Page 60 of Auctioned To Be Mine

Mimi was quiet. I watched her eyes move around the room. She was thinking it over. She looked at Adrian, her eldest and the one I knew she depended on for business decisions.

Adrian gave a solemn nod. “I like it.”

“Same here.” Sebastian grinned and looked at Bernadette, who smiled and dabbed at her eyes.

Briggs pushed off the wall. “I’ll have to get some paperwork going to cover our asses, but it won’t be a problem if you all want to do it.”

Dash shrugged. “They had me at logistics.”

His wife, Krista, scowled at him playfully.

Mimi looked back at me. “I love this idea.” She picked up her wine glass again. “Yes. I absolutely want to do this. I’m so proud of all of you for growing into fine young men. Generous and kind. I’d love to spread some love to LA too.”

I nodded. “I promise we won’t let you down.”

Drew let out a whistle from his armchair and fanned his face. “Man, that was tense. Who needs a refill?”

Adrian started asking practical questions about timelines, which I answered as best I could. Sebastian wanted to know about the couple selection process for the runway, which I deferred to Victoria. Mimi asked a few questions as well. For about fifteen minutes it was genuinely productive. Questions I hadn’t considered but Victoria had.

“Okay,” Mimi said. “No more shop talk. We’re here to spend time together. Everyone can email each other later. We’re on family time now.”

Glasses were refilled. Mimi was talking quietly with Elizabeth near the bookshelf, both of them laughing about something. Dash had pulled Krista into the corner and was whispering something in her ear that made her swat his arm. Honeymoon phase. Sebastian had his arm around Bernadette, who had fallen asleep against his shoulder. Seeing Sebastian, the consummate playboy pretty boy all domesticated was still something I was getting used to seeing.

“Walk with me,” Cleo said.

It wasn’t a request. I glanced over to see Victoria in conversation with Briggs. Probably talking about the legalities of our idea. I couldn’t see anything that would be a problem, but if anyone could, it would be Briggs.

I followed her and Mandy fell into step behind me. Was this an ambush? I thought they were on board with the charity thing, but maybe not.

“What?” I said.

“Nothing,” Cleo said. “We just wanted to check in.”

“Why? What’s going on?”

Mandy and Cleo glanced at each other. The three of us had spent a lot of time together. They’d been best friends long enough that they could have an entire conversation with a two-second look. I had never been able to crack the code and I’d stopped trying years ago.

“The store opening,” Mandy said finally.

“What about it?”

“It’s a lot to put on your shoulders,” she said. “And now you’re adding a charity launch event on top of an opening that’s like two weeks out. Not to mention everything else you’ve got going on.” She paused. “That’s a lot for one person to carry.”

“I’m not one person. I have a team. Victoria is handling the bulk of the charity part.”

“You have contractors and a project manager who reports to you,” Cleo said. “You’re still managing everything.”

I looked between them. “I’ve been managing this for months. What have I missed?”

“Nothing,” Mandy said gently. “We just want you to know you can ask for help. We’re all here for you.”

“Thanks, but I’ve got it handled,” I said.

“Callum, we’re trying to help,” Cleo said. “You handle so much. It’s not fair.”

“It doesn’t feel unfair to me,” I shot back. “And I don’t need a babysitter. I’ll get everything ready.”

Cleo looked at me with what looked like pity. “Nobody is questioning whether you can handle. We’re just saying you have a whole family willing to jump in. Don’t be afraid to ask for help, if you need it.”