Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 77126 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 386(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 257(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77126 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 386(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 257(@300wpm)
I get to the restroom door. “Keep guard here at the door and don’t let anyone else in until I leave,” I tell Jared. “I’ll just be a moment.”
Once I’m in the restroom, I smooth out my dress once more, check my face. My makeup looks good, though my lips are swollen and puffy from Vinnie’s kisses, and my lipstick is nonexistent.
Still, my lips have a nice pink tone, so they’ll do. I apply a little setting powder to keep my makeup from smudging, and I riffle through my clutch to find my lipstick.
I return to the ballroom, where the DJ has begun his set. Couples are on the dance floor, dancing to the hits of the seventies and eighties. The majority of my most likely donors are of that generation, so I curated the playlist specifically to get them in a good mood.
I head back to the table when Hawk waylays me. “Where the hell have you been?”
I blink a few times. “Just taking a break. Jared was with me the whole time.”
Hawk gives Jared a stink eye. “Where has she been?”
“My brother seems to think he’s my keeper,” I say to Jared. “You don’t need to answer that.”
“She’s fine,” Jared says. “I take my position seriously.”
Hawk simply nods.
I decide to change the subject.
“I’d say the gala is a success,” I say nonchalantly.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see Vinnie. He’s gathering his wife—God, his wife—and leaving.
Good. It’s better that I don’t see him.
“Who is that woman?” Hawk asks.
I roll my eyes. “Vinnie has apparently taken a new bride.”
Hawk drops his jaw. “He’s married to her?”
“Yes, he is,” I snap. “And I would absolutely love it if we didn’t discuss the matter further, Hawk.”
I don’t let him get a response in before I move away. I make small talk with a few more guests, and then I see Vinnie again, this time entering the ballroom without his new bride.
Where did she go?
Not my business, I suppose.
I work the room a bit, shaking hands and thanking people for their donations.
A moment later, the DJ takes a break and Emily mans the microphone.
“Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, and thank you for being here again. This is just a quick reminder that our silent auction will close in ten minutes, so get those last-minute bids in. Every dollar of each highest bid will go toward the Raven’s Wings Foundation. With your help, we will continue our work of helping families dealing with blood cancers and helping research facilities find new ways to treat and cure them.”
People head to the tables to make their bids, while I approach the bar to get something to drink. My mouth and throat are dry.
“Orange Crush, please,” I say.
The bartender nods. “Of course, Ms. Bellamy. Coming right up.”
He hands me my drink, and I take a sip of the sparkling orange soda, moving out of the way for the others in line. I sigh. Still tastes like sunshine.
Emily takes the mic once again after the bell rings to signal the end of the silent auction.
“Ladies and gentlemen, that bell signifies the end of our silent auction for this evening. We’ll be announcing the winners one at a time. So let’s get moving.” She smiles. “First of all, the winner of our big-ticket item for the evening, the Caribbean cruise for two, is Brandon Brown.”
I watch as the winner is congratulated by the people around him.
“Our cashiers are set up at the back of the room, so please make payment for your item before you leave tonight, and congratulations!”
She goes through the rest of the big-ticket items, including season tickets to the Texas Longhorns, a year’s supply of prime beef from my father’s ranch, a year’s supply of fine wine from Steel Vinyards in Colorado, three nights in Las Vegas, and a motor scooter.
Then the smaller ticket items.
I simply stand and sip my Orange Crush while Jared watches me.
I’m thrilled at all the huge high bids we got. We’ve made a ton of money for—
“Raven Bellamy, congratulations!”
I jerk as Emily calls my name.
I didn’t bid on anything.
“Congratulations, Raven,” someone says to me, walking by.
“Yeah. Thank you.”
We decided earlier not to prohibit our board members from bidding. If they wanted to bid and give extra to the organization, we were happy to have their support.
But I didn’t bid on anything.
Someone must’ve bid in my name.
I walk through the crowd to find Robin, who is equipped with an iPad that shows all the bidders and winners.
“Robbie,” I say. “I didn’t bid on anything.”
“Strange. It says here that you did. In fact, you’re the only bid.”
“That’s so strange. I didn’t even sign up to bid.”
“It says right here, Ray. You won the gold pendant.” She walks to the table and holds up a black velvet box. “Here it is.”
The gold pendant? I don’t remember that being on our list of items for the silent auction. Then again, I was organizing this whole event remotely. It could have easily slipped my mind.