An Accidental Date with a Billionaire

Just kept typing.

She was this close to not saving him and letting him suffer through a date he clearly didn’t want to go on, but she’d promised Izzy she would buy her brother, and she didn’t break promises.

Not even ones she really wanted to.

She lifted her flag again.

“Two thousand to the lady in red.”

Slowly, the man lifted his head again, locking eyes with her. For that brief second of eye contact, goosebumps rose on her flesh, and a surge of electricity tickled the nape of her neck.

What the heck?

The other woman raised her flag.

Sam stood, completely done with all this crap. She just wanted to finish bidding and get far away from Andrew and the weird way he made her feel. “I bid three thousand dollars,” she interrupted.

“Three thousand dollars to the lady in red!” the announcer called out, smiling at Sam gratefully. She was the hostess, and she clearly appreciated the high bid.

Andrew’s gaze turned intense.

She inhaled, her stomach tightening into a fist.

The other lady frowned and put her flag down, shooting Sam a dirty look.

“Going once, going twice. Sold, to the lady in red!”

Sam downed the rest of her champagne, ignoring the trembling in her thighs at the idea of approaching this god-like man, and gathered her purse. After she let him know he owed these fine people a bunch of money for the pleasure of spending an evening alone with himself—Izzy said she’d already arranged for her brother to cover the bid—she’d hit the road.

She had a house to build tomorrow.

As she made her way across the room, the champagne hit her, and a fuzziness warmed her stomach. The kind that warned you if you had another, you’d regret it in the morning. “Whoops,” she whispered. “Too late.”

She started to climb the stairs to the stage, but a man stepped in her way, offering her his arm. “This way, Miss…?”

“Matthews. Sam Matthews.”

He grinned at her, giving her a discreet once-over. “I’m John.”

“Hey, John,” she murmured, treating him to the same perusal.

He was cute, in a safe, down-to-earth way. He was the type of guy she’d bring home for a night and never see again. Not guys like Andrew, who thought they owned the world and everyone in it. Guys like Andrew were too uptight. Too cocky. Too sure of themselves.

Maybe she should get John’s number.

He bowed to her. “I’ll take you to the cashier. Your date will be waiting for you there.”

Oh. Right. She already had a “date.”

“Thank you,” she said.

Hopefully Andrew didn’t mind her impatience to get out of here. Though, to a guy like him, that was probably pocket change. He wouldn’t even notice the missing cash. But still.

Maybe she should have waited it out and tried to get the best price.

She did love the thrill of a good deal.

John led her to a woman who had an iPad Pro, a swipe thing for credit cards, and a big smile. “Congratulations, Ms. Matthews!”