Loving Mr. July (19 page)

A pinch on her elbow brought Cynthia back to
attention. “Wake up, you’re on,” Holly whispered.

Cynthia abruptly stopped clapping, as she
realized that the applause she had mindlessly been contributing to
had been for her introduction. Feeling her face flush, she made her
way up to the podium.

Summoning up her best speaking voice, she
launched into introductions. “Good evening ladies and gentlemen.
Now is the part of the evening all you single ladies have been
waiting for. And for you men, well, apologies ahead of time, but we
ask for your patience while we cater to the ladies for a bit.”

“Twelve, very eligible bachelors have
generously donated their time and finances to help the Bocher
Foundation raise money for their excellent work in the community.
Now I’ll be introducing each gentleman, one at a time, and our
auctioneer here, Brody of Brody’s Auction Services,” Cynthia said,
gesturing to a short man standing to her right on the stage, “will
call the auction and monitor the bids.”

Cynthia waited for the light sprinkling of
applause to die down. “All you women ready?”

As some of the more rambunctious women hooted
and hollered, Cynthia glanced over at the twelve men now sitting in
a row on the stage. A few of them were grinning, a few looked a
little embarrassed, and at least two, Kurt included, had slid down
in their chairs, affecting a bored stance.

She smiled. The poor guys had no idea what
they were in for. There was a reason they held the auction toward
the end of the ball, when alcohol had been available for at least a
couple of hours. Years of experience had shown that when the women
lost a little bit of their normal inhibitions, they tended to bid
fast and furious. And the Foundation’s bottom line usually
benefited.

“Okay then! Our first businessman, Adam
Bradley, a.k.a., Mr. January,” Cynthia turned and winked at Adam,
who gave her a winning smile, “is a local boy. He grew up surfing
the breaks in Encintas—”

A tipsy woman in the front row gave a wolf
whistle. Adam blew her a kiss.

Cynthia waited for the laughter to die down.
“—and founded a line of surfing accessories while still a student
at SDSU. His line has since expanded into clothing and surfboards
now sold in more than twenty countries.”

She paused to let Adam enjoy the applause.
“His fantasy weekend, should you be lucky enough to win it,
includes an all expense paid weekend at the fabulous Lodge at
Torrey Pines…”

The room erupted in applause as photographs
of the Craftsman-style hotel with its rich wood details appeared on
the screen, followed by a photograph of a sunset from the
cliffs.

“
Personal
surfing instructions—”
Cynthia lowered her voice to a sexy purr and gave Adam a sideways
glance. “Is that in the room or outside?”

Adam played right along with her, drawling
out, “Lady’s choice. I can be accommodating.”

The woman in the front row hollered out,
“I’ll bet you can, baby.”

Cynthia grinned. Adam was one of her
favorites in this year’s calendar. She had picked him for Mr.
January on purpose, knowing that he’d be up first in the auction.
And because he was such a ham, she knew she could count on him to
get the crowd going.

“Adam’s package also includes a day of
pampering in the lodge’s spa.” Cynthia put down her notes and faced
the audience. “So, without further ado, let me introduce Adam
Bradley!”

Adam walked toward Cynthia while the screen
behind him switched to his calendar photo.

Patty had taken him down to the beach near
the end of the day, when the light was its most golden, to create
his calendar shot. In it, Adam leaned against a rock, his surfboard
at his feet, and his wetsuit pulled down to reveal a wet, muscular
chest. He had one hand in his hair, finger-combing it back from his
face, which was angled slightly away, allowing Patty to use the
natural shadows of the late afternoon sun to emphasize his strong
jaw lines.

It was a stunning photograph. And the females
in the audience showed their appreciation loudly.

Smiling a little, Adam kissed Cynthia on the
cheek and waved at the audience.

“Brody,” Cynthia said, leaning toward the
microphone and raising her voice over the hollering women. “Let’s
auction off our first bachelor!”

Brody shook Adam’s hand and turned to the
audience. “Okay ladies, do I have a hundred?”

And we’re off and running, Cynthia thought,
turning to take a seat while she let Brody do his thing. She had a
few women planted around the audience to bid on the men at her
command, if necessary. She didn’t want anyone slighted, either by
lack of bids or by the size of the bids. Not after all the time and
money these men had invested in the evening.

But Adam wasn’t going to need one of her
mercy bidders, Cynthia noted with satisfaction. Two women near the
front had already bid him up over seven thousand dollars. She hoped
for Adam’s sake that the tipsy divorcee in the front row lost. He
was a nice guy, and that woman was known for chewing through
husbands. Cynthia suspected that even a mere weekend with her would
drive Adam up a wall.

“Sold!” Brody rapped his gavel. “To the
lovely woman on my right with paddle number #240.”

Cynthia looked up and breathed out a sigh of
relief. She got up and walked over to Adam, linked fingers with
him, and whispered in his ear. “You lucked out. The other one is a
piranha.”

“I figured,” Adam whispered back. “That’s why
my girlfriend just spend a ton of my money outbidding her.”

Cynthia put her other hand to her mouth and
hid the giggle that threatened under a rapid clearing of her
throat. She gave his hand a squeeze and let go to approach the
podium. “Let’s give Adam a round of applause.”

When the noise had died down, she added, “And
the lucky winner, make room at your table, because Adam is coming
down to join you!”

“And now on to Mr. February…”

~ ~ ~

Kurt tuned out the proceedings after his
buddy Adam left the stage. He watched Cynthia emcee the auction
with ease. She hit a different tone with each bachelor, bringing
out their different personalities in a subtle, but clear way. She
was good. Better than good.

So good, in fact, that when she first started
the flirting overtones with Adam, he’d felt his hackles rise, just
a bit. Was Adam one of the men who knew how beautiful Cynthia was
naked? Being to the side and somewhat behind Cynthia, Kurt could
watch their interaction closely. And it was only after he noticed
the casual stance between them, friendly but not intimate, that his
stomach muscles unclenched.

He blew out a breath, and glanced at the
other men in between him and Adam. Had any of them been on a date
with Cynthia? Kissed by Cynthia during their photo shoots? He shook
his head. No, going down that path was madness. He had his plan in
place. And in, he glanced at his watch, less than ten minutes now,
based on how long it took to auction off all of the men before him,
he would have his answer.

~ ~ ~

As Mr. June walked off the stage to sit with
his highest bidder, Cynthia glanced over at Kurt. He still slouched
in his chair, his head bent down, and he clasped and unclasped his
hands. Interesting. It almost looked as if he was nervous. The
thought took away a smidgeon of her own nerves.

“And now, I’d like to introduce Mr. July.”
She smoothed out the introduction notes, waited for the audience to
quiet. “Mr. Kurt Renton is a co-founder, along with his brother, of
RentBro, Inc., an electronics firm in Carlsbad. Mr. Renton held the
position of CFO up until just last week, when it was announced that
he would be taking over the CEO position from his brother, Blake,
who wanted to return to his geek roots.”

She smiled over at Blake, as light laughter
filled the room. “His fantasy weekend includes a drive up the coast
in a beautiful Ford mustang convertible, complements of Encintas
Ford, who has long been a sponsor of the Bocher Foundation.”

A picture of the powder blue convertible
appeared on the screen, followed by pictures of Big Sur, the Golden
Gate Bridge, and finally Napa valley.

“Your final destination is a beautiful bed
and breakfast, housed in a quaint 19th century Victorian, where you
will be wined and dined and if you so desire, treated to in room
spa service.”

As the murmurs of appreciation filled the
room, Cynthia set aside her notes and turned to gesture to Kurt.
“So please join me in welcoming Kurt, our Mr. July!”

As the applause filled the room, the screen
behind them switched to Kurt’s calendar pose. The women went nuts,
hooting and hollering. Cynthia saw Holly put her fingers to her
mouth and let out a shrill whistle.

Holding back a laugh at Kurt’s wince, Cynthia
turned the proceedings over to Brody, just as she had all the
others. Only this time, she sat in a chair where she had a clear
view of one of her planted bidders.

The bidding was fast and furious. Every time
it seemed like the bidding would finally wind down, Cynthia
signaled to her plant to bid again. Five thousand. Six thousand.
Seven thousand. But as the price reached fifteen thousand dollars,
only two women were left battling it out, Cynthia’s plant, and a
small, dark-haired woman at the very back of the room, beyond the
range of the stage lights.

Damn it, why wouldn’t the woman give up?

“Going once!” Brody started the final
count.

Her plant gave her a signal. Bid higher?
Cynthia waited. Was there any other place she could obtain some
cash? She added up her savings and credit limits in her head again.
Nope, still stuck back at fourteen thousand.

“Going twice!”

The signaling from her bidder grew frantic.
If she bid up, she
had
to find the money. It wasn’t just a
question of finances. Those kids at the center depended on this
fundraising. And the source wasn’t going to appear from thin air.
Cynthia slowly shook her head and her plant sat down.

Cynthia hunched in her chair. What to do
now?

“Sold!” Brody turned to Kurt. “How does it
feel to have women fighting over you that much?”

Kurt put his hands out, palm upward and
shrugged, a pained look on his face.

As Cynthia made her way up to the podium to
announce the winner, she made a quick decision. Now was the time to
lay it on the line.

“Ladies and Gentlemen,” Cynthia looked out at
the audience and avoided Kurt’s face. “I have a confession to make.
You see, that woman over there,” Cynthia motioned to her planted
bidder, “she was my plant. Bidding for me, as I was supposed to be
the impartial host of this evening.”

The room grew silent. Cynthia took a deep
breath. “But you see, I’m not at all. Impartial that is.”

She motioned to Kurt. “I’ve known Kurt
through my best friend, Sharon, whom many of you know is not only
the owner of Grandma’s Antiques, but also the proud wife of Kurt’s
brother Blake.”

She waited for the light applause to die
down.

“And I’ve lusted after him ever since I met
him.”

Laughter didn’t obscure the sound of Kurt
approaching the podium. Cynthia held up a hand, still not looking
him in the face.

“I probably join scores of other women in
that category.” Cynthia heard some whistles from the back of the
room.

“But over the course of these last few
months, I got to know Kurt as a person. A person of integrity,
kindness, compassion, and strength.”

Kurt came over then, put his hand on
Cynthia’s shoulder.

She turned to face him, taking one of his
hands in hers. “I’ve been a total idiot where you’re concerned,
Kurt. And I’m very sorry. I planted the bidder because I wanted to
have a weekend with you. Time to apologize. And time to tell you I
love you.”

Kurt pulled her into his arms, tucking her
head against his chest with one hand. After a long moment, he set
her back from him, turned her face up and ran a hand along her
cheek. He kissed first one side of her face, and then the other
before turning to the microphone, one arm still draped around her
shoulders.

He cleared his throat. “I guess there is some
karma in the world somewhere that indicates I should be having this
moment in front of all you people.”

Laughter traveled across the room.

He hugged Cynthia. “It took a tremendous
amount of courage for Cynthia to make this statement so publicly,
to open herself up to risk and ridicule. Courage that maybe not all
of you understand as I do. And that’s a gift she’s given me that I
will always treasure. However, I have to tell you all that she’s a
bit nuts…”

Cynthia stiffened and tried to turn away.
Kurt tightened his hold on her, as gasps filled the room.

“A bit nuts to think she had to go through
all of this,” he continued, waving his hand around the room, “and
even be willing to put herself into deep debt in order to just have
a single weekend with me.”

He turned to face Cynthia. “Because I want so
much more.” He turned her face up to his and lowered his head to
kiss her fully on the mouth.

Cheers, clapping and laughter filled the
room. All Cynthia felt was the warmth of lips on hers, the promise
of more in his hold. And when he lifted his head, a look that was
for her alone.

Brody cleared his throat and tapped Kurt on
the shoulder. “Ah, Cynthia, Kurt? Are you forgetting something?” He
inclined his head toward the audience.

“No.” Kurt spoke directly into the
microphone, one arm still encircling Cynthia’s waist. “I want
everyone to know how much I love this woman.”

Wolf whistles, hoots and hollers, laughter
and clapping filled the room.

“And,” Kurt tried to talk over the noise.
When it didn’t stop, he held up his other hand. “And, I would like
to ask my friend Stella to come forward.”