I didn’t flinch. “Twenty thousand,” I said again, louder this time.
Heads swiveled. Conversations died mid-sentence. The entire room turned to me—West, Bronx, the blonde, the woman in the blue dress. Everyone stared. Sawyer went perfectly, entirely still.
“What the hell are you doing?” he whispered, low and strained.
“Being generous,” I said lightly. “It’s for a good cause.”
“Ellie…”
The auctioneer recovered. “Twenty thousand going once…”
I smiled, serene and dangerous.
“Going twice…”
Sawyer’s grip on my leg tightened again.
“Sold, to Ellie Miles at table three.”
A wave of polite applause scattered across the room, but I barely heard it. I took a slow sip of champagne and finally turned to him.
Sawyer stared at me, disbelief flickering in his eyes, like I’d rewritten the rules we were supposed to be following.
“What?” I tilted my head, giving him a fake pout. “I didn’t want to share.”
“You are unbelievable,” he murmured.
I leaned in until my lips brushed the shell of his ear. “That’s why you like me.”
He stood abruptly, took my hand, and tugged me out of my seat. The next auction item was already being announced, but I barely registered it. He walked us out of the ballroom as if he couldn’t breathe there anymore.
And I followed—heart racing, heels clicking, champagne still fizzing on my tongue—without a single second of hesitation.
THIRTY-TWO
Sawyer
Ellie trailed behind me,as if she hadn't dropped twenty grand in front of everyone to stake a claim she swore wasn't real. Maybe she didn't think it mattered, but my skin still hummed from the fallout.
I pushed open the door to the hallway, the muffled noise of the auction fading as it clicked shut behind us.
Once we were in the empty corridor, I spun around. “What the hell was that?”
Her heels clicked once more on the tile as she stopped a few feet away, chin lifted in the stubborn way that made me want to either shake her or kiss her.
“I think that was one consenting adult bidding on another, maybe slightly less consenting, adult for a dinner date.”
“Don't do that,” I snapped. “Don't joke.”
“What did you expect me to do?” She stepped closer. “Let some stranger buy you for a night and pretend I'm fine with it? I'm your girlfriend.”
My heart slammed into my ribs. “Oh, are you now?”
She scrunched her face. “Well…pretend girlfriend.”
“Yeah.” I let out a bitter laugh. “We seem to be really fucking good at pretending, huh?”
Her lips parted, the sharpness slipping from her expression. Then, she reached out slowly and brushed her fingers across my cheek.
