Page 63 of Theirs for the Holidays

And if there was any question about people in the town knowing that we’re ‘together’, it’s been well and truly answered now. There’s no way anyone could miss it after this.

22

VIOLET

Lennox carriesme over to a quiet corner of the hall and sets me down in one of the chairs set up out of the way. My cheeks are flushed, and I’m still more than a little flustered by everything that just happened. Around us, the crowd is still buzzing from it, even though the auctioneer has moved on to the bidding for another item.

Lennox, Rhett, and Sawyer stand around me, and I look up at them, pushing my hair out of my face.

“You didn’t have to do that,” I tell them. “That was a lot of money.”

All three of them shrug, as if they barely even gave a thought to the cost. And I guess since they are literally millionaires now, they probably didn’t, but the point still stands. It was a huge sum of money they just bid.

“Really,” I insist.

“It was for a good cause,” Sawyer points out.

That stops me in my tracks a bit, and I bite my lip, conceding the point. “The shelter really will be able to use the money.”

“That too,” he says. “But also after seeing you in action at the bakery the other day, I just really wanted to learn to bake the way you do.”

Lennox murmurs his agreement, and Rhett nods along.

My stomach flips over at that, and I fight the urge to squint at them with suspicion. It sounds a little too convenient to be the full truth, but their interest in my skills and knowledge and their support of me means a lot. Especially considering the lack of it from other people in my life.

“If you’re sure…” I say, trying one more time to make sure they don’t feel like they have to do this out of some obligation.

“We’re sure,” Lennox says firmly. “Or do you think we’ll be bad students?”

“I didn’t say that!” I reply, laughing. “I think you’ll be capable.”

“Then there’s no issue, right?”

“I guess not.” I smile up at them. “Well then, just let me know when you’re ready for your lesson then. Since you’re serious about it.”

“What about right now?” Rhett says.

My eyes go wide at that. We’ve been here for two or three hours already, and people are starting to make their way to the doors now that the auction is winding down. There are always people who hang around until the last minute, scoping out what’s left from the vendors and then helping to break everything down and carry it to the vans and trucks that start to pull around outside once the parking lot has cleared out some.

Some years I stick around to help myself, but after everything that’s happened tonight, I’ve had enough excitement here, and I’m ready to go.

“Okay,” I agree, my heart racing. I thought I’d have more time to put together this lesson, but I remind myself that it’s just the guys. They’re not expecting something formal and stuffy—even if they did spend almost a quarter of a million dollars on it.

I’d been planning to do the lesson at the bakery after hours if a stranger won the bid, but with the three of them, we all just goback to the house. I have everything I need to teach them in my own kitchen, after all.

We drive back to my house together, and after we all hang up our coats, I lead them into the kitchen.

“Alright,” I say, opening the fridge to start pulling things out. “What do you want to learn to make?”

“Maybe we should start with something easy?” Lennox suggests. “Cookies or something like that?”

Sawyer scoffs. “Anyone can make cookies. You have one of the best bakers we’ve ever met here, and you want to learn to make something you can buy at the Shop and Go?”

“What do you want to do then?” Lennox asks, folding his arms.

“Something good like… croissants.”

Rhett snorts. “You want to learn to do croissants at”—he checks his watch—“ten twenty at night?”