“You’re a prize, all right,” Hill said with a droll tone. “Let’s get this over with.”
“Eager, huh?” Ramsey teased. “I love it.”
A few minutes later, Hill stood off to the side and out of the view of the crowd as Ramsey went to a podium on the other side of the stage and talked about the charity they were raising money for tonight. Hill could see some of the audience, but he couldn’t find Andi. He knew she was there. She’d texted him when she and her friends had arrived. He hadn’t asked her to do that, but he’d appreciated the extra assurance. Getting up there and not seeing her familiar face in the audience was a nightmare that had woken him from a dead sleep last night. And of course, in the nightmare, he’d been on stage naked because…nightmares loved nudity.
“And now for our first bachelor,” Ramsey said into the microphone, bringing Hill’s focus back.
His heart was already pounding, and he wiped his damp palms on his jeans. Please let this be over quickly.
“Our first bachelor is a true hero,” Ramsey went on. “Hill Dawson was a valued member of our station for eight years. Beyond being a guy you could always trust to have your back in an emergency situation, he was also our favorite firehouse cook.” Ramsey leaned closer to the mic. “Which means he can cook, ladies.”
There were claps and whoops from the crowd.
“During a five-alarm fire at an apartment building, Hill was helping evacuate families when he heard the roof starting to give way,” Ramsey went on. “Though the danger was clear, Hill rushed back in and saved three additional people and the family dog before the roof caved in and a beam landed on him.”
There were murmurs in the crowd. Hill closed his eyes, trying to breathe and forcing himself to count the breaths so that he didn’t let his mind go to the memory. Ramsey had promised him that he wouldn’t go into anything but the most basic details so as not to trigger Hill. Breathe. One. Two. Three. Four.
“So, though he’s now retired from the station, Hill is the guy I look to when I need lessons in being a badass. He is my friend. He is a hero. And tonight, for the right price, he can be your karaoke date.” Ramsey looked toward the side of the stage where Hill was standing in the shadows. He waved him forward. “Everyone, please welcome our first eligible bachelor of the night, Hill Dawson.”
The crowd erupted in applause. Hill’s throat was tight and his shoulder muscles locked, but he forced himself to move forward. The spotlights aimed at the small stage were blinding for a moment, but Hill made his way toward Ramsey and then turned to face the audience, pasting a half smile on his face.
When his eyes adjusted to the lights, he caught sight of red hair off to the left. Andi was smiling and clapping, her gaze a little shiny as it locked on him. The wash of relief and delight that went through him from seeing her there almost knocked him backward. The world felt lighter when Andi was around. She was like the human version of an Instagram filter, making everything a little softer and a lot more beautiful. His forced smile grew into a real one.
“So,” Ramsey said. “Let’s open up the bidding at fifty dollars.”
Hill kept his eyes on Andi. They’d given everyone little cardboard auction paddles with numbers on them. He waited for her to lift hers but before she could, a voice from the right side of the crowd shouted. “I bid fifty!”
“Fifty dollars to the lovely lady holding number twenty-two,” Ramsey said.
Hill found the bidder, a pretty woman with light-brown skin and long, dark hair—Amir’s sister. Hill remembered meeting her once at one of the events for firefighters’ families, but it’d been a while. Amir was another of his friends being auctioned tonight.
“Seventy-five,” someone shouted from somewhere near the back wall. A blond with a group of laughing girlfriends.
The quick bids surprised Hill. He glanced toward Andi. Her face was half-turned, an annoyed look on her face. She raised her number fourteen sign. “One hundred!”
“We have one hundred from the front row,” Ramsey said, sending a knowing smile Hill’s way.
“One fifteen,” Amir’s sister announced.
“One twenty-five.” This from a new voice near Andi.
Oh shit.
Andi was looking truly perturbed now, and Hill was trying to keep the worry off his face. He’d only given Andi a hundred and fifty bucks. He hadn’t expected the bidding to go this high.
“One fifty,” the blond in the back said.
Hill’s stomach flipped over. She’d topped out what Andi had.
“I love this,” Ramsey said. “A battle with a good cause as the winner. Let’s throw some more money at him, ladies!”
Andi looked at Hill with wide eyes. A different version of his nightmare was coming true. He never should’ve agreed to this or made this plan to outwit the system, but how could he have guessed that anyone would spend that much money just to sing karaoke with some washed-up firefighter?
“Two hundred!” Andi announced, waving her sign.
Hill let out a breath. Thank God.
“Two twenty-five,” the blond countered.
Andi turned her head, a you’ve-got-to-be-kidding-me look on her face. Hill knew she didn’t have a pile of available cash to throw at this. Panic that he’d be stuck with some stranger tonight grew. But as he watched Andi, her friend Eliza grabbed Andi’s wrist to lift the sign in the air. “Five hundred!”
“Whoa,” Ramsey said, sending Hill a delighted look. “Five hundred to the ladies up front.”
To Hill’s great relief, that over-the-top donation quieted the competition. Andi grinned and put her arm around Eliza and kissed her cheek.
“Going once, going twice,” Ramsey said, thankfully not drawing it out. “Number fourteen, you have won yourself an evening of karaoke and drinks with Mr. Hill Dawson. Thank you for your generous donation!”
Andi let out a whoop, and the rest of the crowd clapped. She hurried to the steps at the edge of the stage and Hill headed down to meet her. He wrapped his arms around her, picked her up off her feet, and kissed her, forgetting people were still watching.
There were a few sounds of encouragement from the crowd.
Ramsey cleared his throat. “And just to clarify. These two know each other, so please don’t kiss your firefighter when you win him. Boundaries, y’all.”
There was a ripple of laughter, and then Ramsey moved on to the next introduction, taking the spotlight off of them. Andi grabbed Hill’s hand and led him away from the front and toward a spot where her friends had gathered. “Look, everyone,” she announced. “We’ve bought ourselves a firefighter!”