22. Gemma
GEMMA
The teams took over the event center a few days before the ball, and from the moment the first truck backed up to the loading dock, I stopped sleeping.
I’d run bigger events. I’d never run one that mattered this much.
Everyone in a position of influence in the valley would be here.
Donors, the whole vintners’ association, Alex and more than half her family, a newspaper photographer Edna had invited, and all of Bas’ brothers and sisters.
Whitmore’s name was on the invitation. Bas’ name was on the sponsorship.
But mine was on the program, and if anything failed tonight, I’d be the one who was blamed.
The doors opened at dusk to a setup similar to what we’d had in March.
The themes were almost the same, with dinner served at the tables in all three of the sections.
I stood at the entrance, in a black gown I’d bought with money I’d never have spent on myself a year ago, and greeted each guest by name.
The headset was in my ear, with Camille, Thalia, Wallace, and my floor captains on it.
Bas stood beside me. “You’re not going to eat tonight, are you?”
“I’ve been snacking all day.”
He laughed. “No, you haven’t, and Camille is saving some of every dish for you.”
“Cake too?”
His laugh got louder. “Yes, cake for sure.”
Rand had come through on the bachelor list in October.
Josh Hill from Salt and Pepper had agreed, then Owen Thackeray, then Tom Prentiss, who I never would’ve predicted.
There were ten names on the board, ten dates up for auction, and Kick and Isabel were behind the scenes, making sure everything was ready to go.
Alex approached me with her arms folded. “They told me to leave them alone. My own brother said he doesn’t answer to me. He answers to you.”
“Ha. I think it’s me who answers to him and Izzy. And Bas. And you.”
“Not me, girlfriend. You did this without any help from me at all, and I am damn proud of you. I have one request, though.”
“What’s that?”
“Don’t let anyone down in Paso Robles know you had more silent auction items this year than we’ve ever had.”
“I promise I won’t tell.”
We hugged, and she was about to walk away, but turned around. “You do know that Helen Lombard is here tonight, right?”
“What?” I gasped, then covered my mouth. “Why?”
“Oh shit. I don’t think I was supposed to tell you until it was over.”
I grabbed her arm hard enough to leave bruises. “Alex, why is she here?”
“Don’t you dare tell her I said so, but I think Edna Whelan had something to do with it.”
Of course she did. She was the one person here I would never ever get mad at.
The music was playing, people were eating and drinking, the silent auction sheets were so full of bids we had to add extra pages, and there was no way in hell Desmond Gannon would show up here unexpectedly, since he was in jail after being indicted on several counts.
As it turned out, similarly to the famous Hollywood movie producer, women he’d assaulted began coming forward, all willing to press charges, all willing to testify. Including me.
Helen Lombard was a little wrinkle, but I had no reason to be nervous with her here. I’d done this on my own, and I was damned proud of it. Whatever reason she had for showing up had nothing to do with me.
Bas had set up a barrel tasting in the cellar for the men from the vintners’ association at my urging. Any minute, they should be coming upstairs, and I couldn’t wait to hear what they thought of Bas’ blend.
When they started filing out of the cellar door, he found my eyes over their heads. His smile was broad, and he winked. They’d loved it. I knew they would.
Edna caught me as I was headed backstage to see if all the bachelors were ready.
“My dear girl, you somehow managed to top First Pour, and even with the same teams handling the decor and food, it still looks and feels different.”
We’d maxed out at five hundred guests, and I doubted that, other than Gannon and Barrow, there were many no-shows. Even if there were, it didn’t matter.
Edna squeezed my hand. “When they applaud for you at the end of the evening, you must promise me you will thank them without giving credit to anyone else. You deserve a bow of your own, my dear.”
“Thank you. For everything. I truly don’t know what I would’ve done without your support.”
“That’s what friends do, Gemma. Especially good friends.”
My eyes filled with tears, and she handed me a hankie. “No crying. You need to get your tushy on stage, and you can’t have your mascara running.”
I laughed out loud and kissed her cheek before she pushed me in that direction.
Like before, Rand managed to get everyone to quiet down without needing a microphone.
I made every announcement except the final amount of money we’d raised, since we needed to wait for the auction to know.
I thanked all those who donated anything and everything, and when I invited my team leaders on the stage to take a bow, they brought their whole groups with them.
I gushed and gushed over what they’d created and the fabulous food and let the audience show their appreciation.
They all stepped to the side of the stage except Camille, who approached and asked if she could have the microphone for a moment.
“I know there will be more opportunities for us to thank Gemma tonight, but let’s do it once right now.”
When I tried to take the mic back to say thank you, Camille wouldn’t give it to me.
“There’s one more thing we need to say,” she told me.
Wallace and Thalia came over, carrying a large piece of cardboard.
“What’s this?” I asked.
When they turned it around, it had all the names of everyone who’d worked with them on the event, and at the bottom, it read, “Your biggest sponsors other than Whitmore.”
Camille squeezed my hand.
“You can’t be serious,” I said.
“Wanna bet?”
I looked to the side of the stage, and my eyes met Bas’. He winked, and I smiled. “Thank you,” I mouthed. I blinked, and then he was gone.
I stood beside Kick when he started the auction after dessert.
The younger of the two Percy boys came out first. His date was a day of fly-fishing on the river and a picnic his mother had packed. A table of his mother’s friends bid it up until he turned red.
Owen Thackeray, who’d never once come to anything, offered a tour of his caves and a tasting back to his grandfather’s vintages. Bids soared for that one, which didn’t surprise me. The man was one of the most handsome I’d ever seen, other than Rand and mostly Bas.
Josh Hill offered a chef’s table for six at Salt and Pepper with Camille cooking, and a table of women near the back started raising paddles against each other before Kick finished reading it.
By the time we were down to the last two, the room had warmed up, and I was starting to do the math in my head.
Izzy came out from the back and whispered something to Kick, who nodded and took a piece of paper out of her hand.
I lowered the mic. “What’s going on?” I asked.
“Change in order,” Alex muttered under her breath.
I stared at her. She’d been standing beside me the entire time. How did she know and I didn’t?
“You’re scary,” I said to her when Izzy confirmed that was what was happening.
She shrugged. “Most people say brilliant and beautiful, but I’ll take scary too.”
“But all that’s left is Rand and Everest. Why are they switching?”
She shrugged again.
“Ladies and gentlemen, we’re making a small change to what you see in your programs,” Kick told the audience. “Rand Whelan has asked to go now because, in his words, something really important is happening after this.”
“Wolf! Wolf! Wolf!” the crowd began to chant.
Seconds later, he stepped onstage, and the audience went wild. Women started raising their paddles before Kick opened the bids.
The date he’d offered was a weekend at a house in Big Sur, with a chef, a driver, and, he promised, as much of Rand himself as they could take.
It sold for a number that made Alex grab my arm.
When the paddle came down, he bowed to the room, bowed to Edna, and left the stage toward the wings instead of the floor.
“Who won that one?” I asked through the comms.
“Wow.” Izzy gasped. “Arlow Whitmore.”
I couldn’t quite picture the two together, but maybe it wasn’t about the date. She only wanted to support the hospital.
“Our final bachelor of the evening bears the name that’s on the outside of the building. In fact, from what I heard, he made the sign himself.”
What was going on? Why was Everest getting credit for something Bas had done? There was nothing I could do about it now, but when this was over, Kick and Ev were going to get a talking-to.
“Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome to the stage our final bachelor of the night—Bas Whitmore.”
He walked out, and rather than face the audience, his gaze landed on me and stayed there.
“Bas has asked to read his date himself.” Kick handed him the mic.
“My date is a trip north. First a plane ride, then after we land, we’ll drive beyond the last town until there isn’t as much as a stoplight.
We’ll huddle together under heavy blankets to stay warm, drink hot chocolate and Schnapps, then we’ll look up and see what someone very special to me once saw in a library book. ”
The crowd stilled, but Bas’ eyes never left mine.
“Who wants to open the bidding?” Kick asked.
Edna started it off. Several others raised their paddle after her, but she kept upping the amount. The higher it got, the fewer bidders there were until the only two left were Edna and Brylee.
Edna stood and looked over at Bry. “My dear, you cannot go on a date with your own brother.”
She stood too. “The date isn’t for me,” she announced. “I’m the proxy for someone who’d prefer to remain anonymous.”
“I see.” Edna bowed with a flourish. “In that case, I concede.”
When Kick counted it off and declared it sold, Bas crossed over to me and gave me a kiss that had the audience roaring again.
“Did you just bid on your own date?” I asked him.
“It’s a gift for someone who’s always dreamed of seeing the northern lights.”
Rand approached and clapped Bas on the back.
“I can’t believe it. You actually managed to upstage me. I guess there’s a first time for everything.”
We all laughed.
A few minutes later, Izzy came out and handed me a piece of paper. The figure written inside had me grasping for something to hold onto. Fortunately, Bas was the closest.
“Let me see.” Alex held out her hand, and I gave it to her. “My God, it’s more than we raised this year and last year combined.” The smile she gave me was warm through her tears. “Show-off.”
Bas stayed by my side for the remainder of the night, holding my hand as we made our way to the main doors to say good night and thank everyone again for coming.
Edna was one of the last out, and she brought Helen Lombard with her.
“First, you have my deepest and most sincere apologies,” Helen said. “And this.” She handed me a sealed envelope. “We hope you’ll consider coming back to Lombard as a named partner.”
She and Edna left arm in arm.
I’d planned this night for the better part of a year. It was the thing that would get me back to San Francisco with my head held high.
It was the best night of my life. I was getting what I wanted, which also made it the worst.