Page 87 of No One Else
21
Natalie
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“THANK YOU ALL SO MUCHfor your generous donations,” Brittany says into the microphone from the podium on the stage, her red satin gown shimmering in the spotlight. She seriously took the idea of a gala dress to the next level. As the head of Suncoast Serves, though, she has to look the part tonight more than anyone.
“We’ve raised enough to make a significant contribution to the hospital’s children’s cancer wing. This will impact countless lives in the community...”
She keeps talking but I tune out, looking over at Evan next to me at the table. The catering staff members are already clearing away our dessert plates, and I mentally review tonight’s itinerary. Once Brittany finishes her speech, dancing will begin and the silent auction will open.
Everything has run smoothly so far, fingers crossed, but I’ve been slightly on edge, waiting for something to go wrong. With an event this size, it’s bound to happen. Missing table settings, incorrect appetizers, drunk guests. Those are just a few possibilities I’m prepared for.
Plus, Evan and Carter are in the same room. No good can come of that.
I will that out of my mind, though, as Evan leans in toward me and I take a surreptitious sniff. Mmm, he smells good tonight. And seeing him in that suit... again, mmm. He’s obviously not a formalwear type, but I swear the man could make money modeling them because every time I catch sight of him I want to lick my lips and pounce.
“I feel guilty I haven’t donated anything,” he whispers.
“Oh, don’t. Most people here haven’t. They raise the majority of the money from the guests who buy the tables. And then those who bid highest on the auctions.”
“Should I bid?”
“If you want. Win us that cruise to Mexico,” I grin.
“How much do you think it’ll go for?”
I shrug. “A couple thousand.”
He makes a choking sound. “I’ll pass.”
Everyone starts clapping then and I automatically join in. Brittany must be finished speaking. Thankfully, her speech wasn’t as long as the ones from the presidents of Kappa Delta Phi. Usually, I enjoy, or at the very least don’t mind, these kinds of things. But I sort of just want this evening to be over. I’ve spotted Carter staring at me several times tonight. I don’t want to be on his radar at all.
The band begins playing and Evan scoots his chair out and stands, holding his hand out to me. “Can I have this dance?”
The knots in my stomach loosen at his smile and I take his hand, adjusting the hem of my long dress and join him on the dance floor. He wraps his right arm around my lower back, bringing me in close to his body, and grabs my hand with his left, the two of us swaying to the music.
“Have I told you how beautiful you look tonight?” he whispers in my ear. I melt a little further into him, finally relaxing. Here in his arms, as he leads me in this dance, nothing can really go wrong.
“You clean up pretty nice yourself.”
He shakes his head. “It’s only because you’re here next to me making me look good.”
He spins me around, the bottom of my green dress slightly flaring, despite how fitted it is, and when I settle into his arms again, the rest of the crowd fades away, his sultry hazel eyes the only thing I can focus on.
That is, until tapping on my shoulder brings me back to the real world. “Sorry to interrupt,” Angela says, looking truly apologetic. “We can’t find three of the baskets for auction and it’s supposed to start now. The wine and cheese, weekend getaway, and spa at home ones. Any idea where they might be?”
“Did you check the closet with the storage tables?” She nods. “Did someone transport them here in their car?”
“No, they should have already been here.” She wrings her hands and my heart goes out to her. She looks the same as I did the morning of the kissing booth when everything was going wrong.
