I smiled up at him. “It’s fine, I’ve just never been to something like this before.”
A microphone screeched, and then a voice came over the loudspeakers.
“Will everyone please take their seats? The auction will begin in a few short minutes.”
Auction?
“Come on.” Dakota took my hand and linked our fingers together, pulling me through the crowd.
My heart was doing all sorts of gymnastics in my chest as I stared at our joined hands and tried not to trip.
He dragged me to a long table where Val and the rest of his family were already seated. Val smiled and waved at us, standing to hug Dakota, who kissed him on the cheek.
Val turned those big, sweet eyes on me. “I’m so happy you could make it,” he said. He embraced me in a tight hug, and I was so stunned I almost didn’t hug him back. But Dakota was there, smiling down at me. He grabbed my wrists and wrapped them around his brother’s back for me.
“Yeah,” I said. “Of course. Congratulations.”
Val pulled back and smiled. “Thank you.” He gestured at the table. “Come on, sit with us.”
I glanced at Albert, who was glaring at me like shit he’d stepped in. The woman seated next to him was his wife, I assumed. Evelyn. She was staring straight ahead with a somewhat dazed expression, pupils blown wide.
Jesus.
I smiled at Albert, then let Dakota drag me down into the seat between him and Val.
Everett was sitting across from us, leaning back in his chair with one arm slung across the back of the empty seat beside him, looking around the room with a bored expression.
I’d never met a more disconnected family in my life.
I looked around the room. People were either sitting at their tables eating foods I couldn’t pronounce or milling around the ballroom, drinking and gossiping and whispering and judging.
Probably, who knew.
I still couldn’t get past the fact that they had a ballroom with a fuckingstage. With curtains.
“It’s not so bad, right?”
Dakota’s warm breath on my ear raised the fine hairs at the nape of my neck.
I slid my hand over his thigh under the table, smiling when he jumped. “It’s not horrible. I’ve definitely been to worse functions.”
He raised his brows as he smiled. “Oh? Do tell.”
I squeezed his thigh and then instantly regretted it when he moaned.
Heads turned toward Dakota, who coughed to cover it up.
This really wasn’t so bad. Not when I had Dakota right next to me.
The next hour was a blur of Dakota whispering an endless mix of sweet and naughty things in my ear, of sly touches beneath the table, and eating foods that I had no hope of identifying. The curtains of the stage parted at some point, and an emcee stood up there and showed off items that were strategically placed around the stage. Dakota informed me that Albert wanted to capitalize on this and sell some of Val’s photographs.
It was unbelievable that this party was thrown to celebrate Val’s accomplishment, and here they were having a fucking auction.
It ended a little while later, the curtains closed, and some kind of dessert was served.
“I thought you didn’t like chocolate,” Dakota said with a smirk. He licked the tines of his fork clean as I watched him, heat gathering low in my belly.
I glanced down at my plate, where there was a half-eaten chocolate cheesecake.
