“Hailey!” Addie, Landon’s mother, said as his dad, Emmit, covered his mouth with his napkin to hide his cough and smile. A quick glance around the table showed me that he wasn’t the only one. My father scanned the room, pretending he hadn’t heard what Hailey had said, and my mother, well…she was attempting not to smile by pressing her lips between her teeth.
Landon sat back and simply enjoyed the show, much like Emmit was doing.
Claire laughed and tossed her hand in front of her as if she’d been asked Hailey’s question a thousand times before.
“Oh, I don’t work. I do a lot of volunteer work around the Austin area. It’s my life’s passion.”
From under the table, Landon hit my leg with his, nearly causing me to laugh.
“Your life’s…passion?” This came from my mother.
“I’m very blessed, you see, with my daddy being in the oil business and all—and his daddy before him. Granddad left me a large trust fund, so I’m able to give my time, and of course my contributions, to those charities I hold dear to my heart.”
At that, she looked at Landon and licked her lips so seductively, I was pretty sure my mouth dropped to the table.
Landon reached under the table and grabbed my leg right above my knee. He knew it was a sensitive spot for me, and I instantly let out a small scream and then covered my mouth.
“Is everything okay?” Claire asked as all eyes swung to me.
Trying with all my might to remove Landon’s hand, I nodded, unable to open my mouth or I would fall into a fit of laughter. If he squeezed again, I was positive I would jump up from the chair.
“Why are you squirming in your chair like that?” my mother asked.
My father’s eyes met Landon’s, and he must have remembered the game we played as kids. When Landon wanted my attention, he would try to make me laugh at the table by squeezing my leg.
“Are you sure now is the time to be playing that…game…Landon?” my father asked with one brow raised.
Landon’s grip relaxed on my leg, but he didn’t move his hand. When I placed mine over his to push it away, he laced our fingers together and then brought our hands up and kissed the back of mine.
“Sorry, I don’t know what came over me,” he mused as he shot a smile over to Claire.
That little gesture caused her eyes to nearly pop out of her head. “Oh, I didn’t realize that you two were dating.”
Oh shit. Everyone looked at our hands joined together. Hailey wore a smile so damn big, I thought for sure her face would split in two. Four other sets of eyes, all from our parents, stared at the two of us with both confusion and…was that…happiness?
“No, wait––” I started to say before Janet’s voice cut through the crowd.
“Ladies and gentlemen, it’s time to start the bidding. Who’s excited for this year’s auction?”
A round of applause broke out, and my mother leaned over and whispered, “When did this happen?”
“What?” I asked.
She motioned with her head toward Landon.
“It didn’t, Mom. He’s trying to throw the piranha off his scent.”
My mother glanced over at Claire, then back at me, and I immediately noticed the disappointment in her eyes.
As she settled back in her seat, I swore I heard her say, “Well, damn.”
My phone buzzed in my clutch, and I opened it to see it was a text from Hailey. I tucked my cell down below the table so no one could see me responding.
Hailey: First, I want to throat punch this woman. Second, could you shoot her any more eye daggers, Emme?
Snapping my head up, I shot Hailey a dirty look and then got to work typing out my reply.
Me: I don’t know what’s wrong with me!
Hailey: I do. It’s called the green monster ;-)
Me: Stop texting me!
Hailey: Truth hurts, doesn’t it?
I glanced back up at the table and almost shot Hailey the middle finger when she laughed.
Focusing back on Janet standing on the stage, I pulled in a deep breath.
Green monster…go away! Please!
The first round of items went by in a flash. They were your typical auction items, donated gifts such as hotel stays or dinners for two at some of Austin’s most elite restaurants. My father bid on a weekend stay at a new resort right outside of Fredericksburg and won. He overpaid by at least three-hundred dollars, but it was for a worthy cause. Another big-ticket item was a donated BMW, which pulled in a large sum of money.
As we drew closer and closer to the bachelor auction, my heart started to race wildly in my chest.
Glancing around, I could see many of the women in the audience staring at Landon. Did they know who he was? That he was up for auction soon? Sure, he was the most handsome man here, save for my father, so it wasn’t surprising women would gawk at him like they did. But which one of them would bid on a date with him? Worse yet, which one would win? They were all so beautiful. And rich. Not that Landon was interested in that. But some of them looked like the type of women he had dated in the past, and I hated how that made me feel.
Then the truth of it all hit me so hard, I sucked in a breath.
I was…jealous.
“Hey, don’t be nervous, everything’s going off without a hitch,” Landon whispered against my ear as he placed his hands over mine. It was then that I noticed I had been wringing them together in my lap. A chill ran through me, and he asked, “Are you cold?”
I closed my eyes and took in a few deep breaths. How did I tell him it was the opposite? That his whispered words lit a flame deep inside of me that had me so confused. How did I tell him that his body leaning against mine made my stomach pull with desire? Or how his hands instantly calmed my beating heart?
“Is it…is it getting hot in here?” I asked without thinking as I glanced around the table.
“Hot? You just shivered,” Landon said.
I wiped at the back of my neck. “So. Hot.”
Before I knew what was happening, a cold, wet napkin was at the back of my neck. “Are you feeling okay?” Landon asked as my mother gently touched my forehead as she held the napkin in place.
“She doesn’t feel warm,” Mom said.
“Oh, I know what she’s suffering from,” Hailey said with a wide, knowing smile.
“I’m fine; it just got a bit hot in here, that’s all,” I stated as I motioned for Landon to take the napkin away and gave my mother a reassuring smile. “Honestly, I’m just nervous about the auction.”
With a warm smile that lit up my mother’s pale blue eyes, she nodded. “This is why I left that damn committee. It’s easier to write a check.”
I sighed. “Now you tell me.”
“Ladies, it has come to that time in the night when we have our most popular items up for bid. The charity date auction!”
“Oh hell,” Landon whispered as I stood and took his arm. I ignored the few gasps coming from the tables and walked Landon up to the side of the stage. Our table was close to the front, so it wasn’t a long walk, which I was thankful for. That meant the women in the back didn’t get a good look at Landon, so maybe fewer would bid on him.
I stood next to Gus Morgan, the auctioneer we had hired for the night, as he took a quick break. As he went back up to the stage, I grabbed his arm. “Gus, don’t…”