Sam watched John go, regretting not asking for his number.
The bubbles had done their job, and she could use a night of fun.
“Ms. Matthews?” the woman said.
Sam took a second to be impressed that the lady had discovered her name in the ten seconds it took her to walk over to the makeshift cashier station. “Uh…” She searched the room for Andrew. Where was he? “Thanks.”
“We appreciate the donation you made and want to make sure you know that all the money from tonight will be going to help those children with cancer that we showed on the screen before the bidding, as well as their families. Not a dime will be taken by us, the country club, or the staff of Helping Children.”
Sam nodded, peeking over her shoulder.
Was he behind her?
Nope.
“That’ll be three thousand dollars. Will you be paying with cash or credit?”
“Um, yeah, no.” Sam choked on a laugh. “Neither.”
The woman frowned. “I don’t understand.”
“Don’t worry, you’ll get your money. It’s just…I’m here as a favor, you know? I bid on him so he didn’t have to go on a date, because he’s my best friend’s brother. I did it for him. Well, actually, I did it for her, because I don’t know him, you know?”
She stared at Sam, her mouth parted. “I…”
“Can I speak to Andrew? That’ll fix this.”
She blinked. “Andrew?”
“Yes, the man I just bid on. Andrew Michaelson.”
The lady stared at her. Did she drink a little too much of that champagne and somehow freeze time inside her head??
After what felt like a million years, the woman shook herself slightly and cleared her throat, staring at something behind Sam. “Ms. Matthews…I fear there’s been a mistake…”
“No, there hasn’t. Like I said, you’re getting your money,” Sam interrupted, her cheeks hot because everyone in the room was staring at her. Everyone except the man she needed. “Andrew knows what’s going on. If you get him and let him know—”
“I’m sorry, but that’s not possible.” The woman wrung her hands in front of her. “You see, Andrew already left. With his date.”
His date? Sam’s heart thudded against her chest, and her legs weakened for an entirely different reason now. “He…left? I…don’t…understand.”
“He left with his date. There was a last-minute schedule change, and Andrew needed to go first, so he changed places with one of our other men.” The woman hesitated. “Andrew went first, Ms. Matthews.”
The nervous guy. That had been Andrew.
Craaaap.
Sam’s heart fell to her stomach, rolled out of her, and hit the floor with a sickening thud. If Andrew had already left, then she hadn’t bid on him at all, and the man she had just offered to pay three thousand dollars for was her responsibility…and she needed to fork up the cash.
“But if I didn’t bid on Andrew, who did I bid on?” she asked slowly, a bit too loudly.
“Me,” a deep voice said from the distance behind her.
The masculine voice sent shivers down her spine, and her whole body tingled with something she didn’t fully understand or welcome.
Slowly turning, she locked eyes with the man she’d bid on approaching her now. She hadn’t been able to see this from far away, but his eyes were green. Like bright moss green. He also had a charming dimple in his chin that somehow softened his hard jaw. His expensive tux was paired with an equally expensive cologne, and he was even hotter up close than he’d been from a distance, totally breaking the Mona Lisa rule.
She had a feeling it wasn’t the only rule he liked to break.