“Excuse me?” Lizzie looks startled.
“We don’t?” Len blurts out, just as startled.
I smile calmly. “Mr. Larue was not being auctioned off.”
“He volunteered to sweeten my pot,” Lizzie replies icily.
“Yes, well he is a very generous, selfless man. But being the director of the charity, I wouldn’t feel comfortable forcing him to go through with it,” I explain, refusing to look as ruffled as I am.
“Brie, it’s just dinner,” Len whispers, but it’s loud enough that Lizzie hears her.
“It’s not,” I reply to my best friend and glance over at Lizzie. “Is it?”
“It’s whatever Mr. Larue and I decide it is,” she replies and gives me another icy smile, her bright red lips a garish contrast to her pale skin and pale blond hair. “I can just cancel my check.”
“Please do,” I reply firmly and turn and walk back into the house. I make it to the kitchen before Len catches up to me.
“Holy shit. What the hell has gotten into you?” she asks a little too loudly, even though the kitchen only has some event staff cleaning up in it and the rest of the house is almost empty of guests too since the night is winding down.
“She expects more than surf and turf, Len,” I explain hotly as I pace the narrow strip of marble floor between the island and the stove. “She was hoping to get laid. By Alex.”
Len drops her forearms on the island and leans forward, her face filled with confusion. “So? Alex is a big boy. He can handle himself.”
She might be right, but the man I saw tonight on the beach wasn’t a big boy. He was a scared kid. When the dinner thing first happened, I was worried about how it looked to be auctioning off dates—and potential hookups—at an auction associated with my charity. But now I’m worried about putting him in a position that makes him feel trapped. But I can’t tell Len that because I don’t want to reveal what happened tonight. I know he wouldn’t want me to. “Maybe I overreacted, but I’m not okay with her using this like it’s a bachelor auction. It isn’t.”
“You needed that five grand, Brie,” Len reminds me of what I already know.
I sigh and reach up and start pulling the pins out of my hair. “Not that badly.”
Len looks unconvinced and shrugs. “Where is the man whose honor you’re defending?”
“He left.”
My mom walks into the kitchen and smiles warmly at Len before wrapping me in a hug. “I’ve barely had a chance to see you all night, princess.”
“I know. It’s been crazy.”
“But good, right?” she asks, looking down at me with her kind hazel eyes. My mom is a statuesque, auburn-haired beauty who probably could have been a model. Instead she studied languages at NYU and worked as a UN translator until she met my father on the subway. They fell madly in love and when he was transferred to Quebec just four weeks later she quit her job and moved with him. She never looked back.
“I think so. Len still has to run the numbers,” I reply. She hugs me again.
“I’m sure we raised enough,” she declares confidently. “Now since everyone seems to be outside waiting on their vehicles, I’m going to sneak upstairs and take off these heels. I’ll also make sure the bedrooms have fresh sheets. You and Len in one room. Victor in the other. I’m still old-fashioned so humor me, Brie.”
She smiles and winks at me, probably figuring I’ll have Len and Victor switch rooms because I’ve done that before.
“Don’t worry about it, Mom. Victor isn’t spending the night.”
“Why not?”
“Because I’m about to break up with him,” I reply and start to walk out of the room.
“What the fuck?” I hear Len say behind me. “Sorry, Mrs. Bennett.”
“No, I think a ‘What the fuck?’ is appropriate, Eleanor,” my mom replies to her. “Brie! What happened?”
I pause at the archway that leads to the hall. “It’s a long story and I swear I will tell you both later. I just need to finish this now. And before you ask, I’m okay. It’s been a long time coming and I’m ready for it.”
I turn and walk toward the front door, intent on finally ending what has been dying a slow death anyway. And then, I’m going to find my phone and text Alex and make sure he’s okay. Because as crazy as it makes me, I’m more concerned about him than I am about ending my relationship.
