Chapter 25 Cru
CRU
“But you promised!” my sister shouted at me.
“No, Alex, I didn’t. In fact, I never agreed to be in the auction this year or any other. The difference now is I don’t care what you threaten me with. I’m finally putting my foot down. I’m not doing it.”
“You’re already listed in the program.”
“Say it was a typo.”
She folded her arms. “You have to be there anyway to represent Los Cab. What’s the big deal about being in the auction if you’re already there?”
“Because someone will bid on me, and I’ll have to spend a lot of money on a fancy date with a person I don’t want to know.”
“It’s for charity, Cru. All the money goes to the children’s hospital. Think about that.”
I shook my head. “You know damn well that I always make a donation anyway. A sizable one.”
“Will you double it this year?”
My eyes scrunched. “I will on one condition.”
“Name it.”
“You never ask me to be in this stupid auction again.”
She drummed her fingers on the counter. “It isn’t stupid.”
“Alex…” I warned.
“All right. I’ll never ask again.”
“Wait. You said I was already in the program. What was the date?”
“Hot-air ballooning over the vineyards, followed by dinner in the old winery.”
“Get out of here, Al.”
She cocked her head. “What did I say?”
“Nothing. Just go.”
“God, you’re a moody asshole lately.”
I pointed to the door.
“All right, I’m leaving. Jeez.”
Hot fucking air ballooning over the vineyard. Why did that have to be what Alex had come up with?
I had a tuxedo. All the men in my family did.
As one of the largest wineries on the Central Coast, we were required to attend all sorts of black-tie functions, most of which were fundraisers.
None were bigger than the Wicked Winemakers’ Ball, the highlight of the post-harvest season.
My sister was appointed chair of the event a few years ago and quadrupled the money the event raised by adding a bachelor auction.
I’d been coerced to participate since the year it started, as had the rest of my brothers and my fellow caballeros.
Brix and Ridge were the first to get married, thus they no longer qualified to be auctioned off.
Beau, his brother, Press, and Zin were also off the market enough that Alex left them alone.
Given the number of eligible men was dwindling, my sister had become more of a pest about participation.
Snapper and Kick, who’d used their travel on the rodeo circuit more than once as an excuse to miss it, were here this year.
New to the auction were guys I remembered being kids, but were now old enough to be bid on.
The other new “kid” on the auction block this year was Bit.
On the one hand, I was pissed at Alex for forcing him to do it. On the other, it was one more indicator of “normalcy” in my brother’s life.
I got out of the shower, dried off, and got dressed.
As I looked in the mirror, attempting to get the bow tied right, I studied my reflection.
There was more gray in my hair than I remembered there being even as recently as last week.
The bags under my eyes looked worse, and the wrinkles on my forehead were deeper.
Frankly, even I had to admit I looked like shit.
In previous auctions, I hadn’t cared who’d bid on me. I only owed the winner one date, and most years, the woman was someone I’d known since childhood.
The idea of spending time with a female other than Daphne—even as friends—still turned my stomach.
When I wasn’t feeling nauseated, I ached.
I left the bathroom and sat on the end of the bed.
I pulled the tie from around my neck and tossed it on the floor.
Was it really necessary I wear one? I wouldn’t be getting up on stage.
It had occurred to me that, once I was at the venue, Alex might attempt to call me up anyway. I’d already decided that if she did, I’d get up, push my chair in, and leave. If she thought she could trick me by putting me on the spot, she’d have a hefty dose of humiliation headed her way.
“Cru?” I heard my brother call my name from the other room.
“I’m here, Bit,” I said, joining him in the living room.
He held up his tie. “Can you help me with this damned thing?” What I noticed more than his frustration over an article of clothing no one liked wearing was his underlying happiness. It wasn’t something I saw or felt from him that often.
“Looking forward to tonight?” I asked.
He shrugged. “I hope someone bids on me.”
“You’re kidding, right?” I thought back to Daphne saying that, of all the Avila brothers, he was the most “muscular.” I knew she meant more than that. He was also the best looking. “Your bid might be the highest of the night.”
“You think so?” he asked as I finished tying the bow, then straightened.
“I sure do,” I said, resting my hands on his shoulders. “I’m proud of you, and I love you, Bit.”
“I love you too, Cru.”
I turned around and went into the kitchen to pour myself a glass of wine but also to hide the tears in my eyes. I hated how fucking emotional I was lately almost as much as I hated the pain in my heart whenever I thought about Daph, which was pretty much every waking hour.
“You ready to go?” he asked.
“Sure—” I stopped myself from saying I wanted to get this night over with. It wasn’t fair for my depression to affect my brother. He’d battled enough of it on his own through the years. After he was attacked, it seemed worse.
When we walked in and made our way to our table that was always positioned in the center of the room, I was stunned to see Beau there with Sam. Press was in attendance too, with his wife, Luisa.
“I didn’t expect you guys tonight,” I said, walking up to embrace them one by one.
“The gang is all here, from what I’ve heard,” said Beau, motioning behind me.
I glanced over my shoulder and saw my oldest brother walking toward me with his hand on his wife’s back. “Brix,” I said, meeting them halfway. “Hey, Addy.”
“Hi, Cru.”
“How are you feeling?” I asked.
“Hopeful there’s something spicy enough on the menu tonight that this little nugget decides it’s finally time to make an appearance.” She patted her stomach, which looked like it was about to burst.
“If not, we can always get my ma to make you something afterwards. I hear she’s got a recipe that guarantees to induce labor.
” A couple of months after they moved to Mexico, Brix called with the news that Addy was pregnant.
It seemed hard to believe that enough time had passed and she was about to give birth.
She smacked Brix’s arm. “Why am I hearing this now and from your brother? My due date was a week ago.”
“Sorry, honey,” he said, looking sheepish and rubbing her shoulders.
“You’re not forgiven.”
I raised a brow at him, then laughed when she brushed past me to say hello to Sam. “You’re whipped, man.”
“I hear it gets worse during labor. I’ve been building up to it.”
“I didn’t know you’d be in town.”
He nodded. “Thought it best that the baby be delivered here, with Ma and Addy’s mother. The hospital in álamos is nice, but with all the money Alex raises for the local ones, we both decided we’d be more comfortable here.”
“Wait. How long have you been in town?”
“Just got here last night, but if she had gone into labor sooner, the jet was on standby.”
That didn’t sound like a very smart plan to me, but what did I know? The closest I’d ever get to babies was by being their uncle.
I grabbed the bottle from the center of Los Cab’s table and poured us each a glass. “Did you hear Bit’s on the block tonight?” I asked.
He waved the program in front of me. “I’m surprised you agreed this year.”
I sneered. “Alex did it without asking me, and when I found out, I told her if she tried to get me up there, I’d humiliate her in ways she couldn’t even imagine.”
“Like what?”
“I don’t know. I haven’t come up with anything other than walking out.”
“She didn’t call your bluff, then?”
“Not yet anyway.”
“I hate to tell you, but the brat is making a beeline for us now.”
“Hi, Brix,” she said, kissing our brother’s cheek before turning to me. “There’s been a development. You, um, have to be in the auction tonight.”
I looked around me to see who was close enough to hear what I was about to say, then leaned in. “No fucking way, Al. I told you what would happen if you pulled this shit.”
“But there is a really good reason. I mean, really good.”
“No, and if you don’t drop it, I’m walking out of here right now.”
Her eyes opened wide. “You can’t.”
“Try me.”
I watched as she turned and made eye contact with Beau. He shook his head, then went back to his conversation with Sam and Addy. What was that all about?
“I have to ask one more time. I’ll get down on my knees and beg if I have to.”
“You can crawl around on the floor all night, Alex, and I’m still not going to do it. There is no way in hell I will set foot on the stage tonight. No possible way.”
Her eyes scrunched, and I could tell there was more she wanted to say, but talked herself out of it.
“What was that look between you and my sister?” I approached Beau and asked.
“She asked for my assistance.”
I nodded, but my gut told me there was more to it. However, I knew that my best course of action was to not engage Alex again tonight. She’d only see it as an opening to keep trying to get me on stage.
“Hey, I want to apologize for how much of an asshole I’ve been lately.”
Beau raised a brow. “Lately?”
“You still have me outnumbered in collective days of being a douche by a few years.”
He shook his head. “I won’t argue with you on that one. Being with Sam, though, has changed me for the better in ways I never dreamed possible.”
Brix approached and put his hand on my shoulder. “That’s what comes when you’re in love with the right woman.”
“As I’ve heard.”
“So, what are you going to do about it?”
I hadn’t planned on telling anyone other than Bit, but I knew the two would keep after me all night if I didn’t divulge my intentions. “I’m on a flight out on Monday, traveling to Perth.”
Like the look that had passed between Beau and Alex, I caught a similar one between my oldest brother and my best friend.
“What’s up?” I asked.
Beau put his hand on my other shoulder. “Nothing, man. Just glad to hear it.”
I didn’t believe him, but it didn’t matter what they thought. I had to go to Australia. Even if Daphne couldn’t leave, we’d figure it out. We had to. I’d loved her most of my life, and now that I knew how it felt to have her love me back, it wasn’t something I could live without.