“Finally!” a woman shouted and whoops went up.
Wilna grinned at me, dollar signs in her eyes, as I climbed the three steps to stand by her. The cheering got louder, growing so much that the walls shook.
A couple hundred women stared back at me and red bidding paddles waved.
Shit.
Madison
Teller squared his shoulders and faced the crowd. His expression was unreadable, but his jaw was carved from marble. His molars must be withstanding superhuman pressure. I could almost empathize. I’d already gotten a million cursory looks, some full of disdain, and I could hear their unspoken thoughts.What the hell is Mad Maddy Townsend doing at a bachelor auction? Of course she’d have to buy a man. Her own husband didn’t want her.
I hid my paddle in my bag. Signing in had been embarrassing, but for the most part, I’d been ignored after their initial shock at seeing me.
Flipping my braid over my shoulder, I looked around. Some women around me were standing. Most of them were cheering while Wilna and her octogenarian posse smiled on. All of the women in the crowd were grinning and clapping.
I was not. I was here for one reason and one reason only.
No matter how much Teller irritated me, he was a man of his word. Scott had thought Teller had screwed him over, but he hadn’t. Scott had been his own worst enemy. Next in line were our parents.
I hid in the last row, squished between an old lunch lady from the elementary school and a girl who could barely be over twenty-one. She had bid on two younger guys earlier and lost.
This whole show... I couldn’t imagine being on display. I felt like I was at a livestock auction, watching ranchers bid on a bull. But it raised money. Four hundred dollars to go to Curly’s for a date night? Eight hundred dollars to plant trees for a day?
Teller would sell for way more than eight hundred, but I was prepared. The amount I could spend made me nauseous. If I won, Teller would wish he could plant trees for a day. He’d even wish he had offered a date instead.
Wilna leaned into the microphone. “Are we ready?”
Another two minutes of straight cheering rang out. Teller’s shoulders were impossibly immobile. Was he even breathing? He was stiff, like he hated the attention on him, and in that, I could empathize. I shouldn’t. He didn’t deserve it from me, but…he’d brought me candy. He’d blocked it, purposely egging me on, and I when I stormed out, he’d selected sweet treats and brought them to me.
I still wasn’t sure what to do about it. Other than eat everything that had been in the bag, and think of him with each bite.
Ugh. Being here was a mistake, but I was a desperate woman, and I was used to losing face in this town. I had to try to win this bid.
Finally, Wilna tapped the microphone and people quieted. “Bidding starts at one thousand.”
Before my heart could lurch at her starting the bid at more than any other bachelor had gone for, someone cried, “Five.” A paddle waved from the front row.
Oh god.
“Six!” Four more paddles waved.
Disgruntled grumbles resonated. I continued running the figures through my head. I could go higher, much higher, but I had hoped not to. My hopes died with each thousand-dollar increase.
“Ten.” Cassie brandished her paddle like a sword.
Teller cocked a brow, but relief didn’t fill his gaze. Wouldn’t he want Cassie to win him? They were friends, or more.
“Twelve.”
I looked around for the bidder and my stomach sank. Riley Graves. The best friend of my brother’s ex-wife, Wendi. Teller’s ex. My dislike for Riley was almost as intense as for Wendi. Riley was a user. She had helped Wendi almost drain my brother dry, and she blamed me for ruining her good time. Scott had been a stubborn bastard, but he’d sometimes listened to me, and I’d finally gotten through to him about his wife. But then, I’d had irrefutable proof.
“Thirteen,” Cassie countered.
“Fifteen,” Riley said smugly.
I couldn’t see much of Cassie, but she bit her lip. “S-sixteen.”
Heads turned to Riley. A bidding tennis match.
