one’s auction. The other “couples” were gathered near the front watching the proceedings, and presumably they would go off and eat their lunches when it was all over. But Jake didn’t move from his spot at the back of the crowd. So she should probably go to him? Even though Eiko had moved on and was in the middle of singing the praises of Dennis Bates, Nora still felt like she was under a microscope. She was a bug trapped on a glass slide, and on the other side of the lens was the entire damn town.
Or maybe it was just Jake, who continued to watch her intently.
As she passed Maya, she heard another low whistle. Except instead of being a good-natured hubba-hubba whistle from a friend, this one was more like Girl. Holy shit.
As she approached Jake, she raised her eyebrows and shook her head. Smiled despite herself. He answered her with one of his own—also, she thought, despite himself.
She held up her palms. “Dude. What are you doing?”
He shrugged, and his grin became self-satisfied. “Saving you from Jason Sims.”
“The lawyer?”
He stepped closer and looked around, as if to make sure no one was watching or listening.
Of course, everyone was watching and listening.
He took her elbow and steered her away from the crowd, speaking under his breath as they went. “Yeah. Word on the street is he was gonna feed you foie gras.”
“Ew,” she said instinctively.
He held up the pizza box. Her stomach growled. He smirked and hitched his head at a backpack he had slung over one shoulder. “And there’s bourbon in here.”
None of that explained why he’d bid five hundred bucks, but she decided not to overanalyze it. “Well, thanks, Jake. I owe you.” She looked over her shoulder. People were still twisting their necks and looking at them. That feeling she’d had in the hardware store the morning she’d agreed to stand in this stupid auction, of being an animal in a zoo, was back with a vengeance.
“Let’s find somewhere to eat this where everyone’s not watching us,” she whispered.
“Gazebo around front?” he suggested.
“I feel like that’s the first place people will look once this breaks up.”
“You think people will be looking for us?”
“Uh, don’t take this the wrong way, Jake. I know what your intentions were—and weren’t—but you made quite the splash back there. You bid way too much, and…well, you showed up to begin with.”
Something changed on his face—realization dawned. She wasn’t sure about what, just that he looked like he had solved a long-standing mystery. “Oh my God. I played right into her hands.”
“Whose?”
“Pearl’s. She set me up!”
Nora laughed and patted him on the arm. “Poor Jake. Outmaneuvered by an octogenarian. Come on. Let’s eat at the inn.”
They went in through the back door, which opened onto the kitchen. She’d been thinking they’d eat at the island, but Karl Andersen was sitting at it with his back to them, doing something she couldn’t see. He’d said earlier that he was staging the awards ceremony from here, so he was probably getting ready. Dammit.
They were trying to get away from innuendo. Being spotted sneaking inside for a cozy, private lunch was not going to help their cause, especially when the spotter was Karl.
Apparently they were due a stroke of luck, though. Karl hadn’t heard them come in. Nora had been leading the way, and she turned and put a finger to her lips. Jake nodded and carefully—and silently—shut the door behind him. They moved excruciatingly slowly across the room, like the air was molasses. It felt like it took forever to get even halfway across the kitchen—at which point she made the mistake of looking at Jake.
His mouth was clamped shut in concentration, and his eyes were open wide—almost bugging out. There was something about giant Aquaman trying to tiptoe lightly that struck her as funny. He must have felt her attention, because he looked over and met her eyes. Soon they were both shaking with silent laughter. He looked like he was trying not to throw up. His chest heaved and his shoulders rose before he got himself back under control. She pressed a palm over her mouth, looked away from him, and kept plodding forward.
The kitchen was connected to the dining room via a swinging door. When they reached it, they stopped as if by silent agreement. Nora wasn’t sure how they should handle this. Should they try to maintain their stealthy but slothy pace or should they push through as quickly