“Sold for twenty-five hundred dollars!”
Everyone around us clapped, but you could tell people were waiting for the next item to bid on. I held my clipboard, making sure I kept track of what was going on, trying to keep a tally on the final bids, wanting to have a clear figure of the funds raised by the live auction.
The next five items all sold for thousands of dollars and I had to contain my excitement. Meg was going to lose her mind when she saw our final total. That very moment the girls were downstairs tabulating the silent auctions and we would announce the winners after the live auction and be able to deliver a final donation total.
“This whole event couldn’t be going any better, Riley. You should be really proud.”
I was startled by the voice so close, and even more surprise came when I saw Andrew Rogers standing next to me. He was smiling at me, but my smile had faded away.
“Thank you,” I said curtly, turning back to the stage.
“I wanted to talk to you, if you don’t mind. I think I owe you an apology.”
His words surprised me, but I didn’t have any spare time to give him. “I’m not sure what this is about, but I’m a little busy.”
“I know, and I’m not trying to bother you, but it’s important you hear what I have to say.”
I huffed out a breath. “I don’t think I owe you anything, Mr. Rogers, but I can’t go anywhere either, so if you feel the need to speak, I can’t stop you.” I purposefully trained my eyes on the stage, trying to give him the impression that I wasn’t paying attention, when in fact I was. Acutely.
“I had set Sophia and Camden up originally because I thought they would make a good match.”
I didn’t even attempt to hold in the groan that came from me as I spun to look at him. “Mr. Rogers, please don’t. If you can’t support my relationship with Camden, then you’re going to have to take it up with him. I’m done trying to please you, or impress you, or prove anything to you. I love Cam, and he loves me, and if you keep pushing Sophia at him, you’re going to lose him. I don’t want that. But I can’t talk to you anymore if you’re going to constantly be trying to push me out of his life. I’m not going anywhere.”
There was a pause where neither he nor I moved, just held each other’s gazes. But finally, Mr. Rogers smiled.
“You are the perfect woman for him.” He said the words through laughter, smiling and reaching his hand out to place it on my arm. I looked at it in confusion, wondering what in the ever-loving world was happening. “I have never heard anyone, and I mean anyone, defend someone with such passion. And I was a lawyer, for Christ’s sake!” He laughed even harder, but I still kept the puzzled look on my face.
In the distance, I heard Jasper say Camden’s name and then suddenly the entire ballroom was filled with women hollering at my man.
“Camden Rogers will be your guide on this amazing adventure. The winning bidder will be accompanied by Mr. Rogers on an all-expenses paid trip to tour the Renegades’ locker room, the Loda Center Arena, and also receive a catered meal in the owner’s box suite. This is the perfect package for not only a basketball fan, but any fan of spending a day with a handsome man.”
The women in the audience went crazy again. I was torn between rolling my eyes or joining in with the screaming.
“Riley.” I heard Camden’s stepfather call my name again, so I turned to look at him, wondering what in the world more he could have to say to me. “What I was going to tell you was that I was sorry. I want to apologize to you for the way I treated you the day we met, and for not trying hard enough to make you feel comfortable with me. I did set Camden up with Sophia, and I was disappointed it didn’t work out, but after getting to know you, there’s no one else I would rather see him with. You’re his perfect match. I also wanted to tell you that I didn’t invite her here tonight to sabotage your relationship. Her father is my friend and their family has always been on the list of automatic invites. It was never my intention to undermine your relationship with Camden. He’s happier with you than he’s ever been with anyone.”
It was stupid how sincere he sounded and how hard I found it to stay mad at him. The Rogers men were fucking fabulous at apologies. Damn them.
“I appreciate that,” I managed. I was distracted, however, by the bidding war that had started over my boyfriend. Jasper had started the bid off at one thousand dollars, but it quickly shot up to eight thousand, then ten. There were a few women who were vicious, outbidding each other within milliseconds. Poor Camden looked like a deer with headlights bearing down on him. He looked around, finding me at the edge of the stage where I said I would be, and I gave him an encouraging smile. He was raising a lot of money for us.
“He looks miserable,” Andrew said from beside me.
“He does.”
“Fifteen thousand dollars.” I heard the words and immediately the rage consumed me. Sophia had her hand raised and a sickly sweet smile on her face as she bid a fucking wad on my boyfriend.
The fucking nerve.
“I have fifteen in the back,” Jasper said, motioning toward her. Camden’s gaze fell on Sophia and I almost laughed as he visibly rolled his eyes. A few whispers floated through the ballroom but then a blonde woman raised her hand.
“Sixteen,” she said confidently.
“Seventeen,” Sophia countered.
“Eighteen,” the blonde huffed.
“Twenty.”
Holy shit.
“Twenty to the lady with the resting bitch face,” Jasper said so quickly, I almost didn’t hear him. More murmurings filled the room, everyone wondering if anyone else was going to bid against Sophia. Camden was a catch, for sure, but twenty thousand dollars? That bitch was out of her mind.
“Bid,” I heard Andrew say behind me.
“Twenty going once,” Jasper announced.
“What?” I turned back to Andrew with confusion.
“Bid on Camden. It’s on me. Please. It will make me feel so much better about the whole situation.”
“I can’t bid using your money,” I said, shaking my head.
“You can, Riley. Please, it would be my honor. I was going to write a check to the foundation tonight anyway, we might as well make it worth our while, right? Go on, bid twenty-five.”
“Twenty thousand going twice.”
“Are you sure?” I asked. He seemed insistent, and if I was being completely honest, the idea of bidding against Sophia was thrilling.
“Do it, Riley. Quickly, before it’s too late.”
“Twenty-five thousand dollars!” I held my hand up and yelled out my bid, smiling widely. First at Camden, but then I turned to look at Sophia. If I’d had twenty-five thousand dollars to my name, I would have spent every penny to see the look on her face. Her mouth gaped open, then her eyes narrowed at me.
“Twenty-five to the gorgeous brunette in the front!” Jasper said with a laugh. Camden was looking at me with confusion and I winked at him.
“Twenty-six,” Sophia yelled angrily.
“Go on,” Andrew said with kindness.
“Twenty-seven,” I said with a laugh.
“Twenty-eight,” she practically screamed.
“Bid fifty, Riley. I was going to write the check anyway.”
“No,” I gasped, turning back to him. “I can’t bid fifty thousand dollars,” I whispered to him.
“Riley, please. This is the most fun I’ve had in ages, and I swear I was going to donate that amount anyway.”
“Twenty-eight going once,” Jasper said insistently, shooting daggers at me with his eyes.
“It would make me so happy to see you win this, Riley.”
“Twenty-eight going twice,” Jasper groaned, obviously biased as an auctioneer.
I spun around, threw my hand in the air and yelled, “Fifty thousand dollars!”
The entire ballroom gasped and Sophia shrieked, “What?!”
“Sold to the most beautiful woman in the room for fifty thousand dollars!” Jaspe
r yelled above all the commotion in the ballroom, not even waiting to see if Sophia was going to outbid me. If he’d had a gavel, I was sure he would have banged it loudly.
The excitement of the moment overcame me and I ran up the steps to the stage and right into Camden’s arms. He welcomed me, kissing me fiercely as soon as I was close enough. There were more gasps and even a few expletives throughout the ballroom, but it didn’t matter in that moment because I was in Camden’s arms.
“Where’d you get fifty thousand dollars?” he asked as he ran the backs of his fingers over my cheek.
“Andrew. He apologized and then she-bitch started bidding, so he told me to outbid her.”
“Really?”
“Truly.”
“Sounds like he approves.”
“It would appear that way.”
He gave me another kiss, this one not as deep and not as sexy, but still perfect, and then pulled me from the stage.
“That was the most excitement I’ve seen in a while, right, everyone?” Jasper asked the guests as we made our way off the stage. “We’d like to thank everyone for their donations, and as a special treat, I am pleased to introduce Indigo Ale!”
Everyone clapped as the band took the stage. Camden led me to Andrew, who’d been joined by Meg, and both were smiling at us.
“Looks like you got the girl,” Andrew said, reaching out to shake Camden’s hand.
“That’s a lot of money, Andrew. I feel a little responsible. Let me cover half.”
“You absolutely will not,” Meg said insistently. “If you feel badly enough you’ll make your own donation. But Andrew did the right thing.” Meg turned to me and took my hand in hers. “We hope this can be the beginning of a stress-free relationship between all of us. We love you, Riley, and we want you to feel comfortable with us.”
“I do, and I can’t tell you how much this all means to me. But, truthfully, it was water under the bridge before the bidding war started.”
Meg pulled me in for a hug and whispered in my ear, “It was so worth it to watch her mouth fall open. She completely deflated when she realized how much money you’d bid. It was incredible.”
“Best moment of my evening,” I said, laughing as I pulled away.
“You still owe me a dance,” Cam said sweetly, pulling me to his side, his hand landing at the curve of my waist and making my heart flutter at his touch.
I reached for the button on my mic, pressed it, and said to my team, “This is Riley. I’m off radio for fifteen minutes. Find Rachel or Jasper if you need anything.” I didn’t wait for a response and pulled the earpiece out. He led me to the dance floor and then pulled me against him, one hand on my back, the other holding my hand against his chest. I rested my hand on his shoulder and looked up at him.
“It’s been quite an eventful night,” I said with a laugh.
“But it’s still been an incredible event, baby. I’m so proud of you.”
I let out a large sigh, trying to process the idea that it was almost over. “Thanks.” I’d never worked this hard on a project, and it was great to feel like I’d pulled it off. Well, if you ignored the whole bidding war incident. “I hope Rose doesn’t get wind of the fact that I made the highest bid of the night. She’ll think she’s overpaying me.”
He laughed and pressed a kiss against my forehead.
“You know,” he said a few minutes later. “I didn’t want to tell you I loved you for the first time after a fight. I don’t want you to think I used my feelings for you as a playing card.”
“I don’t think that,” I said, moving my hand from his shoulder to thread it through the hair on the back of his neck.
“I want you to know I love you unconditionally. Whether we’re getting along or fighting, making love or sitting on the couch. I love you. Through anything. With anything. Without anything. In any way. I love you in all the ways.”
“Shut up.”
He smiled and then kissed me. It was the good kind of kiss. The best kind. The kind felt all over my body. The kind that took my breath away and made parts of me ache with need. The aching was the best part. The desire, the want, the anticipation—it was all wrapped up in that kiss. When he finally pulled away, I had to force myself not to pout.
“You’re a good dancer,” he said, whispering the words against my ear.
“Really? I’m just standing here, following your lead.”
“Hmm, maybe I like the way you’re pressed up against me.”
“Mmm, I like that too.”
“I think we need to take a vacation. Maybe in the new year we can get away for a week.”
“Mmm, I like that too.”
“You’re very agreeable.”
“You’re only saying things I agree with.”
“Move in with me.”
“What?” I stopped dancing, stopped breathing, stopped thinking about anything except the words he’d said.
“Move in with me. Live with me. Be with me. I hate bouncing from my place to yours, we spend every night together anyway, and I love you. Move in with me.”
Okay, heart. This is it. Try not to explode. Or melt. Keep it together!
“I’ve never lived with anyone before. What if I’m bad at it?”
He shrugged. “Then I’ll kick you out.”
I blinked at him and pulled my face back. “Are you serious?”
Laughing, he pulled me close again. “Of course not. You can’t be bad at living with someone if you love them. Besides, I’ve put up with you so far. I want to spend every moment I can with you. I promise it won’t suck.”
“Well, there’s a ringing endorsement,” I said, laughing along with him. “Okay, I’ll live with you, but there’s one condition.”
“What’s that?”
“I don’t want to live in your condo.”
His eyes gazed into mine and I watched as he considered my words. “Babe, I love you, but your place is tiny. And there’s no place to park the Batmobile.”
“I don’t want to live in my apartment either. I want us to find a new place. Somewhere new that’s only ours. And I want us to be equals. I’m not going to live off you. I want it to be fifty-fifty. That means you’re probably going to have to lower your living expectations a little. I can’t afford high-rise condos.”
“Okay, I hear you,” he said, his brow furrowing as his hand slid down my waist and feathered over my ass. “But would you consider a twenty–eighty split?”
“You’re negotiating?”
“It’s in my blood.”
“Forty–sixty.”
“Twenty-five–seventy-five,” he countered, kissing the tip of my nose.
“Give me thirty–seventy, and you’ve got a deal.”
“Deal,” he said, right before he spun me out in an elaborate twirl. When he pulled me back in he leaned me back over his arm, dipping me, and placed kisses all up and down my neck. When I was upright again he pulled me even closer, every part of my body tucked impossibly tight to his. “Arguing with you totally turns me on,” he said, his lips so close they moved over mine with his words.
“You just negotiated for a live-in lover. Sounds like she’s going to get a pretty good workout living with you.”
“You better believe it,” he said, kissing me again.
“I love you,” I said between kisses as the song came to an end.
“All of me?”
“Every part.”
“I want to show you all my parts.”
My head fell back as I let out a loud laugh. His chest shook with his laughter as well. “Give me a few hours and then I’ll be happy to see every single part of you.”
“You’re going to love them.”
“I know.”
Epilogue
Riley
You’d think, for fifty thousand dollars, I could at least get some lights on in here.
I stood in the middle of the basketball court at the Loda Center after following an elaborate trail of notes and directions, left for
me by my overpaid escort.
“Hello? Cam?” I heard nothing in response except the creepy silence you hear when you’re alone in a giant room, the silence that makes you freak out. It was too quiet. “This isn’t funny, Camden Joshua Rogers.” I tried to use his middle name to intimidate him, but I knew it wouldn’t work. I also knew he was probably not far away, watching me freak the fuck out. He’d wait until I was thoroughly wigging out, then swoop in and save the day.
Damn him.
It would work.
“Hey, baby,” I heard him say from behind me. I turned and gave him a nasty look, but all my attempts at irritation faded when I saw him.
He walked toward me, wearing another fantastic three-piece suit, with a six-pack of Hef in one hand and a single peony in the other. His jaw was scruffy with the beard I’d made him grow back, and his smile was sexy enough to melt even the most flame-retardant panties right off my body.
“What are you doing?” I asked, dropping my hands to my sides. I’d thought I knew what I was in for this evening, but Camden always seemed to find a way to surprise me, and those surprises usually involved me falling even more in love with him.
“I’m bringing you some of your favorite things.” He walked right up to me and dropped a kiss on my waiting lips. “Beer and perennials. I know the way to my girl’s heart.”
“Yes, so well in fact that once you got there, you never left.” I reached up and kissed him again. I took the peony and snapped off most of the stem and then tucked it into my ponytail, then, pulling a beer from the cardboard box, I found the bottle opener on my keychain and made quick work of the cap. I took a healthy swig. “Where’s my tour? I want every tiny bit of experience Andrew’s fifty thousand dollars paid for.”
“Oh, you’ll get your tour. Joshua Baxter will be here in twenty minutes to show us around before he has to warm up for the game.”
“Joshua Baxter? The Joshua Baxter? Are you serious?”
“As a golden retriever.”
“What?” I said, choking on both laughter and beer. “That’s not how the saying goes. Golden retrievers aren’t serious.”
“Tell that to one when it’s trying to retrieve something.” His face was stone cold and he meant every word he said. It only made me laugh harder.
Kiss Cam (With A Kiss Book 1) Page 22
