“Breathe, HM.” He presses a kiss into the top of my head, inhaling deeply. “Aunt Maisie is simply confirming what we already know. That dress looks amazing on you.”
The gesture is so sweet, so familiar, so easy, I do exactly what he said and breathe a sigh of relief.
“You need stronger adjectives, son. ‘Amazing’ doesn’t begin to describe what’s happening here.” Nathan’s mom gestures between us and I get the distinct impression she’s not talking about the dress. That maybe, just maybe, she’s talking about us.
Nathan presses his palm against my lower back, his thumb brushing lightly against my spine. I lean closer, smiling despite myself.
“Is this her? The one who’s bringing our dear, sweet Nathan back to life?” A young woman with a mess of dark curls, a shit-eating grin, and a short black dress with fabulous red heels appears at my side. She’s several inches smaller than everyone else with a personality that towers above us all.
“Mina, this is Garrett’s little sister Charlie, down from New England,” Angela says. “Charlie, this is Mina the miracle worker.”
Charlie waves over a passing server to grab a champagne flute. “Angela told me you’re putting yourself up for auction. Believe me, you’re not going to regret it. I did it last year and it was an absolute blast. It’s the whole reason I flew down again this year.”
“We all know the real reason you flew down is still deployed right now.” Garrett smirks at his sister. “There was a real chance Nick would be home in time to be here. You rolled the dice and now you’re here and he’s not.”
“Hey!” Charlie drops her jaw and slaps his arm. “Do I like flirting with a hot Marine? Yes! Who wouldn’t? But do you really think I’d spend this much on a dress and fly to Florida simply to flirt with Nick Hutton? Sheesh. Big brothers. Am I right?” She gives me an exasperated eye roll before continuing. “I’ll tell you, growing up in a small town, with a single dad doing his best and failing, I never ever saw this in my future. But Garrett made all this money and one thing led to another and here I am, reaping the rewards of his success.”
“Reversals of fortune.” Maisie Hutton smiles gently. “It’s why I named the foundation what I did. Younger me would never have believed this could be my life. I didn’t have it easy growing up and through a combination of hard work and good luck, I’m here. I want to do everything I can to pay it forward.”
This is so not the way I’ve pictured people with money. This entire family is trying to sprinkle some of their good luck onto the world. If only I could catch some of it for myself, I’d use it on Mom in a heartbeat.
“I’ve thought the same thing so many times since I met Nathan,” I say. “Younger me wouldn’t believe this is my life. I wish I could share some of it with Mom.”
“Have you given any thought to letting us spoil her here at The Hut?” Angela asks. “And before you tell me you can’t afford it, we’ll give her the friends and family discount. The whole package, totally on the house.”
And there’s the rub. This relationship, this…whatever it is…with Nathan is too new for me to profit off his wealth. I’m not going to be someone else who takes from him, or his family. “I can’t let you do that.”
“Would she qualify for Nathan’s new adult program at ROF?” Garrett asks. “Forgive me for making assumptions about your mother’s situation, but if she’s unemployed due to long-term illness and drowning in medical bills, she sounds exactly like the type of person he’s trying to help. And since you kind of have an in…”
“Oh, no, no,” I say as the tall man I haven’t been introduced to yet shoots Nathan a disgusted glance. “Mom and I are gonna be okay.”
I just have to work a little harder for a little longer to get us there.
Nathan breaks eye contact with the stranger and meets my gaze, thoughts ticking across his face.
Who is that guy? What’s he doing here? Why do I get the distinct impression he doesn’t like me?
The group chatters, tossing banter around like confetti while I hang on Nathan’s arm. I’d hoped we’d have time to talk about us, maybe figure out who we are to each other, but that seems more and more like a pipedream. Though the night is young, the company is fabulous, and the view is straight out of a movie. Maybe I should worry less about putting pressure on the evening and let myself enjoy this once in my lifetime experience.
TWENTY-SIX
Nathan
I didn’t imagine the way Mina looked in that dress. It wasn’t a story I told myself to rationalize what I did in the dressing room at Blush. Her waist begs for my hands. Her breasts call to my lips, my teeth. I want to revel in her. To steal her away from my family and lock us in one of the rooms at The Hut. I’d be on my knees again. Then she’d be on hers, those lips wrapped around my cock.
Instead, Angela whisks her away with Garrett’s sister, Charlie, to go over paperwork and details before the auction. Our little group dissipates, leaving me with Dom standing a few feet away, looking wholly unimpressed. His clothes are expensive, his posture casual yet self-important. He’s the kind of guy who comes to a charity auction to boost his image, not help those in need, and he looks the part. How could I stand to be around him for so long?
“Did you hear that?” Dom lifts a judgmental eyebrow. “Mina’s mom sounds like a perfect candidate for your new program. What a lucky break for her that the two of you found each other just as you’re ready to accept your first round of applicants.”
I slide my hands into my pants pockets and shift back on my heel. “The timing’s a coincidence. This is the first Mina’s heard about my plans to expand the foundation.”
Dom scoffs. “How can you know that?”
“Because I haven’t told her.” There’s an edge to my voice he’s not used to hearing. One that says back the fuck off.
But Dominick Taylor does what he wants.
“How much did you spend on her dress?” he asks.
“None of your fucking business,” I bark, then step closer so I can lower my voice. The last thing I need is a public argument that fuels a round of gossip. For all I know, Fallon Mae is lurking nearby. Or the person who’s feeding her information. Either way, the headlines would not be kind.
“Look, brother,” Dom says without a care in the world who hears. “Don’t hate me because I’m running defense for you when you should be doing it yourself.”
“I don’t need anyone running defense,” I reply through a jaw tight enough to bend steel.
Dom scoffs. “You just got out of this exact situation with Blossom and you’re letting it happen all over again. It’s the classic story between the haves and have nots. They’re in it for what they can get from you. You’re fooling yourself if you think otherwise.”
“Who hurt you?” I grimace, then refresh my ‘party face’ as a server wanders by, pretending not to eavesdrop. “Mina isn’t Blossom. And if you’d get your head out of your ass long enough to talk to her, you’d realize what a fucking dick you are for everything you just said.”
“You keep calling me names like I don’t know who I am. I am an asshole, Nathan. It’s one of the reasons you like me. It helps when I’m distracting pretty young ladies so you can schmooze their rich fat uncles. I play my role so you can play yours, just like Mina is gonna play hers. The rules won’t change just because you wish they were different.”
No wonder my family has been worried about me. If this is who Dom really is and I’m just now seeing it, that says something uncomfortable about who I’ve been.
“Hear me when I say this, Dom. Stop dogging Mina. Get to know her better, get on board, or shut the fuck up.”
“I’ll take it under advisement,” he says, then heads for the bar, leaving me alone with my thoughts.
The guests begin to arrive, and Angela returns Mina to me in time to greet the more generous donors on our list. We chit and we chat and laugh and smile and all I can focus on is her.
I remember her moans. Her sighs. I remember her taste and the way the dress hit that floor, a cascade of fluttering silk and there she was, bare to me. No bra. No underwear. Just her.
And I suspect the same is true tonight. No bra. No underwear. She’s just there, waiting for me to claim her and it’s driving me fucking crazy.
Mina and I dance. We laugh. We talk with friends and family. We find Benjamin Bancroft standing on the outskirts, watching everyone with interest, and chat with him until Angela finally arrives to steal Mina for the auction.
“She’s something, isn’t she?” Benjamin asks me, unable to take his eyes off Mina’s back.
She’s everything.
I swallow hard, watching as she disappears with Angela.
“She is more than I bargained for, that’s for sure.”
Benjamin lifts his glass, his eyes on Mina. “Here’s to finding happiness in unexpected places.”
There’s something strange about him tonight. Something tense. Or expectant. The usually friendly architect seems reserved. Before I can decide if I’m imagining things, Aunt Maisie steps onto the stage my uncle Joe and cousin Mason built specifically for this event. With long strips of sheer fabric draping from arching timbers, its simple elegance is striking. I say goodbye to Benjamin and grudgingly take the nearest open seat…right next to Dom. He spares me a cool glance, then glues his attention to the stage as my aunt explains the rules for the auction. There’s a light spattering of applause when she finishes, and the games begin.
Several ROF employees take the stage. My assistant, Rita MacDonald. David Doughtry, one of our best caseworkers, an older man we affectionately call Keto Santa. After we cycle through employees, we move on to family members. Micah. My sister Maren and her twin Joshua. Angela. Charlie. Even Uncle Lucas and Aunt Cat.
