Bidding On The Billionaire (The Sherbrookes of Newport Book 8)

by Christina Tetreault

  Allison crossed her arms, which was never a good sign during a serious conversation like this one. Had he really been looking forward to this party tonight with his family? What the hell had he been thinking?

  “Since you know her so well, tell me who should she be with? You?”

  Him? His sister’s question was like a sucker punch to the gut. For a moment, he couldn’t breathe, never mind answer Allison. They were close friends. Buddies. Nothing more. Brooklyn needed someone like…. His thoughts faltered. At the moment, not a single name came to him. That didn’t mean he was the one for her either.

  “God, no. Of course not.” For a moment, he remembered the way she’d looked the night of her first date with Trevor. The dress she’d worn had hugged her body in all the right places. “She’s like a sister to me. You know that.” Heat climbed the back of his neck and he hoped Allison didn’t notice.

  “Mmm, yeah, not buying it, brother dearest. I know you too well. You’re acting jealous, and the only reason I can see for you to be jealous is if you loved her yourself. Or I guess maybe if you loved Trevor and wanted him. We both know that’s not the case.”

  Sometimes he hated having a twin. Of course he loved Brooklyn. He considered her one of his closest friends. There wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do for her. Love like that and the type his sister referred to were worlds apart, though. “You’re wrong, Allison. She’s a friend, nothing more. End of story.”

  He tossed back the rest of the club soda in his glass as the image of her standing with Trevor’s hand on her back while they spoke rose back up. Immediately, the desire to track Trevor down and plant a fist in his face overtook him.

  The corner of Allison’s mouth went up. “Sure, whatever you say.” His sister stood and grabbed her glass from the table. “I’m going to look for Charlie and Jake. I haven’t seen them at all tonight.”

  Derek watched his sister walk away. Where did she get her nutty notions from anyway? Jealous because he wanted Brooklyn for himself? Yeah, right. Now that was funny, and he’d prove it. He could play matchmaker too. He’d think of someone perfect for Brooklyn. He knew a lot of single men. There must be someone among his acquaintances right for her. Tomorrow, he’d give it some considerable thought. Jealous? No way.

  Chapter 5

  She waved and smiled at Zoe Laurent, one of her sister’s friends, as she crossed the lobby of the Bellevue hotel, one of Sherbrooke Enterprises’ oldest hotels in the country and her favorite one in downtown Providence. Although not as large as some of the others in the city, the building overflowed with the charm and elegance of a different century. The fact that the auction was here tonight instead of at one of the larger establishments was the only thing making the evening ahead remotely tolerable.

  From the moment her mom announced she’d purchased tickets, Brooklyn hadn’t been looking forward to the fundraiser. While she’d attended every type of gala and social event imaginable over the years, she disliked everything about them. First, they required you slip into what usually turned out to be an uncomfortable gown. Unlike her sisters, she’d never liked putting on a gorgeous dress and all the accessories that went with it. She preferred her comfy clothes when not at the office. Next came the fancy hairdos, which meant a trip to the salon because if it required much more than a bun, a braid, or a ponytail she was hopeless. Of course, several layers of makeup followed the elegant hair and dress. This at least she could accomplish on her own, thanks to all the lessons she’d received from her mom and her mom’s various makeup artists. Finally came the worst part: the people. She considered herself a friendly person, able to get along with almost anyone despite their personality. However, she hated dealing with the falseness that defined so many of the people she encountered at these types of events. Even her mom and sisters took on what she considered their public persona in these situations. She suspected tonight would be no different.

  At any other time, she could have survived all the negatives associated with the evening ahead with little trouble. After all, she’d done it enough to know she only needed to make it a few hours before she could escape, strip off the gown, and wash off the multiple layers of makeup. Tonight the idea of taking the elevator up and then sitting in the ballroom for several hours had her fearing she’d lose her breakfast and lunch.

  Praying she’d survive the night without an emergency trip to the ladies’ room, she bypassed the main elevators and stopped at the glass one instead. The trip from the ground floor to the grand ballroom located on the top floor took longer in this elevator, but the view on the way up was worth it.

  All too soon, the doors slid open. Beautifully dressed women of all ages mingled in the lobby near the ballroom doors. Brooklyn recognized a few but didn’t know anyone well enough to chat. Not that she wanted to get into a conversation anyway. Slipping between the small groups, she crossed into the grand ballroom. Like the rest of the hotel, the room screamed elegance and entering it was like stepping back in time. For a moment, she allowed herself to soak up her surroundings and forget her true reason for being there.

  “Wonderful, you’re already here.”

  At her mom’s voice, she turned and then crossed the space separating them.

  “I just spoke with Milan and Paris, and they are on their way up now.” Her mom gave her a brief hug before dropping a light kiss on each of her cheeks, her customary form of greeting. “Our table is number fifteen.”

  Brooklyn remained still as her mom ran a critical eye over her, starting at her face and taking in everything from the way the stylist had fixed her hair to the shoes she’d picked out. “You should’ve gone with something teal or perhaps jade tonight. Light pink doesn’t suit you.”

  Comments such as those were nothing new, but they still stung. Especially considering she’d thought the gown looked rather nice. “I waited until the last minute to go shopping and couldn’t find anything else I liked.” Actually, she’d picked it up on her last trip to New York City, and it had sat in her closet ever since.

  “Well, it is beautiful. Givenchy, right? Milan would look fabulous in it.” Scarlet linked her arm with Brooklyn’s and began walking. “But you should remember to pick gowns with an A-line design. High-waisted dresses are not your friend, sweetie.”

  She battled the urge to roll her eyes and tell her mom she didn’t require her opinion. Thanks to years of practice, she kept the words at bay. After all, her mom was the fashion expert in the family not her. “Next time I’ll remember.”

  “Your father says hello. He made the trip here too. If you have time this weekend, he wants you to join us for dinner before we go home.” Reaching their table, her mom pulled out two chairs. “If you and Trevor have plans he’ll understand, or if you want to ask him to join us that would be wonderful as well.”

  After what went down tonight, she knew her dad would be the last person she wanted to see this weekend. He’d never cared for Derek and tonight his opinion was sure to degrade further. “Um, sure I can join you. Trevor and I don’t have any plans. But he won’t be able to come.”

  She’d met him for coffee Tuesday afternoon but hadn’t spoken to him since. Honestly, she didn’t know if he’d be available and she didn’t plan on calling him to find out. “Did you have a particular day and time in mind?”

  “Tomorrow works best for us and Paris. Right, dear?”

  Milan and Paris joined them as her mom finished speaking.

  “Yes, Seth is expecting me back on Sunday.” Paris took the seat near their mom. “He couldn’t fly out here with me this weekend. He started filming on his new movie yesterday.”

  “What about you, Milan. Is tomorrow good?”

  Brooklyn’s oldest sister took the seat next to her as she answered. “Depends on what happens here tonight.”

  She should have known her sister planned on participating in tonight’s auction. And she knew her sister well enough to realize that, if Milan won a bachelor tonight, there was a darn good chance she’d be inviting him ba
ck to her hotel room for the evening so they could get to know each other better.

  “Why don’t we plan on tomorrow around seven o’clock. And if Milan can’t make it this time, your father will understand. That’s not too late is it, Paris? I know your plane leaves the next morning.”

  “Sounds good to me. My plane doesn’t leave until ten on Sunday,” Paris said before she pushed her chair back and stood again. “Tasha just walked in. I’m going to say hello before things get started.”

  Brooklyn glanced toward the doors to where Tasha Marshall stood with her mom, Janet, and another woman she’d seen before but didn’t know. Like always, Tasha looked beautiful. In fact, Tasha along with Paris and Milan were perhaps the most beautiful women in the room. And much like Paris and Milan, Tasha knew it. Any other evening, the arrival of Tasha wouldn’t have bothered her. While she’d never call the other woman a friend, she considered her a friendly acquaintance, and when they ran into each other they’d chat. Tonight though, her appearance had Brooklyn grinding her teeth and attaching every negative adjective she could think of to Derek’s name.

  “I always thought it was a shame Tasha didn’t pursue modeling. She’s not your sisters’ equal, but she could have had a fabulous career too.”

  She didn’t blame Tasha for not wanting to spend her life in front of a camera or on the runway like both Milan and Paris did. Even if she’d inherited her mom’s beauty like her sisters had, she wouldn’t have wanted a life like that either. To have the world continuously scrutinizing everything she did would be pure hell for her. Her sisters and mom, on the other hand, loved it. Or at least they appeared to. If it ever bothered them, none of them said a word.

  “Modeling isn’t for everyone, Mom.” She looked away from Tasha and surveyed the room. Closer to the stage, she spotted Derek’s stepmother Abby sitting with his sister-in-law and one of his cousins. She knew several other Sherbrookes must be floating around too because he’d mentioned several of his cousins would be here, although he hadn’t shared how he felt about their presence. He hadn’t needed to either. His tone of voice when he’d rattled off the list had done all the talking for him.

  “True.” Scarlet picked up the wine glass a waiter had delivered not long after they sat and took a delicate sip. “So you know the city better than your father and I, where should we go tomorrow for dinner?”

  She didn’t need to think before she answered. “Mon Soleil. Trevor and I went there, and it was amazing. If you didn’t know better, you’d think you were eating in Paris.”

  Milan nudged her in the side and said, “I’m sure that was an exhilarating night out.”

  Brooklyn didn’t miss the sarcasm in her sister’s voice. “It was a nice evening.” Although she still didn’t know how she felt about Trevor, it had been a nice date. “But you might not have enjoyed it.” Talk about an understatement. Milan would’ve canceled the moment he mentioned the word theater.

  All things considered, Brooklyn enjoyed the dinner portion of the fundraiser. During the short time between dinner and the moment Marilyn Belmont, Derek’s aunt, took the stage to welcome everyone and thank them for attending, she left her mom and sisters behind and visited with Derek’s family. Now though, as she listened to Marilyn’s prepared speech, her stomach twisted into a giant knot. As perspiration trickled down her spine, she prayed her deodorant held up tonight.

  “And now I’d like to introduce to you Rose. This evening’s fundraiser has been her baby. She has spent countless hours on it to ensure everyone has a wonderful time.” A thirtysomething woman joined Marilyn at the podium and smiled out at the crowd as polite applause filled the ballroom. “Rose will be handling the evening from here.”

  With her final sentence, Marilyn exited the stage and rejoined her family while behind the podium Rose adjusted the microphone. “Before we start, I would like to again thank each and every one of you for attending tonight. As you know, all the proceeds raised tonight will go toward supporting the various projects the Helping Hands Foundation funds, including the new battered women’s shelter being opened in Pawtucket next month.”

  Another round of applause erupted. Once it stopped, Rose spoke again. “This evening we have twelve eligible bachelors up for auction. Their names are all listed in the programs handed out earlier. Each gentleman will take the winning bidder out on four romantic dates. Everyone present tonight can make as many bids as they wish, however, if your bid is accepted, you cannot bid on any of the remaining bachelors. Now to start off the fun, let’s meet our first bachelor.” Rose paused while the spotlight moved off her and toward the man walking out onto the stage dressed in a black tuxedo.

  Brooklyn recognized the man before Rose introduced him. Colton Horne and Derek had been friends for years, and she’d seen him several times at Derek’s condo in Newport. Although a little full of himself, he always struck her as a nice person who knew how to treat a woman right.

  “Who’s the hottie?” Milan asked, earning her a disapproving look from their mom. “What? He is handsome,” Milan said in her own defense.

  Her sister had a point. Although not as handsome as Derek in her opinion, Colton was a looker. Before Brooklyn could provide an answer, Rose glanced at the cheat sheet in her hand and continued.

  “Our first bachelor this evening is Colton Horne. Originally from Georgia, Colton attended Brown University and now lives in Providence where he works at Merrimack Investments.”

  Colton walked the entire length of the stage. When he reached the far end, he stopped and winked at someone in the audience, which caused a round of applause to break out, and then he returned to stand closer to the podium.

  “For the winning bidder’s first date, Colton has an exciting night in Boston planned, including a stop at Platinum.”

  Brooklyn avoided talking about the auction as much as possible with Derek, and other than the night he’d asked for her help, he hadn’t mentioned it often either, so she hadn’t realized each bachelor was supposed to plan out the dates ahead of time. Brooklyn couldn’t help but wonder if Colton hadn’t included a visit to Platinum, an exclusive nightclub in the city, to deter older women from bidding on him. While she’d never been there herself, she’d heard about the club and it didn’t sound like the type of place a fifty-or-sixty-something would enjoy.

  “That could be fun,” Milan said to no one in particular.

  “This evening we’ll start the bidding at five thousand dollars.”

  Next to her, Milan didn’t hesitate to bid, officially starting off the night.

  Gradually, the dollar amount increased until only two bidders remained, Milan and another woman seated across the ballroom.

  “Our highest bid is at twenty-five thousand. Can I get twenty-seven thousand?” Rose asked, looking in the direction of Milan’s competition.

  Right away, the unknown woman raised her auction paddle, and Rose swung her glance back toward their table. “I now have twenty-seven, can I get thirty?”

  Milan reached for her paddle again, but then pulled her hand back. “There are eleven other bachelors. I’ll let her have this one.”

  Brooklyn stifled a groan. Had her sister not been considering who else was due up on stage tonight, or was she considering bidding on Derek too? While he’d insisted she go as high as necessary with her bid tonight, she’d rather not be in competition with her older sister. Already she expected an unpleasant conversation with her father once he heard about what happened here tonight. She didn’t need to add an angry sister to the mix as well.

  “Going once.” From behind the podium, Rose glanced around the crowd. “Going twice.” Still no further bids came. “Sold to bidder number thirty-five.”

  Polite applause broke out as the winner joined Colton on the stage and a photographer appeared from somewhere. Without hesitating, Colton kissed the woman while the photographer snapped pictures, and Brooklyn’s stomach joined her feet in her new Christian Louboutin pumps. Did the photographer expect to snap pictures of each w
inner and bachelor kissing? If she and Derek didn’t lock lips like the winner and Colton were doing now, would someone in the crowd suspect the truth? And what if Derek did kiss her the way the couple onstage was kissing now?

  Phooey. This was turning into more of a disaster than she’d feared.

  On stage it appeared as though Colton was trying to end the kiss; however, the winner didn’t look ready for that yet. Finally Rose stepped in and placed a hand on the woman’s shoulder. The little reminder had the woman pulling her lips away, although she kept her arms around Colton’s neck. Then, after one more smile for the camera, the couple exited the stage together and returned to her table.

  “And now I’d like to introduce our second bachelor this evening, Daniel Johnson.”

  Brooklyn watched the next man walk on stage. She’d never meet the professional football player before, but she’d heard his name on the news and seen his picture in the paper.

  Slowly the night went on and each handsome bachelor was auctioned off to the highest bidder. She didn’t know exactly how the foundation had gone about recruiting the men, but they’d done one heck of a job. Everyone from investment brokers and executives to professional athletes, including Ryan Keene, the up-and-coming quarterback now sitting with them as Milan’s prize, had walked across the stage tonight.

  “This has been much more fun than I expected. Don’t you agree, Brooklyn?” her mom asked.

  She wished she shared the sentiment. Instead, each bachelor who walked across the stage brought her one step closer to Derek, and the very thing she’d dreaded for weeks. “It’s been unique.” Perhaps under different circumstances she would have found the whole thing entertaining. “The foundation has raised a substantial amount of money, which is great.” And they were about to raise even more. Only one bachelor remained, and she had a blank check to guarantee he found himself sitting at her table.