9. Daphne

9

DAPHNE

"Daphne, I just had to tell you, your grandmother was such an amazing woman." A distinguished man with a salt-and-pepper beard shook my hand.

"Thank you." I smiled. He was probably the twentieth person who had sung her praises to me since the auction concluded and the dancing portion of the evening had commenced.

As he spoke, I scanned the room once more in search of the man who had garnered five thousand dollars for a date. I hadn't seen him since he walked off the stage, but my hope sprang eternal that I would before the night was over. My lips were still tingling from the aftereffects of the kiss we shared.

"She was my Sunday school teacher," the man continued, "and I'll never forget the day she stubbed her toe and swore under her breath. All the kids gasped, and she just shrugged and said, ‘Yes, I love Jesus, but I curse a little.'"

I grinned wistfully as the man patted my hand before walking away.

If there was one sentence that summed up Grammy Moore, that was it. She was a good Christian woman who spent all her time volunteering and fighting for social justice, had a potty mouth, and sold moonshine. She didn't give "two hoots and a holler" about anyone's opinion of her. She lived her life according to her terms.

"Hey!" Nadia smiled and waved as she approached with a half-dozen stunningly gorgeous women. I felt like I was in Taylor Swift's "Bad Blood" video, where models were walking toward me as fire burst behind them. "Daphne, I'd like to introduce you to the squad."

I took a deep breath and smiled wider. Thankfully, I was good at memorizing names and faces. It was a skill I'd picked up during my childhood. On average, we moved every ten months. I attended fourteen schools before I graduated high school at age sixteen.

The only problem was everyone was wearing masks. I'd have to rely on noting other features that would help me with name association.

"First, do you remember the Comfort brothers?" Nadia asked.

"Yeah." I nodded casually.

How could I forget? Billy had been my first kiss the last summer I spent here.

Nadia put her hand on the forearm of a stunning woman with inky black hair and bright blue eyes. "This is my college bestie and attorney extraordinaire, Reagan; she married Billy Comfort."

Lucky girl.

Then she pointed to a fair-skinned blonde. "And this is her sister-in-law, Cheyenne Comfort, the youngest and only female Comfort who married Cash Malone. Do you remember him?"

I nodded. Of course, I remembered Cash. He and Billy were best friends.

"This is Isabella, who went to college with Cheyenne; she married Jimmy." She pointed to a brunette with blue eyes and then to an auburn-haired, fair-skinned woman. "And this is Skylar, who is mom to the most adorable six-year-old on the planet and is married to Hank."

"Hi, hi, hi, hi." I smiled at all four women.

"And this is Skylar's sister Ashley; she is going to be the next Picasso." She pointed to a strawberry blonde who was slim but with curves that could be on a Victoria's Secret runway. "And last but not least, Zoe, my childhood bestie and the hottest nurse at Hartland General." Nadia motioned to the brunette with bright green eyes.

"Hi." I waved to the group in general.

"Are you just here for the weekend?" Reagan asked.

"Yeah, I'm leaving tomorrow."

"Where do you live?" Bella grabbed a glass of champagne as the server walked by.

"Um, California. Santa Monica."

"You are on Pulse? Right? You did that series on dating?" Ashley asked.

"Yeah."

It didn't surprise me that Ashley knew about the show. She looked younger than the other women and was in our target demographic.

"Show on dating?" Nadia perked up.

"Dating in the City," Ashley filled her in. "Daphne goes out with five men each episode, and then viewers vote for who gets a second date, and then they have an update on social media of the second date."

"Actually, there isn't ever a second date," I confessed, although I wasn't sure why. I'd never told anyone that tidbit before.

Actually, I did know why. Going to fourteen different schools between kindergarten and high school graduation made me a pro at fitting in. Standing in the midst of these intimidatingly beautiful women, who were clearly a tight-knit group, transported me right back to meeting the "popular" girls in school.

I hated that I still suffered from the impulse to fit in. To people please. For the past few years, I'd been doing everything in my power to detox myself from those tendencies, which is why I hadn't been in a relationship.

Well, except for Kale, but I didn't really think he counted since it wasn't anything serious. It was the perfect arrangement for me. No commitment. No strings. Just fun. And it always worked out that just when I'd start feeling the familiar pangs of loneliness, he'd hit me up and tell me he wanted to see me. We averaged seeing each other four times per year, or in business terms, once a quarter.

"What do you mean?" Ashley looked crestfallen. "There are pictures of the second dates."

"At the end of each date, we change our wardrobe and then take photos for that content," I explained.

"So you and Paulo, the pediatrician?" Ashley asked.

"Never saw him again."

"What about Matteo, the masseuse?" she questioned.

"I'm not his type."

"Really? He seemed so into you."

Most of the guys did, and they all had ulterior motives. Usually, they did the show to gain exposure for their business or to try and grab fifteen minutes of fame. It was the only reason I didn't feel bad about going on the dates—since none of them were genuinely interested in finding love.

"He was more interested in our PA Ernie than he was me."

"Oh." Ashley nodded.

"Which is fair because he looks like a young Mario Lopez, dimples and all," I explained.

"Speaking of dimples, can you believe Harlan went for five thousand dollars?" Nadia's eyes widened.

Did Harlan have dimples? I hadn't noticed. I was too distracted by his dreamy eyes and perfect lips.

"Did Maxine end up having the highest bid?" Reagan asked.

"No, it was somebody in the back. She was a brunette, but I didn't recognize her."

"Or maybe you do." Skylar wagged her brows, and her mask went up and down.

As she did, I noticed all three of the Comfort brothers and Cash Malone walking toward us.

"Ladies," Hank nodded at the group before grabbing Skylar's hand and pulling her onto the dance floor.

Billy wrapped his arms around Reagan and swept her onto the dance floor. Cash offered Cheyenne his arm and she smiled as she took it. Jimmy spun in a circle, stopping in front of Isabella with his arm outstretched. Her head fell back as she laughed, and the two of them joined the other three couples on the dance floor.

As I watched everyone on the dance floor, a pang of envy twisted in my chest. I scanned the room looking for the man I was hoping to share a dance with. The man who had gone for five thousand dollars. There was a sea of men in black jackets and black masks, which made finding him more difficult than finding Waldo.

"Mom, why do I have to wear this?"

I turned and saw a tall, lanky kid standing beside Zoe, pulling at his mask.

"It's a masquerade ball."

"This is Zoe's son, AJ; AJ this is Miss Daphne."

AJ smiled politely. "Nice to meet you, Miss Daphne."

"Please, call me Daphne." Hearing Miss in front of my name made me feel a hundred years old. I was already looking down the barrel of thirty, which in Los Angeles might as well be a hundred years old.

"Are you gonna dance?" Zoe asked her son.

AJ's face scrunched. "To this?"

They were playing oldies music. The opening melody of "Can't Take My Eyes Off of You" began to play.

"Whoa, there he is, Mr. Five Thousand Dollars!" Zoe exclaimed as she looked past my shoulder.

I turned and saw the man I'd spent the last half hour searching for.

Harlan grinned and shook his head.

"Who bid that five k on your ass?" Nadia questioned.

Harlan shrugged. "I have no idea; I couldn't see when I was up there."

"That's crazy!" Zoe exclaimed.

"You look sharp, man," Harlan told AJ as he grabbed the kid's shoulder.

"Thanks, Uncle H." AJ puffed up a little, clearly appreciating the compliment.

Nerves were popping inside of me as I stood next to the man who I'd kissed an hour before and had seen naked twelve hours before that. Things were going a little out of order with the two of us.

Harlan turned his head in my direction, and when he looked down at me, I felt his gaze like a physical touch. The entire side of my cheek warmed.

I glanced up at him and watched as the right corner of his lips curled. "You didn't leave."

"I didn't leave," I repeated.

Harlan offered me his hand. "Would you like to dance?"

Inside, I was jumping up and down like a giddy schoolgirl, but outside, I tried to remain as composed as possible. "Sure."

I placed my hand in his palm, and the second we touched, a jolt of awareness spread through my body like an earthquake. It rattled me. As we walked onto the dance floor, I noticed Zoe, Ashley, and Nadia exchanging glances. I wondered if any of them had ever dated Harlan. Small-town dating pools were the size of puddles, so chances were one of them had. Not that it mattered. I had no plans to date the man. By this time tomorrow night, I'd be halfway back to California.

Harlan guided us to a corner of the dance floor, and as we turned to face one another, I placed my hands on his shoulders. His hands rested on my hips, and we began to sway.

"How long are you going to be in town?" he asked.

"Till tomorrow evening."

A flash of disappointment crossed his face. Or at least, that's what I thought I saw. I could be projecting.

"Do you come out to visit often?"

"No." I shook my head.

His lopsided grin appeared once more. "That's too bad."

Just like it had been on the porch, the energy between us felt like the sky at night on the Fourth of July. There were fireworks. I stared up at him, willing him to kiss me again. His head lowered, and I closed my eyes. Harlan's breath fanned my face, and then…

"Buttercup! This thing keeps goin' off!" Aunt Rhonda's voice burst the bubble we'd been floating in.

I opened my eyes and saw my phone in front of my face. I blinked at the intrusion.

"Oh, okay." I took the phone, and Aunt Rhonda turned and walked off the dance floor. When I looked at the screen, I saw that I'd missed four calls from Alexandra. I was not about to cut my dance with Harlan short—not even for her. I'd deal with the consequences later.

"Is everything okay?" he asked as we stilled.

"Yeah, it's just my boss."

He pointed to the screen. "Is that your dog?"

"Oh, no, um…" I tucked my phone into the side of my dress and lifted my hands to dance with him again. "I travel too much to have a dog."

His head tilted to one side as he stared down at me. "So, who's dog is that?"

Harlan wasn't the first person who had asked me about my screensaver, but he's the first one that when I started to explain, embarrassment swamped over me.

"I, um, just downloaded it from Google Images. I love dogs and have always wanted a golden retriever, and I don't know; seeing it just makes me happy and looking forward to the day that I'll be able to have one."

"So it's sort of like a vision board thing?"

I don't know why, but I was surprised at his reference. He didn't really strike me as the vision board type. Not that I knew exactly what that would look like.

"Harlan! There you are! We need you and the other bachelors for a photo!" The woman who showed me where the bathroom was and interrupted our kiss earlier rushed toward us.

Before Harlan could respond to her request, my phone rang again. When I looked at it, I wasn't surprised to see that it was Alexandra calling. Again.

I looked up at him. "I should take this."

"Yeah, I should go over to…"

For a split second, as we stared into one another's eyes, the rest of the room, the call from Alexandra, the woman with the Britney Spears headset mic, all disappeared. It was only the two of us suspended in time. I'd seen the phenomenon in movies and television shows, but I never thought it was real. Until now.

"Harlan!" The woman shouted again at the same moment my phone rang in my hand.

Harlan's hands dropped from around my waist, and my stomach sank with disappointment that our dance was over.

"Hello," I answered as I plugged one ear with my finger so I could hear Alexandra.

As I walked off the dance floor, I glanced over my shoulder and saw that Harlan was now standing across the room with the other men who had been up for auction. Our gazes met once more, and again, everything else disappeared. It was as if only the two of us existed. I blinked and turned around as a thrill raced down my spine.

I didn't know what was going on between us, but I liked it. I liked it a lot.