Page 20 of Escorting the Bodyguard (Hearts for Hire #4)
Just as Maya returns with a dirty martini and slides into the seat beside Dom's, the lights dim, announcing the start of the charity auction. If it were women being auctioned off, I might have something to say about poor taste and feminism, but it's a fun twist for a blind date auction to be centered around men—gives us ladies the power. I’m still not quite sure how the optics are working out or how we’ve evaded the controversial label, but I’m trying not to worry about it.
"Welcome to our first annual blind date charity auction!
" Bennett Hayes, one of Dominic's fellow "Balboa Boys" from childhood—his group of friends that made a nickname for their elite club—is the emcee for the evening.
Like the other three, he's also ridiculously rich and handsome in a Henry Cavill way: Clark Kent glasses, sky-blue eyes, dark hair, sharp jawline.
He doesn't look it, but he's the biggest extrovert of them all, and his podcast guest appearances have gone viral on YouTube a hundred times over.
"Each of our eligible bachelors represents a charity of his choosing.
Because this is a blind auction, we won't be disclosing the identities of these gentlemen until after the bidding is complete.
I'll be presenting a few fun facts and the date of his choosing.
Ladies, he'll be all yours for a date of your choice as well, and upon completion, all of the money from tonight's bidding and a matching donation from the gentlemen themselves will be provided to the charity of his choice. "
So every guy here is rich. I mean, I know the Bay Area is full of people with enough buckets of money to wipe their asses with twenties (and I happen to be doing well for myself too), but it still surprises me when discussions of hefty donations are tossed around as casually as one might describe the weather or football or some other boring thing I couldn't care less about.
Dom nudges me, holding up four fingers and mouthing it.
I roll my eyes, raising my brows and nodding towards Maya as if to remind him of her sharp, powerful elbows.
Ben loosens his tie a bit, chuckling to himself. "But that's all the boring stuff. Let's get into the auction, shall we?"
The room explodes with applause.
"Our first bachelor is a thirty-year-old Wall Street broker recently transferred from Manhattan to San Francisco's Tenderloin. He enjoys hiking, photography, and spending time with his single mom!"
While some people might find that endearing, if there's anything I've learned, it's that Mama's boys are total weirdos, and it's unavoidably true across the board. A guy has to be good to his family, but being a little too good means a can of worms I'm sure as shit not going to open.
No matter how handsome they are, I know better than to take a guy at face value.
"His first date is dinner at a gorgeous Michelin-star restaurant near the Wharf, followed by a helicopter ride over the city and Muir Woods!" Ben sets his cue cards down and claps his hands together. "Bidding starts at a thousand. Can I get a thousand?"
They roll through bidders, eventually getting up to twenty thousand before some soccer mom type with Botox in her cheeks freezing her face into position finally wins. My guess is she's a recent divorcée, but hey, everyone needs a midlife crisis, and it's for a great cause.
He turns out to be a handsome, shorter guy with giant muscles that fill out the sleeves of his jacket enough to make soccer-mom salivate over him.
He's not really my type, which doesn't inspire confidence in the rest of the auction.
I decide that if no one gets my attention early on, I'll just head home, download Tinder, and hope for the best.
"Our next bachelor is a thirty-one-year-old venture capitalist! He loves snowboarding, volunteering at his local animal shelter, and when he's not shredding waves or sealing massive deals, he can be found perusing local art and donating to sponsor vet fees for senior animals."
Oh. Okay, so he's actually perfect. Got it.
Is this guy even real?
I mean, I know Ben and Dom, and they vet everything they sign off on thoroughly. My brother didn't become a billionaire dicking around, and I doubt Ben will let anyone get away with deception if he can help it. But this guy sounds too good to be true.
"His first date includes a doggie day out sponsoring a rescue to find a new home and a visit to the San Francisco planetarium. Bidding starts at?—"
"A thousand!" someone across the room screams, holding up her placard.
"Two thousand," I say, raising mine.
Maya smirks at me. "I told you someone would catch your eye."
We start rattling off numbers, and since I've already started thinking about how excited I am to kick off my shoes and get back to my apartment with my cat, Benedict Bridgerton, I'm hell bent on taking the sweet animal lover to my tech event and getting to bail before time is up.
“Fifty thousand!" I finally yell. We're not even close, but that's the maximum amount I've put aside for this ridiculous charade, and I'm ready to get back to my evening of binge watching and wine before work tomorrow morning.
I don't have time to stick around if I want to find my zen before it's back to the grind.
"Sold to the lady in blue!" Ben says. "My lady, allow me to introduce Alejandro Hernandez!"
Oh. Fuck. No.
You know when you're reaching the crest of a rollercoaster, right before the moment your stomach falls out of your ass?
That's what I'm dealing with right now. That feeling of falling off the edge of the world.
My heart races with recognition as Alex, the only guy I've ever loved, the one I gave my everything to, rounds the corner of the stage and stands under the lights.
He's even handsomer than he was at eighteen.
I've seen photos over the years of him and the other Balboa Boys, but in real life, he's even more perfect.
That chiseled jaw with perpetual five o'clock shadow.
His eyes, amber and molten whiskey. His curls.
Fuck, he looks so good it should be illegal, and all six foot three inches of him is doing something to me, sending heat through my whole body.
You know, given the fact that he’s Maya’s brother, you’d think it would be hard to avoid him, but I’ve done a great job up to this moment. Clearly, my luck has run out.
"Unfortunately, ladies, Alex here belongs to the young miss over there, but as his friend, I can say he's an absolute catch, and it's downright criminal he's been single all this time."
Alex chuckles, and as he looks out into the crowd, searching for me, I've already started making a beeline for the door as fast as my ridiculous high-heeled shoes will take me. They click across the floor, growing faster and faster as I push open the doors and run into the cool night air.
I never should've done this. I never should've agreed to this.
My entire life has been sorted into boxes, organized carefully to ensure I never tip one over, fall into the trap of becoming a moon-eyed girl again whose world revolves around a guy content to pull the rug out from under me the second I get comfortable.
What the hell am I going to do?
Just when I think it can't get worse, it does.
"Livvy?"
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