Page 30 of The Marriage Auction 2: Part 1

Slim to None

JACK

I woke to the sunlight streaming through the windows. I’d forgotten to pull the blinds and curtains, but I was eager to start the day.

Tonight was the auction.

I could hardly wait to attend, but I was also rather nervous about making a selection. My hope was that my appeal to Madam Alana yesterday to give me a sign had worked. The woman was a tough negotiator, to be certain, but I also could tell she had a big heart. The fact that she checked on her candidates regularly and had attended both of Erik and Savannah’s weddings proved her loyalty and commitment to her pairings. Now I just hoped I’d done enough to convince her of my need for assistance in choosing the right bride.

Checking the clock, I found it was only just after six a.m. Which meant it was three in the afternoon for my best friend, Erik, back in Norway. I snatched the phone sitting on the charger and dialed his number.

“Jack. How’s Nevada treating you?” Erik answered on the second ring.

“It’s definitely warm, but I’m faring well. How is Savannah? Getting excited about your trip to Turks & Caicos for the late honeymoon?”

Erik chuckled. “That she is, my friend. Though she keeps packing all of these long sleeves and pants and all I want to see her pack are bathing suits.”

“Going to try for a baby right out the gate, mate?” I chuckled at my little rhyme.

“Goodness, no. Savannah wants to learn more about the beer business. Once we get back from our honeymoon in two weeks, we’ll spend a few months in the office getting her more comfortable being in Norway. Then right before Dakota and Sutton have their twins, Savannah wants to head back to Montana. She can finish her undergrad and be there for her nieces,” he explained.

I was excited for Dakota and Sutton Goodall. I knew they hadn’t expected to get pregnant right after their wedding, but life throws you curveballs, as the Americans often said. They seemed to be doing fine now that they’d gotten the situation with her father taken care of, not to mention the terrifying arsonist/attempted murderer that was Savannah’s ex who was now facing a life sentence in prison. Both Savannah and Erik had suffered gunshot wounds but had healed over the months since and finally married back in Norway just a few days ago.

“Well, I went and spoke to Alana yesterday,” I said.

“Oh yeah? What about?” he asked.

“The fact that she didn’t provide any of us with portfolios on the candidates up for auction. I explained how ridiculous it was to spend millions on a marriage contract when I knew nothing of my prospective bride other than what she looks like.” I huffed, allowing my friend to hear my frustration firsthand.

Erik snorted. “And how did that conversation go for you?”

“About as well as expected, I’m afraid.” I sighed. “How did you know Savannah was the one?” I toyed with the comforter and stared out the window.

“Before I saw her, I felt nothing inside. Completely numb. There was no joy left within me. After losing Troy in the accident…” His voice trailed off for a moment and I could hear him take a ragged breath. Suddenly his voice lowered to a calmer, quieter pitch. “I’m okay, elskede. Don’t worry. I’m talking to Jack about the auction. Finish packing. I’ll be fine.” He lightly chuckled. I’m assuming he was interrupted by the one and only person he called his “beloved” or “elskede” in Norwegian, which was Savannah, his wife.

Oh, how I wanted a woman who was devoted to me and who worried about how I was handling a difficult topic. That was the whole reason I was here in Las Vegas. To find what my best friend had. The right woman for him. And Savannah was perfect. It was funny that I thought that way now. When I found out about her, I’d been determined to break them up. At the time, the entire thing had sounded fishy. My friend, who’d been lost to his grief for a couple years, suddenly came home all smiles with a fiancée in tow. Then, when I looked her up, I’d found all the debt her family had incurred on their land and had assumed she was a gold digger taking advantage of a broken man. Boy, had I been wrong. Still, I was glad I’d snuck my nose in their business because it brought Savannah and Erik closer together. It also gave me the idea to enter the auction myself.

I’d dated many women over the past few years, trying to find that spark that told me it could be forever. Those relationships never lasted more than a few dates, making me seem like a player, which was the furthest thing from the truth. There were different reasons why each of those relationships didn’t work out. Many didn’t want children or were focused entirely on their careers and had no immediate plans to procreate. Others seemed interested in me for what I could bring them monetarily, or just wanted a single night between the sheets.

I dreamed of having a loving wife who I could worship and a house full of children. I didn’t want to wait until I was well into my thirties to create a family like so many in my country did. I’d lived my entire childhood bouncing from place to place in the Norwegian Child Welfare Services known commonly as Barnevernet. I lived my early years falling in and out of love with a new mother figure. Most were nice, but every time I’d connect to one of my guardians, I’d be moved for one reason or another. Until the last home I was sent which was an institution for boys. I’d been around ten years of age then. That was when I was placed in a school where I met Erik Johansen.

His family became my extended family. Irene, his mother, became the only woman in my life who I knew loved me for me. Not because she was being paid to do it. And she was always available with a kind word, a hot meal to fill my belly, a big hug, and my own bed when I stayed over, which was often.

Henrik and Irene showed me what true love looked like and how a family could be. I wanted that desperately. And the first step to having it was finding a wife.

If Erik could be saved by a redhead from Montana with the kindest eyes and the sweetest soul, why couldn’t I?

My brain instantly circled back to the elevator yesterday with that sassy, blonde, blue-eyed woman named Rebecca. She was something else. Pretty eyes and a knockout body. When she’d clung to me for safety, I’d imagined a thousand different inappropriate ways I would have liked her to hold me and vice versa. Unfortunately, Rebecca in the end hadn’t seemed interested, even if the sparks between us had burned white hot and the sexual chemistry off the charts.

Which reminded me, I needed to call and check on her today. Though was it appropriate to do so when I planned to bid on another woman tonight? Who knew? I sure as hell didn’t. But I was worried about her. She’d had a bit of a scare and had seemedout of sorts when I left her yesterday. Maybe I should have stayed even after she told me to go?

“Sorry, Jack.” Erik broke me out of my musings over Rebecca. “I don’t know exactly how to explain it other than I just knew she was the one for me when I looked into her eyes. My heart pounded, my hands became clammy, and I swear there was a halo of light around her body.”

“Probably the stage lighting,” I presumed.

“Maybe. I don’t know. It was just her,” he finished.

“Well, I asked Madam Alana to give me a sign in the auction tomorrow, and I’m hoping since you and the others in your auction went smashingly, I too can find the ideal woman.”

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