Romance Me (Boxed Set) (30 page)

Throughout the years she collected bits of his life—newspaper articles about his high-school baseball career, or of him being crowned Homecoming king, or programs from the plays he’d been in either at Meadowview High or in the theater program her parents had run and that now she ran. Later, she added his graduation announcement from Harvard, followed by reviews of every play he’d ever been in, even those in which he’d just had a walk-on role, and finally, playbills and articles about Ethan Sawyer, Broadway’s starring director.

She flicked the lid off the box, ready to add the advertisement for tonight’s event, the paper with Ethan’s face prominently displayed on the front.

“Hey, Sadie?”

Theo’s voice, coming from behind, startled her. She stood, then dropped the box and scrambled to hide it from his view. And promptly stumbled and fell.

Directly on her Ethan Box.

She choked back a cry. Destruction met her eyes. Two corners of the box had ripped open completely, spilling the contents onto the floor. Several fragile items, including a miniature Christmas ornament in pearlescent glass and gold filigree—a present Ethan had given her over fourteen years ago—all had been crushed by her weight. Tears pricked at her eyelids.

Childish ninny, she thought when the tears threatened to overflow. Here she was, a professional twenty-seven-year-old, blubbering like a baby over a few broken items from her childhood.

Only these were no mere broken items…these were reflections of her broken heart.

“What is all this?” Theo asked.

She whirled around to see her brother, standing directly behind her, staring at the contents of her Ethan Box. Oh, God, no. No way could she let him know about her wild crush for Ethan. Theo would tease her forever.

“Why did you come back?” she choked out. Desperate, she moved to shove the box under the duvet cover, but Theo stopped her by grabbing her hand.

“I left my wallet. And hence the condoms I thought I might use tonight.”

“Who says ‘hence?’”

He ignored her question. “What is all this?” Slowly, he lifted each item and article, noting the dates that ranged from years ago until now. His jaw tightened and his eyes grew soft. Carefully, he placed the contents back in the shoebox and replaced the lid. Instead of laughing at her, or poking fun the way he always did, he put his arms around her in a comforting hug.

“Maybe someday he’ll wake up, sis,” he whispered against her hair, then let go of her and left the room.

Maybe. But she doubted it. If Ethan had ever wanted her the way she wanted him, he would have made that clear ages ago. At least she knew her brother thought it wasn’t insane she had a major crush on his best friend for years. Not that Theo’s opinion mattered. So, okay, it mattered some. She sucked in a deep breath. Time for theatrics was over. She’d clung to her Ethan Box for years. Maybe now that she was about to see him again, she could let go of the past and move on to the future.

But not if she continued to sit around her house and mope. Besides, she had a job to do. And nothing would stop her from keeping Meadowview the financial success it had become. In a flurry of activity, she shoved the box under the bed, grabbed her purse, and headed to the door, intent on seeing Ethan for the first time in years.

And intent on grabbing a martini to calm her spazzing nerves.

Once outside, she hopped into her hybrid and drove through the calm streets of Meadowview, not taking time to admire the quaint brick buildings that made up the town, with their wrought-iron railings and the white picket fences. Instead, she focused on getting to the Meadowview Theater. Built in the late 1800s at the height of the gold mining era, the theater had been well cared for, its regal atmosphere retained by the original brick façade and iron shutters, high ceilings, and private balconies. There she’d find Ethan. And would hope not to get caught drooling. Or become a total nitwit and pass out.

Once she reached the center of town, it took several long minutes to locate a parking spot. The bachelor auction, a fundraiser for the Modern Playwrights Festival, Meadowview’s claim to fame and her source of income, had apparently drawn quite the crowd. Main Street, Market Street, and even the alleyway were lined bumper to bumper. At least the summer rain had stopped. The melodious hum of crickets added to the night air as she strode up the wooden sidewalk to the theater.

Bucolic. Calming.

Not.

With a deep breath, Sadie swung open the heavy iron door. Stepping into the theater, she was suddenly slammed with the intense energy of the crowd, almost all women, each eager to win a date with a dream bachelor. She gulped. Goodness gracious, what form of hell had she unleashed upon the tiny town of Meadowview when she thought up this bachelor auction as a fundraiser for her beloved festival?

She was supposed to meet her two best friends, Chessie Gibson and Lia Sawyer, Ethan’s little sister, but the pack of women seemed to grow with an other-worldly life force, making Sadie wonder if she’d ever get out alive, much less find Chessie and Lia.

“Sadie!”

Through the insatiable roar of the crowd she heard the loud call of her name.
Thank God
. Someone she knew.

Chessie slithered her way past a group of heavily made up middle-aged women, all fanning themselves with their auction paddles. A full-length sleeveless white satin gown clung to her lush curves, and ropes of pearls swayed in rhythm with her long auburn locks as she strode forward. With a martini glass in each hand, she looked the epitome of a 1930s starlet.

“Chessie!” Sadie called back, opening her arms to hug her friend.

Before Chessie could reach her, however, she stumbled, swishing martini contents all over the floor. “Dratted heels,” she swore, handing Sadie a now nearly empty drink.

Sadie gaped as Chessie removed first one then the other four-inch silver heel from her feet and tossed them behind a potted plant. “You can’t be serious! You’re going to dump your shoes?”

Chessie downed her martini and reached for Sadie’s, finishing it off in one gulp, then said, “Of course I am. I detest heels. They may make my legs look great, but at such a sacrifice. Nothing’s worth that much pain.”

“I can’t believe you threw your shoes away.” Sadie bent to peek behind the bush, looking for a gleam of silver. “You may be a fashion geek, but this is a bit much, even for you.”

Having fashion and style drilled into her on a daily basis by her overly perfect mother had made Sadie constantly aware of style and dress. However, no matter how hard she’d tried to pass on some of her mother’s style advice to Chessie, it had never rubbed off. Chessie would probably be perfectly content dressed in a paper bag. Or even wandering around life butt naked.

Although tonight, Chessie looked beautiful. The dress suited her, even if the shoes didn’t.

“Leave them there,” Chessie said. “I picked them up at Shoes-for-Less for under ten dollars. They're not worth you crawling around on the ground trying to keep me shod.”

“I can’t believe one of my best friends would attend the fundraiser I’d sweated blood and tears over without shoes.” Sadie huffed. “But fine. Have it your way. Go barefoot for all I care. Oh—wait—that’s right: you
are
barefoot!”

Chessie laughed, the sound rolling rich and full from her throat. Smiling, Sadie linked arms with her friend, pulling her along on a hunt for a fresh martini. “Is Lia here yet?” she asked.

“She’s in the auditorium, looking for you. We were both afraid you wouldn’t make it.”

“I almost didn’t. I’m frazzled and needed that martini you dumped because you can’t walk in heels like a normal person. Let’s find drinks before we find Lia.” She slid between two older women, both drenched in heavy floral perfume and chatting non-stop about which hot young boy-toy they were planning to win.

“Don’t worry, I’ll get you another,” Chessie said. “I’m just glad you’re here. I got to see Ethan earlier. He seemed bummed that he didn’t get to see you in person before the grand event started.”

Sadie’s chest squeezed. “It’s been twelve years since we’ve actually seen each other. But we’ve always kept in touch. He forwards me all the stupid joke emails he gets, and we talk on the phone every once in a while.” Although, every time Sadie heard his voice on the other end of the line her mouth would suddenly become stuffed full with cotton balls and her stomach would quiver. “I hope he won’t hate me for convincing him to be part of the auction. These women are absolutely insane over the idea of buying a date with a cute guy,” she added as they reached the bar.

Chessie waved down a bartender and asked for a couple of Lemon Drops, then said, “Well,
I
haven’t gone off my rocker over a bunch of useless men. I’m going to buy my own brother tonight. There’s a big leak in my roof and Jack keeps saying he doesn’t have time to help me fix it. So, I figure instead of buying a date I don’t want to go on anyway, I’ll buy myself my brother and get that leak fixed.”

“I don’t think I’d ever buy my brother,” Sadie said as she licked the sugared rim of her drink the bartender had placed on the bar. “I wouldn’t know what to do with Theo. He’s useless.”

Chessie chuckled. Without spilling her drink this time, she pulled Sadie along behind her into the crowded and stuffy auditorium. “Theo is just a little hung up on himself. But you’re right—I wouldn’t know what to do with him either. Put him on a pedestal with a mirror in front of him and let him admire himself, maybe.”

“Pretty birdie, pretty birdie.” Sadie imitated a parrot, bobbing her head up and down, enjoying the sound of Chessie’s throaty laugh.

“Mick Calhoun said he wanted you to buy him.”

Ugh. Mick wasn’t a bad guy, but her former almost-boyfriend from high school also wasn’t anyone she ever wanted to repeat their one really bad make-out session with. Nope, she was all about Ethan tonight. “
That’s
not gonna happen.”

“Are you planning on bidding on anyone tonight?”

The crowd shifted, closing in tighter, before Sadie could respond to her friend’s question. She gripped her martini in one hand and her auction paddle in the other in a death hold. Good God, what had she unleashed upon poor little Meadowview? Feeling a light tap on her shoulder, she whirled around.

And gaped.

Ethan’s little sister and her other best friend, Lia, stood beside her, her diminutive form wrapped up in an emerald green strapless sheath, her black hair pulled back in an elegant ponytail, her beauty enhanced by raspberry lipstick and smoky eyes. Her formerly mousy looks had been entirely transformed.

“Oh, Lia,” Sadie breathed. “You look so beautiful.”

Lia smiled, dimples flashing on either cheek. “Thank you, but you look stunning. Absolutely stunning.”

“Hardly,” Sadie said while wrapping her friend up in a big hug. “My hair’s starting to frizz and my ass is totally flat, as always.”

Lia shook her head, a light smile on her lips.

“Ignore her,” Chessie said, butting in. “She’s gorgeous, and so are you, Lia. The Little Twerps have grown up, haven’t we?”

Sadie groaned. “Ugh. I hate that name. I don’t think Theo ever called me by my real name until I was in college. My brother’s always been such a brat. I hope some old granny wins him tonight and makes him pick up doggy poo for a month.”

“That would serve him right,” Chessie commiserated. “Your obnoxious brother keeps claiming he’ll be won by some hot chick and he’ll get free sex.”

“I’m definitely not bidding on Theo,” Sadie spoke emphatically.

“I’m not bidding on him, either,” Lia added. “Then again, I’m not bidding on anyone tonight. But Sadie, if you’re not bidding on your brother, you have to bid on Ethan. Remember Liz?”

Sadie’s stomach clenched. Liz: the bane of her existence in high school. Three years older than Sadie, with perfect hair, perfect clothes, perfect butt, and perfectly stuffed bra, Liz had been Ethan’s high school kind-of girlfriend for a while. Whatever the arrangement, Liz had kept all other girls far away from Ethan, including his little sister and her friends.

Sadie had spent numerous nights hatching one evil plot after another, all geared toward Liz’s ultimate demise. Or at the very least, the full and complete eradication of Liz from Ethan’s life.

“She’s been telling everyone how she’ll win Ethan tonight, no matter what. You have to save him—remember how ghastly she was in school?” Lia gripped Sadie’s arm.

Ghastly was an understatement when it came to Liz.

“Sure, I’ll bid on Ethan.” Sadie hoped she sounded nonchalant, as if she wasn’t craving him, hadn’t spent the last three months arranging this fundraiser just to get the chance to see him again. He’d been so understanding and patient when she’d called with her request. Not eager to be sold off to the highest bidder, he still wanted to support her and the Modern Playwrights Festival. Now he was here, just mere yards away, hidden somewhere behind the red curtain drawn across the stage.

“I’m sure Ethan will be quite relieved to avoid Liz. I don’t think she ever got over her crush on him.” Lia patted her arm.

She’s not the only one
. Sadie tightened her grip on the auction paddle clenched in her fist, preparing herself for battle. She was getting Ethan tonight.