Page 75 of Rating the Book Boyfriend

“Oh, we’re more than happy to. The room is buzzing about it.” She checks the time on her phone. “I’ll send the photographer over, and you can get started.”

Twenty minutes later, a crowd surrounds us as they await the announcement. Riggs smiles and addresses them. “First of all, thank you to everyone who has donated money for the children’s home. The kids will be moved to a new house very soon, and every donation you’ve made will go directly to helping with that. You are truly making their lives better.”

Everyone applauds, and he gestures at me. “The gorgeous Libby Cox will be accepting any last minute donations. She can take cash, credit cards, or PayPal.”

Kat, the coordinator, steps forward and takes over. “Okay, let’s move on to the main events. First of all, who gets to undress Riggs Romero?”

The crowd of mostly women cheers loudly.

I hand Kat the silent auction sheet, and she glances at the name at the bottom. “It looks like the highest bidder is… Greg Waller.”

Riggs’s eyes widen for a second, and then he laughs in that good-natured way he has.

A thin man who appears to be in his late twenties shoves his way through the crowd and literally sprints to Riggs, pure excitement brimming his brown eyes.

Riggs grins cheerfully and removes his jacket before spreading his arms open wide. “Do your worst, Mr. Waller.”

I turn on some burlesque music, and the crowd hoots and hollers as Greg unties Riggs’s red tie and swings it over his head like a lasso. Then he wraps it around his forehead like aheadband before his fingers unbutton the crisp white shirt Riggs is wearing. Everyone claps and yells as the photographer snaps a ton of pictures.

Riggs poses for a few more photos with Greg, both men grinning widely before Greg walks over to give me his credit card. “That was so much fun,” he chirps. “Well worth the eighteen hundred dollars.”

I run his card quickly through the Square reader so I don’t miss the next event, which I think was a genius idea on my part. Last time I checked, the bid was a little over two-thousand dollars, but I’ve seen a few more women write down bids since then.

Kat picks up the next auction sheet and raises her voice to be heard over the buzz of chatter. “All right, everyone. It’s time for our final event. Who gets to spray oil on our handsome model?”

The crowd grows raucous, whistling and catcalling as Riggs removes his shirt.Dear god!The man looks like a sculpture with his navy pants and bare torso.

“I think every person in the room is standing in a puddle of their own drool,” Greg tells me, checking out Riggs’s hard, chiseled pecs and abs.

“We need a cleanup on aisle two,” I jokingly intone in my best grocery store announcer voice.

Kat looks down at the sheet. “The highest bid is—wow—three thousand dollars!” There’s a collective gasp in the room and then more cheering. When everyone finally quiets, she says, with much fanfare, “The lucky lady who gets to spray oil all over Riggs Romero is… Melinda Pratt.”

“That’s me.” The crowd parts, and a tiny woman with dark skin and a curly white hairdo marches to the front with a huge smile on her face. She’s got to be at least eighty years old.

Riggs bends to say something to her, and she laughs before taking the spray bottle filled with oil. To much delight from thecrowd, she sprays him down and then rubs the oil all over his torso. She’s quite… thorough.

Once Melinda is done, my handsome boyfriend bends and places a sweet kiss on her cheek, and the lady’s face flushes. God, I adore him. He’s such a good sport.

After cleaning her hands with a towel provided by Kat, Melinda walks over to me and whips out her credit card.

“Thank you so much, Ms. Pratt,” I tell her as I punch in the amount. “Did you have fun?”

She has a bit of a midwestern accent when she replies, “Honey, I haven’t had that much fun since the pigs ate my sister.” We share a laugh, and her face turns serious. “I grew up in one of those homes. The folks that worked there did their best, but the place was obviously lacking in funds.”

I hand her card back to her. “Well, I think it’s lovely that you’re in a position to give back.”

Melinda’s shoulders straighten and her chin lifts. “I was adopted by a wonderful family when I was thirteen and then went on to become a pediatrician. Practiced for almost forty years.”

My eyes fill with tears. “So you pulled yourself up by the bootstraps.”

“That I did, missy,” she says before glancing over her shoulder at Riggs, who was chatting amiably with some fans. “Is he your boyfriend?”

“He is,” I confirm.

Melinda turns back to me with a sly grin. “You’re a lucky woman. He seems like a fine man.”

I press my lips together and nod, overwhelmed with emotion as Riggs meets my eyes and gives me a wink. “He sure is.”

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