That wasn’t totally impossible, was it?
Ryan would have known. He’d know exactly who Mr. Matthews was and what his history with the sanctuary had been right down to the last penny, but Ryan wasn’t here.
Or, well, he was here somewhere, but it looked like Finn was going to have to deal with this guy before he had a chance to ask him any of the thousand questions he suddenly had.
“Going three times,” May said as Finn tuned back in, his mind still reeling from the shock that he’d been bid on by anyone at all, and at five thousand dollars, and by a man whose face he couldn’t see but suddenly desperately wanted to.
“Sold to Mr. Matthews, come around and we’ll figure out the details,” May said. “That’s it for the auction, folks! Stick around for dessert and a presentation by Doctor Reyes on all the babies we’ve raised this year thanks to your generous support.”
On second thought, Finn was glad he’d been auctioned off. Having to get up on stage and actuallytalkto all these people would have been much worse. At least this way, he could only make an idiot of himself in front of one of them.
May smiled broadly at him as she waved him off the stage, so at least someone was happy. Five thousand dollars was a lot of money—it wasn’t the biggest donation they’d ever gotten or anything, but it’d make a difference.
One awkward afternoon was worth it, right?
Finn took a minute to catch his breath and run his fingers through his hair, wanting to make a good impression. This guy could have been an important donor, after all, and he didn’t want to seem uninterested.
Hereallywished he was wearing a shirt.
Oscar would have been better atthis, too. Ezra would have been incredible, but he hadn’t gotten back yet.
None of which mattered, because Finn had volunteered, and it was up to him now.
He could be charming.
It’d only been two years since he’d been on a date. It was probably like riding a bicycle.
Not that he knew how to ride a bicycle, either.
“There you are!” May enthused, leading two men around Finn’s age directly toward him.
One of them, Finn assumed, was Mr. Matthews. Probably the taller, smiling one with May’s hand on his arm. She knew how to handle a donor.
“I’ll leave you boys to settle on the particulars,” she said with a broad smile.
Finn’s stomach sank. May clearly had a lot more faith in his ability to handle people than he did.
“Pleasure to meet you,” the man Finn assumed was Mr. Matthews offered his hand.
He didn’t even seem tonoticeFinn wasn’t wearing a shirt, and Finn wasn’t sure if that was comforting or insulting.
“Uh, pleasure’s mutual,” Finn said. That sounded like the kind of thing to say.
It made the guy laugh, anyway, so that worked.
“Thank you for not calling me Mr. Matthews,” he said. “I’m Gavin, and this is Nolan.”
Finn turned his attention to the man standing a half-step behind Gavin Matthews, taking in a ruffled head of chocolate-brown hair and the biggest puppy dog eyes he’d ever seen in his life.
Puppy dog eyes that were flicking between his face and his chest, mouth hanging open a little way.
Finn felt heat creeping up the back of his neck, and really hoped neither of them would be able to tell he was blushing in the low backstage lighting.
“If it’s all the same to you, I’m handing this date off to him,” Gavin added.
Nolan’s already huge eyes widened. Clearly, he hadn’t been expecting to hear that any more than Finn had.
“Oh, uh… yeah, sure, I don’t really… mind one way or another,” Finn responded. He offered what he hoped was a reassuring smile to Nolan, who suddenly looked nervous. “I don’t bite.”
