Okay, so we’d never had the boyfriend/girlfriend discussion, but I’d assumed since we were sleeping in the same bed and he spent most nights inside me, that meant we were sort of a thing. And if we were sort of a thing, I really wasn’t all that excited about the possibility of him going out on a date—or whatever it was they were auctioning off—with another person. Especially the hungry-looking vultures surrounding me. Actually, even if we weren’t a thing, I really wasn’t all that excited about it.
While I watched Beck and Addison facing off in a yelling match—I was too far away to hear what they were saying, but their body language spoke volumes—I made my way toward the gazebo. And then, because I was a masochist, apparently, there I stood as they auctioned off bachelor after bachelor, my stomach knotting tighter with each one that passed.
Since I was close enough to the melee, Addison joined me after a while, and we watched as people threw more money at the bachelors than I’d expected—anywhere between a couple hundred up to almost a thousand for Levi. The bad boy of the McKenzie brood stood in the gazebo, arms crossed and face a mask of disinterest as the bids kept flying.
“You must have some sort of magic over your brothers,” I said to Addison. “First Beck, and now Levi? How’d you get them to agree?”
She waved a hand through the air. “You don’t need to worry about Beck. Just a little prearranged opportunity that’s going to go for megabucks. As for Levi, I gave him three free passes to skip family meetings to be used at his discretion.”
“Wow. You guys really went all out for this. What’s the cause again?” I asked, realizing now that I hadn’t seen any flyers about it whatsoever.
“What’s that? Oh, sorry, looks like they need me back there! I’ll catch up with you later, okay?” Addison said before scurrying off toward the gazebo where only a few more men stood, Beck among them.
And yeah, I didn’t care what this “prearranged opportunity” was. It was with my boyfriend—whether he knew it or not—and I wasn’t having it.
The closer it got to his turn, the tighter the knot grew in my stomach. He was clearly not happy with it, his face set in a grim line, arms crossed and jaw clenched while Ford propped an arm on his shoulder, laughing like he was having the time of his life. I couldn’t sit by and watch someone else bid on him, but since I hadn’t exactly expected this, I only had twenty-three dollars in my purse. Hopefully they’d take an IOU or let me run to the ATM so I could cash out.
Finally, it was Beck’s turn, and he stepped up—or rather, Addison shoved him up. He stood in the gazebo, looking about as excited to be there as Levi had. He wore his usual uniform of a T-shirt and jeans, but gone was his standard backward baseball cap. Instead, his hair hung loosely, the tousled locks hanging over his forehead, and my fingers itched to push it back. Itched to wipe that look off his face. Itched to remind him he was mine and I was his and, together, we were everything.
From the beginning, his entire persona should have put me off. We were opposites in every way, but somehow, we’d connected and it’d felt inevitable. Like magnets clicking together. I hadn’t realized it then, but that first day when I’d stepped foot into the diner, everything had slotted into place. It was the beginning of my new life. A new life I’d created for myself—it wasn’t perfect and it wasn’t easy, but it was mine. And the only thing I needed in it, without question, was him.
“Our next bachelor is none other than Beck McKenzie. You probably know him best for serving the greatest coffee in Starlight Cove, not to mention those amazing blueberry scones.” The auctioneer gave an exaggerated wink to the crowd. “I think we all know why we’re here, and you’ll get it. Don’t let that scowl fool you! Beneath the angry glower is a sweet man who would doanythingfor those important to him, and I think tonight is proof enough of that.”
The bidding started then and grew rapidly. So rapidly, I hadn’t had a chance to jump in before another bid was tossed out. And another and another.
“Your man is quite the draw,” Mabel said, stepping up to my side.
“What?” I asked distractedly, sliding my eyes to hers before moving them back to watch two ladies—one of whom was Charlotte, the beautiful woman from the bank Beck had sweet-talked for me. “Sorry, Mabel, I can’t really talk right now.”
“It’s very sweet, what he’s doing. Don’t you think?” She elbowed me in the side again. “After theyou know whatthat I’m not allowed to talk to you about.”
It was then that I noticed she was pointing her phone in my direction, clearly filming a Facebook Live.
“Going once,” the auctioneer called, and I snapped my head around.
I shot my hand up to bid, only the problem was I hadn’t heard what the last amount was, so I shouted the first number that came to mind. “Five hundred dollars!”
Mabel gasped beside me and tugged on my shirt sleeve. “What are you doing?”
“Bidding,” I said. I narrowed my eyes at the cougar from the bank and dared her to bid against me.
Apparently, I needed to work on my stink eye, because she raised her hand to increase the bid, and I swore under my breath.
“But you can’t bid!” Mabel hissed.
I raised my hand to up the bid again, trying my hardest to ignore Mabel, which wasn’t easy, considering she was a distraction just by breathing.
“It totally defeats the purpose!” she said. “You can’t bid on your own stuff to help your own thing!”
“What?” Exasperated, I turned my attention to her, having no clue what she was talking about.
“I didn’t— I mean, it’s just—” Mabel stumbled over her words, shaking her head and trying to backtrack. And in the ten seconds she’d had my undivided attention, the bidding must’ve continued, because suddenly, a gavel sounded.
“Sold, to Charlotte,” the auctioneer called.
“Fuck,” I said under my breath, my shoulders slumping.
“Oh dear. That is definitely not family-friendly. I’m just gonna scooch,” Mabel said. “But don’t worry, sugar. He’s just auctioning off a little piece of deliciousness.” And then she scurried off into the crowd like she hadn’t totally ruined my plan.
