Spring Romance: NINE Happily Ever Afters

by Tessa Bailey

  “She plans to bid on Adrian.” Anna puts a hand to her heart. “It’s so sweet of her to help out with my cause, even though she’s broke. She can only afford the fifty-euro starting bid.”

  Adrian? He just arrived this morning from Monte Carlo. Ruby meets him once and spends her last euro on him while I suffer splinters and blisters helping her out all week? That ancient fireplace mantel and the chipped-wood columns didn’t fix themselves up!

  Anna takes a sip of tea before smiling sweetly. “I so, so appreciate you doing this auction. Not only to get my clients jazzed about the project, but with the money we raise, I hope to fund survey and engineering for the day spa and get some architectural drawings done, which, of course, I’ll share with my clients. Then it’s on to research and development for the beauty product line.”

  I’m both irritated that she assumes I’ll do the auction after I very clearly refused, and insanely jealous that Ruby wants Adrian. I never get jealous. This is stupid. I know Ruby won’t win the bid on him since she’s broke. Yet it seems urgent that I’m there to make sure she doesn’t do something, anything with Adrian. It’s not just the auction. Afterward, there’s a big party with a DJ, dancing, and plenty of alcohol. I can see that picture all too clearly—Ruby dancing with Adrian, Ruby grinding with Adrian, Ruby drunk, laughing, following him upstairs. No, she’s not like that. But if she’s tempted by Adrian after just meeting him, there’s no telling what could happen. There will definitely be touching.

  I take a ferocious bite of toast and chew.

  Anna digs into her omelet, seeming oblivious to my agitation.

  Irrational jealousy finally wins out, and I find myself saying, “Fine, I’ll be there, but I’ll be contributing as an anonymous donor to bid on myself.”

  Her brows scrunch together in confusion, her fork poised in midair. “You’re going on a date with yourself?”

  “With a woman of my choosing.” Ruby. She’d never see me as an object, something to get a piece of and take home as a souvenir. She’d never brag she was with the royal hottie either because she sees me, Phillip Rourke, the man who works with his hands on fireplace mantels, speaks sexy French, and contributes to clean water efforts. “If I’m going to do this, it has to be under my control.”

  She sets her fork down and smiles tightly. “Did you have someone in mind?”

  “I’ll decide when the moment comes. Not the man-hungry woman who ripped my trousers, that’s for sure.” I go back to eating.

  She tilts her head, studying me. “Kind of defeats the purpose of the auction if it’s rigged.”

  “I don’t see why. Your friends can still meet me, scream their heads off, whatever they want as long as they keep their hands to themselves. They just can’t be alone with me.”

  “One of them will be alone with you on your date.” She narrows her eyes. “It’s Ruby, isn’t it? She told me you helped her this past week working on the fantasy suite. Since when do you do manual labor?”

  “I have many talents.” A stretch. Ruby taught me what to do. “Ruby and I are friends. The date would be completely platonic.”

  “Phillip.”

  She doubts my intentions, probably with good reason, but my need to prevent the Ruby-Adrian connection outweighs all other risks. I straighten my spine and say in my most imperious voice, “Anna, take it or leave it.”

  She caved. Her friends want to see me in the auction too much for Anna to disappoint them. I caved too, but it’s on my terms and for a good reason.

  So here I am in the ballroom, standing behind a red velvet curtain with my younger brothers. There’s a small stage and a catwalk that leads down the center of the rows of chairs, where Anna’s nutso wild friends will be sitting. I’m wearing one of my club outfits—black button-down shirt open at the collar, black leather trousers, and black motorcycle boots.

  Lucas hip-checks me. My younger brother by a year resembles me with the same dark brown hair and blue-green eyes, though his beard hides the similar sharp lines of our cheekbones and jaw. “I bet I go for more than you.”

  I snort. I’m the headliner here.

  “I want in if we’re betting,” Oscar says, joining us. “I bet Lucas goes for more than Phillip, and I go for more than both of you.” He’s three years younger than me at twenty-six, with the same coloring, but, by some fluke of nature, inherited a combination of our parents’ traits that made him turn out the best looking of us. His face has perfect symmetry like you see on male models and movie stars. If he wasn’t so discreet, he would probably be the one dubbed the royal hottie.

  “I’m putting a hundred on Phillip,” Adrian says, slapping a hand on my shoulder. Now that I’ve neutralized Adrian’s possible claim on Ruby, I can enjoy his support. He’s my youngest brother at twenty-three, same thick dark hair, but his eyes are hazel like our mother’s.

  “Thank you,” I tell Adrian. He’s a card shark and loves a good high-stakes poker game, but he’s smart about his betting. He must really think I’m going to be the highest bid.

  “Why’s that?” Lucas asks Adrian.

  Adrian lifts his palms. “He’s the royal hottie. Anna’s friends are mostly here for him.”

  Lucas shoots me a sideways look. “Maybe I’ll put on a better show.”

  Oscar rubs his scruffy jaw. “Just because we’re not an internet meme doesn’t mean we can’t outbid him. So how much do you want to wager?”

  I ignore them as they whisper and shake hands, striking deals for the bets. I already know I’ll win. I’m bidding on myself, and the women are crazy enough for me they’ll surely keep up with my bids.

  Women’s laughter bursts through the room. Sixteen man-hungry women who all want a piece of me. The hair on the back of my neck rises as a horrifying image flashes through my mind—me flat on my back on the ground, the women ripping my clothes and yanking out locks of my hair. I’m having second thoughts. And third and fourth.

  “They’re here,” Lucas says, rubbing his hands together. “This is going to be fun.”

  Fun? No. Torture is more like it. And, after the auction, the torture continues. Since there’s only four princes up for auction, that means a lot of the women will be disappointed, so Anna asked us to spend time with them, mingling and dancing.

  Anna bursts through the center of the red velvet curtains separating us from the stage, which exposes us to the women’s view. They go wild with hoots and hollers. I do a quick scan of the crowd for Ruby before stepping out of view. I didn’t see her. Lucas and Oscar are pointing at different women like they’re picking them out personally. Adrian blows them a kiss.

  “Royal hottie, you are mine!” the insane woman who took my trousers’ pocket hollers.

  “He’s mine!” another woman hollers.

  “I’ve already named our children!” someone hollers, and the women scream with laughter.

  What if Ruby’s a no-show?

  Anna looks over her shoulder at her guests. “Bar’s open, ladies! Help yourselves!”

  “Woo-hoo!”

  “Party!”

  “Yeah! This place is the best!”

  Great. Let’s lower their inhibitions even more.

  Anna closes the curtain behind her and says under her breath, “They’re already wasted from the cocktail hour we just had. I didn’t want them to feel too intimidated to bid on princes who date models.”

  My brothers smirk. I’m too busy thinking about an escape route.

  Anna tosses her dark curls over her shoulder. She’s wearing a tight sleeveless red dress with black stilettos. Much more revealing than what our queen would normally wear, but her husband, the king, allows it because he’s crazy for her. “How’re you guys doing? You feeling good?”

  “Great!” my brothers assure her in near unison.

  She turns to me. “Can’t wait to see how high your bidding goes. The women are psyched. You’ll be going on last to build the anticipation.”

  I nod once and work for a pleasant expression despite the grim
fortitude I’m drawing on to see this through. Please let Ruby show up.

  “We’ll get the bidding sky-high for you, Anna,” Lucas says.

  Oscar leans in, speaking in a low voice. “We’ve got a pool going.”

  “Phillip will crush it,” Adrian says.

  “I like your spirit!” Anna exclaims, beaming at us. Then she hugs each of us in turn and kisses our cheeks. “I love you, guys. You’re the big brothers I always wished I had, except you, Adrian, since we’re the same age. You could be my twin or triplet, I guess, since you already have Silvia for your twin. Anyhoo, break a leg!”

  My brothers smile and nod. I try not to dwell on being ripped to bits by a hungry mob.

  “Is Gabriel coming?” Lucas asks Anna casually, and I know exactly why. He’s considering how outrageous he can be to win the betting pool.

  “Of course!” Anna exclaims. “We’re a team. He’s with your mom right now, explaining why this auction is such a great idea. I guess I forgot to mention it.”

  Su-u-ure, forgot. Just like she forgot to mention the auction to me until the last minute. She’s devious, that woman. But I have to admit, very effective.

  She rushes through the curtains and calls to her friends, “Who’s ready to party?”

  The women cheer enthusiastically. Music blasts out of speakers near both sides of the stage, a low thumping bass beat. Oscar and Lucas start moving to the beat, getting some pelvic thrusts into it. Adrian takes one look at the horror on my face and cracks up.

  It occurs to me with a jolt that Anna may have used Ruby’s name to lure me here because she knows we’ve become friendly. She could’ve made up that bit about Ruby bidding on Adrian. Have I been outmaneuvered?

  Hell, I may actually go to one of the wild mob.

  * * *

  Ruby

  These ladies are so fun! I feel like I joined a raging party, even before the alcohol started flowing. I’m so glad I was invited to stay this extra week to hang with Anna. Not only has it given me time to reconnect with her and finally meet her husband, but I’ve gotten to meet her friends too. Anna took me with them on the tour of the royal fantasy suite and sang my praises. All of them wanted my number and swore they wanted me to take a look at their place the moment I get back home. I nearly cried. Sixteen potential clients in one fell swoop. What seemed like a lost cause suddenly feels like a real chance at a career. And it’s all me—an entrepreneur—proving myself. It goes a long way after feeling like a failure. I was at a real low point before this trip, wallowing at home with nothing great on the horizon. Now everything feels bright, like the sun finally came out after a long stream of rainy days. I’m even starting to feel like my old energetic self again.

  Actually, I started feeling more like my old self again the moment I got here. Maybe the tight deadline forced me to focus on work and freed my mind from dark thoughts of the past. Maybe it’s Phillip. Despite his player rep, which frankly is a huge turnoff, he’s grown on me. All of my nerves light up the moment he gets near. Who am I kidding? I’m hot for him.

  “Can we switch seats?” Ashley, a woman with honey blond hair, asks, leaning close. I can smell the alcohol on her breath. She’s a corporate lawyer. I’ve memorized as many details as I could on my potential new clients. “I wanna be close enough to reach out and touch someone.” She giggles.

  I gape at her. “Um, I don’t think we’re supposed to touch.”

  She laughs. “Maybe they’ll touch me. I could flash them.” She goes to lift her blouse in demonstration, and I put my hand over hers, keeping it down.

  I think of Phillip on display up there and can’t help my indignation. “It’s an auction for a date, that’s all.”

  “Geez, loosen up!” She tosses her hair, stands, and works her way around to the other side of the catwalk, sitting on the end over there.

  Damn, I might’ve just lost her as a potential client. That worry is trounced by my indignation on Phillip and his brothers’ behalf. The men are doing this as a fundraiser, and they shouldn’t have to worry about grabbing hands. I know Phillip wouldn’t like that. He carries himself with a certain princely dignity. I’m not sure about his brothers. Lucas and Oscar are pretty flirty. Of course, there is security. Twelve guards total, two per royal for the four princes, the king, and the queen. Anna confided to me that they didn’t really need this much security for a closed palace event, but when the guards heard what she planned, they wanted to be here. Purely for their own amusement. Men.

  Gradually, the women take their seats. Everyone has a drink in hand. I’m in the last row, still nursing the same glass of sauvignon blanc from the cocktail party earlier. I’m pacing myself since I’m such a lightweight. There’s servants circulating to replenish drinks too.

  The doors to the ballroom open and a servant announces, “King Gabriel and Queen Anna.”

  A hush falls over the room. Something about having them announced hits me with the importance of Anna’s new role. I saw her earlier and she was just my friend Anna from Tampa. She left the ballroom a short while ago to go smooth things over with her mother-in-law, who’s much more proper than Anna and apparently not happy about the auction.

  Anna waves and smiles at everyone. Gabriel remains stone-faced, his posture stiff and proud, wearing a charcoal gray suit, no tie. I suppose that’s casual for him. He places a hand on the small of her back and escorts her to the front podium on stage, where she will be announcing the auction. She turns to him, goes up on tiptoe, and gives him a peck on the lips. He’s smiling when he takes his front-row seat and looks much warmer than when I met him earlier. I guess Anna has that effect on him.

  Anna gestures to the DJ at the side of the room to turn down the music, and picks up a wireless microphone. “Can you hear me okay?”

  “Yeah!” we all cheer. Some of the women wolf-whistle.

  “All right! Let’s get this thing started!” Anna gestures to a servant, who dims the lights. “First bachelor prince up for auction is Adrian Rourke. Let’s give it up for this hottie!”

  Adrian steps through the curtains and lifts a hand to us. He’s wearing a white button-down shirt with black jeans and black high-top sneakers.

  Anna gives us his highlights while he struts down the catwalk. I can only hear snippets of it because the women are screaming his name.

  “Six feet of…”

  “Has a girl twin, so he gets women…”

  “Top honors at university…”

  “Enjoys poker, including strip poker…”

  The women go wild! The rest of his bio is drowned out, and Anna finally gives up. He’s got a cocky grin on his face, looking pretty comfortable with the attention. He turns, makes his way back down the catwalk to center stage, and nods at Anna.

  “Should we start the bidding?” she asks.

  Adrian lifts his arms, waving us on. The noise is deafening—screaming, whistling, stamping feet.

  “Bidding starts at fifty euros!” Anna hollers above the noise.

  I raise my hand. “Fifty!” My one and only bid for the night. I agreed to be the designated person to get the ball rolling on bidding.

  Anna beams at me. “We have fifty!”

  “A thousand!” someone hollers.

  “Two thousand!”

  It keeps going, crazy high. Wow, this is going to be a killer fundraiser. Just wait until they get to the last prince, the royal hottie. The women will be frothing at the mouth. I cringe to think of Phillip on a date with one of these women. I have no right to be possessive of him, but, after getting to know him this week, I’ve seen glimpses of a tender side. He doesn’t want to be mauled by an aggressive woman.

  The bidding slows around five thousand euros, and Anna crosses to Adrian’s side, goading them on. “Come on, ladies! This is a prince who’s got it all. He’s smart, he’s good lookin’, and he’s a good dancer!”

  The DJ cranks the music to a sexy hard beat, and Adrian and Anna start dancing together. It is hot. The pair of them move sensuously, c
lose but not touching, Adrian smoldering down at her. Gabriel barks something from his seat, and Anna turns, makes a kissy face at him, and then hollers, “Go, Adrian!” She takes her place back at the podium.

  He dances alone, lifting his arms and rolling his hips in a suggestive way. Then he moves forward, making eye contact with a woman in the front row, slowly raising the end of his shirt to reveal ripped abs. Damn, he is fine. They must have a personal trainer on staff at the palace. Phillip is similarly ripped.

  The woman he aimed his abs at leaps out of her seat. “Six thousand!”

  Adrian drops his shirt and does another walk down the catwalk. The bidding is insane. Ashley—the eager groper—lunges to grab Adrian’s calf. Security instantly moves forward, but Adrian shakes his head at them. He drops to his haunches in front of her, takes her hand, and kisses the back of it. He whispers something to her, and she smiles and settles back in her seat.

  Then she bids ten thousand.

  It’s over. Adrian goes for ten thousand euros. He throws out a kiss and wave to us all, turns, and strides back toward the stage curtains to make his exit.

  “Woo-hoo!” Anna hollers. “Let’s give another hand to Adrian!”

  Everyone applauds wildly as he vanishes backstage. Servants swoop in to refresh our drinks. They memorized what we ordered earlier and bring us each more of the same. I haven’t touched my glass of wine and turn down a second glass. It’s the good stuff too. Very generous.

  Anna lifts a hand for silence and then announces the next prince. “Next up is Oscar, who some say should’ve been dubbed the royal hottie. Let me know if you agree.”

  Oscar rips the curtains open and spreads his arms wide. He’s in a navy blue button-down shirt, dark gray dress pants, and leather shoes. Elegant, stylish, and sophisticated.

  “Hello, ladies!” Oscar hollers. “Who’s feeling lucky tonight?”

  Maybe not so sophisticated. The sexy pickup line works though. The women go wild. They’re out of their seats, hands in the air.