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I chuckle and glance around the bar. The same boring people I see at most charitable functions. Senator Briggs, Mrs. Goldfarb, a stunning woman in a dress designed to make her appear naked…I don’t know her. I jut my chin her way subtly, and Tag’s quick to look.
He mutters, “Dibs.”
“She’s all yours.”
“Seriously?”
“Have you ever seen me with someone that bony? I mean, she’s beautiful, but?—"
“Great. More for me.” He walks up to her, so I’m on my own.
Finally, a moment of peace.
I have always been a lucky man. Born with a silver spoon, I went to the most exclusive schools, had the best nannies, and I could have gotten into any university I wanted. As the eldest son of Harold West, life came easy to me, though it was packaged with responsibilities. So, perhaps I shouldn’t have been taken completely off-guard when I spotted June Devlin at the Chamberlain Charity Auction. Luck had always been on my side, after all.
Except when it came to her. I’d never gotten lucky when it came to June. Figuratively or literally. And it was all my own fault.
We had attended Appleton Academy together, and unfortunately my teenaged self did not understand the racing heart and sweaty palms I had around her. It made me feel awkward and unprepared, and unaccustomed to such things, I made an ass of myself with her.
No. That’s too generous. I had been an asshole to her.
She was there on a scholarship, so that had been the first thing I zeroed in on, but it wasn’t the last. Her hair, her body, her clothes, anything I could pick apart, I did. I made sport of her, and looking back now, I loathed my younger self.
I’d been cruel to someone who did not remotely deserve it.
To her credit, though, she fought back.
June was not the kind of woman to take criticism. Not even as an awkward teenager herself. She gave it right back to me, and that only deepened my relentless crush. She was witty and sharp, and I adored that about her. Given my privilege, I wasn’t used to someone who stood up to me. She was a breath of fresh air.
Now, as a grown man, I still feel like that uncomfortable teenager when I look at her. Over the years, she’s become more breathtaking. Her body has curved out with full hips and breasts that own her blue dress. I’m happy to see she isn’t shy about showing herself off anymore. At Appleton, her uniform had always been a size or two too big, so she could hide. Something I blamed myself for.
Funny how, had I not picked on her, she probably would have dressed in her correct size, and I could have appreciated her body even more back then. But stupid teenaged boys do stupid teenaged things, I guess.
I need a closer look.
So, I carefully mix into the crowd so she won’t see me. With my back to her and her blond friend, I overhear their conversation.
The blond asks, “You can’t be thinking about this. Not seriously.”
“Callie, what else can I do to make that kind of money?”
Money?
“But … an auction? That kind of auction? There has to be a better way.”
Out of the corner of my eye, the nude dress woman joins June and Callie. “So, have you thought about it?”
“Pretty much all I can think about right now, Camille,” June says, her voice tight.
“Think of it this way. It’s one night with some random man, and whatever you want the money for is yours, no questions asked. It’s a better return on investment than any date I’ve ever had.”
That auction? She can’t seriously be thinking about it. She’s a lawyer, for god’s sake.
Callie sighs. “I hate to admit it, but she has a point. You wasted two years with Trent with nothing to show for it. In one night, you could pay off your student loans?—"
“And my credit card debt. And have money left over. In theory.”
Camille adds, “Last year, I made over five hundred thousand dollars. One of the things you have to do going into this is to be honest with yourself. I’m thirty-five this year and I’ve been doing this for close to a decade, so I don’t expect to hit that kind of money again. But I’m hoping for the mid-four hundreds. You’re young and new, and those men love novelty. I would think you’d hit at least three hundred, easy.”
