“Five-twenty!”
“All right,” I mutter, because I’ve had enough.
“I’ve got two hundred cash,” Cyrus says in a voice that sounds as annoyed as I feel.
“We have eighty-five,” India whispers.
“Done.” Then, raising my paddle, I say loudly, “Eight hundred.”
Silence—dead silence, followed by an outbreak of whispers and turning heads. I ignore them and keep my eyes on the woman I will absolutelynotbe sending home with another man.
When there’s nothing from the man up front, the announcer speaks. “Eight hundred going once—twice?—”
My hands clench around the bidding paddle, and the moment seems to last eternally long, until finally?—
“Sold, for eight hundred!”
ROMAN
Some of thetension leaks out of my frame as India, Juliet, and Poppy begin to clap and cheer; Cyrus just looks like he wants to go home, and I don’t blame him.
“Cough it up, everyone,” I say when the announcer has moved on to the next participant, a large man with a cheerful smile and thinning hair. “You will all be paid back by either myself or Aurora.”
Cyrus slaps a wad of neatly folded bills into my hands but doesn’t complain, while the cash I receive from India and Juliet is much more crumpled. I tuck the money into my pocket and wait impatiently for the rest of the auction to be over.
Seven more people come and go before the announcer closes the auction.
“Winners, come meet your dates by the left side of the stage, and please continue to mingle and get to know some new people!”
I’ve already started walking by the time he’s done speaking, more or less pushing my way through the gathered crowd. I don’t look behind me, but I know the rest of the Marigolds are close on my heels, because I hear little apologies and excuses as we bump past everyone.
I’m one of the first to arrive at the stairs leading up to the stage, followed by a breathless Juliet, then India and Poppy and Cyrus. Aurora seems to have been waiting for us, because she’s craning her neck and looking around when we arrive.
“There you are,” she says as our eyes meet. “I—oh.” She looks in surprise at the rest of her siblings, especially Cyrus. “Cy?”
Cyrus grunts, his gaze jumping to me. “Who is this?” he says, nodding at me.
“I’m Roman,” I say.
Cyrus ignores me.
“He’s Roman,” Aurora says too, but Cyrus’s lips just curl down with dissatisfaction.
“He’s—just—” Aurora is flustered now, which makes me inordinately happy. “Never mind,” she says, shaking her head. Then she frowns at Cyrus. “Why are you here?”
“I came to make sure nothing weird happened,” he says. “Do you know how many weirdos are out there these days? Even in Lucky.” He eyes me like I might be one of those weirdos.
Aurora blinks at him, looking surprised. “You—what? You came to bid on me?”
Cyrus shifts, shoving his hands in his pockets. “It’s not a big deal,” he mutters. Then he jerks his chin at Poppy. “She made me.”
“I did not—” But she falls silent and then rolls her eyes when Cyrus shoots her a look.
“So, what,” Aurora says with raised brows. “Were you going to bid on me and then make me pay you back?”
“Obviously,” Cyrus says. “I’m not actually going to go on a date with you, Ror?—”
“I’ll go on a date with you, please,” I cut in.
