gripped the man’s shoulder.
“If you want to keep that disgusting hand, I suggest you remove it from Ms. Sullivan’s arm right now. She’s made it perfectly clear to you that she desires nothing more than the customer relationship she’s had with you, although I’m sure now she doesn’t even desire that.”
The creep released Emma, but Seb continued to squeeze down on his shoulder.
“I suggest you either head home for the night, or at the very least stay as far away from Emma as humanly possible. I’ll be letting the sheriff and the event security know that you are to be watched all night if you choose to stay.”
“Fuck you, man.”
“You’re not really my type, Alan, was it? But thank you for the compliment.” His heart burst when he heard Emma chuckle. They watched as Alan stormed away, and Seb turned to Emma.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” It took a moment for her eyes to meet his, but when they did, he could see she was anything but fine.
“Has he been bothering you a lot lately?”
“No. And honestly, you didn’t have to intervene like that. I had it handled. He’s just one of those guys that doesn’t take no for an answer the first couple hundred times. Too much ego. Probably has a little dick and is trying to compensate for it.”
Now it was Seb’s turn to burst out with laughter.
“Thanks for the save, Suits, but I’ve got to run.” Sebastian watched her wave to Daisy, who was calling her over to the stage. “Good luck with the auction. I hope you get something nice for that woman you’ve got your eye on.”
Oh, he planned on winning big. And he couldn’t wait to see her reaction when he did.
* * *
The auction had been running for twenty minutes, with Grace snagging a parent’s night out package and some big ruckus breaking out over a fishing trip, but besides that, Emma wasn’t paying attention. She was too busy actively trying not to throw up. Why had she agreed to this? Damn that Daisy…she was too good at convincing Emma to do shit she didn’t actually want to do.
“Hey, you okay?”
“Speak of the devil…” Emma muttered as she turned to see her best friend. “How in the world did you convince me to do this?” She wiped her sweaty palms on the beautiful fabric of her dress and laughed at the insanity of the whole situation. Sam was standing next to Daisy, a big grin on his face.
“You look amazing, Emma.”
“Cool your jets, cowboy Romeo. Just because I expect you to win this thing, it doesn’t mean we’re leaving the purely platonic friend zone on our little date.” He seemed to laugh even harder at that.
“Emma, don’t even sweat it for a second. There is no way, in any lifetime, that I could keep up with you. And I like our friendship just how it is.”
“Well, good. Now you better keep Alan Freemont from winning tonight. I keep seeing him licking his lips and eyeing me up and down. It’s bad enough when he comes into the bakery and is a creep, but Sebastian just almost lost his shit on him for touching my arm earlier, and I can still feel his hand on me. It’s turning my stomach.”
“Em, I promise, we won’t let him win. If anything, I’ll bid on a date night with you and we can get the whole town talking.” Daisy winked and Emma actually laughed out loud.
“I’d love that, babe, you know it.”
“Just breathe. Between me and Sam, and even Grace, we’ve got you covered.” Emma gave Daisy a hug before Pete Ellersman, the fire chief for the Bell Ridge Fire Department, called her name to the stage.
“We’ve got a very special final offer to bid on here tonight. Everyone’s favorite baker, Emma Sullivan, has agreed to auction off a date night with her. She has assured us that this does include a batch of her famous lemon bars, so who wants to start the bidding? I think one hundred dollars to open is fair. Do I hear one hundred?”
“One hundred!” Sam’s hand shot up as quick as lightening and Emma couldn’t help but let out a little sigh of relief.
“Two hundred!” someone in the back shouted almost immediately.
And then the crowd went wild. Emma couldn’t believe the numbers she was hearing.
“Five hundred!”
“Six hundred!”
“A thousand!” Sam yelled out and winked at her.
“Fifty-thousand dollars.”
Emma’s heart stopped. She followed the sound of the bidder’s voice and saw none other than Sebastian Montgomery smiling back at her. Her eyes darted back to Sam who gave her a small shrug and mouthed “sorry” at her.
“Fifty-thousand dollars from Mr. Sebastian Montgomery,” Pete called out. “What a generous bid! Fifty-thousand dollars going once….going twice….she’s yours for one spectacular date! Thank you so much, Mr. Montgomery.”
Emma stood on the stage, mouth dropped open fighting the urge to curse out the entire building, as Sebastian sauntered up to the edge of the platform. When he extended his hand in her direction, she couldn’t think of anything else to do but take it. They walked, hand in hand, towards the exit, and before Emma could wrap her mind around what happened, Sebastian had her outside.
“What are you doing? Where are we going?”
“We’re going on our date, of course.”
“Listen here,” she placed the palm of her hand on his chest and pushed against him. “That bid was very generous, and of course I’m going to see it through, but I can’t just go on a date with you tonight.”
“Why not? You were taking the night off for the fundraiser, weren’t you? And Natalie said you planned on having that student who works for you open tomorrow, anyway. It seems like tonight is the perfect night for our date.”
Emma’s jaw was once again on the floor. Fine. She could do this, and it was better than having to wait to schedule something in the future.
“You know, you were the prize I had my eye set on all night.”
“Sebastian,” she sighed. “Fine. Let’s do it.”