“You didn’t.”
He brushes his knuckles over my jaw, caressing me like I’m something precious. “Then I’m an idiot.”
The entire table must be watching us, probably trying to hear what he’s saying to me, but it’s as if the room has faded away, leaving just Rowan and me in this charged space. No matter how I try, I can’t convince myself he’s doing this for our audience. There’s no hint of falseness in his dark, hazel eyes.
My heart thumps against my rib cage, the sound growing louder and louder inside my ears, and for the first time since we started this, I begin to think…this doesn’t feel like pretend.
CHAPTER 27
BLAKE
“Good evening, everyone! Thank you so much for joining us tonight!”
The shock of the voice blasting through the speakers sends my heart into my throat. I jolt away from Rowan and look toward the stage where Lottie is standing talking to the audience. The faces around the table come into focus, and with them, an uncomfortable sensation of being under a microscope.
I pin my gaze onto my plate and hide my face behind the curtain of my hair. I don’t want anyone to see whatever drama is playing out across my face, especially not the man sitting next to me.
My cheeks burn. Lottie’s announcement that the charity auction is about to start barely registers. I glance at the paddle by my plate—on it is the number thirteen.
An omen for how the rest of my night will go?
No matter how deeply I try to breathe, I can’t seem to get enough air.
The look Rowan gave me just now—warm, tender, and so damn possessive—is branded into my memory. What if he’s starting to feel something more than just meaningless lust for me? Keeping my heart guarded was already hard enough when I thought sex was all he wanted.
I shiver, trying to shake off the lingering sensation of his gaze.
The auction begins, Lottie announcing the first item—some kind of vase hand-painted by a local artisan. People call out their bids, but it all seems distant and muffled to me. My head spins.
The vase goes for two hundred dollars.
“The next item is a mixology class donated by Blake Wolfe!”
Oh no.
“For those of you that don’t know, that means making all kinds of yummy cocktails. Yes, a boozy afternoon with the best bartender in Darkwater Hollow. Who wouldn’t want to bid on that? We’re starting the bidding at a hundred dollars,” Lottie says into the microphone.
In my lap, my hands curl into fists. I was so thrown off my equilibrium by that near kiss that I forgot to worry about my own item coming up for bidding, but now my nerves flare to life. No one’s going to bid, I just know it. I thought when I graduated high school that I was done with being humiliated in public, but it looks like I was wrong. And this time, I’ve got no one to blame but me. Why did I agree to Lottie’s request? I’m supposed to be putting myself first, not doing stupid favors just because I want Lottie to like me.
“This is your chance, folks! Remember, it’s for a good cause!”
My skin heats to the point of discomfort as I watch Sarah’s lips curve into a mocking smirk directed at me. I don’t know why I’m even looking at her, but I can’t seem to rip my gaze away.
This evening is another reminder that I’m nothing to these people. Why would they want something donated by the daughter of a criminal? I come from a chain of broken homes and broken families, and everyone in this town thinks they’re better than me.
“One hundred to number fourteen!”
Fourteen? That’s right beside me…
My head snaps to my right. Rowan’s got his paddle up, his arm stretched high over his head like he wants everyone to see it.
“What are you doing?” I say under my breath.
“Bidding.” Rowan lowers his paddle.
“Do we have two hundred?” Lottie calls out.
I blink at him. “Why?”
