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Chris guides me away from the three of them, and once out of earshot, he quietly mutters, “The Gallaghers are dangerous men. Why did you invite him?”
“He wasn’t on the guest list.”Not entirely the truth or a lie.
“I need to find my father and see what’s going on. I ran into his brother earlier, and we discussed… a few things.”I knew my intuition was correct.“Something’s wrong. Are you going to be okay?”
I paint on my signature, sweet smile. “Of course. I’ll be fine.”
Chris pulls me into him, holding me close to his chest. As he kisses me on my forehead, I allow him to keep me against him until his heart rate slows. Once I step out of his embrace, he rushes off to find his father, and I glance behind me; Finn is no longer at the bar with Ileah and Tim. Chris is right. Something about this doesn’t sit right with me, but with the gala about to begin, I don’t have time to figure it out.
The auction is in full swing, and we’ve already raised three million dollars for my mother’s foundation from the first four bachelors. If this keeps up, we won’t need to do another one of these for half a decade.
I’m about to call up our next bachelor when my stomach drops, and my mouth goes dry, seeing who is still on my list to come on stage. With all eyes on me, I swallow hard and announce, “Next up, we have Mickey Gallagher.” There are whispers and gasps in the crowd. “Mickey enjoys reading science fiction novels, whiskey tastings, and swimming laps in his Olympic-sized pool.” I cover the mic and ask, “How much do you want me to start at?”
“How about three hundred thousand?”
That’s all?
I blow out a sigh of relief. “We’ll start the bidding at three hundred thousand dollars.”
“Three hundred,” a woman shouts, raising her paddle.
“Three hundred, do I have four hundred?”
“Four,” another woman yells.
“Do I have five? Five hundred thousand for this beast of a man. Go ahead, give us a twirl, Mickey.” He obliges with a smirk, raising his arms to put himself on full display and spinning slowly in place. The man truly is a beast. Easily six-five, and a wall of muscle, he’s built differently than Finn, who is still tall but with a leaner physique than Mickey.
“Five-fifty,” the first woman bids.
“Seven,” another belts out.
It goes on for what feels like ages until a final bid of three million wins Mickey. Cheers fill the space, and I cover the mic again as he leans in, whispering, “Meet me at my office on Monday. Bring your husband with you.”
“Which one?” It slips out, and I draw my lips into my mouth, stifling a laugh. If Finn knows what Alex did, surely Mickey does, too. I’m poking the bear, except the bear is a damn mafia don.
I may have had a couple of Old Fashioneds tonight, but that doesn’t explain why I’m feeling so bold.
Mickey smiles wide. “I knew I liked you. Bring the one who can’t keep his eyes off you tonight.” I glance into the crowd and can’t find ChrisorAlex. “He’s to our left, about to punch a wall because I’m talking to you.” As I look over Mickey’s shoulder, I spot Alex seething like a bull about to charge a matador. He pulls my hand from the microphone and says proudly into it, “Can we have a moment to applaud our beautiful auctioneer tonight? She’s raised millions of dollars for our beloved cherry blossom trees.”
The entire room must be drunk, with everyone erupting in excited applause. My cheeks heat at the attention, and Mickey exits the stage. I auction off the rest of the men, leaving the best—or worst—for the end.
“Last, but certainly not least, we have my brother-in-law, Alexander Blake. He loves evenings at the beach, rapid-fire debates, and long drives with intriguing company.”
Really, Alex?
He takes the stage, and the moment the spotlight hits his face, his scowl is replaced with a million-dollar smile. Under his breath, he speaks through his gritted teeth, “Very funny, princess. I’m not your brother-in-law.”
I knew calling him that would get under his skin, but it was worth it to see him so riled up. “We’ll start the bidding at one million dollars.”
There are murmurs in the crowd, just like when I announced Mickey—likely since I haven’t started anyoneelse at a million. It only takes a few seconds before a woman raises her paddle. “One million.”
“And so it begins,” I chuckle. “Do I have one point five?”
“One point five,” a woman with a thick Irish accent in the back bids. I don’t recognize her, so she must be someone’s date for the evening.
“Two,” the first woman shouts forcefully.
Alex huffs a laugh beside me, drawing my attention to him. He’s enjoying this far too much, and when our eyes meet, his face falls, and he quickly clears his throat. I’m distracted for far too long by his gorgeous hazel eyes that when I finally look away from him, the women are already deep into a bidding war.
