Page 106 of The Problem with Dating

Whoa.

Was that what kissing was?

Oh my goodness.

It was pretty humbling to realize at the ripe age of thirty that you’d never actually been kissed before. That exchange wasn’t just Alex’s mouth touching mine. No. That was fireworks erupting all throughout my body. I felt that kiss vibrate all the way to the tips of my toes.

“I’ll see you soon,” he said before smacking my behind and walking past Cole. If that wasn’t the greatest mic drop, then I didn’t know what was.

CHAPTER29

Alex

Yara Kingsley and her lips.

I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t been dreaming about what that woman tasted like for a while. Cole just gave me the perfect opportunity to find out. My mind stayed trapped at that moment as I stood in the crowd forming around the clock tower on Main Street where the auction was taking place.

I was ready to spend as much as I needed to in order to get that basket from Yara. I watched the whole process unfold with a few of the women who went before Yara. Tatiana, of course, was the hostess with the mostest as she spoke to the crowd and auctioned off each basket.

The women posed on stage with their creations, and the crowd started the bidding off low. A few fifty dollars here, a few one hundred dollars there. After about fifteen baskets were sold, Avery was up for auction. I had to admit, a picnic date with her would’ve scared me because there was a solid chance it would come with a black eye. Nothing about Avery Kingsley read soft, like Yara. She was hard, stern, and moody. Kind of like me, I supposed. She must’ve been the Kingsleys’ black cat.

Avery sat on the barstool in the middle of the stage, holding her basket in her lap. As Tatiana introduced her, Avery reached for the mic and said, “Just so you know, I think this whole thing is predated and a bit dehumanizing, but happy autumn. Support your local dog spa and start making good on the late payments you owe my sister, you dic—”

“Okayyy, thank you, Avery.” Tatiana smiled as she yanked the microphone back and gestured toward Avery. “Let’s hear it for Avery! She has this cute basket with a yellow ribbon, waiting for the perfect companion to share it with on the hill tonight while watching the fireworks display. Let’s start the bidding process at fifty dollars.”

“Five hundred,” a gentleman called out, getting a bit of applause from the crowd. He winked at Avery, and she grew a bit bashful, which seemed not to be her norm. He must’ve been the guy who’d put that massive ring on her finger.

He walked up confidently to claim his basket, when all of a sudden, another voice echoed in the crowd. “One thousand.”

I turned to see Nathan Pierce standing with his arms crossed over his broad chest. He wore a backward baseball cap and a smirk that made Avery’s eyes widen in surprise.

The first bidder cleared his throat and stood up taller. “One thousand five hundred.”

“One thousand seven hundred,” Nathan countered.

Sweat started to form at the brim of the guy’s forehead as he wiped his hand against the back of his neck. He then held his hand up. “Two thousand.”

Before Nathan could reply, which he was ready to do, Avery snatched the microphone from Tatiana and shouted, “Sold to Wesley for two thousand dollars!” She then hurried off stage and ran straight into her fiancé’s arms.

The look on Nathan’s face felt heavy. He and Avery clearly had some kind of connection, though I wasn’t sure what it had been. I couldn’t help but want to question Yara on the topic later on—after I won her picnic basket.

Yara walked on stage, being the last basket of the afternoon to be auctioned off. Tatiana introduced her and spoke about The Pup Around the Corner, giving a speech about the shop’s history and how Yara stepped up when the previous owner passed away. Yara must not have liked all eyes on her because I noticed how she fidgeted with her nails and such as Tatiana praised her name.

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Cole walking up beside me, determined to outbid me. He shot me a cold look, but I ignored it. I kept my eyes on the prize. I kept my eyes on her.

When she darted her gaze through the crowd, her brown stare found mine. I smiled a little. She made me do that a lot lately—smile.

“I think for such a special lady, for such a special basket, we should start the bidding around two hundred dollars, shall we?” Tatiana said.

Cole’s hand started to fly up to bid, but I spoke loudly and boldly before he could. “Twenty thousand.”

Everyone gasped from shock, and I was almost certain I’d heard Yara mutter her first bad word.

She grabbed the microphone from Tatiana. “He didn’t mean that, everyone, don’t worry.”

“I meant that,” I corrected. Cole’s hand dropped swiftly, a clear sign he wasn’t going to debate me at all. “Twenty thousand dollars.”

Before Yara could speak again, Tatiana grabbed the microphone and said, “Sold, to the handsome gentleman with the best empanadas in town.”

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