“It’s introduction time,” Wes announced. “There will be a quiz later.”
“Should I take notes?” Paige asked.
People laughed.
“I like her already,” a woman in a lovely blue dress said. The other women at the table nodded.
“Paige, I’d like to introduce you to my friends.” Wes motioned to the first couple. “This is Cambria and Adam. Next, we have Selah and Kieran. Then there’s Blaise and Hadley.”
Paige tried to memorize faces and names. Hadley was the one in the blue dress. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“And now you get to meet the number one table,” Henry joked.
“You’re at number four,” Kieran quipped.
“You already know Henry,” Wes said. “His date is…”
“Running late.” Henry patted the empty chair. “Bronwyn will be here shortly.”
“Bronwyn,” they said in unison.
“It’s a family name.” Henry shook his head. “As if Cambria is any better.”
Adam glared at him.
Cambria laughed. “Blame my parents for that.”
Wes ignored them. “Brett and Laurel are seated closest to you, then Mason and Rachael, and finally Dash and Raina.”
Paige repeated the names silently. She remembered the guys, but their significant others would take some memorizing. “It’s a pleasure meeting you.”
“Just remember, ‘hey you’ or ‘dude’ works if you forget any of us,” Dash said.
Everyone sat. Wes picked up his glass of water.
“So are you still Wes’s plus-one or have you moved to date status?” Mason asked.
Wes choked and then swallowed. “Mase.”
Mason held up his hands. “What? It’s a valid question.”
Adam sighed. “He’s obsessed with the bet.”
“We all are. Five hundred million—”
“It’s closer to six now,” Blaise corrected.
Paige had no idea what they were talking about. She sipped her water.
“Have you heard about the last-single-man-standing bet?” Cambria asked her.
“No,” Paige said.
Selah rolled her eyes. “Five years ago, Adam, Wes, Mason, Kieran, Dash, and Blaise made a bet. They each put ten million dollars into a pot. Whoever is the last single man standing wins.”
“Blaise beta-tested a new algorithm on the fund and profits soared.” Hadley beamed with pride.
“It’s winner take all,” Rachael added. “But if all six marry within a year of the first person, they split the fund.”
Raina’s eyes twinkled. “That could happen.”
Dash said nothing.
“All were single until July,” Raina added, sounding emotionally invested in the bet. “Then they started falling like flies.”
Dash raised a pint of beer. “Not all of us.”
“Yet,” Raina mumbled. “Within three months Adam, Kieran, and Mason said ‘I do.’ Then Blaise got married last month.”
Wes frowned. “Paige doesn’t care about our bet.”
“What’s the big deal?” Mason teased. “She’s your plus-one, not your date.”
His friends would make sure Paige didn’t get her hopes up about Wes. Not that she would after earlier, but still… She swallowed a laugh. “No wonder you want Wes and Dash to get married.”
“They want their share of the fund,” Wes said.
Kieran shook his head. “We want our single friends to be as happy as we are.”
The married men at the table agreed.
Wes rolled his eyes. Dash took another sip of beer.
“So winning the bet must be why you don’t want to date,” she said lightheartedly.
Wes’s forehead creased. “I never said that.”
“But it totally is the reason.” Mason grinned.
The ribbing reminded Paige of her and her brother. She was happy Wes had this group of friends. Not everyone was as lucky.
“The silent auction tables are open,” the DJ announced. “Remember, we’re raising money for Oregon Mountain Search and Rescue. Be sure to place your bids and keep raising them.”
All eight men stood at the same time. Everyone except Paige received a kiss from their husband or date.
Plus-one. Plus-one. Plus-one.
That didn’t help.
“I’ll be back in a few minutes,” Wes said to her.
As they headed toward the silent auction tables along the far wall, Cambria sighed. “Can I just tell Henry to outbid everything?”
Laurel shook her head. “I wish you could, but Brett’s cut him off from donations until the new year.”
“At least the money is for a good cause,” Hadley said.
Raina leaned forward, appearing to take in what the others said.
“Is something wrong?” Paige asked.
“The guys turn everything into a competition, which means they’ll try to outdo each other to win,” Selah explained. “It’s wonderful for the organization benefiting from the auction, but…”
Rachael shook her head. “It’ll get ugly.”
Paige wanted to put the women at ease. “As long as the police aren’t called, no big deal, right?”
Laurel glanced around. “I’m guessing some of Hood Hamlet’s finest are here tonight so…”
“Let’s not worry about the guys. They’re big boys with plenty of money to burn. We can rein them in if need be. I’d rather get to know Paige better.” Hadley smiled. “Why don’t you tell us about yourself and Wes?”
As the six women stared at Paige, she bit the inside of her cheek. “Well, there’s not much to tell. He needed a plus-one tonight. And here I am.”
Based on the curiosity on the others’ faces, Paige didn’t know if her answer would satisfy them or not. She forced herself not to gulp.
Just smile.
So she did.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Standing at the silent auction table, Wes read the description of the private wine and chocolate tasting for sixteen offered by Welton Wines and Chocolates. All of them could go. Henry could bring a date and Wes…
He forced himself not to look at Paige. He’d been fighting the urge since he left her at the table. Instead, he wrote his name, number, and bid amount on the form.
And so it begins.
The battle for this item might end up being between him, Blaise, and Dash. That wouldn’t be so bad. The other guys appeared to be battling it out elsewhere.
On the far end of the auction item display, Kieran, Adam, Brett, and Mason argued over the private brewery tasting while Henry refereed. Well, if sipping champagne and rolling his eyes counted as refereeing. Guess Brett was serious about Henry not donating more money. Wes wondered what the guy would do to get back at Brett for cutting him off during the holidays.
“The doctor cleans up nicely.” Blaise took the pen from Wes’s hand and upped the bid. “She’s not how I remember.”
The red dress. Sexy hairstyle. Those gold shoes.
Paige was so stunning she’d rendered Wes speechless when he’d seen her for the first time earlier. Probably why he wanted to keep glancing her way. “She’s not at work, so she doesn’t need to be serious and professional.”
Blaise set the pen on the table. “How did spending the day together go?”
“Great.” Smiling, Wes remembered their morning. He grabbed the pen and wrote a higher bid on the sheet. If only things had kept going so well. “Until Annabelle showed up this afternoon.”
Blaise’s mouth gaped. “She’s back?”
“Seattle.”
“Still too close.” Blaise rubbed his chin. He started to speak but then stopped himself. He opened his mouth again. “What are you going to do?”
“Nothing.”
“But she—”
“Annabelle has moved on.” Wes glanced around to make sure no one was listening. At least that was what she’d said to him so he would take her at face value. “So have I.”
Given ho
w he reacted today, maybe he hadn’t moved on as much as he’d hoped.
Blaise shook his head. “You’re a bigger man than me.”
No, Wes wasn’t. If he were, he would have told his friends the truth over two years ago. He would have apologized to Annabelle, who had guts approaching him today. If he’d seen her first, he would have walked away.
Shame burned in his gut.
Wes Lockhart was a fraud.
The guys looked up to him like a big brother—all-knowing, responsible, brave, honest. He was none of those things.
If he were, he wouldn’t have let Annabelle take the blame. He also wouldn’t have been such a jerk to Blaise after he admitted having junkies for parents. But guilt had driven Wes to act that way because he’d kept a secret from everyone, too. Yet, even now, he couldn’t say anything. But he needed to make sure no one discussed this, especially in front of Paige. “Please don’t mention it tonight.”
“I won’t. That would ruin the evening.” Blaise’s gaze flicked to their table. The way his face brightened suggested he’d made eye contact with his wife. “So you and the lovely doctor…”
“Nothing is going on,” Wes answered quickly.
“You sure about that?”
“Yes.”
Blaise smirked. “Interesting, because she keeps glancing your way.”
Wes moved his head slightly, but he couldn’t see her.
Blaise laughed. “It won’t kill you to look at her.”
It might. Wes shrugged because he had no idea what he was feeling about her. He upset—hurt—her this afternoon. He wanted to make up for that tonight. Which brought him back to why she was here in the first place.
He raised his chin. “I invited Paige to this dinner for a reason. I want her to get to know you guys. She’ll need more benefactors if there are cost overruns with the cancer center. Henry says it will happen, and if he and I aren’t liquid—”
“I’m in,” Blaise said with no hesitation.
“For what?” Dash snagged the pen and outbid Wes.
“Paige might need donations for a cancer center,” Blaise said as if all she needed was to borrow a cup of sugar or an egg.
“Count me in.” Dash held on to the pen. His brows furrowed. “Should I give her my contact info or will you?”
“I’ll take care of it. Thanks.” Wes loved these guys. The best friends—brothers by choice—he could ask for. He didn’t know what he’d do without them. Which was why he hadn’t told them the truth about Annabelle. They would have been all over him. Being told he’d grown up in poverty with addicts as Blaise had was one thing. Lying about a breakup and allowing everyone to blame an innocent person was something else.
Blaise swiped the pen from Dash. He bid again.
It would be a long evening. Wes shook his head, wondering how out of hand the bidding would get. He hadn’t been to one of these events in over two—almost three—years. For all he knew, the competitiveness had intensified. That gave him an idea. “Instead of trying to one-up each other, we could each pick an item to bid on.”
Dash made a sour face. “Dude, where’s the fun in that?”
Blaise snickered. “I agree with Wonderkid. That wouldn’t be fun. It’s not about what we win. It’s beating you two that matters.”
Dash tilted his head toward Blaise. “What he said.”
It looked as if nothing had changed since the last time Wes had been at one of these with them. He snatched the pen and made a new bid. “Fine. But you suckers will lose.”
“In your dreams,” Dash said.
Blaise nodded. “You’re going down, Lockhart.”
Satisfaction flowed through Wes. They were treating him like an equal. Not someone who was sick. That made him feel great. Normal. One of them again.
“What’s the deal with you and the doctor?” Dash asked, trying to snag the pen from Wes. “Is it serious?”
“We’re not dating.” Wes’s jaw tensed. “So there’s nothing to be serious about.”
“But she likes you,” Dash said.
“How would you know that?” Wes asked.
Dash glanced at the table where Paige sat. “Raina told me she could tell Paige did. Do you like her?”
Wes stared in disbelief. He scratched his neck. “What are you, twelve?”
Blaise laughed. “That’s Henry and Mason. Dash is at least thirteen.”
Dash scowled. “Twenty-eight, since you both seemed to have forgotten.”
“As much as I’m enjoying this, my lovely bride is motioning me to the table.” Blaise eyed the pen in Wes’s hand. “This isn’t over.”
“No bidding during dinner or our dates might feel ignored.” Dash might be the youngest, but he was skilled at keeping the peace. “We can bid after dessert. Let others run up the amount more.”
None of them were looking for a bargain buy tonight.
At the far end of the silent auction, the four guys still fought over the brewery tasting bid sheet. Henry must have given up refereeing because he was no longer there.
Dash watched Blaise head to his table. “So I heard a rumor about WEL making an acquisition.”
Interesting. No one was supposed to know about the talks with NanoNeu. “WEL is always looking for new assets.”
Dash laughed. “Which means you’re not going to tell me anything.”
“They don’t call you one of the smartest men in the world for nothing, Wonderkid,” Wes teased.
After Dash walked away, Wes set the pen on the table. This left him with the high bid for now.
He took his seat next to Paige. “Enjoying yourself?”
She nodded. “Did you bid on anything?”
“Yes.” He glanced at his friends, who sat close to their wives or dates, heads together, talking. He went to put his arm around the back of her chair but stopped himself. “Though Blaise and Dash want it, too.”
A smile tugged at Paige’s lips. “I heard about the auction bidding wars.”
Wes wondered what else she’d been told. Not that any knew his secrets. He’d mentioned taking a break from dating with Hadley, a professional matchmaker, when Blaise hired her so he could win the last-single-man-standing bet, but that was it. “The money goes to a good cause.”
“As long as you have fun, and there’s no bloodshed.”
“There never is.” And then Wes remembered. “Well, except for one time, but that resulted from too much bourbon and a chair Mason didn’t know was behind him.”
Paige laughed.
Man, Wes could get used to hearing that sound.
“Thank you for introducing me to your friends outside of the hospital,” she said. “Some people act differently there. Everyone is relaxed tonight.”
“Except Dash.” Wes grinned. “He’s the same wherever he is, which is why one of his nicknames is Mr. Status Quo.”
“Does Raina know that?” Paige asked.
“She should.” Wes glanced at the other table where the couple sat. Henry didn’t see the two lasting, but Raina seemed good for Dash. “He’s a gamer but only with video games, not with other people’s feelings.”
Servers dressed in black carried salad plates and baskets of bread. Another filled wine glasses with red or white wine. The bottles came from Welton Wineries.
Wes sipped the Cabernet Sauvignon. Full-bodied and dry.
Salad and rolls were served first. The main entrees followed. Wes appreciated how his friends included Paige in the conversation. She smiled more than she had earlier. That pleased him.
Paige took a bite of the salmon. “This is delicious. How is your steak?”
“Great.”
Servers removed the dishes and utensils from the table. They refilled wine glasses. As his friends spoke about everything from the NASDAQ to the shows on the latest entry into the streaming market, Paige held her own. Doing so wasn’t easy with so many strong personalities—male and female—at the table. He was impressed.
Dessert plates with slices of Bûche de Noel we
re set in front of them. The Yule log chocolate cake was mouthwatering good.
“I didn’t think I could eat another bite,” Paige said in a low voice. “But I can’t let this go to waste.”
“Go for it.”
After savoring the first bite, Paige dug in. Her smile told him how much she enjoyed the dessert. She wasn’t as carefree as she’d been this morning, but she didn’t appear as closed-off as this afternoon.
Progress.
Maybe he could get her to open up more.
He leaned closer to her. “Easier to eat the whipped cream when it’s part of the cake and not hot cocoa?”
“Much easier.” As laughter filled her eyes, she raised her chin. “None on my face this time.”
Except Wes missed seeing a dollop on her lip or a dab on her nose. “Good job.”
“Now that dinner’s over, it’s time to boogie,” the DJ announced. “Grab a partner and join us on the dance floor.”
Everyone rose from the table, including Henry and his date, Bronwyn, who had shown up in the middle of dinner. That left Wes and Paige alone.
“Would you like to dance?” he asked.
“Sure.” Paige sounded indifferent, but she hadn’t said no.
Wes led her to the dance floor. The beat was fast. As people waved their arms in the air, they moved to the music. He enjoyed watching Paige.
Two songs later, the music slowed. Couples went into each other’s arms.
Wes’s pulse picked up. “Want to keep dancing?”
She nodded.
Again, not the most enthusiastic response, but he would take it.
He placed one hand around her and clasped his free hand with hers. Her skin was warm and soft. No gloves to get in the way of the skin-on-skin contact.
His friends danced with their wives and dates, exchanging kisses and staring into each other’s eyes. Wes hadn’t done that with a woman since Annabelle. He missed the closeness, but he kept his distance from Paige. That was for the best.
Still, moving around the dance floor with her felt right. Natural. That would be enough.
It had to be.
She glanced over his shoulder. “I didn’t know what to expect from a small-town event, but everything has been wonderful.”
“I’m impressed with the Christmas Magic celebration,” he admitted. “I’m glad this happens annually.”
The Wish Maker (The Billionaires 0f Silicon Forest Book 2) Page 10
