Not that she needed luck. Every singleSeabornsignature piece had sold tonight, the crowd outbidding themselves in a frenzy that made her ears ring with imaginary 'ka-chings'.
"You did good, kid." Otto squeezed her arm, and she placed a finger to her lips, shushing him.
He laughed. "We're backstage. No one can hear us."
"I want to see how much this one goes for," she whispered, standing on tiptoe to see the auctioneer start the bidding.
"Relax. It'll sell for a squillion like the rest."
She elbowed him as he muscled in next to her, trying to see for himself. "Don't jinx it. This yellow diamond choker is my favourite, and the most expensive piece. Maybe no one will bid?"
As several paddles shot up in the air for an opening bid, he elbowed her back. "You think?"
The bidding quickly escalated and Ruby held her breath as the auctioneer's gavel fell for the last time.
"Yes!" She fist-pumped the air, tolerating an impulsive hug from Otto, wishing it had been from her husband, who was manning the foyer.
The Melbourne Town Hall had come through for them in a big way, once Maroney Mine had thrown their sizeable financial weight behind her auction. The grand old dame of the city had been the perfect venue for the biggest jewellery auction Melbourne had ever seen.
And she owed it all to Jax.
Otto tugged on her arm. "Come on, time to mingle."
She followed him to a side annexe, where waitstaff eased through the milling crowd, offering champagne and canapés. Another ingenious idea of her husband's, to give the ravenous bidders an excuse to hang around after the auction and discuss her exquisite work, maybe commission similar pieces to those they'd missed out on.
She bit back a grin as Otto stepped into the room, clapped his hands to gain attention, and proceeded to introduce her with a bow and an arm flourish.
Applause rang out as she rolled her eyes at Otto, who smirked, and entered the annexe. People swamped her immediately, gushing over her pieces, demanding she make more. She nodded and smiled and air-kissed, all the while keeping an eye out for Jax.
This reception was so different from the SpringSeabornlaunch she could hardly believe it. Were these people so desperate to one-up each other they'd buy anything?
Not that she was complaining. The money raised tonight would go a long way to easing her company’s plight. And with Jax also backing down on undercutting their mine, theSeabornbottom line looked better by the minute.
She'd done it.
Proved to everyone, including herself, she could do more than design.
So why the strange hollowness?
She knew.
Now she'd got what she wanted, would Jax walk away?
The thought shouldn't affect her but it did, making her stomach churn and her palms sweat. Though the thought of him leaving her shouldn’t make her feel sick. Which meant…
Hell.
She wouldn't feel nauseous unless Jax leaving correlated directly with her growing fondness for her husband.
Fondness?
She may be many things, a liar wasn’t one of them, and some time over the last week, through all the strategic planning meetings about finances, PR, and catering for the auction, she’d moved beyond admiring her husband’s resilience and caught deeper feelings.
Preposterously, she'd fallen a little bit in love with Jax.
He’d been by her side throughout the monumental task of bringing her auction idea to fruition, supporting her, encouraging her. Once he'd thrown Maroney Mine behind her auction she hadn't looked back and he'd been with her every step of the way.
He said he’d done it for good PR but there'd been times when she'd caught him looking at her, when he touched her hand in encouragement, and she wondered if he felt the same way about her.
