Page 100 of For Butter or Worse
“Thank you, Nina!” Cory awkwardly high-fived her as she came to stand next to him. “Now, remember, this is an award-winning chef, coming to teach you how to cook a five-course meal. A private lesson with a celebrity! Should we start the opening bid at five hundred dollars?”
She tried not to wince at the wordcelebrity, because now she was a celebrity more for her dating life than her food. But, blessedly, Sophie raised her fern paddle to signal she was placing the opening bid.
You owe me,Sophie mouthed to her.
Thank you,Nina mouthed then blew her a kiss back.
“Very good. Could I get six hundred?” Dori said.
Another paddle went up. Nina’s eyes zeroed in on the table, and the handsome man sitting there staring back at her. Joseph had placed the next bid.
“Six hundred to the man at the Plant One On Me table.”
She smiled politely at him. She was grateful for a bidder who wasn’t related to her.
“Seven hundred?”
“I’d like to bid one thousand,” a loud voice called out.
“One thousand, to the man at the... Oh, my.” Dori stopped talking as her eyes landed on the person who’d bid.
Nina searched the crowd for the man who’d spoken, because she knew that low and confident voice. She spotted his swoop of dark hair first, which was oddly plastered to his head. And he wore a three-piece suit with the top buttons open just enough to see the hint of his toned chest. Leo looked back at her, a grin so earnest and toothy it nearly knocked her off the stage.
41
LEO
Leo didn’t know if he was allowed to bid higher than what had been asked, but he’d seen it happen in movies, and money was money, so...it was probably okay?
He also realized that almost the entire crowd had turned to see him. He was standing at the entrance to the tent. It had begun to rain outside, and his hair was damp. He shook his shoulders slightly and walked toward the stage. He grabbed a fern paddle off a nearby table and waved it in the air.
“One thousand?” the auctioneer confirmed.
“One thousand,” he shouted louder.
“Two thousand!” a stern voice said.
Leo turned to see the same guy who’d bid on her before. And this time, the guy had stood up and faced Leo.
Leo straightened his shoulders, then raised his fern. “Three thousand.”
“Four thousand,” the man called back.
The air horn pierced through the room. When Leo looked to the stage, the older man holding it sheepishly grinned. His counterpart, who looked almost identical to him, tapped the mic.
“Gentleman, please,” the woman said into the mic. “I only get to do this once a year. I like the bidding to feel...civilized. Just like a lily of the valley.”
“Okay,” Leo called back to her. “But what do I need to bid to get this guy to stop bidding? Because whatever that number is, I bid that.” He could sell his car. It was used, but worth a couple of thousand. Who needed a car in LA with all the traffic, anyway? He could walk. Or beg Gavin for rides.
“Are you two back together?” A man with floppy gray hair, wearing a shirt that read, You Grow, Girl! asked. He pointed to Nina, then Leo.
“No,” Nina said sharply from the stage.
The room went quiet. Leo glanced to his right, then left, clocking a woman with a massive smile who could only be Nina’s sister. Then he focused in on Nina, walking toward her as he spoke.
“Nina, I realize this might be a little weird,” he hedged. Admittedly, he hadn’t entirely thought this plan through. He wanted to do right by Nina and be bold. And when he saw the article saying she’d be auctioning off her time for charity, he thought...maybe he could put his money where his mouth was. “But if you’re passionate about the arboretum, then I want to support that. I wanted to show up for you. And I plan to donate this cooking class to our first head female chef. Amanda works out of our Vegas location. She’s looking for mentorship. So why not learn from the best chef in the world?”
“She doesn’t even have a restaurant,” a faceless voice from the crowd called out.
