The Jake Maynard of tonight wanted just one woman, to be her centre of attention, and to promise her every night. But he understood why she didn’t want to make it public yet, or at least he was trying to.
And he also knew that at this moment in time he’d left her with an itch only he could scratch. He saw Lainey in the crowd and gave her a tiny wave. She shook her head back at him and glared, which only made him grin.
“Ladies and gentlemen, we have our final member of the Search and Rescue team up for grabs this evening, Severton’s very own Jake Maynard.” Corinne began to read out her notes.
Jake braced himself.
“Jake’s well known for a bit of animal husbandry, which sounds a lot kinkier that I’m told it is. He has a passion for alpacas, sheep and the odd cow.” Corinne squinted at her notes. “No, that’s not suitable for this audience… here we go. Jake’s starred in the last two calendars, and is never shy about sharing what God – or Satan – gave him. He also regularly stars in his very own dramas, although his family is pleased that none of these have ever made it onto the internet.” Corinne stopped and looked around the room. “As you can see, Jake has many assets. I was told to ask him to display these assets in order to up the bidding, but Jake has asked for the audience to consider him fully clothed instead.”
Jake looked at Lainey. He’d opted for a dinner jacket and bow tie, his hair styled with gel. It was completely removed from his usual farmer workwear and he hoped it gave her a taste of what more there was to him. He also hoped that by the way she couldn’t take her eyes off him, it was working.
“His family has asked for him to be auctioned off permanently and will happily provide funds for his upkeep, however, we have had a bidder who has superseded all this, and asked for her bid to be the only one accepted.”
Jake froze. This was not in the script. He looked at Lainey, completely panicked. If someone was paying enough to stop all bids, his playboy reputation was going to set their expectations for the evening.
“The town council agreed to accept this, so there will be no open bidding tonight on this lot.”
A few hackles came from the crowd, mainly his cousins, along with a couple of comments around refunds and a therapy package.
“Can the winner please come up on stage to claim their prize.” Corinne stepped back, the spot light jerkily focused solely on Jake.
He mouthed an apology to Lainey, feeling his own heart deflating. He wished he’d finished them both off in the toilets and not played games. He wished he’d given her more of him to think about or said a little more about how he felt.
A drum roll echoed through the room and Jake braced himself, praying for the first time ever that he was taking Gran out on a date, but it wasn’t Gran who stood up.
It was the woman in blue.
The woman who hadn’t left his mind since she’d moved into the house next door.
The woman who had pretty much turned his world upside down.
Lainey stood up, left her chair and walked to the stage, her head held high. She didn’t speak, she simply stepped towards him.
As always, Jake didn’t spend too much time thinking about his next move. He could think about it afterwards rather than missing an opportunity now. His arms went round her waist, and he felt his heart settle slightly when she wrapped her arms around him, meeting him halfway for a kiss that he knew the town would never forget and it’d be imprinted in his memory forever.
A few more cheers went up, along with the inevitable call to get a room, and maybe it was becoming a little bit more than PG-thirteen.
“You bid on me?” He cupped her face after the kiss ended. “I hope I can be worth it.”
“You already are.” She leaned in to kiss him again. “But if you don’t finish what you started in the toilets before, I’ll make you refund me.”
He laughed, feeling exactly as he had done on Christmas Day as a small boy, only Lainey Green was better than any presents he’d ever opened.
“Deal. You realise you’ve just outed us to everyone in the town.”
She nodded. “That was my plan.”
“I like it.”
A cough interrupted them. Corinne. “As lovely as this is, we need to start the bidding for the next lot. A round of applause for the happy couple, ladies and gentlemen.”
The clapping was interrupted by his sister, shouting something semi-obscene, which no one was going to be surprised at.
“Let’s go find somewhere away from this lot for ten minutes.” He wanted a lot more than ten minutes, but he knew this was her gig; she’d needed to be there to see it through.
And to see how much they raised.
Jake took her hand and led her off the stage, diving straight round the back rather than cutting through the audience. He’d grown up here; he knew every possible way to get out of most buildings without being caught. There’d been a lot of practice as a kid who tended to push the boundaries of trouble.
