Page 46 of Trusting Forever

I shook my head, even though he couldn’t see me.

I’m sticking to the plan.

Knox:

Why am I not surprised? One day, that’s going to bite you in the ass.

I hoped it wasn’t this week or the bachelorette auction. I needed to make Hanna see how I felt about her, and making an impulsive move on her because Ember wasn’t home wasn’t enough. She would think it was a onetime thing, and that was not the impression I wanted to make.

I lifted my head from the screen. “Knox is on his way over with Ember.”

“I want Ember to help me decorate the rest of the cookies.”

Most of the cookies were in tins, but there was a batch that was on the counter, without any icing. “Thank you for doing that with Ember. I’m not a baker, and I don’t want to leave her at my mom’s all the time.”

“I’m happy to help any time. You know that.”

The thing was, I didn’t want her help. I wanted her love. Now I just had to earn it.

CHAPTER 12

HANNA

Between work, watching Ember, and planning the bachelorette auction with Marley and Ireland, it had been a busy week. By Saturday, I was drained.

I should have been looking forward to fulfilling my New Year’s resolution to date. I was going to put myself out there, but I felt off.

Sebastian had been acting weird all week. He was even busier than usual at work, and we didn’t see him until after Ember’s bedtime. He was home in the morning for a few minutes, then rushed out the door to get to work.

It wasn’t tax season yet, so I wasn’t sure what his deal was. Unless he was avoiding me. Maybe our living situation wasn’t working out for him. That hurt because I loved living here with them.

It felt warm and cozy, almost like we were a real family. Ember had mentioned several times how she enjoyed it, too. But maybe Sebastian didn’t like having me in his space.

It was better to know that now than after I revealed my feelings for him. The thought that this crush I had on Sebastian wasn’t reciprocated, hurt. But it made me more determined to make a good effort to talk to whomever won a date with me at the auction.

In the morning, I left Ember with Sebastian so I could help Marley, Ireland, and Sarah finish decorating the barn.

When I arrived, Harrison, who worked with Ireland at Happily Ever Afters, the wedding planning service, was carrying in the planks for the stage. Since it was winter, the entire event would be inside, at least until everyone paired off to experience the dates.

The response from the community had been great. People loved the idea of having the date so soon after the auction. It alleviated the stress of calling the person or them changing their mind.

Marley had even used this for marketing. Do you need a date for the holidays? Don’t want to be alone when the ball drops? We’ve got you covered. Ladies, auction yourself off for one amazing date, and guys, bid on a lovely woman.

The interior of the barn was covered in white, pink, and red flowers, which Lily supplied from her shop in town, Petals.

We decided not to go with a holiday theme in the barn, but rather a romantic one. For the dates, it was red, green, and white. We figured we needed to use the Christmas tree farm to our benefit. It was a beautiful backdrop.

When the barn was finished, we ate lunch at the main house, and then Marley hired makeup artists and hairstylists to style the bachelorettes. There were five of us, including Holly, Daphne, Rhiannon, and Stacey. We used the bedrooms upstairs to get ready. The guys were running the farm, and Lori was in charge of the shop for the day.

“Do you think any guys will actually show up?” I asked, voicing my nerves out loud.

Marley’s mouth dropped open. “Hush. Don’t even breathe that possibility into the universe. We’ve had an amazing response. I’ve gotten so many questions from guys about the event and the dates themselves. We even had some individual requests.”

“What do you mean?” I asked as the makeup artist lifted my chin to examine her work on my cheeks.

“Some of the guys offered to pay more to add their own spin to the date. If they win, of course.”

I closed my eyes as the artist applied the eye makeup. “I can’t believe so many guys are willing to meet a woman this way.”

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