She doesn't know us.
The bids have topped half a million.
I raise the paddle.
The auctioneer lights up. "We've got a new table entering the fun!"
Nikki's, or should I say Molly's, head tilts as she seems to thank us. I raise the paddle high. No hiding now.
Bids climb while multiple bidders stay in the running. Is this a twist of fate? Dylan and I offering what she begged for in her diary? Something forbidden. Something our mother would never understand.
Is there any way this ends well?
I keep bidding. I’ll go bankrupt before I let anyone else win her. Thankfully, one point five million thins the herd and with a couple more exchanges, we’re the only ones left.
With a final call from the auctioneer, Dylan and I have won our stepsister.
Chapter 6
Molly
It will be my turn to get auctioned any second now. I spin in front of the mirror, making sure nothing is out of place. A vague memory of someone nagging me about my looks plays through my mind but it’s gone without much more than a flicker.
“Mirror, mirror, on the wall, am I pretty enough for this… auction? Ball!?
Other than the faint nag in my memory, I’m ready. And just in time. The emcee calls me to the stage.
The bright lights warm me, and the Christmas Cherry Auction feels like I'm living someone else's life. Someone else's dress—that part's true. Someone else's dream.
Is Jolene's adventurous nature a good fit for me?
The heat from the stage lighting coupled with the adrenaline rush as bids escalate, gives me a sense of familiarity—not like I've been in a virgin auction before—it seems like something I've experienced running, maybe even winning, a race. Except my muscles aren't spent and I'm not sweaty.
Thank goodness for the latter. With Laz's insistence that I hurry in, I didn't have time to rush home for a shower. My snack run turned into a night that will change my life.
Following with the history of the Christmas Cherry Auction, I've decided to let fate take its course. Without warning that I'd be in the auction, I didn't have time to get on birth control. Maybe that was fortuitous.
Holding Jolene's kid felt really good. It brought a maternal instinct to the surface and I'm running with it as long as the winners agree.
Smiling and waving at each table of bidders, a dark thought washes through my mind about moments that change your life forever. At least this time I'm in control.
Five hundred thousand. Six.
Any worry I had about telling people I have amnesia is gone. I have Laz's protection behind me now. And knowing that I won't be creating any more awkward pauses in response to simple questions lets me breathe easier—which is more than I can say for this dress.
It fits surprisingly well, but in the rush to get me ready, Jolene might have cinched the corset-style back a little too tightly. Won't be a problem for much longer.
A chuckle breaks free, unleashing my excitement with it. I'm going to have sex tonight. Good sex. No, great sex with an orgasm that can release three months of stress.
More smiles and waves as I let my gaze linger on each table.
No more looking back, wondering why no one came looking for me. A roomful of bidders want me.
The amnesia wiped my memory but the rest of me is strong—now that I'm embracing the new me. Who knows, maybe I'm new and improved. Based on the dollar amounts these men are bidding, my lifestyle's getting an upgrade.
I strut across the stage, hips swaying, chin lifted, owning the spotlight.
The men in the audience look eager to win me. It feels good to be wanted even if this could be deemed as superficial. They know the stakes. They know the magic.
