Page 59 of The Bad Boy Prince in Love

“One hundred and fifty,” the older man suddenly said.

For the first time, there was silence.Eloise started to say, “Do I hear more?”

Then, Luke said, “Two hundred,” and the crowd erupted into loud cheers.

“Three hundred dollars,” declared the old gentleman.

“Three hundred,” Eloise announced, “Do I hear more?”

Luke didn’t say anything.

“Three hundred, going once, going twice, sold!”

Gigi smiled modestly at the old gentleman as he came up to the stage to meet her.She waved to the crowd like a celebrity as they walked off the stage together.

“I don’t know if I should be relieved that you’re not in love with my grandmother,” Hallie said, while Luke smiled mysteriously, “or mad that you gave up in your crazy bidding war.”

“It wasn’t crazy, but a carefully orchestrated operation,” Luke replied.

“Huh?”

Luke smiled in that self-satisfied way that he had.“I guess I can tell you now.Your Gigi asked me to bid on her, and to keep raising the price if Bob Masone was to make a bid.”

“Oh, was that the famous Bob?”Hallie asked.

“Yeah, she showed me a picture of him and everything while you were in the other room,” Luke said.

Hallie chuckled, but then knowing Gigi and how fussy she was, she should have expected her not to leave the results of the auction to random chance.“This really was meticulously planned.”

“She asked me to stop bidding if Bob took it up to a hundred,” Luke added.

Hallie laughed uproariously.“Way to test her potential boyfriend!Hey, why did you keep going then?”

Luke shrugged with a fanciful smile.“I guess I wanted to test him too.Your Gigi deserves the very best.”

“Well, I’m glad you don’t have a date with my grandmother,” Hallie said, trying not to show how impressed she was.This was probably just what he was hoping for, trying to be the hero so she would like him more.

The auction continued, and Luke slipped away as Hallie ran into some people she knew.This time, she felt fairly certain he wouldn’t be up to his old tricks.Sure enough, he came back soon, bearing a box of croissants.

“Choose your flavor, madame,” he said, “Chocolate, plain, or almond.”

“Ooh, almond!”she said, “I like the plain ones too.Thank you!”

They sat down on a bench in a quieter area of the grounds, enjoying the treats.The hot afternoon air smelled like ozone, and leaves rustled in the breeze.Hallie was enjoying the day like she hadn’t in a long time.

“This croissant is absolutely delicious,” she said.

She noticed Luke watching her in an intense way.“Am I right in guessing it’s your favorite pastry?”

“I wouldn’t say it was my favorite.”

“Damn!I had a feeling it was croissants, but I guess I was wrong.”

Hallie wondered why he seemed so upset about it.Then she remembered what Gigi said about the perfect boyfriend who would bring her favorite pastry to comfort her.

He was trying so hard!It was enough to make her forgive all the trouble he had caused by trying to be Casanova, though not enough to make her fall for his bad boy charm.

“Thank you for what you did for Gigi,” she said, “She seems so happy.”