“Thanks, Harper. I knew we could count on you. I told everyone else that whoever you found would be, like, super hot.”
“No pressure, then,” she muttered.
“See ya next meeting.” Cammi hung up.
Harper stared at her phone. Great, not only did she have to find a single guy, but he had to besuper hot. She glanced through her phone contacts. There was Dylan, her med student friend who had bartended her business cocktail party last year. She grinned, remembering how she had planned to set Anita up with him, only to see that she and Tanner were totally into each other but acting like they weren’t. Dylan was good looking and unattached, but he was also in his last year of residency, and she didn’t want to interrupt that.
Then she thought of Kingston, who would definitely meet Cammi’s standards. She found his number and called him even though there was a fifty-fifty chance of him picking up. He might be the only person who was busier than she was.
“Hey, Harper,” he said when he answered.
“Oh good, I caught you. I have a favor to ask. Remember that ALS gala we went to a couple years ago?” she asked, then explained the bachelor auction. “Could I interest you in going up for bidding?”
“Normally, yes, especially for a good cause.”
“Perfect. I can give you the details—”
“But I have to say no this time.”
“What? Why?”
“I’m going to a pediatric conference that’s been on my calendar for a year. I can’t miss this one. It only meets every four years.”
Well, that was disappointing, but she understood. “No problem, then. Do you have anybody in mind that I could ask? They need to be single,” she added, leaving off the wordhot. Who was hot and who was not was a matter of personalperception. Besides, the important thing was that the bachelors were nice and trustworthy.
“Not off the top of my head,” he said. “But if someone comes to mind, I’ll let you know.”
“Thanks. I guess the hunt is still on.”
“Good luck,” he said, then hung up.
She looked back through her contacts again. Most of the names she didn’t recognize right away since they were former clients. She really needed to clean up her list. Then she saw Rusty’s name... and paused.
Rusty. Hmm.She tapped her phone against her chin. He was single. He was nice and trustworthy. Was he hot? Eh. Maybe not right now.But could he be?
She sat up and called his number. After two rings he answered. “Hi, Harper. Long time no hear.”
She grinned at the corny joke. “Hey, I know we just saw each other, but an opportunity has come up.”
“Oh? Did you talk to Brielle already?”
“Um, no. This is something completely different. How would you like to be auctioned off for charity?”
Silence. “Uh, what?”
“There’s an ALS gala in two weeks.” She gave him the same spiel she’d given Kingston. “I think you’d be perfect.”
“I don’t know,” he said, speaking even slower than he normally did. “That gala sounds mighty fancy. I don’t fit in with fancy so well.”
She began to tell him it wasn’t that fancy, but that would be a lie. The event was black tie, and while the bachelors didn’t have to wear tuxedos, they at least had to wear suits. Did he even own a suit? Or a tie? She suspected he didn’t have either.
Then she had another idea. “If you agree to being in the auction, I’ll make sure you fit in.”
“How?”
“You’ll have to trust me.”
Another long silence. “All right,” he said. “I trust you, so I’ll do it.”
