"How have you been?"
"Never better," his fingertips slip down my shoulders to touch the top of my bulging breast and goosebumps surface, and my nipples harden.
"Aren't you going to introduce me to your date? We haven't met."
"Nope," he says, as cool as a cucumber.
A smirk flits across my lips.
So, she sits up, leans over, and says, "Hi, I'm Grace Vanlandingham."
I cut my amused eyes at Bastian's, and he winks at me. "Hi, Grace. My name is Samaera Mathieson. It's nice to meet you."
Her expression matches her voice, snooty. "Oh, you're Southern. I was expecting a British accent."
So, I answer in a British accent, "Oh, you're rude. I was expecting manners."
She blinks back her surprise as Bastian laughs aloud. "Now, you know why I didn't introduce you two."
The emcee says, "The show starts in one minute."
Grace sits back in her seat, offended, and I snuggle up closer to Bastian, who kisses the top of my head. I feel like purring.
Bastian removes his arm from around my shoulders, so I slip my hand inside, under his arm, to accommodate his broad shoulders spreading into my seat. A Navy Officer in his dress whites moves towards us and stops at the seat next to me. Our eyes connect briefly as he lifts his program from the chair and spins around to sit. I notice a trident pinned to his chest. He's a SEAL. I can't help thinking he's the second most handsome man in the room, and I'm in the safest place, squished between two badass beefcakes.
The emcee starts the fashion show, and his commentary is entertaining, keeping me attentive, but both men are bored out of their minds. Bastian's leg twitches up and down, so I lay my hand on it and soothe it with my thumb. He covers it with his hand to stop me, and I glance down. Damn. He's hard.
"Oops," I whisper.
"Mmhmm," he murmurs.
Everything from cute short sassy dresses to long elegant evening gowns is presented. I'm surprised at the amount of money being bid on them. Thousands of dollars are offered for each one. Bastian bids eight thousand dollars on a black halter mini dress adorned with gold sequins. It's beautiful, and I turn to thank him. "You're welcome," he says. "Your tits are gonna look ginormous in it."
I elbow him, and we both chuckle.
The bored Navy SEAL next to me checks his program and perks up as the next-to-last item for the show walks the catwalk. It's a beautiful red gown and brings a bid of $15,000. She disappears behind the curtain briefly before the last model appears.
A buzz begins around the room, wondering if there's a problem. But then the model steps out in an exquisite bridal gown, and a hush falls over the room. She's halfway down the ramp before the emcee finds his voice and calls for an opening bid.
"$6,000. $7,000. $8,000."
Bids fly rapidly until she reaches the end of the runway and pauses right in front of us. Her eyes scan the crowd, and they lock when they land on the Navy SEAL.
I squeeze Bastian's thigh. Oh my gosh. Is this a military reunion?
He stands, and my heart leaps in my chest.Silence descends on the crowd as he walks up the stairs to her. He stops two steps down and reaches for her hand.She's so shocked she only stares at it, but he speaks softly to her as he reaches for it and places a sweet kiss on it.
My heart is melting into a pool of romantic goo.
Then he turns to the emcee and speaks with a commanding voice loud enough to be heard. "Sir, I bid $50,000 for this wedding gown, but I insist on receiving the whole wedding package."
Then he drops to one knee and proposes, "Rapunzel, will you marry me?"
Her hand flies to her heart.
Then the woman sitting on the other side of him bitterly blurts out, "Have you lost your freaking mind?"
But no one cares because the model is nodding, beaming, saying, "YES! Oh my god! YES!"
