peaceful expression made Mollie soften towards him. Maybe Aaron wasn’t so bad. He was helping out Mollie too, wasn’t he? Sure, Aaron probably wanted to tease his friend, but Mollie appreciated a good joke, especially if it was at the expense of an arrogant jerk. She could hardly wait to see Janson’s reaction when he saw who bought him.
The blonde put up two hundred and fifty dollars. Mollie doubled that with five hundred. Janson squinted through the bright lights, but it was no use. She’d been under a spotlight in their community plays enough to know that he’d never see her when she stood behind it. Elana put up a thousand, and the blonde quickly doubled it. Another woman got in on the action. Mollie let the fancy-dressed socialites go at it, having every intention of outbidding them after they beat out Elana. Her friend quit after three thousand.
“Oh.” Mollie bumped Charlize with her shoulder. “Sad. She dropped out.”
Janson looked far from upset. He straightened, looking more at ease now that the two well-dressed women were the only ones fighting for him. Mollie grinned. No, no. He wasn’t going to get off that easy. The women’s bids skyrocketed to $40,000. Their friends shrieked and giggled at their tables, adding their own funds to the bids to help out, until finally one of the contenders gave up with a shout. The beautiful blonde squealed in victory.
Mollie gave her just enough time to celebrate before holding up her own paddle. “One hundred thousand dollars,” she said.
“What?” Elana slammed her paddle against the table, complaining loudly that the stakes were too high—she’d never get a date this way. Mollie hid a laugh, knowing her friend didn’t recognize her silhouette behind the spotlight.
Aaron leaned across Charly to whisper in Mollie’s ear. “Make it a million.” No, she’d already won! Wasting that kind of money seemed wrong. He nodded encouragingly. The guy clearly wanted to embarrass his friend by buying him for a crazy amount.
Clenching her teeth, Mollie tried to remember that Aaron’s donation to charity wasn’t that big a deal to him. “A million!” she squeaked out.
Janson’s brow shot up. This time she felt exposed when he tried to see her through the spotlight. The beautiful blonde grunted out in dismay as the MC announced the winner, but there was no way the other woman could compete. Mollie had won herself a scoundrel. She let out a shaky breath.
Janson slipped a hand into his pocket and took his time returning to her. As soon as they locked eyes, those luscious lips of his curved upwards into a half smile—maybe more of a grimace. He never quite smiled, though he seemed amused nonetheless. “What’d you do, Red? Rob a bank?” His gaze slid to Aaron for a brief second before it returned to her. He knew exactly where that money came from, though incredibly he didn’t seem to care. “Glad to see you changed your mind about getting some color into those cheeks.” Before she could even retort, he reached up and tucked her hair back from her face.
His hazel eyes promised a great evening ahead. He almost seemed eager to get to it. Was he watching her lips? Her cheeks felt hot, like he’d just covered her with kisses. Oh! She was pretty sure she had color in her cheeks now. How embarrassing. She did her best to cool down her thoughts and shrugged. “I needed a date for a funeral. We’re both dressed for it.”
He sucked in his breath with a chuckle. “As long as it’s not mine. How about we ditch the ’20s party and I show you what it really means to live. How about it, Red?”
She really wanted to go. His charisma drew her in against her will, and she fought against it. “Tempting.” She was annoyed by how breathy she sounded. “But I have a better idea.”
“Yeah?” He leaned closer. The attraction sizzling between them made Mollie almost forget what she was going to do. “Well, the lady bought me.” His sultry voice was hypnotizing. “What will she do with me?”
Mollie glanced over at Elana Faun, feeling almost sick. Her plan had seemed so clear before. What was happening to her?
“Yes, Mollie! Why don’t you take him away from here?” Charly took over, looking desperate, like she was trying to thwart whatever Mollie might be thinking. “Show him Eureka Springs like it was meant to be seen. You know the night life better than anybody.”
No, no, this was a