Page 53 of Seducing Cinderella

“Thanks, Pop.”

Reid wasn’t sure how long he’d been standing alone in the room after his father had walked out, but it must have been a while because his teammates actually had to come in and tell him it was time to glove up and go.

Thinking he must have slipped into some sort of daydreaming twilight zone, Reid turned to one of his buddies and said, “Punch me.” When all he got was a raised eyebrow in response, Reid slapped his stomach with both hands. “Come on!”

The guy shrugged and nailed him a good one right to the abs. He’d been ready for it, but Adam had a sledgehammer for a fist so it still pushed the air from his lungs.Nope. Definitely not dreaming.Rubbing his stomach, Reid grunted, “Thanks. I think.”

“Anytime, man. You ready to do this?”

Reid nodded and accepted the red gloves held out to him. As he made his way down the long hall toward the arena and the roar of the crowd, Reid felt like he’d already won one fight tonight. His dad had extended an olive branch of sorts and said he was proud of him. Un-fucking-believable.

Now all that was left was to get through the fight with Diaz and go talk to Lucie. Sounded simple enough, but they were both going to be the fight of his life in their own way. One, he could stand to lose. A loss on the other would crush him utterly and completely, leaving him broken.

But like his dad said, Reid had never been a quitter, and his wins practically eclipsed his losses. So, he’d do what he always did. He’d fight like his life depended on it. Because this time, it very well might.

Chapter Nineteen

The ballroom resembleda starlit winter night in the middle of August. The committee had certainly outdone themselves, Lucie noted. Thousands of tiny lights twinkled among yards and yards of white tulle draped in graceful arcs along the ceiling with dozens of white paper lanterns hung in the spaces the netted lights had left open.

Tables were draped in linens, topped with fine china, and surrounded by linen-covered chairs; all in white. Even the floral arrangements in the center of the tables and placed around the room were white roses, cut to several inches from the bloom and placed in shallow glass bowls until the entire surface area was filled. No greenery necessary.

The only colors in the entire room were the dresses of the guests. Moving among the white backdrop they sparkled like gemstones of every color, apart from the men in their black tuxes. Lucie watched them congregate and move in packs and almost shot punch from her nose when she realized they looked like penguins waddling on the ice of the Antarctic.

“Are you okay?” Vanessa asked as she patted Lucie on the back. “I told you not to drink the red punch when you’re wearing a white dress. It’s too risky. You should be drinking club soda or water.”

Lucie set the punch on the table in front of her and glanced down at her floor-length satin sheath dress with a sigh. Next year she’d have to make friends with someone on the decorations committee so she wouldn’t end up looking like part of the furnishings. Good thing she’d picked up a bit of color at the beach last weekend so at least she was visible above the strapless bodice. Still, she felt indistinguishable from her snow-white surroundings, blending in where others shined.

And wasn’t that just a metaphor for her life.

She looked over at her best friend who’d been kind enough to come as her date since Lucie had purchased two tickets a month ago with the hope of bringing Reid. Vanessa was of course radiant with her wild red-gold hair tamed in a French twist and an emerald gown that looked dyed to match the exact shade of her eyes. She drew the attention of every man in the room effortlessly. Ever the yin to her yang.

“Remind me again why you couldn’t just use my ticket and bring one of the guys from the firm with you?” Lucie asked as she scanned the room dejectedly.

“Ah. That, my dear, is because you have an inherent inability to say ‘no’ to people and agreed to be put up for auction like a piece of meat,” she said a little too cheerfully.

“Oh right. That.”

At the mention of the Date-A-Doc Auction Lucie’s stomach performed acrobatics worthy of an Olympic Gold. The auction—where guests at the ball could bid on members of the hospital staff for a date—was always the biggest fundraiser of the entire event. Lucie had never been asked to participate before, nor had she wanted to be. Unfortunately, one of the female residents came down with mono the week before and Sandy, the head nurse who embodied every depiction of Mrs. Claus ever known, begged Lucie to take her place.

The sound of a microphone clicking on and being tapped a few times poured from the large speakers at the head of the room where a stage had been erected for the event. “Can I have everyone’s attention?”

Speak of the devil.

A jovial Sandy in a lovely pale blue gown stood center stage with the auction program in hand.

“Oh, God,” Lucie muttered while holding a hand to her stomach.

“Come on,” Vanessa said, grabbing her by the hand. “Let’s go find Kyle and Eric, hold up the bar, and get you well and properly buzzed on clear alcohol until your number’s up.”

“Until my number’s up?” she repeated, incredulous, then relaxed and rolled her eyes. “Oh, you mean until it’s my turn.”

“Duh-uh,” Vanessa said with a giggle.

“Actually, what you said is a rather appropriate turn of phrase considering how I feel. Lead the way, oh, wise one.”

For the next half hour Vanessa and the guys stood with Lucie and watched as men and women were called up one by one to the stage and asked to stand there as a short bio was read of their interests and hobbies like a cheesy rendition ofLove Connection.

All night Lucie had managed to steer clear of Stephen. After Reid had broken her heart and solidified her theory that incompatible couples were doomed, she’d gone on one more date with him. Though she knew it was more out of spite than still believing she loved the handsome surgeon, she’d done her best to note his good qualities to prove that she could be at the very least content with him as a partner in marriage and life, should things go that far.

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