Page 32 of A Christmas Auction

The red-carpet scene was a nightmare right out of a horror themed Christmas movie. Not only was the entire hotel draped in decorative Christmas lights, complete with twenty-foot-tall wooden Nutcrackers framing its entrance, there were paparazzi with flashing cameras and screaming fans everywhere. Only in LA would you find giant Nutcrackers and fake snow when the temperature outside was a cool seventy-five degrees. None of it made any sense and was entirely overdone.

When Colin alighted from the limo and held a hand out for Holly, the crowd surrounding the event went wild. The pitch and volume of the roar practically made my ears bleed.

Instantly, I went for Holly’s arm, but Colin stepped in front of me. “I’ve got it from here,” he barked, staking his claim the same way I would have if our situations were reversed.

I nodded and stood back, creating a barrier between the couple and the crowd. Colin’s security team had the other side and the back of the huddle we’d created. We were stationed right outside of the hotel in front of a set of stairs leading to the entrance. The red carpet ran from the curb all the way up and over the stairs into the building. Red ropes were strung on each side of the walkway separating the crowd and paparazzi from the celebrities arriving. I had no idea this event would be this massive. Colin’s security team did not provide the appropriate intel.

My internal safety meter was starting to buzz, sending red flags waving in every direction. I clocked the number of guards stationed on both sides and quickly realized there was a distinct lack of security based on the amount of people clamoring to gain access to the stars.

I wanted to get Holly inside right fucking now.

What I didn’t expect when I turned around to suggest we get moving, was for Colin to put his arm around Holly’s waist, holding her far more intimately than warranted. It suggested to the crowd that they were on more than just a date. He doubled down when he planted them both in the center of the carpet allowing everyone and their brother to take pictures of them. The photographers went nuts screaming at the duo.

“Colin, Colin, who’s with you tonight?”

“Who’s the blonde bombshell?”

“Is that your girlfriend?”

Colin didn’t say a word. He just stood there and let them assume she was more than just a date while they took endless photos. He could have so easily claimed Holly was a friend, to keep her safest, but no, he wanted them to see her as a romantic interest. Which ultimately would play into his story when he bought her hand in the auction, and they got married so suddenly.

That motherfucker.

And what about Holly?

What I overheard before Holly had her panic attack was that he’d insinuated he would take care of her and her family. I could fucking take care of her and her family just as well as Mr. Hollywood, but that wasn’t what Holly wanted. She had goals and dreams for herself. Things she wanted to accomplish on her own, not by being hand-fed buckets of money in exchange for the price of her dreams.

Finally, the next car rolled up and the attendants urged them to follow the carpet up the stairs, past all the fans, to enter the hotel where the event was being held.

I followed at Holly’s side, a few feet away, matching what Colin’s security did, giving them space but also staying close. My gaze cataloged everyone near them to ascertain any potential threats. What I didn’t expect was a woman holding a microphone to duck under the red ropes, race over like an Olympian track runner and clock Holly in the head with the microphone, then bodily fling herself at Colin. He caught the woman, but that didn’t stop the fifty other screaming fans from doing the same and bum rushing our group.

Holly screamed at the top of her lungs, a sound that pierced my heart like a dart hitting a bullseye. I watched in dread as her body bowed forward and she reached for her forehead. I went to counter the action, immediately bodily pushing people awayfrom her until I finally scooped Holly up, spun us around, and raced up the steps that led inside.

The crowd mobbed Colin so completely his blonde head disappeared in the crowd as the security around them flung people off him trying to reach their charge. His own security had jumped over him, the way a pair of defenders on an NFL league would protect their quarterback.

Me, I protected the real prize…Holly.

When I got her inside, her entire body was shaking, her hands covering her forehead. “Baby, are you okay? Let me see your head,” I begged, cupping her cheeks.

Her face was ghost white; her expression frightened, those pretty eyes of her shifting aimlessly as though she was lost.

“I’ve got you. You hear me?”

She nodded and let me gently remove her hand from her forehead. There was already a massive bump appearing, swollen pink tissue bulging where the woman hit her. Holly didn’t take her eyes off me, her hands clutching my forearms as I assessed the wound.

“Excuse me, miss.” A hotel attendant approached and touched her elbow. She flinched, let out a little cry, and plowed into my chest, tucking her face against me as the tears came.

“Back the fuck off!” I bellowed and wrapped my arms around her while she sobbed. “Lead us to the doctor. I know you have one at fancy events like this.”

He nodded, clearly rattled as he waved me over toward an empty hall.

I picked up Holly as she continued to cry against my chest and rushed down the hall to an open hotel room. Inside was a man in a suit, a stethoscope dangling around his neck.

“Oh, my goodness, please, place her here,” he encouraged, gesturing to the sofa.

Holly clung to me when I tried to set her down, so I sat with her in my lap.

“What happened?” The doctor asked, genuinely concerned. “Heat? Too much alcohol?”

---