Page 3 of Flame
“Foxx? Can you join us on stage, please?” Gloria asks, the microphone squealing in her hand. She taps on it, making it even worse. “Can someone show me how to adjust this thing?”
The entire town stares holes in my back, waiting for me to take the trail of humiliation and occupy the spot by Colin. Hushed conversations whisper through the room. I’m sure jokes are being made over coffee and coffee cake.
“Please do this for me,” Banks says, holding his hands before him. “I panicked, Foxx. I didn’t know what to do. You are the only one of us who’s single, and I …I panicked, Foxx.”
“You’re repeating yourself.”
“It’s for a good cause, and it’s not like you have a bursting social calendar.”
“Foxx?” Gloria asks again.
Banks grins. “You’re drawing more attention to yourself by not going up there, you know.”
I take a step toward him. “Sleep with one eye open, you little fucker.”
Instead of looking worried, he manages to look relieved.
I don’t really have a choice because, for once in his damn life, Banks is right. I’m only creating a bigger problem by resisting. The chatter among the gossips will only worsen if I duck out the back door and leave them hanging.
Banks, you’re living on borrowed time, kid.
I straighten my shirt, stand tall, and take a long, deep breath.Focus on revenge. It will be so, so sweet.
I step purposely onto the stage, carefully avoiding eye contact with the audience. My heart races as I stand next to the firefighter. He gives me a slight nod, a gesture of pity, really, before turning his attention back to the women clutching paddles with numbers written in black magic marker.
Gloria drones on and on, thanking everyone who had the tiniest hand in putting the event together. Then she gives a quick rendition of the rules. While she reads the bullet points off a sheet of paper, I exhale and finally face the crowd.
The women in my family sit at a round table near the bathroom. My mother is more entertained than she should be. Dad stands next to Jess, the only brother I really like most days, and lifts a plastic cup my way. My failure to acknowledge him results in a chuckle that he’s lucky I can’t hear. Banks stands next to Jess and gives me a thumbs-up. I level my gaze with his, unblinking.
His smile slowly fades, and his thumb falls from the air like a deflated balloon. I enjoy a smidgen of satisfaction from that.
“Let’s start the bidding on Shawn at two hundred dollars,” Gloria says. “Do I have any takers?”
Paddles are thrust into the air. It’s one of the most embarrassing things I’ve ever witnessed.
Could I just donate a large sum of money and spare us all the trouble?
Sweat dots the nape of my neck as the bids for Shawn increase.
“One thousand dollars for Shawn! Going once, going twice—a date with Shawn is sold to Mrs. Ferguson,” Gloria says, pointing at a petite older lady with a purse embroidered with cats. “Congratulations!”
Fuck my life.
And fuck Banks’s life since we’re at it.
I turn to Gloria, lips parted to announce my benevolent donation, but the wind is knocked out of me.
What isshedoing here?
Bianca Brewer stands in the entryway, chatting with a woman holding a long roll of raffle tickets like they’re long-lost friends. Except they’re not. Bianca has never been to Kismet Beach before.
“On to Miguel,” Gloria says. “Since the last bachelor raised so much money, let’s start a bit higher this time. Do I have five hundred?”
My body catches fire as Bianca moves across the room.
Landry Security assigned me to her security detail three years ago. Despite having a binder of information before meeting her, nothing could have prepared me for the powerhouse of Bianca Elaine Brewer.
She’s five foot five with shoulder-length auburn hair. Her eyes are pieces of jade that can see right through you. She has high cheekbones, deep curves, and a cute button nose.
