Page 33 of The Fun Part
“I’m sorry.”
“We get along better now. Me and Sutton are all he has. Hey, look, free champagne.”
We get champagne and do our browsing through the mansion. I take pictures of the china cabinet and buffet set Mom said she wanted to be sure I have the right items. I even measure them for her with an app on my phone.
Cal sticks close to my side, almost but not quite touching. It’storture. It would be so easy to tumble into bed with this man, but then what?
What happens after the fun part?
By the time the auction begins, I’m starting to get used to having him close. It makes me feel like we’re a couple. We’re sitting side by side, his muscular arm resting on the chair behind my back. It’s hot as hell.
He raises my paddle for me because apparently I was thinking so much about his arm and the couple thing that I forgot to bid on the item we came here to bid on.
I jerk my wrist from his grip, embarrassed. “I got it.”
The numbers climb quickly. I text Mom during the bidding, but it goes so fast I have to stop texting. And then I bid, and it tops out.Uh-oh. Four thousand dollars. That’s a lot for a china cabinet and buffet to be featured in the dining room of Ludbury House. They don’t even have wedding ceremonies in there.
I text her the final bid. “Sorry. I’ll cover some.”
Mom:It’s fine. I’m planning some lovely pre-sologamy ceremony dinners in there. Just another meaningful add-on! Rowan’s arranged some killer PR for it.
That’s Rowan’s background—public relations and marketing. Of course she’s the better choice to partner with Mom in her business. I push down the hurt.
“You okay?” Cal asks.
He’s surprisingly in tune to my moods. I paste on a smile. “Yeah. We got what we came for. Let’s go to the staging area. I’ll sign the paperwork and pay. You bring the truck around back, and we’ll load it up.”
“I’ll load it up. That’s what I’m here for. You want to get some dinner after?”
“No, thanks. Let’s just get back.”
He searches my expression. “You seem upset.”
“I’m fine.”
“I’m a good listener.”
I shake my head. “Let’s go.”
Cal
Mackenzie’s mood flatlined as soon as the auction ended. She even asked me to drive the truck back to Ludbury House. I glance over at her in the passenger seat, where she’s staring out the window. I decide to take a sideways approach in an attempt to get an answer beyond “fine.”
“I’ve been thinking about your offer to get Sutton out here,” I say.
“Mmm-hmm.”
“What if she doesn’t go for it?”
“I can be very convincing. Plus we’ll offer a pay bump, three weeks paid time off, and half-day Fridays in the summer.”
“Wow. Can I work for you?”
That earns me a smile.
“And how will you convince people we’re fake dating?” I ask. “Drinks at your dad’s bar?”
She whips out her phone, a spark of her usual energy returning. “I’m looking up the perfect town events we can show up for, where someone bound to know Mom will see us there. She won’t be going to a lot of events herself while she’s in an ankle boot. She’ll want to save her energy for her weddings.”
