I flinched, and he sighed, knowing me well enough not to push.
“How can I not on a day like today?” I spat, the old fury rearing its ugly head as it often did.
Christophe rubbed at his exhausted face. The man had flown six hours to be here because he never left me alone on the day I saw my couples off. Knowing instinctively that I’d need him here, especially after the meeting.
He grabbed the tube of lipstick from me and set it back down on the counter, then held my hand with both of his.
“There was nothing you could have done for Celine. You were only nineteen. In a foreign place working under deplorable circumstances. You both made the only decisions you could.” He lifted my hand and kissed my palm repeatedly.
Tears filled my eyes as the memories of that day washed through me. We’d been so happy to be chosen in The Marriage Auction. We had planned to keep in touch and meet back up when our time ran out. Five years was the requirement back then. Only we’d have had all the money we needed to live out our dreams. Together. Best friends for life.
That’s what was supposed to happen.
“This is why you purchased the company all those years ago. To ensure another unsuspecting female or male wasn’t sold to a monster, oui?”
I nodded as my stomach tightened against the painful memories. My heart clenched, and I squeezed Christophe’s hand, needing the tether to him and his love to hold me up.
“And you have gone to great lengths to ensure that each candidate is safe?” he asked.
“I have,” I croaked, trying to rein in the old emotions.
“Bien, bien. Then you have done what you have promised. Today, you will remind them all of their agreements and of their commitment. Not to mention the consequences of their actions, provided they abuse their power. Oui?”
“Oui,” I muttered.
He turned me to face him and cupped both of my cheeks.
“Do you feel these people are safe with their bidders?” he asked, staring me straight in the face, getting to the heart of the ultimate concern.
I nodded. “I do. Though they are a different breed, unlike any couples I’ve had before.”
He ran his thumbs over my cheeks and leaned forward, taking my lips in a light press of his own. A flutter of pure love filtered through my chest, and his light filled me to bursting.
Christophe was my sun, pushing all the darkness and ugly memories away with a single kiss.
“I have faith in you, chéri. You would never let man nor woman enter into an unsafe situation intentionally. Trust that you have worked through any concerns and have come to the other side. Otherwise you wouldn’t be letting them leave today, non?”
I shook my head. “No, I wouldn’t.”
“Then go. I will be here, ready to take you home upon your return.” He smiled tiredly, but his eyes still sparkled with a love three decades strong.
“Merci, mon amour.” Thank you, my love, I whispered in his ear, air-kissing one cheek and then the next.
One by one each couple entered the medium-sized conference room. I stood backlit by the floor-to-ceiling windows of the city behind me waiting for them each to take a seat so we could get started.
With an assessing eye, I evaluated each grouping.
As expected, Savannah McAllister and Erik Johansen sat next to one another, looking bright, sunny, and well-rested. Erik eased his chair closer to Savannah’s after he made sure she was settled but didn’t go so far as to take her hand or lean into her space. A proper gentleman. I had high hopes for the pairing. There was something unbelievably sweet and rather innocent about them.
Next, sitting rigid as a ruler, eyes to his phone was Nile Pennington. Ruby Dawson sat between him and his twin, Noah Pennington. While Ruby chewed on a cuticle, glancing around the room trying not to be seen at all, Noah was to her right. He was tapping out a beat only he could hear on the wooden table, as if being here or not being here was all the same to him. I often wondered what it was like to have so much money that you hadn’t a care in the world. His aloofness and easy-going nature could also come back to haunt him. What he may not have realized about Ms. Dawson was that she was far smarter than the average blonde beauty he was used to wooing in his plethora of nightclubs. This woman had been through hell and wanted a future. She had a set plan and rationale for being in the auction. She wasn’t in this for love; she was in it for money. He would be wise to remember that fact.
Next to Noah sat Joel Castellanos and Faith Marino. Joel sat focused, eyes to me, all business, neither his face nor body language giving anything away about his emotional or mental status. Though Faith, on the other hand, appeared awash with emotions. Biting her lip, twisting her fingers, crossing and uncrossing her legs as though ready to bolt at any moment. She kept glancing down at her phone, then at Joel as though seeking some type of relief from whatever was bothering her.
I focused on them for a moment as the last part of our group had yet to arrive. Much to my surprise, Joel turned to Faith, whispered something, then grabbed her hand and set it within his, resting them both on his thigh. Instantly, her agitation disappeared, and she let out a long breath, relaxing into the leather chair.
So far this was the most exciting discovery of the pairings, that is until Sutton stormed into the room, dragging a flustered Dakota behind him with one hand. He pulled out a chair and led her straight into it. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and her shirt was inside out, the small tag visible at the hem at the neck. Her eyes were bleary and her skin tone rather green. After she sat, she leaned over and rested both her elbows on the table and clutched at her head with a groan, pressing her forehead to the flat surface. I glanced at Sutton and noted the red-rimmed eyes, the unshaven face, black eye, split lip, and a quarter-sized bruise, or should I say hickey, at the side of his neck. He plopped his Stetson on the table and ran his fingers through what I could now tell was wet hair, likely straight from the shower.
“Clearly, the Goodalls have had quite the evening. Would you like to update the group on the comings and goings?”
“I’m not a Goodall!” Dakota moaned, slapping her hand on the table weakly. “And do you need to holler?”
I pressed my lips together so I wouldn’t laugh at the display they made.
“We got hitched last night, folks,” Sutton shared grinning.
A few gasps and grumbles ran through the group, but I held up my hand until everyone went silent.
“A few announcements and reminders, then I will release you. Congratulations are definitely in order to Dakota and Sutton. I wish you both many years of happiness to come.”
Dakota snorted. “Happiness. Yeah, right,” she mumbled but didn’t lift her head.
“You were pretty happy last night on the table, and against the wall, in the shower…” Sutton parried.