Page 13 of Auctioned To Be Mine

“Fuck no,” I murmured.

My mind drifted back to the restaurant. Not to Chantilly. To the other woman. The one I’d knocked over outside.

She’d been sitting with Jack Montana. That still bothered me, though I couldn’t say exactly why. It wasn’t like I knew her. She didn’t know me.

But there had been something about her. She’d been passionate about whatever she was discussing. And Montana had been on his phone, ignoring her completely.

What a waste.

She’d probably been pitching him something. That’s what people did when they had dinner with celebrities. They wanted something. Everyone in this city wanted something from someone.

Still, she’d seemed different. Less polished than the women I usually encountered. More real.

Not that it mattered. I’d never see her again. But damn, I would love to look into the most incredible blue eyes I’d ever seen one more time.

6

VICTORIA

Isat across from Betty in her cramped office and did my best not to look around at the clutter. I loved Betty, but tidiness wasn’t her thing. But I also knew I would never touch a damn thing in her office because she knew exactly where everything was. The coffee she’d made me was lukewarm now, but I drank it because I needed the caffeine.

“So he just left?” Betty asked, her brow furrowed.

“Vanished,” I said. “The second that water hit, he was gone. Didn’t even look back to see if I was okay. Which, for the record, I wasn’t. I was soaked through, my shoes are ruined, and I’m pretty sure I’m going to get a bill for that wine he ordered.”

Betty winced. “How much was the wine?”

“I don’t know yet. But it had the word ‘reserve’ in the name, so I’m guessing it wasn’t cheap.”

She leaned back in her chair and rubbed her temples. Betty was only a few years older than me, but sometimes she carried herself like she had the weight of the world on her shoulders. Which, in a way, she did. She’d built this charity from nothing. Six years of her life poured into helping families navigate the nightmare of having a sick child. She was the kind of person I aspired to be—selfless, dedicated, genuinely good.

“Did he at least commit before he bailed?” she asked.

“He said to send the details to his publicist, which is basically celebrity speak for ‘I’ll think about it and probably say no through a third party.’ He was smarmy, Betty. I’m not sure he’s a good look for the charity anyway.”

“Damn it.” Betty dropped her hands and looked at the ceiling. “We need him, Vic. Or someone like him. The auction is soon and we’re still light on big names.”

“I know.” I set my coffee down and pulled out my phone. “I’ve got a list of other people we can reach out to. Smaller names but still recognizable. If we can get three or four of them, it might offset losing Montana.”

“Might,” she repeated, not sounding convinced.

I didn’t blame her for being skeptical. The truth was, we needed someone with real star power. Someone whose name alone would get people to open their wallets. Jack Montana was supposed to be that person. And now he was probably going to ghost us.

“I’m sorry,” I said quietly. “I really thought I had him.”

Betty’s expression softened immediately. “This isn’t on you. You did everything right. He’s just…” She trailed off, searching for a diplomatic word.

“An asshole?” I supplied.

She laughed. “I was going to say ‘difficult,’ but sure. That works too.”

I smiled, but it did nothing to assuage my guilt. I’d spent the entire night replaying the dinner in my mind, wondering if there was something I could have said differently. Some way I could have sealed the deal before the universe intervened with a fire alarm and a deluge of sprinkler water.

“At least the night wasn’t a total loss,” I said. “I did get knocked on my ass by some hot prick before dinner even started. So that was fun.”

Betty raised an eyebrow. “Hot prick?”

“Very hot. Very much a jerk. He wasn’t watching where he was going and just plowed right into me. Sent me flying. And when I called him out on it, he didn’t even apologize. Just walked into the restaurant like nothing happened.”