by Gina LaManna
“Eight hundred dollars!” From the back came a deep, rumbling voice. A familiar voice.
I turned, found Cooper slouched at the very rear of the room. He didn’t appear to be sitting at any table, and instead, leaned lazily against the wall. He had one hand in his pocket, the other in the air. He hadn’t even bothered with a paddle.
A collective gasp went up from the room. Even Stacey’s jaw dropped.
“We have an eight hundred dollar bid for Allie,” Stacey said finally, recovering from her bout of speechlessness. “Anyone want to top eight hundred dollars?”
The room went silent.
“Then it looks like our very own chief of police—Cooper Dear—has won himself a date with the beautiful Allie Martin!” Stacy wiped a bead of sweat from her brow, looking incredibly nervous that she might not win the title of queen bee and bachelorette extraordinaire for two years running. “Congratulations, chief!”
Allie was suffering from a shock so severe it took two of the champagne servers going up on stage and helping her down the steps one at a time to move things along. I waved to them, gestured to the seat next to me, and assisted them in getting Allie into an upright, seated position.
Once I was sure she could support the weight of her own head without toppling face first into her pile of mangled napkins, I turned to the back of the room. As luck would have it, Cooper’s gaze was fixed on me—not Allie.
I gave him a thumbs up gesture and my most grateful smile. “Thank you,” I mouthed.
He gave me the briefest of nods.
The rest of the bidding went relatively quickly, though nobody beat out Cooper’s eight hundred dollar offering for Allie. It hadn’t been Harry Hart who’d bid on Allie, but did it matter when she’d won by such a large margin? Second place had been May and her baby, and third had been Stacey Simone with five hundred bucks from a retired firefighter who Stacy didn’t seem too keen to award with the prize.
“Lastly,” Stacey said, getting the audience’s attention with a clap of her hands, “we have a surprise. It’s a surprise to everyone, including our guest of honor.”
“Oh,” I said. “Guest of honor. I wonder if it’s Amy? But she’s already won a date with Marcus.”
I glanced around but couldn’t see anyone else who hadn’t been called up. My mother had won a date with Sid for two hundred bucks, an amount she’d seemed quite pleased with. She was staring at me, however, with a peculiar look in her eye as Stacey continued to announce the special guest.
“She’s new to town and has insisted she not be a part of the auction,” Stacey said. “But we’d like to invite her up on stage at the encouragement of her cousin, her friend, and her mother—all who have assured me that she’d be happy to participate. For charity, of course.”
I had a sinking feeling in my gut.
“Jenna McGovern, step up on stage, will you?” Stacey’s eyes bore into me. “As you know, these dates are mere formalities—there are no expectations of anything except your date to behave as a proper gentleman and buy you lunch or dinner. All proceeds go to charity.”
“She’s really hitting the charity thing hard, isn’t she?” I muttered to May. “Trying to guilt trip me into going up there.”
“Come on,” May said. “We all did it.”
“But I—”
“Just think of the children in the hospital,” May said. “Every penny helps.”
I glared at her. Then I glared at Allie. Then I glared at my mother. I was still glaring at everyone in the room as I stomped my way on stage, moving as if I was a hostage being prodded forward at gunpoint.
“I’m not exactly here of my own free will,” I said, when Stacey asked if I wanted to share a talent or fun fact about myself with the crowd. “And I’m not interested in dating. So, there’s that.”
The audience went silent. I wasn’t exactly a crowd pleaser, but then again, the whole thing had sort of been thrust on me. If I was auctioned off for five bucks, I’d be impressed. But at least it would be five more dollars for the children at the hospital, and I could go to sleep knowing I’d done my charitable work for the rest of the year.
I handed the microphone back to Stacey Simone. She took it, looking pleased with the way I’d dampened the crowd’s enthusiasm. Obviously, she was still sore about not winning and wasn’t ready to see another high bid—charity work or not.
“Let’s start the bidding for Jenna McGovern,” Stacey said. “Los Angeles transplant to Blueberry Lake. Former stylist to the stars. Currently employed at Something Old. We’ll start at ten dollars.”
The room was quiet for a long moment. I dedicated a few more glares to my mother, cousin, and supposed friend. The only thing worse than being forced on stage was being forced on stage and then being completely and utterly embarrassed.
I was going to be pulling an ostrich for the next year at this rate. Allie would have to take over my job. The store would collapse because she’d style people in plaid pants and highlighter yellow shirts, and my mother would be out of business, and I would have no money, and we’d all be homeless, and—
“One thousand dollars.”
The amount rang loud and clear throughout the room, but nobody seemed to be able to tell where it’d come from.
“One thousand dollars—who said that?” Stacey raised a hand and shielded her eyes from the glare of the light. “Can I see a paddle raised? Or a hand?”
A paddle raised from near the exit. I squinted to see who it belonged to, wondering if I’d find myself on a date with a grizzled old man. Or perhaps a grandfatherly type, someone who’d felt bad for me. Maybe a regular at June’s cafe.
However, the arm was not attached to any grizzled old man, though it was a regular at June’s. A regular, seeing as he was her grandson.
“One thousand dollars,” Stacey echoed in a weak voice. “To Matt Bridges. Does anyone care to bid higher?”
Another long silence filled the room.
“Ladies and gentlemen, we have a record here tonight,” Stacey said. “We have an all-time high bid of one thousand dollars—Matt Bridges, come on up and claim your prize!”
The audience erupted in applause. The hoots and hollers from before were nothing compared to the cat calls that sounded now. I froze on stage just like Allie, except my eyes were fixed on the familiar figure of my neighbor as he approached the stage.
Only once Matt had reached the stairs did I come back to reality and leap to attention. My gaze swept the room, landing on one man. Cooper Dear. The chief remained slouched against the back wall, an impossible-to-read expression on his face.
I stared at him until Matt touched my arm, and I jumped. I turned, looked into the eyes of the man who’d spared me from sticking my head in the sand for a year, and gave him a friendly hug.
“Thank you,” I whispered in his ear.
“Thank you,” he murmured back. “It’s the least I could do.”
“You didn’t have to bid so much.” I hissed back. “Is it too late to tone down your bid?”
“You’re worth every penny.” Matt stepped back, linked my arm through his. “I’d pay a lot more than a grand to get you on a date, Jenna McGovern.”
Chapter 12
“That was hilarious, guys. Really funny.”
Matt had dropped me off at my table, then disappeared to find us a drink. A drink that I could desperately use now that I’d apparently gone and sold myself off to the highest bidder. Charity, I reminded myself. It’s for the children.
“Oh, don’t be mad, Jenna,” May teased gently. “It’s just a dinner date with Matt. You guys have them all the time.”
“What are you talking about?” I stuck a hand on my hip. “We do not.”
“Just flip it,” Allie said. “Breakfast dates. You said it yourself, you’re there all the time.”
“Yeah, but...” I hesitated. “Those aren’t dates.”
“Okay, then,” May said. “So, you just happen to be best friends with your hot neighbor who happens to r
eally like you.”
“That’s exactly right,” I said, then backpedaled. “Wait a minute. We’re just regular old friends. That’s it. Did you guys all chip in to help Matt fund his bid? No way he spent a thousand dollars of his own money on me.”
“I didn’t tell Matt to bid so high,” May said. “The only part I had in all of this was ganging up on you with your mom and Allie to get you on the roster.”
“I can’t believe you talked Stacey Simone into agreeing to it.”
“It wasn’t hard,” Allie said. “I don’t think she thought you’d fetch that big of a price.”
“Gee, thanks.”
“I said Stacey, not me.” Allie pressed a hand to her chest. “I knew you’d fetch a whopper of a price and look at what happened. You fetched the biggest whopper of all.”
“It was a pity whopper.”
“That wasn’t a pity whopper.” Matt’s voice sounded behind me. “That was just a regular old whopper.”
“Thanks, you’re sweet to say so,” I said, shifting to the side and accepting the colorful cocktail Matt handed over to me. “But it’s fine. I still suspect that my mother bribed you to bid on me so her only daughter wouldn’t embarrass her by being the town leper. The only available woman to not get any bids.”
“Ask your mother,” Matt said, raising his glass to his lips. “I’ve got nothing to hide.”
“Where are you going on your date?” Allie asked. “Maybe me and Cooper can double date with the two of you.”
“Um—” I began.
“Actually—” Matt started.
“I figure, they’re not real dates, right?” Allie shrugged. “I know Cooper’s not interested in me, he’s just a nice guy who felt bad me standing up on stage and gaping like a fish. Also, I know he likes Jenna enough that he promised her he’d bid on me. Really, it’s like Jenna got two bids. Eighteen hundred bucks. Talk about a double whopper with cheese.”
Matt turned to face me. “Is that true?”
“Um, not exactly,” I said. “It’s complicated. We were driving over here together—”
“You rode with Coop to the Bachelorette Ball?”
“Yeah,” I said. “But not, like—he didn’t pick us up.”
“Yes, he did,” Allie said. “How else would he drive us if he didn’t pick us up?”
“Well, he did pick us up, but from the side of the road. It wasn’t like a planned thing,” I stuttered. “Allie’s hunk of junk broke down—”
“My beautiful car,” she corrected. “And it didn’t break, it just ran out of gas.”
“And Cooper happened to pass by. We didn’t have time to fill the tank, so we got in the car.”
“But you made him promise to bid on Allie?” Matt’s eyes were fixed on me.
I couldn’t quite figure out why he was so upset about it, so I gave a shrug. “He didn’t need to be convinced. Allie was just saying how she was nervous Harry Hart wouldn’t bid on her, so it was gently suggested that maybe Coop would make sure Allie got at least one bid.”
“He went big,” Matt said.
“But not as big as you,” Allie said with a wink. “That was one helluva grand finale to the Bachelorette Ball, my friend. The all-time winning bid? That’s going to be the talk of June’s cafe for the next few months.”
May nodded in agreement. She gave a friendly pat to Matt’s shoulder. “I’m proud of you, buddy. The children will be grateful. Not to mention, you saved my cousin from a lifetime of being an outcast in Blueberry Lake. Now, she’ll be the queen bee.”
“I don’t want to be the queen bee,” I argued. “I just want to be Jenna McGovern.”
“True,” Allie agreed. “Now that I think about it, maybe Coop and I will do our own thing on our fake date. I’m wondering if Matt wants this to be a real date?”
“I’m right here,” Matt said. “I can hear you talking.”
“Speaking of, maybe I can talk to you for a second,” I muttered, resting my hand on his elbow and steering him away from the table. “In private?”
Matt moved easily next to me as I pulled him toward the hallway. I ignored everyone else’s gaze, including the set of eyes I was sure had been following me from the back of the room. I had to deal with one man at a time. Cooper could wait.
After all, he was sort of my ride home, unless I asked May or my mother, and both of them seemed to be more smitten with their husbands than ever and eager to get out of here. Those were two love fests I did not care to interrupt.
Matt took the lead, pressing open a side door to the gymnasium. We stepped outside in the cool evening breeze, the fresh air a welcome relief from the stuffiness inside.
I raised my cocktail to my lips and took a sip, stalling as Matt turned to face me.
“So?” he asked. “You wanted to talk?”
“I just thought maybe we should discuss what happened in there”
“Okay. Well, it’s a charity auction. I bid on a date with you—a fake date, mind you. Apparently, that’s news to everyone but me. I won. End of story. No more explanation needed.”
“You seem upset.”
Matt looked over my shoulder into the distance, his eyes seeing something that wasn’t there. “I’m fine.”
“Which means you aren’t fine. Did I do something? Say something wrong?”
“No, of course not, Jenna.”
“It doesn’t seem like you’re pleased with me,” I said. “Don’t get me wrong, I am so appreciative of you swooping in to save me from having zero bids—”
“You wouldn’t have had zero bids,” Matt said. “There were a ton of other gentlemen getting ready to bid on you. Everyone was waiting for me to act first.”
“Oh, okay. I don’t know if that’s true, but it’s sweet you’re trying to make me feel better.”
“I’m not trying to do anything,” Matt said, running a hand, exasperated, through his hair. “If I was trying to make you feel better, I would have bid a not-too-shabby hundred bucks and let some of the other guys jump in and join the bidding war.”
“But you didn’t. Why?”
“Isn’t it obvious?”
The thing was, it was coming clear to me. I wasn’t as dumb as I was pretending to be, but I also didn’t want to assume anything. Assuming a man had strong feelings for me had gotten me in trouble a time or two before.
It was much better if I played a bit naive and waited Matt out. Eventually, he’d have to spit out his feelings in a way that left no amount of the situation up for interpretation. I’d deal with the repercussions of his meaning later.
“I don’t know, Matt. What is it you’re trying to tell me?”
“I’m trying to tell you that I was hoping this wouldn’t be some sort of fake date. I want to take you out, Jenna. I know you’re not interested in a relationship, and I’m not trying to convince you otherwise. But a date doesn’t mean we’re married. And I’m sorry, but I didn’t spend a thousand dollars to share my night with you. Especially not with Allie and Cooper.”
The way he said Cooper had a bit of frustration in it.
“That’s fine,” I said. “I don’t want to double date, either. Talk about awkward.”
“That’s exactly it,” Matt said. “I didn’t win fair and square, so I’m having a hard time feeling like I earned this date.”
“Don’t be ridiculous, of course you won fair and square. Even Stacey Simone said so, and she’s a rule-Nazi.”
“I mean that Cooper didn’t get a fair shot.”
“At what?”
“Bidding!” Matt blurted. “He’d already bid on Allie—because you asked him to. Which means—”
“He couldn’t make any more bids,” I said quietly. “You can only win one date per evening, thanks to Trevor Norris.”
Matt nodded. “Exactly. It wasn’t fair.”
“You are way too nice, you know that?”
“What do you mean?”
“Dude!” I threw my hands up in the air. “You won! Fair and square. You did
n’t know I’d be auctioned off, did you? I wasn’t planning on participating.”
Matt shifted uncomfortably. “I wasn’t certain, but I did overhear May and Stacey talking earlier tonight about a surprise guest, and from what they were saying, it was pretty easy to deduce who they were talking about.”
I shrugged. “So, what. Cooper could have waited until the end, too.”
“But he didn’t have the advantage that I did. I had a leg up.”
“Just take your victory and stop worrying so much about Cooper. This is about me and you. Well, and about charity, and I suppose it will be about everybody in Blueberry Lake now, too, since they’re invested in this bachelorette business to an unhealthy degree.”
Matt cracked a tiny smile. “I don’t feel good about it.”
“Like you said, it’s not a real date. I mean, it is a date,” I corrected. “But it doesn’t have to lead to anything. There’s no pressure, even Stacey said so.”
“True.”
“So, if you hadn’t won the bet tonight, would you have been put off from asking me out some other time? Or hanging out with me like we already do?”
“No.”
“Well, the same goes for Cooper—or anyone else for that matter,” I said. “It’s their business what they do next. It’s your business what you do next, and our business what we do—or don’t do—on our date.”
Matt considered, gave a smile. “You’re wiser than you look, Jenna McGovern.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I just mean...” Matt’s face seemed to melt on the spot. “I’m sorry—I just meant that you look so beautiful, but you’ve also got a huge heart, and you’re incredibly intelligent, and—”
“Yeah, yeah,” I said, giving him a playful nudge with my elbow. “I was just giving you a hard time. I knew what you meant. And thank you.”
“It’s true,” Matt said. “You look so beautiful tonight I can hardly function around you.”
“Don’t be ridiculous.”
“I haven’t been this nervous since prom.” Matt gave me a tiny smile, and somehow, he seemed sincere. “You’re really something special, Jenna. I’m sorry I got upset.”
