Seducing The Boss (Pulse #2) - Mari Carr Page 0,58

It would be an arrogant, ridiculous move, and Sara would rip him a new one for it, but dammit, how could she not see how much he loved her? He was crazy about her.

His mother would have rolled her eyes at his presumptuousness in booking the room, but Kellan hadn’t come here tonight to fail. Life without her wouldn’t be worth living, so he had to make her see, make her understand that she wasn’t alone in her feelings.

He’d entered this ballroom determined to win back the heart of the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. And that was exactly what he was going to do.

However, his plan was put on hold when he returned to find Sara standing next to the podium with one of the doctors from the free clinic. Dr. Rodriguez was serving as auctioneer while Sara handed him the items up for bid.

Kellan walked along the edge of the room, careful to remain out of Sara’s view. She probably expected him to leave in the face of her confession. What she failed to realize was how much her words had affected him. She loved him. He’d heard those words from women before, and they’d always been his cue to escape.

Hearing them from Sara had felt like a gift.

Standing in the back of the room, he watched only her as item after item was sold. The bids were going high, ensuring the fundraiser was a success. The clinic would benefit greatly from Sara’s efforts. She should be pleased, but there was no joy on her face. In fact, she looked as if she was fighting back tears. He hated thinking that he’d put them there.

When the final auction item came up for bid, she appeared to almost sigh with relief. The auction had gone on too fucking long, as Sara was forced to stand there thinking her love wasn’t returned. Kellan drummed his fingers against his leg impatiently, barely resisting the urge to walk up there and drag her away, to tell her that he was an idiot and a fool and he didn’t deserve her, but that he was going to beg her to take him anyway.

He had just taken the first step toward her, deciding he couldn’t stand it anymore, when they announced the final thing up for auction. Suddenly he knew exactly what to do.

“The last item is one I’m sure we’ve all been tempted by tonight,” Dr. Rodriguez said. “You’re bidding on a twelve-day cruise for two around the Greek Islands. Mountain Proteins has donated this once-in-a-lifetime trip to the Mediterranean. So, let’s start the bidding at five hundred dollars.”

Kellan bided his time as hands rose and fell around the room, more than a few people interested in winning the trip.

As the bidding slowed, he stepped forward, ready to make his move. “Fifteen thousand dollars,” he called out loudly, his bid nearly double the previous one.

There were audible gasps as everyone turned to look at him, but he only had eyes for Sara.

She was shocked to find him still there. That much was obvious by her expression.

“On one condition,” Kellan added.

Dr. Rodriguez looked at Sara and then back to Kellan, asking, “There’s a condition to your bid?”

He nodded, walking closer to the podium. He didn’t stop until he was halfway across the dance floor.

“What is it?” Dr. Rodriguez asked.

“That Sara Connelly goes with me.”

The silence in the room deepened. It was as if everyone had stopped breathing. Kellan certainly had.

Sara continued to look at him, appearing slightly shell-shocked.

“I can’t agree to something like that,” Dr. Rodriguez said. The poor man looked as if he was watching a tennis match, his eyes racing from Kellan to Sara and back again, trying to figure out what was going on.

“Kellan,” Sara said, glancing around the room uncomfortably. “What are you doing?”

“I thought that was obvious. I want to go on a Mediterranean cruise with you. I think it would be a nice honeymoon.”

Sara’s eyes widened for a split second before narrowing with suspicion. He didn’t blame her for her doubts. She’d known him for too long, had heard him swear off marriage no less than a million times. “Honeymoon?”

There were quite a few expressions of surprise from the onlookers when Kellan went down to one knee right there in the middle of the ballroom and pulled a small box from the pocket of his tuxedo jacket.

Sara had gone still as a stone.

“Marry me, Sara.”

“I…” She blinked rapidly, and Kellan wondered if