Lily-Grace watched as Mrs. Lovell slowly rose from her seat, and a literal hush fell over the room. The fabric of the light blue tunic she was wearing seemed to swirl around her. Lily-Grace had always looked up to Mrs. Pleasant with her glamour-girl looks and beauty queen poise, but the dream was to be as confident, cool, and completely together.
Miss Leona would have a plan by now, the asshole part of her brain decided to say. Lily-Grace pushed away the shitty thought and ignored the lump lodged in the top of her throat as Miss Leona doubled her previous bid. She turned and looked at the woman at the other side of the room.
“I think we should end it there, sweetheart,” she said, throwing the woman the iciest wink Lily-Grace had ever seen. In the near dark, Jenny reached over and gripped her hand, her gaze also locked on the epic standoff. The other woman stood and Lily-Grace finally saw who it was: Merry Sharpe, the first wife of Glen Sharpe, former governor of California.
“I know when I’m beat, Miss Lovell.”
The MC swallowed, clearly terrified to be caught in the crossfire if high heels started flying across the room. “Well, unless someone else is brave enough to throw their hat in the ring, going once—going twice—sold to Mrs. Lovell for the price of a private island.” Her dad tipped his imaginary hat in Mrs. Lovell’s direction as she sent her granddaughter Corie to the stage to claim her winner’s ticket. “That was exciting and terrifying. Up next we have one of our amazing volunteers. I feel personally indebted to this awesome woman for convincing me to enter the auction. Folks, put your hands together for Lilah Pleasant.”
Lily-Grace wasn’t the only one who gasped when Lilah stepped out onto the stage. They’d only met once, but at the time Lilah was dressed for a casual dinner with her family. Now she was dressed to break some hearts, the floor-length black dress she was wearing showing off her every curve.
“How will our winner be spending their time with you?”
“Since it’s for a great cause, myself and the team at Big Rock Ranch have contributed four tickets to the Dodgers versus the Yankees, complete with car service to and from Los Angeles and an overnight stay at the Marriot Downtown. Separate rooms of course.”
“So you heard the woman, no hanky panky.”
“Unless we hit it off.”
Lily-Grace couldn’t help but laugh at the sickly sweet affect Lilah added to her voice. The men in the room and probably some others were eating it up. The bidding went quickly. Jenny explained that the three main bidders were one of the local firefighters and two guys from the ranch, which would make for an interesting day at work come Monday. When Lily-Grace spotted the winner, a large Brown guy—shorter, but just as wide as Jesse—making his way to the stage to claim his ticket, it was clear Lilah hadn’t done too bad for herself.
“That’s Dr. Kuaea. New veterinarian in town,” Mrs. Yang said.
“Can’t go wrong with an animal doctor,” she replied.
“You ready?” Jenny asked as the MC reset for the next entrant.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Mm-hmmm.”
“Now folks,” the MC said, “I have co-owner of Big Rock Ranch himself, Mr. Jesse Pleasant Jr.”
There was plenty of applause, but when Jesse walked out on the stage wearing another impeccable, custom-made suit, all Lily-Grace could hear was the chorus to “Dream Weaver.” Had he somehow gotten more attractive in the last two weeks? Who made his suits? Who took his measurements? How many quarters could you bounce off his thighs?
“Now, Jesse, is it true you’ve been single this whole time?”
“That is true. I’ve been very busy with the ranch.”
“What’s changed?” The MC laughed.
“Oh, I’ll keep you company!” Merry Sharpe shouted. Another “Oow!” followed from another corner. It was all in good fun, but for some reason Lily-Grace felt the strong urge to tell both women to mind their damn manners. Especially when she noticed the way Jesse’s cheek twitched. He was not enjoying this at all.
“And what can our winner expect from a date with you?”
“A picnic lunch, compliments of Blue Moon Tavern. Followed by a taste testing at Chip Chip Hooray, thank you to Mrs. Donatelli.”
“I know what I’d like to taste!” another woman shouted from the center of the room. That time Jesse flinched. Actually flinched. He didn’t laugh, he didn’t smile. There was no snappy comeback.
“Okay, okay, let’s settle down.” The MC chuckled some more. “Let’s get the bidding started.” The woman in the center of the room bid first, but what felt like seconds later six different women were tossing out numbers, climbing higher and higher. The MC could barely keep up. The whole time Jesse looked miserable, like he wanted to so be anywhere but under this hot spotlight. Whatever his reason, finally Lily-Grace felt for him, but it would be over soon. He’d suffer through one awkward date and go back to being a pain in someone’s ass.
Merry Sharpe drove up the bidding.
Murmurs filled the room and Lily-Grace had to stop herself from getting out of her seat. To do what she wasn’t sure, but something. She looked over at Mrs. Lovell, who was clearly thinking the same.
“Back off, Merry,” some woman shouted. “That V-card is mine.” The breath left Lily-Grace’s lungs as she saw the look of horror in Jesse’s eyes. Closing in on forty and still a virgin didn’t matter. He was absolutely mortified.
Before she could stop herself, Lily-Grace shot out of her seat and held her paddle high. The figure she threw out was just absurd, double the highest bid of the night. Her accountant and her father would have questions, but it was too late.
