Page 52 of From LA to London, With Love

Someone yelled, “Fifty pounds,” and the bidding was off. I blinked and it had skyrocketed to one thousand pounds. As the numbers grew higher bidders dropped out, until there were only two left. Cynthia, who had a determined look on her face, and the older man, who had won the nude sculpture earlier in the evening.

For Chris’s sake, I was rooting for the older man. Salt and pepper hair, wearing slacks and a cardigan, he looked like a professor of ancient history. I could see them having an enjoyable evening discussing travel and art. I couldn’t even begin to imagine how a date with Cynthia would go.

The man raised his hand, increasing Cynthia’s last bid by almost a quarter. “Eight thousand pounds.”

Surely he’d won. Stunned, I looked at Cynthia, but she showed no signs of defeat.

“Ten thousand pounds,” she said.

My jaw dropped.

The professor shook his head. He was out. As Josh smashed his hammer down and declared Cynthia the winner, I looked at Chris in the front row. He turned and gave Cynthia a big smile and a wave. Chris really was a talented actor. He looked genuinely pleased.

Giddy, I tried to estimate how much we’d raised. It had to be over Alex's target of twenty thousand pounds. A wave of gratitude toward my friends, family, and the other audience members, even Cynthia—in fact, in particular Cynthia, since she was the largest benefactor—washed over me.

The auction over, Alex gave some concluding remarks and the room started to empty. Once the crowd that had formed around Chris dissipated, I walked over to him.

“Your speech really moved me. Thanks so much for coming. The night wouldn't have been a success without you.” I lowered my voice. “I’m sorry about Cynthia winning the date. You’ll need to bring your bodyguard with you on that one.”

Chris snorted. “I think I can hold my own against her. I’m just pleased we raised so much for Pride House. And I can’t take any credit for tonight’s success. The teenagers, Alex, you, and Josh did all the hard work. I’m glad you liked the speech, though. You know, I was worried about talking about myself—I didn’t want to make it all about me or come across like my issues were similar to what the teens have to deal with, but I thought sharing something personal might move the audience to donate more. And also show the teens that even celebrities and superheroes can be vulnerable and have hard times.”

“It was great.” I resisted the urge to hug him.

Cynthia approached behind Chris.

“Cynthia!” I exclaimed, to give Chris some warning. “Thank you so much for your generosity tonight.” I surprised myself by giving her a hug. Her floral perfume tickled my nose, hanging around well after I loosened my embrace.

“My pleasure. It’s such a worthy cause, and it was such a fun night.” She turned to Chris. “Could I redeem my prize by inviting you and Sophie over for dinner with some of my girlfriends and hubbies. I’m sure they would all love to meet you?”

Chris’s lips twitched. I couldn’t tell if the twitch was in response to Cynthia’s use of “girlfriends” to describe her female friends, which he knew I hated, or if it was due to the fact Cynthia had invited me as well.

“That sounds perfect, assuming Sophie is up for it.” Chris looked at me expectantly, an eyebrow raised.

My stomach sank. After Cynthia’s huge donation, I couldn’t exactly brush off the dinner party invitation like I did last time. And it wouldn’t be fair to let Chris brave the dinner alone, since he was only going because of a favor I’d asked him.

“Of course,” I said, attempting a sincere smile.

“Excellent. I’ll check with my assistant which nights I’m free and be in touch. I’m assuming Sophie had your contact details. Thanks again for your support. Now, I better help these guys pack up, or they’ll be here all night!”

Cynthia, flushed after her interaction with Chris, went back to the mothers’ group party, who were making moves to leave.

Chris, Josh, and I stayed to help pack up, Chris’s muscles coming in handy for dismantling the stage.

“Man, I’m regretting not bidding on that dog bust now. I couldn’t decide if it was kitschy in a good, kind of ironic way, or just tacky. I’d just decided I wanted it when it sold, and now I’m kicking myself. It reminded me so much of the Hungarian Vizsla we had growing up.” Chris looked morose.

Just then, Alex walked up. “Sophie, Josh!” An enormous grin spread across Alex’s face. “I finished adding up the donations, and we brought in over thirty thousand pounds! We’ll be able to do all of the repairs and have money left over for some other initiatives we’ve been wanting to do.”

Josh grabbed his hammer and slammed it down. “Woo hoo! That’s amazing!”

Chris and I high-fived. It was an enormous relief to know that our efforts had paid off and Pride House wouldn’t be shut down.

Packing up done, Chris and I said goodbye to Alex and Josh. Caught up in the evening’s excitement, my nerves about Chris had been pushed to one side. But they all flooded back as we walked into the crisp night air.

Chris pulled me close, and my heart started pounding.

“Has anyone ever told you how hot you are with a giant foam hammer?” he murmured into my ear. “I know we talked about going out for a drink, but how would you feel about coming back to my place instead?”

I laughed and put my arms around his waist. “Sounds great. Should I run back in and bring the hammer home with us?” I mimed smacking it on his butt.