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She didn’t need to think before she answered. “Mon Soleil. Trevor and I went there, and it was amazing. If you didn’t know better, you’d think you were eating in Paris.”
Milan nudged her in the side and said, “I’m sure that was an exhilarating night out.”
Brooklyn didn’t miss the sarcasm in her sister’s voice. “It was a nice evening.” Although she still didn’t know how she felt about Trevor, it had been a nice date. “But you might not have enjoyed it.” Talk about an understatement. Milan would’ve canceled the moment he mentioned the word theater.
All things considered, Brooklyn enjoyed the dinner portion of the fundraiser. During the short time between dinner and the moment Marilyn Belmont, Derek’s aunt, took the stage to welcome everyone and thank them for attending, she left her mom and sisters behind and visited with Derek’s family. Now though, as she listened to Marilyn’s prepared speech, her stomach twisted into a giant knot. As perspiration trickled down her spine, she prayed her deodorant held up tonight.
“And now I’d like to introduce to you Rose. This evening’s fundraiser has been her baby. She has spent countless hours on it to ensure everyone has a wonderful time.” A thirtysomething woman joined Marilyn at the podium and smiled out at the crowd as polite applause filled the ballroom. “Rose will be handling the evening from here.”
With her final sentence, Marilyn exited the stage and rejoined her family while behind the podium Rose adjusted the microphone. “Before we start, I would like to again thank each and every one of you for attending tonight. As you know, all the proceeds raised tonight will go toward supporting the various projects the Helping Hands Foundation funds, including the new battered women’s shelter being opened in Pawtucket next month.”
Another round of applause erupted. Once it stopped, Rose spoke again. “This evening we have twelve eligible bachelors up for auction. Their names are all listed in the programs handed out earlier. Each gentleman will take the winning bidder out on four romantic dates. Everyone present tonight can make as many bids as they wish, however, if your bid is accepted, you cannot bid on any of the remaining bachelors. Now to start off the fun, let’s meet our first bachelor.” Rose paused while the spotlight moved off her and toward the man walking out onto the stage dressed in a black tuxedo.
Brooklyn recognized the man before Rose introduced him. Colton Horne and Derek had been friends for years, and she’d seen him several times at Derek’s condo in Newport. Although a little full of himself, he always struck her as a nice person who knew how to treat a woman right.
“Who’s the hottie?” Milan asked, earning her a disapproving look from their mom. “What? He is handsome,” Milan said in her own defense.
Her sister had a point. Although not as handsome as Derek in her opinion, Colton was a looker. Before Brooklyn could provide an answer, Rose glanced at the cheat sheet in her hand and continued.
“Our first bachelor this evening is Colton Horne. Originally from Georgia, Colton attended Brown University and now lives in Providence where he works at Merrimack Investments.”
Colton walked the entire length of the stage. When he reached the far end, he stopped and winked at someone in the audience, which caused a round of applause to break out, and then he returned to stand closer to the podium.
“For the winning bidder’s first date, Colton has an exciting night in Boston planned, including a stop at Platinum.”
Brooklyn avoided talking about the auction as much as possible with Derek, and other than the night he’d asked for her help, he hadn’t mentioned it often either, so she hadn’t realized each bachelor was supposed to plan out the dates ahead of time. Brooklyn couldn’t help but wonder if Colton hadn’t included a visit to Platinum, an exclusive nightclub in the city, to deter older women from bidding on him. While she’d never been there herself, she’d heard about the club and it didn’t sound like the type of place a fifty-or-sixty-something would enjoy.
“That could be fun,” Milan said to no one in particular.
“This evening we’ll start the bidding at five thousand dollars.”
Next to her, Milan didn’t hesitate to bid, officially starting off the night.
Gradually, the dollar amount increased until only two bidders remained, Milan and another woman seated across the ballroom.
“Our highest bid is at twenty-five thousand. Can I get twenty-seven thousand?” Rose asked, looking in the direction of Milan’s competition.
Right away, the unknown woman raised her auction paddle, and Rose swung her glance back toward their table. “I now have twenty-seven, can I get thirty?”
Milan reached for her paddle again, but then pulled her hand back. “There are eleven other bachelors. I’ll let her have this one.”
Brooklyn stifled a groan. Had her sister not been considering who else was due up on stage tonight, or was she considering bidding on Derek too? While he’d insisted she go as high as necessary with her bid tonight, she’d rather not be in competition with her older sister. Already she expected an unpleasant conversation with her father once he heard about what happened here tonight. She didn’t need to add an angry sister to the mix as well.
“Going once.” From behind the podium, Rose glanced around the crowd. “Going twice.” Still no further bids came. “Sold to bidder number thirty-five.”
Polite applause broke out as the winner joined Colton on the stage and a photographer appeared from somewhere. Without hesitating, Colton kissed the woman while the photographer snapped pictures, and Brooklyn’s stomach joined her feet in her new Christian Louboutin pumps. Did the photographer expect to snap pictures of each w
inner and bachelor kissing? If she and Derek didn’t lock lips like the winner and Colton were doing now, would someone in the crowd suspect the truth? And what if Derek did kiss her the way the couple onstage was kissing now?
Phooey. This was turning into more of a disaster than she’d feared.
On stage it appeared as though Colton was trying to end the kiss; however, the winner didn’t look ready for that yet. Finally Rose stepped in and placed a hand on the woman’s shoulder. The little reminder had the woman pulling her lips away, although she kept her arms around Colton’s neck. Then, after one more smile for the camera, the couple exited the stage together and returned to her table.
“And now I’d like to introduce our second bachelor this evening, Daniel Johnson.”
Brooklyn watched the next man walk on stage. She’d never meet the professional football player before, but she’d heard his name on the news and seen his picture in the paper.
Slowly the night went on and each handsome bachelor was auctioned off to the highest bidder. She didn’t know exactly how the foundation had gone about recruiting the men, but they’d done one heck of a job. Everyone from investment brokers and executives to professional athletes, including Ryan Keene, the up-and-coming quarterback now sitting with them as Milan’s prize, had walked across the stage tonight.
