Page 24 of Auctioned To Be Mine

Drew laughed. “Just two?”

“Okay, maybe more than two. But definitely two that I’m actively avoiding.”

“Chantilly?”

“Obviously.”

“Who’s the other one?”

“The woman who just saved me from Chantilly,” I admitted.

Drew’s eyebrows shot up. “I like her. She’s got fire.”

“She hates me.”

“Even better.”

“She thinks I’m an asshole.”

“You kind of are, though.”

I glared at him. “Whose side are you on?”

“Truth and justice.” He clapped me on the shoulder. “Don’t worry. Once you go out there and raise a ton of money for charity, she’ll forget she hates you. She might even want to thank you. Wink wink.”

I rolled my eyes. Now he was just doing it on purpose.

The gym owner’s auction wrapped up at a respectable fifteen thousand dollars. The crowd erupted in applause. The guy looked thrilled as he walked off stage. A few more bachelors went up, each one getting varying degrees of enthusiasm from the audience.

Then Jeff Connors was called to the stage.

I watched through the curtain as he strutted out there like he was God’s gift to women. The response was tepid at best. A few polite claps. Some scattered cheers that sounded forced. When the bidding started, only three paddles went up.

“Ouch,” Drew said beside me.

“Couldn’t happen to a nicer guy,” I said, unable to keep the satisfaction out of my voice.

The bidding stalled at eight thousand dollars. The auctioneer tried to drum up more enthusiasm, but the crowd wasn’t having it. Finally, someone took pity on him and the auction closed at nine thousand.

Jeff walked off stage looking significantly less cocky than when he’d walked on.

“That was painful to watch,” Drew said.

“I enjoyed every second of it. Guys like that give the rest of us a bad name.”

“Agreed,” Drew said. “At least we don’t have to do business with people like him.”

“Dad would never let someone like that through the door.”

“Up next, Drew Blackwell,” the auctioneer’s voice boomed through the speakers.

“That’s me.” Drew straightened his bow tie and shot me a grin. “Watch and learn, brother.”

He walked out onto the stage like he owned the place. The crowd went wild. Women were already waving their paddles before the auctioneer even started the bidding.

I watched through the curtain as Drew worked the stage, walking back and forth like he was modeling on a runway. He stopped center stage, struck a pose, then turned and gave the audience his profile. The ladies ate it up. Whistles and cheers filled the room.

“We’ll start the bidding at five thousand dollars,” the auctioneer said.