I hold the paddle higher. "Eight hundred."
The crowd mutters and shifts. On stage, Finn's expression has shifted from surprise to fascination, his eyes never leaving mine as the bids climb higher. He's enjoying this, damn him. Probably thinking this is just another amusing chapter in the Dictionary Darcy saga.
"One thousand dollars!" A woman I don't recognize practically bounces with excitement.
Annie tugs at my sleeve. "Darcy, what are you doing? That's way over our budget?—"
"Twelve hundred." The words slip out before I can stop them. Jules makes a choking sound beside me.
Finn actually has the nerve to wink at me.Wink.Like we're sharing some private joke. Like he didn't spend years making sure I knew exactly how amusing he found my existence.
"Fifteen hundred!" The bouncing woman again.
I grit my teeth. "Two thousand."
"Darcy!" Three voices hiss in unison from beside me.
The room has gone quiet except for the auctioneer's rapid-fire calls. Everyone is watching this tennis match of bidding, heads swiveling between me and my competition. Even Mom looks concerned, probably wondering if her daughter has finally cracked under the pressure of teaching Romeo and Juliet to freshmen.
"Twenty-five hundred!" The other woman's voice wavers slightly.
I straighten my spine, channeling every literary heroine who ever stood up to an arrogant man. Elizabeth Bennet facing down Mr. Darcy. Jane Eyre confronting Mr. Rochester.
"Three thousand dollars."
The silence is deafening. Finn's casual pose has vanished. He's leaning forward now, intense focus replacing that practiced charm. The auctioneer looks between me and the other woman, who's frantically whispering with her friends.
"Three thousand going once..."
I lift my chin, meeting Finn's stare across the crowd, and every word I know briefly files for leave.
"Going twice..."
The other woman shakes her head, defeated.
"Sold! To Ms. Darcy Gable for three thousand dollars!"
The room erupts in excited chatter. My friends are staring at me like I've lost my mind. Maybe I have. But the look on Finn's face, that perfect mixture of intrigue and unease, makes it worth every penny.
Mom hurries over, clearly concerned. "Darcy, sweetheart, are you sure..."
"Perfectly sure." I hand the paddle back to a shell-shocked Annie. "If you'll excuse me, I need to go settle up with the treasurer. And have a word with my... purchase."
I move toward the stage, where Finn is already making his way down to meet me. The crowd parts like the Red Sea, everyone eager to witness this confrontation. Ten years of carefully maintained dignity at war with the urge to show him exactly how much I've changed.
He reaches me first, that devastating smile back in place. "Dictionary Darcy. I have to say, I didn't expect?—"
"Outside." I cut him off, pleased to see the surprise flash across his face. "Now."
To his credit, he follows me without another word, though I can feel his amused curiosity like a physical presence at my back. I lead us through the library's front doors into the cool spring evening, where string lights illuminate the historic building's brick facade. The murmur of the auction continues inside, but out here it's just us, and a decade of unfinished business.
"You know," Finn says as I turn to face him, "most women I date would've at least let me buy them dinner first."
In the gentle glow of the porch lights, he looks even more devastating up close. The photos I've seen in business magazines didn't do justice to the way his features have sharpened with age, or how his eyes seem to hold fragments of both sea and sky. Not that I'm noticing.
"I'd sooner have dinner with Lady Macbeth. At least she's honest about the knives." I'm proud of how steady my voice sounds. "And this isn't a date."
"No?" He takes a step closer, and suddenly the porch feels much smaller. "Because spending three thousand dollars to get me alone seems pretty date-like to me."
