27. Olivia

27

OLIVIA

“Ten thousand dollars!” I hold up my little bidding thingy as I declare the number grandly. I then shoot a smile to Brandi, who’s glowering back at me.

“Ten thousand five hundred,” she says, her face pinched.

Unreal. If she’s bidding this much to win a date with Aaron, I can’t even imagine how much she was planning to shake him down for afterwards.

“Eleven thousand,” I say, almost bored. On stage, Aaron’s eyes are dancing.

The auction so far has been hilarious. Dallas was claimed by a tiny old lady who looked sweet and innocent at first, but smiled like a Cheshire Cat when she placed the winning bid. Jake ended up causing a bidding war between a cougar-type in her fifties and a guy with a very determined glint in his eye. Bonnie Lieberman, Dennis Lieberman’s wife, ended up winning Triple J. And Maddie did the same for Seb as I’m doing for Aaron—paying the big bucks to win a date with her own husband.

“We have eleven thousand, going once, going twice—” Reagan crows in her auctioneer voice.

“Eleven thousand one hundred.” Brandi tosses her auburn-red hair haughtily, and I can’t help but grin.

“Twenty thousand dollars!” I declare, air-toasting Aaron with my champagne flute.

Damn, that’s a crazy amount of money. Money I would have no idea what to even do with, but hey.

Brandi scowls. Aaron still looks like he’s trying not to laugh.

As captain, he’s the last to be bid on, and I’m glad to see that he looks like he’s enjoying himself. The gala has been way more fun than I imagined. Everyone is merrily tipsy and having a great time, me included.

Plus I’m sure the info Reagan shared earlier has put Aaron’s mind at ease. And while I’m also relieved that he has a solution to his problems, I’m reeling that said solution involves us looking like we’re together for real tonight.

Because it sure feels real right now.

I can still feel the imprint of his hand, hot on my bare back, as he led me back to the ballroom. And I’m remembering the way his pupils visibly dilated when he first saw me in my dress earlier, all made up and with my hair styled…

“Wow,” he said in a way that made my core clench in the most unwelcome yet exciting of ways. “Red is definitely your color, Livvy.”

Now, hours later, he’s standing on stage, cocky and confident as ever, looking at me like he knows exactly what I’m thinking about.

Beside me, Sofia snickers, snapping me out of my wayward thoughts. “Good thing he’s rich.”

“It’s for the children,” I tell her giddily, thinking back to that moment outside the closet with that awful reporter woman. The memory of her shocked face makes me feel even more giggly.

“Twenty thousand dollars for a date with Aaron Marino! Going once, going twice, and SOLD to Olivia Griswold!” Reagan crows, throwing her hands up.

“Yay!” I clap my hands. My whole table cheers wildly, and Aaron catches my eye for a moment, then tips his head upwards in a nod, like he’s saluting me.

In the corner of my eye, I notice Brandi rise from her table and slink away. I hope this is enough to keep her away, permanently.

“And that concludes our auction!” Reagan booms into the mic. “Can I please have the winners come up to stand beside their prizes?”

We file onto the stage, and when I get in line next to Aaron, he looks down at me almost fondly. “Atta girl.”

“I think you mean ‘thank you,’” I whisper. “To which I would respond, ‘you’re welcome.’”

“Nah.” He smiles lazily. “I think I’ll just tell you how good you did. Brandi didn’t stand a chance.”

“Was the sudden leap to twenty k a bit much?” I ask, suddenly feeling a little guilty for spending his money so freely.

But he grins. “I would’ve been happy to watch you bid ten times that, so long as you ended up on stage next to me at the end of it all.”

“Now!” Reagan announces bouncily. “For the next part of our auction… This has been kept a mystery, totally top secret, until now. Even our players don’t know what’s about to happen.” She holds up a box. “In the spirit of festive hijinks, in this box, I have a selection of dates up for grabs. Each winner will draw one, and that’s the date they will be going on.”

Oh. Not what I expected.

“Winner’s choice.” Reagan holds out the box to the cougarish lady with her hands wrapped around Jake’s arm.

She reaches into the box and extracts a piece of paper, which she hands to Reagan.

“Congratulations!” Reagan yells. “You’ve won a—drumroll please—life drawing class, with Jake Griswold as your model!”

The lady shrieks in delight.

“What?” Jake demands, his face aghast.

Reagan holds the mic away from her mouth for a moment. “Payback for you guys vetoing my sexy charity calendar idea last year,” she says with a smirk before speaking back into the mic. “Don’t worry, you’ll be provided with a tasteful sprig of holly for your private bits. Remember, it’s all for a great cause!”

Jake looks vaguely murdery, Aaron is shaking with silent laughter beside me, and Sofia is practically convulsing in her chair, wiping tears from her eyes as she looks up at her enraged boyfriend.

Reagan moves down the line: Bonnie Lieberman wins a couple’s massage and spa day with Triple J, while Dallas’s elderly suitor picks out a festive couple’s yoga class. Dallas, to his credit, gives the old lady a high-five and a big grin.

By the time Reagan reaches me, my palms are sweaty. I rub them together to avoid accidentally rubbing them on my dress.

“Olivia, you’re up!” She winks at me.

I dig my hand in the box, and then pass the paper to Reagan.

“Your prize is a… ooh, you win a festive private skating lesson from Aaron Marino!”

I let out a shaky breath, thanking my lucky stars that I didn’t choose something that involved nudity. And that I can already skate, although I haven’t done it in ages.

Everyone is cheering and applauding as Reagan finishes her speech, revealing the amount that’s been raised so far and encouraging people to keep their donations coming.

I glance up at Aaron. “What constitutes a festive skating lesson?”

“I don’t know, maybe some Christmas lights and music in the background.” His eyes gleam. “Or maybe I’ll wear my elf costume.”

“That’s hot.”

“The tights really show off my glutes.”

“Wow, even hotter.” I laugh, but I’m blushing at the thought of that admittedly fantastic behind of his in a pair of tights.

“Like I said, get ready for the best date of your life,” he says, confident as can be.

“We’ll see about that.” I smirk at him.

His eyes find mine. “We definitely will.”