“Ooooh,” one of Bryan’s buddies jeers.“You gonna let him win, Bry?”
Shifting closer to me, Jagger whispers, “What are you doing?”
“Do I hear three hundred?”Cobie calls from the stage.
Bryan raises his hand.“Three hundred!”
“Five,” I yell.
“Competitive much?”Jagger mumbles, but he straightens in his seat, leaving me to my own impulsive devices.
Good man.He knows me too well.
Cobie’s brows raise.“Five hundred to Ford.Do I hear six hundred?Six hundred, anyone?Going once?—”
“Six hundred!”Bryan volleys.Not gonna lie.I almost thought I had it.Guess not…yet.
June rubs her ruby red lips together, her attention volleying from Bryan to the ground and back again.Not to me, though.
Not gonna look at me, June Bug?
I take another sip of my drink, eyeing June above the rim and daring her to look my way.She’s not a fool.She knows I’m the person bidding on her.The person wracking up the number.The person she could very well spend an evening with.
Would you like that, June Bug?Spending a night with me?
“Six hundred to the fireman on my left.Do I hear seven?Seven hundred?”my little sister calls from the podium.
Despite the mess with Violet’s bid, Cobie’s pretty good at this.Dangling the fruit.Tapping into a man’s competitive edge.Or maybe it’s June’s presence that does me in.Urging me to raise my hand in the air and raise my bid again.
A voice from the back cuts me off.“Offering bargain bin women for the price of luxury?What kind of charity is this?”
Thanks to Violet’s bidding debacle, I already know who it belongs to.
What.The actual.Fuck.
A few gasps follow the asshole remark.My blood boils as my grip tightens around my dinner knife resting on the table.What I wouldn’t give to shove this thing into his fucking throat for thinking that bullshit, let alone voicing it aloud for others to hear.June sucks her lips between her teeth, biting hard on her pretty flesh while fighting back tears and simultaneously cutting me to the fucking core.
If Jagger doesn’t get to him first, I’ll kill him.
My gaze zeroes in on June, her chest rising and falling in shallow breaths.
Slow down, June Bug.I got you.
“Five grand,” I boom.My voice travels across the otherwise silent auditorium.It pulls quiet whispers from the spectators around me.Surprise.Disbelief.
Yeah, you heard me.
The woman on the stage is easily worth twice that number, and I’m determined to make sure she knows it.
Behind the podium, Cobie’s jaw drops.“I—did you—okay, uh, five grand?We have five grand for Ford Harden.Uh.Do I hear?—”
“For one night?”one of Bryan’s friends grumbles to him.
Bryan says something to the asshole, though I’m too far away to hear what it is.He looks up at June, then back at me.Yeah, man.If the roles were reversed, I’d be pissed, too, but it’s not like I’m gonna let Morgan’s dick comment sully June’s perception of herself.It’s bullshit, and we both know it.With a slow shake of his head, Bryan glances at June again, mouthing, “I’m sorry,” as he collapses in his seat, his hands thrown into the air in defeat.I almost feel bad for him.If he had the funds, I’m sure he’d offer up another bid.Instead, he’s screwed.And embarrassed that his girl was just right swept out from under him by yours truly.
“Five grand?”Cobie repeats.“Going once?Twice?—”
“Five grand for that cow?”Ethan chuckles.“Have fun at Dairy Queen.”
