Page 2 of Tinsel and Teasing

Increasingly unsure of how to cope with his closeness, I decide to be playful. “Your confidence is almost as big as your…” I glance at his lap. “Shoulders.”

He chuckles. “You like big shoulders?”

I choke on how easily he plays along. This is good. “Before I reveal such intimacies, what makes you so certain I want to get to know you?”

“You already fell for me. Then I caught you checking out my…shoulders, was it? Trust me, Sweetheart, when we win you tonight, you’ll get to know all of us.”

“We?” I tear my gaze from his blue eyes and take a deep breath while casually looking past him to his two friends. “You’re bidding together?”

“Not just bidding… We’re going to make sure we win.”

Have my dreams taken over? Am I imagining the sexual undertones? I need to get a grip. It’s not the Christmas Cherry Auction, it’s Christmas Cheer, and we’re raising money for the fire department.

For crying out loud, I was working as Santa’s helper when that sweet little boy climbed onto Santa’s lap and asked for better safety gear for his dad. Making his Christmas wish come true is what prompted the auction in the first place.

We have a serious mission so I attempt to distract myself from the naughty thoughts. “Let me guess, the three of you are bachelors who don’t know how to properly cook or clean and you need a woman to come work her magic.”

Yes, I’m a woman, and I volunteer as tribute because my distraction has already gotten distracted.

“Guess you’ll find out when we win you.”

“We’ll see if you have what it takes.” I’m too flustered to banter, so it’s a cop-out. Plus, I wanted to get a feel for the auction. I force a smile through my nervousness and return my focus to the auction only to realize Maggie’s stepbrothers are bidding on her. Crap. I’m not sure she realizes what’s happening since she doesn’t have her glasses on.

She’s going to freak out. If I didn’t have my heart set on being won by the mountain men, I’d beg them to bid on her to keep the stepbrothers from winning.

There are limits to friendship. It’s healthy to put boundaries, right? So, it’s okay to keep these guys for myself?

Thinking of boundaries, I haven’t seen Jade in a while. I heard that she pissed off the principal and he’d ordered her to go to his office. Is my over-the-top thinking out of control that I imagined him ordering her there as part of…no. Surely, she’s not hooking up with the principal while half the town is out here. She’s always been the puppy-love kind of girl, fantasizing about so many guys.

Fantasies…while my dream guys are sitting at the table behind me, Maggie is living out a nightmare.

I let Daisy and Nikita know I’m going to comfort Maggie.

I stand, smile at the sexy lumberjacks, and wink. “Keep that paddle ready.”

Their eyes barely have a chance to go wide before I spin around and carefully weave my way through the tables to get backstage. Maggie’s going to need support.

Two

Luke

“Areyougoingtobid on her?” One of Isadora’s friends asks when she’s out of earshot.

“I’m going to win her.” I don’t bother to explain that I’m in this with my two buddies.

That elicits a big smile, followed by giggles the second she eyes the other friend, and says, “That would make her day.”

The comment is simple but swells my chest. She wants me? That must mean she’s mentioned me. The truth is that she’s probably interested in Hardwood, or as we know him in real life, Clyde. I cannot understand how he makes money filming himself doing normal shit like carrying logs and chopping wood…shirtless.

Everyone knows you don’t do crap like that without proper clothing.

My heart sinks when Roxy takes the stage. I’m ready for Isadora. Patience isn’t my strong suit. I like to get shit done.

Clyde says, “Damn, these bids are high. The goal for the entire auction was twenty thousand, but the first winner covered that and this chick is going for a pretty penny too. You don’t think we’ll be outbid, do you?”

I crane my neck over my shoulder since I’m still sitting at the front edge of the table. “Nobody’s going to outbid me.”

“Us,” Knox grumbles.

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