Page 4 of The Celebrity Bidder

We run until my lungs burn and my head’s clear. Until all I can think about is the crunch of leaves beneath my boots and the rhythmic thump of Scout’s paws beside me.

Whatever’s waiting beyond these woods—scripts, meetings, obligations—it can hold. For now, I’m just going to go jogging with my dog.

I’mbackatthecabin, Scout curled at my feet while I nurse a mug of strong black coffee and scroll through the local news feed on my phone. It's mostly the usual: bake sale fundraisers, town council bickering, some high school football triumph that’s got the whole county puffed up with pride.

And then I see it.

HAWKS ROOST BACHELOR & BACHELORETTE CHARITY AUCTION!

There's a graphic with headshots of the participants arranged in neat little rows like a yearbook page. And then there's hers.Bella’s.She’s wearing a flannel shirt, no makeup, and a headband that pushes her hair away from her beautiful face. Her hands are folded beneath her chin.

My thumb pauses on the screen. My heart does too.

She’s not wearing a ring.

I zoom in to be sure. No ring. Not even a shadow of one.

“Holy shit,” I mutter under my breath.

Scout lifts his head, ears perked like he knows something just shifted.

She’s single.

And she’s putting herself up for auction?

I reach for my phone before I can think twice.

It rings once before my assistant, Nadine, picks up.

“Wylie? What time is it?” she says, voice scratchy with sleep.

“I need you to be at the Hawks Roost town hall on Thursday evening. I need you to serve as my proxy at the charity auction.”

A pause. “Isn’t that the auction where people bid on a date with one of the participants?”

“Yes,” I say impatiently.

“When I mentioned it to you last week, you said there was no way you were interested in that. You told me to just donate $1,000 to each participating charity.”

“I still want you to do that, but now I want you to place a winning bid, too.”

“Okay… “ she says slowly, “so who am I bidding on?”

“Her name’s Bella Fielding. You’ll see her on the list.”

“The one with the dogs?”

“That’s her.”

Nadine hums. “She’s pretty. Nothing like the women you usually date, though.”

I scowl at her through the phone screen. “Just make sure I win.”

“Copy that. How high am I going?”

“Whatever it takes. I want to win.”

Another pause. Then a low, amused laugh. “Got it. The newspaper headlines will be spectacular.Movie star goes all in on date with small-town Cinderella.”

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