that he wanted another chance with her.
And now she was going to get to watch a townful of women bid on him right in front of her on a stage she’d literally helped construct for an event she’d come up with.
This was not great.
“Yeah, it’s all great,” Paige said to Piper. “But I just can’t bid on Ollie. You’ll have to get someone else.”
“Why not?” Piper asked. She was frowning at Paige. “You promised.”
“Yeah, well, that was before Elliot brought Christopher with him.”
Piper’s frown deepened. “What?”
Paige leaned to the side. “Do you see Elliot?”
Piper peered over her shoulder and Whitney turned as well. The programmer was standing near the far end of the stage talking to a tall guy with dark hair and glasses. He looked like all of the other guys milling around in t-shirts and jeans and tennis shoes or work boots. He held a glass of lemonade and seemed to be just hanging out, enjoying the day. Whitney knew everyone in Appleby. That guy was not from here.
“Yeah,” Piper said. “That’s Chris. He’s another of our designers. He works with Dax.” She focused on Paige again. “Wait, you know Chris?”
Paige sighed. “Yeah.”
“What’s going on?” Whitney asked. “How do you know one of Fluke’s designers?”
“Well, I didn’t know that I knew one of Fluke’s designers. But I flirted with that guy at Granny’s the other night,” she said, referring to the bar in town that specialized in, of course, hard ciders.
“Okay. So?” Piper asked.
“So we made out. Heavily.” She tipped her head. “Then I told him I was a real estate agent in Kansas City and gave him a fake number. And that my name was Kara.”
“But… why didn’t you want him to know who you were?” Piper asked. “Chris is a great guy.”
“Because I wanted to have a couple of drinks and make out with him and that’s all I wanted to have with him,” Paige said. “Which means, now that he’s here, I need to avoid him until he leaves. So obviously, I can’t call attention to myself by bidding on Ollie.”
“But—” Piper started to protest.
“Sorry. Thanks for understanding,” Paige said. Then she smiled and turned and slipped through the crowd.
Headed in the opposite direction of where Chris was standing.
Piper turned to Whitney. “Things just got less great.”
4
Whitney signed. “You think?”
“Now what?” Piper asked.
“You’ll have to bid on Ollie,” Whitney said.
“No way.”
“Why not?”
“I can’t. I… work for him.”
Whitney laughed. “So?”
“I just can’t.”
Whitney didn’t understand that, but she honestly didn’t have the time or energy to devote to another complication.
She glanced at Jane and Zoe but they were out. They were both spoken for.
Whitney sighed. “Then I guess we’ll just let the ladies of Appleby bid without knowing who the winner will be.”
“I… don’t know.” Piper didn’t seem thrilled with that either.
“I don’t think you have to worry,” Jane said, nodding to the crowd.
The baking show was going to start in about five minutes. The crowd was gathering closer to the stage and, yes, there were a lot more young women than men. Or older women. Or kids. The crowd was predominantly women about Cam and Max and Ollie’s age. Most of the women in Appleby knew that Max was gay, so it was safe to assume that Ollie and Cam were the draw here.
Whitney pressed her hand against her stomach.
Could she disappear during the baking show and auction? Dax was going to MC the whole thing. Piper was here and on top of things. Aiden and Grant were both here somewhere. Surely Whitney wouldn’t have to watch Cam strut out on stage in the blue jeans and tight black t-shirt Piper had decided he should wear to show off his tattoos and muscles. She wouldn’t have to watch him bake. Something he was actually quite good at. He was a McCaffery after all. He’d grown up in Buttered Up bakery. He’d been baking since he was old enough to hold a mixer. She was well aware that women found that sexy. And surely she didn’t have to watch him get bid on by the beautiful women who would be vying for a date with him.
She probably needed to go check on… the alpacas. Or something.
“That is why we can’t just leave Ollie up there to be auctioned off,” Piper said.
“Because a ton of women in Appleby have noticed that he’s good looking and know he’s a rich genius?” Jane asked. “Come on. Why can’t Ollie have some fun?”
Fun. Yeah. They might have fun on these dates.
Whitney