Chapter 37
CALLUM
Iwatched her walk up, the spotlight following her every move.
I could feel my heart in my throat. How the hell was I supposed to tell her how I felt if I couldn’t speak?
She looked absolutely breathtaking, even in her simple dress.
When I’d spotted her earlier, it had taken every ounce of self-control not to pull her aside immediately.
Now, here she was, walking toward me, and I was about to lay everything on the line.
I wasn’t the showy type. I was the guy that just got shit done. My mom was the actress. She loved the stage and cameras. I did not inherit that from her.
But I knew how to do it. I would do whatever I had to, even if it made me nauseated. Even if I risked public humiliation that would follow me for the rest of my days.
The crowd fell silent as I pulled Victoria up onto the runway like she didn’t weigh a thing. I could see her confusion, the wariness in her eyes. She didn’t know what I was planning, obviously. I hoped she would think it’s a good surprise.
I cleared my throat and spoke into the mic. “The final item up for auction tonight is me.” The crowd erupted in whispers. “Not the suit I’m wearing, just me. But only one person is allowed to bid on me, if she wants me.” I turned to face Victoria directly. “Victoria Cavendish.”
The room exploded with gasps and cheers. I glanced over and saw my family all watching. Elizabeth was grinning and bouncing her son in her arms. None of them had known what I was going to do. I wasn’t even entirely sure I was going to do it until I actually started.
Victoria’s face flushed that adorable shade of red I loved so much. She stared at me like I’d lost my mind. Maybe I had.
I took her hand in mine, ignoring the cameras flashing around us.
“I know I’m not perfect,” I said, my voice much calmer than I expected.
“And sometimes I lead with my heart instead of my head.” I squeezed her hand gently.
“I can’t promise I won’t act like a fool sometimes, but I can promise that I’ve never felt this way about anyone before. ”
The words poured out of me, the truth I’d been hiding from even myself until recently. “I love you, Victoria, and if you’ll give me another chance, go ahead and bid on me. I’m all yours.”
The room fell silent. Victoria’s eyes glistened with unshed tears. Good tears or bad? It was impossible to tell. For a horrible moment, I thought she might turn and walk away.
Instead, she reached for the microphone. Her hand trembled slightly. “One dollar,” she said quietly.
The crowd laughed, and I smiled in surprise. “Only a dollar?” I asked her, away from the mic so no one could hear me but her. I felt like my chest might explode with relief and joy.
“Yep,” she said with a grin, then pulled the mic close to her face to address the crowd.
“I’ve never had someone fight for me before.
Not like this. Not in front of everyone.
” She stepped closer. “I love you too, Callum. You’re worth way more than a dollar, but that’s all I have to offer you. Me, just as I am.”
The audience erupted in applause. I didn’t care. I pulled her into my arms and kissed her right there on the runway with a hundred people watching. It was the kiss I’d been missing for days, the one I thought I might never have again.
When we finally broke apart, the room was still cheering. Victoria smiled up at me. I knew I was looking at my future.
“Sold,” I said into the microphone, “to the beautiful woman in my arms.”
Laughter filled the space.
“Thank you, everyone, enjoy the rest of the party and feel free to write some more checks for the foundation,” I said. “Ask a Blackwell about the foundation if you have questions.”
The second we stepped off the runway, it was like being swallowed whole.
They came from every direction. Mimi reached me first, both hands holding my face, her eyes bright with emotion.
Drew clapped me so hard on the back I nearly dropped Victoria’s hand.
Cleo was already crying as she hugged me, then Victoria.
Dash pulled me into a brief, hard embrace and said something in my ear that I didn’t catch because Jeremy had appeared on my other side with two glasses of champagne.
I held on to Victoria’s hand through all of it. I wasn’t letting go. Ever. It made hugs difficult but she didn’t seem interested in pulling away from me, either.
She was laughing and had a huge smile on her face. Her cheeks were still flushed. I watched her take a sip of her champagne while she talked with Elizabeth. She fit into the chaos of them the way she always had. Like she’d always belonged there.
Beau materialized at my elbow. “I need to know if you practiced that little speech.”
“No.”
Beau looked at Victoria. “Did you know he was going to do that?”
“Absolutely not,” she said with a laugh. “I probably would have worn something else if I’d known I was going to be on that runway.”
“Even better.” He raised his glass. “Welcome to the family, officially.”
“Nobody asked you, Beau,” I said.
He grinned. “Nobody had to. I think Mom and Cleo are itching for another female in the ranks.”
Hollis appeared next, throwing his arms around me in a hug.
Micah was already photographing everyone, documenting them moment.
Mom walked into the chaos, slipping through the crowd with the kind of grace that made everyone else look like they were moving through concrete.
She looked at me for a long moment like I had just received a grand prize.
Then her gaze went to Victoria. She pulled us both in for a hug at the same time.
“I’m very proud of you,” she said quietly, close enough that only we could hear it. “Both of you.”
I had to look at the ceiling for a second. And then I saw my father. He was always the most popular guy in the room. He cut through the crowd.
“Callum,” he said.
“Dad.”
“Mr. Blackwell,” Victoria murmured.
Dad stared at both of us and then started laughing. “Good job,” he said. “And please, call me Max, Victoria. Looks like you’re going to be sticking around, and Mr. Blackwell is just a little too formal.”
“Thank you, Max,” she said.
The party had fully taken over the store.
The runway was still lit. I watched a cluster of guests gravitating toward it.
We had expected as much. A woman in a gold dress kicked off her heels and walked the length of it to scattered applause, phone held aloft, recording everything.
Her companion followed, attempting a model turn at the end that nearly knocked her on her ass.
On the plus side, every video would hit social media before midnight.
Every tagged post was another piece of advertising money couldn’t buy.
The grand opening was two days away and the internet was going to do half the work for us.
The videos would catch various angles of the store.
The catering was provided by one of the vendors we were working with.
It was all drumming up buzz for the store.
I grabbed two fresh glasses of champagne from a passing tray and handed one to Victoria. She took it and leaned into me slightly, just her shoulder against my arm. The knot that had been embedded in my gut finally loosened. I felt like I could actually breathe again.
“You okay?” I asked.
She tilted her head up at me. “Ask me again in ten minutes when the adrenaline wears off and I remember you just put a spotlight on me in front of a hundred famous people.”
“I thought it was a good plan.”
“It was absolutely insane.”
“Did it work?”
“That remains to be seen,” she said and took a sip of her champagne. “I might get used to the grand gestures. Be careful.”
We drifted through the crowd together. I kept my hand on her back as we made small talk with the guests. She greeted people easily, fielding questions about the charity. For someone who didn’t like being the spotlight, she was great talking to people.
“Can I ask you something?” I said, finding a quieter pocket near the window wall while the party swelled behind us.
She turned to face me. “Sure.”
“After what happened with Connors. Did I cost you your job?”
“Still employed,” she said with a grin.
I exhaled. I hadn’t realized how much I’d been dreading the answer. I wasn’t sure how I was going to fix that problem because there was no way she would have let me, even if it was my fault.
“Connors complained,” she continued. “He called Betty and made a big stink. Betty told him she was sorry to hear he didn’t want to be a part of our gala but there would be other donors.”
“I still want to donate,” I said.
She met my eyes. “You don’t need to. Turns out, nobody likes Jeff Connors.
Not even the people who do business with him.
Betty made a few calls after he complained.
The general consensus was that attaching his sponsorship to the gala would have kept a lot of donors away.
It turned out to be a blessing in disguise.
” She shrugged one shoulder. “That doesn’t mean you can barge in on my meetings in the future. ”
“I’m sorry,” I said. “Not just for making a scene and scaring off a sponsor. For what it made you feel. I am so sorry.”
“I know,” she said. “I get it. I understand it came from the right place, but the execution sucked.”
“I can’t promise I’ll always get it right,” I said. “I’m going to be honest with you about that. But I can promise I’ll try. And I can promise I won’t show up uninvited to any more of your lunch meetings. Unless you ask.”
“I appreciate that.” She laughed. “If you’re a very good boy, maybe next time you’ll be worth more than a dollar.”
“I’ll take that as a challenge.”
“You should.” She clinked her glass against mine. “You’ve got a lot of ground to make up.”
“I have two days before the grand opening,” I said. “I’ll start tomorrow.”
She looked past me at the runway, where three more guests had climbed up and were attempting to coordinate a group strut with varying degrees of success. “You should probably go make sure nobody breaks an ankle on your runway.”
“Our runway,” I said. “And look. Bernadette is on it. She’s not going to let the Blackwell name be associated with any accidents ever.”
Bernadette waddled over to give the women a safety lecture, with Sebastian at her side.
“Our runway?” she repeated.
“I think you’ve probably figured out my family has adopted you.”
“I love your family. But they aren’t great for the self-esteem. You’re all so damn pretty.”
“Woman, you are prettier than any one of us.”
She winked. “Keep saying things like that and you might just get lucky.”
I kissed her. “Just getting to hold you makes me feel lucky.”
“Smooth talker.” She giggled.
“Come on, we better rejoin the party and keep these people from destroying all our hard work. We’ve got a cleanup crew coming in tomorrow and then we have to set up the store for real.”
I took her hand, and together, we waded back into the celebration.