Page 5 of Auctioned to Dr. Daddy

His brother laughs and mimics his motion, then two more people—Dr. Reed, from the ER, and a man in a business suit that I’ve never seen before. Nathan and Tyler are dropping the biggest amounts, raising the bids by several thousand each time, instead of just by a few hundred.

My cheeks get hot.

Everyone is staring at me.

It’s a lot of attention, and not the sort that I’m used to. I don’t know what to do with myself—where should I put my hands? They feel weird, just folded in front of me.

Tyler leans toward his brother and says something, a playful glint in his eyes. I catch the word “pretty” but nothing else.

Nathan nods his head in clear agreement, and then gestures at me with the paddle, before raising it and upping my fee by another eight grand.

Eventually, everyone backs out but the two Stone brothers who appear to be engaged in a playful back and forth.

Tyler is the one that backs out first, meaning that Nathan buys me for the night, and for the date tomorrow. Seventy-five thousand dollars. All on me.

My heart is beating in my chest, my cheeks go bright red.

I’ve never held that much money at once before, let alone spent it on something as frivolous as an auction that didn’t even get me a physical item to keep. And it’s not just anyone who did it, either.

It’s Nathan Stone himself!

I’ve totally been ogling him through most of this auction. To think that he’s actually the one who bought me… It certainly does wonders in getting rid of those nervous jitters I had moments prior.

Rose Stone comes over to me, taking hold of my hand and leading me down the steps at the side of the stage. There are only two of them.

“Go on, dear. I’m sure that the rest of this auction won’t take long,” she says.

“Okay.” I’m a little stiff in my response, stunned that someone as important as Nathan would pick me. I make my way toward him through the crowd and try to get myself pulled together.

Deep breath in, deep breath out.

Nathan smiles when I draw close to him, lips peeling back to show off a flash of teeth. My heart skips a beat. It should be illegal to have a smile like that.

I can feel him looking me over, and my flush deepens. He meets me with an extended hand.

“It’s good to meet you, Demi,” he says. His grip is firm and warm.

I manage to give him a smile back, hoping that my blush isn’t too noticeable. I feel like it’s about to burn straight through my makeup, like Rudolph’s nose. “You too. I’ve heard a lot about you. I mean, not like—alot. And it’s all been good.”

“If it came from my brother, I doubt that.” Nathan laughs—he’s got agreatlaugh, rolling and deep. The auctioneer is talking again. People are putting up their paddles; Cassandra Blanc, a tall and strong-jawed ER nurse, has just been called out. Her off-the-shoulder silver dress is stunning.

“I read the interview that you did forHealth Weekly,” I say, instantly regretting it. That’s such a bad conversation starter. What am I, in high school? Judging by the fluttering in my chest, I just might be.

Thankfully, Nathan takes it in stride. “At least that’s one of my better interviews. I never know what to say about those things. It’s a lot more difficult to break case studies down into layman’s terms than they think.”

“You did a good job at explaining the procedure,” I say, thinking back to it. His face on the magazine, and his magazine on my table. And us, here, now, standing in the middle of the charity auction. Wow. I really managed to luck out.

“Come on,” calls the auctioneer, briefly grabbing my attention. “Is that really all that this lovely lady is going to sell for? Have you heard her yet? She has an accent, folks, an accent. Go on, say something, Miss Blanc.”

Cassandra stumbles for a moment, then comes off with a string of French that has the men swooning. I glance over to my side, expecting to find Nathan doing the same—but he’s only got eyes for me.

“Damn,” says Tyler, with a snap of his fingers. He weaves through the crowd to join us. “You got a good one. Demi’s one of the best residents that St. Peter has.”

My blush only manages to deepen at the compliment. “I wouldn’t go that far.”

“I would,” says Tyler. “Otherwise, we wouldn’t be so upset to lose you.”

“Lose you?” Nathan asks, surprised. “Are you going somewhere?”

---