Selena’s smile doesn’t falter, but her eyes chill. “I came herespecificallyto bid on him.” Her announcement couldn’t be more proprietary.
“Sorry. He already has me. There’s no reason for you to waste your time.”
“You?” She snorts. “Can you actually afford him without using his money?”
“Of course. Why would you assume I couldn’t?” I turn off the faucet and start drying my hands with a soft cloth towel from a basket between the sinks.
Her eyes sweep over me. “You’re just an assistant. Rhys is generous, but not that generous.”
“He could make the Guinness World Record for the stingiest man alive, and it wouldn’t make a particle of difference.” I keep my voice even. “I’ll bid whatever I think he’s worth, and it’ll be the winning bid.”
Selena’s mouth twists in a mocking sneer.
“I hope you do the same,” I add. “A fair fight.”
“Don’t cry when your hundred dollars isn’t enough. You and I both know you don’t deserve someone like him.”
I sigh again, genuinely curious about what’s going on in her head. “All right, fine. Why do I not deserve him?” She’s an ex, a past tense in his life. I’m the present.
“Whynot? Just look at yourself. What do you have going for you? You aren’t that interesting. You don’t really know anything about him. Aside from working together, what do you have in common?” She doesn’t give me a chance to respond before snapping her fingers. “Exactly—nothing! You’ve nothing to say.”
“You’re monologuing.”
She ignores me. “He and I went to college together. MIT, in case you didn’t know. And we dated quite seriously. He was thinking marriage, you know.”
If she imagines that that bothers me, she’s sorely mistaken. The only thing she’s accomplished is handing me a knife to stab her with. I run my eyes up and down her. “But hedidn’tmarry you. Did he?”
“Only because I wanted someone from a bit more of a dignified background at the time.”
“You didn’t care for Auric and Elita.”
“No. They’re embarrassing, to be quite frank.”
“Uh-huh. And you decided to punishRhys. By dumping him and breaking his heart. Meanwhile, Auric and Elita are still embarrassing. As a matter of fact, they’ve probably gotten worse. I’ve been dealing with them for the last three years. So why are you back?”
“Things are different now. I’ve matured—and I know what I want.”
I scoff. “That’s a high-sounding excuse. What you really realized is that dignity isn’t as nice as money. Compared to before, he’s worth a lot more—a billionaire. And you’re sorry that you broke up with him so soon.”
“How dare you call me mercenary!” she hisses.
“I didn’t call you anything.”
“You did.”
“No. You just heard it because deep inside you know what you really are. Anyway, I’m sure Rhys is worried about me. Good luck at the auction.”
“I don’t need luck. I already have everything I need to get him back. As for you, as soon as your youth fades, you’re done. Time is not your friend.”
I give her a smile. “Notmyfriend? I’m not the one who’s thirty-seven.”
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Max
I scan the ballroom, looking for Rhys. But he’s nowhere to be seen. Liam waves from a table. I head on over and take an empty chair. “Where’s Rhys?”
“He waited for you until the last minute—he told me to be sure to convey that”—Liam rolls his eyes, a playful smile on his lips—“but he had to get ready to get up on stage. I think he’s going to be bachelor number five. We’re on three right now.”
