“Sorry to add to your workload.”
He grinned. “It’s why they pay me the big bucks.”
She headed back to her workstation and began filling small bags with spice blend. Doing the right thing felt good. That was a lesson she would carry with her always. The consequences for anything else weren’t worth it.
* * *
The hotel ballroom looked like something out of a movie, Callie thought as she and Santiago walked around the displays for the silent auction. Twinkling lights, beautifully dressed people, with both laughter and music as delightful background noise.
She’d spent the afternoon getting ready. Keira had insisted they go to Nordstrom for makeup, so Callie had dutifully braved the Clinique counter to get advice on what she should buy. She’d stayed for a lesson, then had duplicated the effort as she’d gotten ready. She’d left her hair in hot rollers for nearly an hour and then had sprayed the resulting curls with half a can of hairspray. With luck they would last several hours.
In her fancy dress and wearing a strapless bra with the power to support far more than she had, she felt confident and pretty and almost tall. Having Santiago give her surreptitious looks of approval only added to the specialness of the night.
Once they’d arrived, they’d swung by one of the bars in the room to get a drink. Now they surveyed the grouping of tables with cute signs above them. Each section of tables had a charming name like Whiffen Walk.
“Here’s how the night goes down,” Santiago said, putting his free hand on her waist. “We start with the cocktail hour and the silent auction. I have an app on my phone and we bid on anything we want. Items are usually grouped together. Wine packages, experiences, dining out, travel. There are more special items in what’s called a Super Silent.”
He winked at her. “Sports tickets, artwork. We could get you a picture of dogs playing poker.”
“Could we, because that would be the best.” She looked around at all the tables. “There’s a lot here. We’ll never get through it all.” Not that she would be bidding on anything. “I thought there would be a live auction. I’ve never seen one.”
“Oh, there is. It’s during dinner. Those items are the really exclusive. Dinner for twelve on a private yacht or a week in Bali. That kind of thing.”
Callie wasn’t sure she could put together a dinner for twelve. Did she even know that many people? But even as she thought the question, she realized she did—at least these days. Back in Houston she’d been on her own but since moving to Seattle, everything had changed. She had family and friends and, well, a really hunky boyfriend.
He drew her close. “Come on. Let’s go spend money for charity.”
Callie had no idea what to expect from the silent auction. They spent a few minutes in the wine section. Santiago bid on a couple of cases, then handed her his phone.
“You do the next one.” He showed her how the app worked. “You put in the amount of your bid here and the maximum you’re willing to bid. The app will automatically increase your bid every time someone else bids on your item. You’ll get a notification when that happens and if you end up being outbid.”
She studied the screen. “What’s that for?”
“It’s the ‘buy it now’ button. If you really want something, there’s a purchase price that’s usually double the actual value.” He smiled. “For those who are impatient or unwilling to take the risk.”
“How often do you use the ‘buy it now’ button?”
“Me?” He chuckled. “A lot.”
“Figures.”
They wandered through the various sections, then Santiago took her to the Super Silent area.
There were bottles of wine that looked a lot like the wine they’d seen before, but based on the opening bid obviously weren’t. Someone had donated a sapphire and diamond pin. There was a bronze sculpture of a mother and baby penguin, a suite for a Mariners game and a couple of travel packages.
“See anything you like?” he asked.
She looked at the sculpture. The opening bid was twenty-five hundred dollars. “Ah, not really.”
“It’s for sick children, Callie. I’m prepared to be generous. What’s appealing?”
Her gaze settled on a brochure for a hotel up in the mountains. The pictures were beautiful with lots of trees. The package included three nights in a luxury suite, breakfast, one dinner and a couples’ massage. She’d never heard of the resort but according to the brochure, Whistler, British Columbia, was only a few hours away by car.
She handed him the brochure. “You said it had to be special the first time. Does this count?”
He looked from the pictures to her, then grabbed his phone and punched the “buy it now” button.
She laughed. “So that was a yes?”
“You’re killing me, you know that, right?”
“I wasn’t sure but it’s good to know.”
Their gazes locked. She felt her attraction to him all the way to her toes. When she was around him she felt cared for, adored and safe. He was good and funny and smart and kind. She had no idea why she’d been so blessed, but Santiago was a true miracle in her life and she planned to hold on to him for as long as she could.
* * *
“Delaney? Is that you?”
Delaney saw a tall blonde woman hurrying toward her. “Emilie-Louise! I can’t believe it.”
The two women embraced. Emilie-Louise took her hands and stepped back a couple of feet. “Look at you. You’re just as beautiful as ever. Don’t you get older?” She released her hands and sighed. “I’m such a horrible friend. I’m sorry. I’ve been meaning to get in touch, but time got away from me. How are you? How is everything?”
Delaney and Emilie-Louise had worked together at Boeing. They’d been hired within a few months of each other and had often worked together on projects. Delaney’s climb had been a little faster but she would guess Emilie-Louise had passed her by now.
“I’ll go find our table,” Malcolm whispered in her ear. “And leave you to have a little time with your friend.”
She gave him a grateful smile, then turned back to Emilie-Louise. “Everything is good.”
“We miss you. I know you went through so much. You’re back in college, right? I think that’s what I heard.”
Delaney nodded. “What about you? How are you doing?”
Emilie-Louise held out her left hand. “I’m getting married in a few months. Oh, you have to come to the wedding. And I want us to get together for lunch. I mean that.”
They talked for a few more minutes before Delaney excused herself to go find Malcolm. She’d run into more people than she’d expected. Old friends and people she’d worked with. Everyone had been so pleased to see her. None had looked at her as if she’d emotionally abandoned them. They’d all said they missed her and were sorry they weren’t seeing more of her but there hadn’t been blame and more than one friend had claimed responsibility for the lack of contact.
While she appreciated the support, she was left more confused than ever. Had she been the one to cut herself off or had it simply been circumstances? Had she retreated after Tim had died and her father had been shot because she’d needed to preserve her resources or had she been hiding?
This was not the time or place to figure that out but when she had some time to herself, she needed to think on the problem.
She made her way to a table by the stage. As Malcolm’s company was a major sponsor of the event, they had prime seating. She spotted Callie and Santiago together—they made a handsome couple and Callie looked amazing in her dress.
Malcolm saw her and moved toward her. When he reached her, he put his arms around her and lightly kissed her.
“You’re a fun date,” he said. “And the most beautiful woman in the room. How did I get so lucky?”
“I have no idea. How did you?”
He smiled and pulled her close. Being next to him felt good. Right. He was the only thing that made sense in an increasingly confusing world.
“You know a lot of people here,” he said, holding out her chair.
“From my previous life.” She looked around the room. “Sometimes I miss it.”
Sometimes she wondered if she’d made the right choice to leave it.
“You could go back.”
“I could.” She leaned close. “But I’d rather spend tonight thinking about being with you.”
He smiled at her. “See? I’m the luckiest guy ever.”
* * *
“I can’t believe you didn’t take a picture of Delaney,” Keira grumbled late Sunday morning as she and Malcolm walked along the waterfront. “I wanted to see her dress.”
“Sorry. I didn’t think of it. For the record, she was beautiful.”
More than beautiful, he thought, remembering the kick in the gut the first time he’d seen her. Stunning. Incredible. Everything he’d ever wanted.
The last thought had him stumbling on the perfectly level curb. Did he mean that? Was he finally ready to trust again, and if so, was she the one? He thought maybe she was.
They walked into a bakery and stood in line. Keira admired everything in the case before turning to him.