Page 105 of Ever With Me

Two could play at that game.

Brooks crossed his arms, raising his brow at the man.

“ . . . do I hear one thousand two? One thousand two, folks. Who’ll give me one thousand two? Going once, going twice . . .”

The man was good at this game of auction “chicken,” but a bit of panic showed in his eyes now.

“. . . sold!To Milton Hirsch for one thousand one dollars. And I believe we’ve set a record for the highest bid ever placed at Auction-a-Peck, folks. Everybody give a great big round of applause for our Maddie Yardley.”

The crowd—the same folks that had refused to bid on Maddie—clapped, though there were frowns on a few people’s faces, who continued to look back at Brooks.

. . . fuck.

Brooks’s gaze whirled back to Maddie, who stared at him with what could only be called a death glare as the old man wobbled over toward her, bewilderment on his face.

He’d gotten so caught up in the game of it, he’d forgotten that losing meant Maddie had to kiss the old man—who might not even be able to afford such an expensive bid.

And I basically announced I wasn’t willing to pay over one thousand dollars to kiss her.

To her entire town.

Moron.

Maddie stepped off the stage and greeted the old man with a smile, then pressed a preemptive kiss to his cheek. Her face was bright red as she handed him the apple crate and hurried away, fleeing into the crowd that milled just beyond the auction.

Brooks bolted from his chair and followed, but he hadn’t gotten far when Cormac seemed to appear from nowhere beside him. He put a hand out to stop Brooks. “Just let her go cool down, man.”

“You saw that?” Brooks asked, slowing.

“Yeah. That was . . . interesting.”

“Why the hell did no one bid on Maddie?” Brooks allowed Cormac to lead him away from the throng toward the back of a large, paneled tent.

“I asked a friend. There’s a rumor going around that the Cortland apples were mealy. Sounds made up.”

Yeah, that’s bullshit.

“Also . . .” Cormac grimaced. “I heard Maddie was getting it on with a famous rock star in the back storeroom of Brandywood’s oldest ice cream shop, and that the rock star then disrespected the hell out of the owner when they were caught. Depending on which folks you catch at an event, their loyalty might be with the shop owner.”

Oh fuck.

“So no one bid on her?” Brooks nearly exploded. “Besides, the prick deserved my disrespect. He called Maddie trash.”

Cormac’s eyes widened. “It’s true?”

“I mean . . .” Brooks let a slow breath out between puffed cheeks.Shit, that sounds bad. Real bad.“There werereasons.And anyway, I wasn’t trying to leave her hanging out here. That people would try to embarrass her like that is crazy.”

Cormac stopped and cringed. “I get what you were trying to do, but Brandywood has its way of dealing with things. You driving up the bid wasn’t probably the best idea. If the Stricklands have it out for Maddie, they’re not going to leave it alone. They’ll just use this for ammunition. I doubt old Milton has the money for that sort of thing, and they’ll paint him as one of your victims now, too.”

“I wasn’t driving up the bid, he was.” Brooks searched Cormac’s face. “Wait. You think I was just trying to drive up the bid?”

“Weren’t you?”

Brooks shook his head. “No . . . I just stopped because I realized that’s what the old man was doing. I had every intention of outbidding him until then.”

Cormac’s brows drew together. “You were going to pay over one thousand dollars for a crate of apples and a kiss from Maddie?”

When you put it that way . . .

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