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At least this seems to be working. Everything in him was screaming with embarrassment, but Asher fought his way past it. He’d do whatever he had to help them get as much money as possible.
“Four hundred dollars!”
Noelle’s exclamation had Asher unzipping his hoodie all the way.
“Four hundred and fifty!”
I can’t believe this.Smiling, Asher wiggled his eyebrows, pushing his hoodie over his shoulders, slowly taking it off.
“Five hundred!”
Noelle’s eyes flared wide as she turned to face him, and Asher grinned.
“One more bid, and I bet Asher will take off his hoodie! Any takers? Or are we leaving it at—”
“One thousand dollars.”
It felt as though the whole of Windy Lake fell silent.
Asher’s hands dropped to his sides, staring out at the crowd.One thousand dollars? One thousand dollars for a date with me? Who would be crazy enough to spend that much?
“We have the winning bid!” Noelle flung her hands up into the air, and finally, the crowd began to cheer. It wasn’t until she shot him a warning look that Asher realized he had to finish what he’d started.
Oh.
His fingers slipped as he slid off his hoodie and flung it over his shoulder. Shock bit its way through him, sending goosebumps all over his skin.
“Try and smile!”
The crowd was going wild, but the new sound seemed to come from very far away. Forcing a grin, Asher turned around slowly, hearing the cheers and the whistles and the yells.
“One thousand dollars, really?”
“Really!” Noelle grinned and gestured to the door. “You did really well. Thank you.” Clearing her throat, she lifted the microphone to her mouth. “Could the winning bidder please come to collect their prizeandpay their one thousand dollars? Thank you, everybody, we have raised so much money for the Windy Lake Senior Center! Thank you, and I hope you enjoy the rest of the festival!”
Still in a daze, Asher walked through the stage door and back to the small tent where he’d been waiting with the others. Some of the guys slapped him on the back, congratulating him for raising so much money, but Asher could barely lift a smile. His stomach was twisting, and his heart was beating so furiously that it roared in his ears.
Who paid that much for a date with me?
17
“This is such a bad idea.”
Evie shot her a confused glance. “Why? Asher seemed up for it. I know it took a bit of convincing, but this is supposed to be fun, and he’ll raise a lot of money for the center.”
Willow looked away.
“How much money do you think you’ll go for?” Hadley elbowed her, a smile dancing about her mouth. “Are you going to bid?”
“Of course not.”
Evie laughed. “Why would Willow bid on Asher? It’s not likeshe’sgoing to want to date him. Honestly, Hadley, sometimes, I don’t understand you at all.”
Hadley scowled. “Maybe it’s not me you don’t understand.”
“Look, there’s the first guy.” Shooting Hadley a furious look, Willow gave her a tiny shake of her head. The last thing she needed was for Evie to know how she felt about Asher.
“Oh, look, there’s Laura Chambers. I think she’ll bid for him.”
