Page 18 of Love Songs

“Fifteen hundred,” Dallas shot back, his balance rocked by what I guessed was Kirk’s elbow in his side.

I took back any woe-is-me complaining I’d done earlier. I was one hundred percent relieved the guys weren’t here to see this. They’d be having a field day heckling and teasing me about two members of the Dallas Blade Band in a bidding war for me. I would never hear the end of it as it was.

The pub fell dead silent while everyone stared at the two madmen and then murmurs rippled through the crowd, and Dallas and Kirk’s names drifted up to my ears. Some voices were in awe of the bidding, and others were in awe at finally realizing who they were rubbing shoulders with.

The two of them went back and forth while the audience watched them with rapt attention.

“Twenty-five hundred!” Dallas shouted, followed by a short cough.

I narrowed my eyes at him as the crowd’s cheers and whistles erupted to ear-splitting decibels. Dallas was staring at Kirk in a way that reminded me of the way he’d come at me after the fire. Kirk raised his hands in surrender, but his expression never changed from one of mirth and mischief.

Mary called out the current bid three times, pausing for any takers, which would have blown me away if anyone countered.

“Sold for two thousand and five hundred dollars!” Mary shouted into the mic and did a little dance jig on the spot. “Congratulations to . . .” She paused, staring into the crowd for a second before her eyes widened. She gasped. “Dallas Blade!”

Holy crap.

Twenty-five hundred? Forme? That was ridiculous.

The guys were going to shit when they heard about this.

I stepped off the stage in a bit of a daze.

Dallas Blade was in Lucy’s Pub.

Dallas Blade won the bidding for me.

I was going on a date withDallas. Blade.

My phone was buzzing away in my back pocket like an angry hornet’s nest. I pulled it out and looked at the screen, my hands shaking. I shook my head at the good ole small town gossip train. Rebecca had been messaging Ryan the play-by-play, and Ryan had been updating our group chat.

The guys had been rapid-firing hilarious comments, but Haider’s last comment had me busting out in stitches. No matter how many times we told him you can’t call dibs on people, he remained undeterred.

Haider:I can still call dibs on that, right?

I WAS NERVOUSagain.

For the second time in as many days.

Butterflies fluttered about in my stomach as I stood in the lobby of the Lakeside Inn, waiting for Lieutenant Holliston to pick me up for our charity auction date. I felt like a teen waiting for their prom date to arrive. Not that I’d had a date for prom. Or even gone to prom. But me and my garage band had played at an after-prom party.

I hadn’t meant to bid on the lieutenant, only to watch the show, but when the bidding stalled at two-fifty, he’d looked so crestfallen for the briefest of seconds before he’d started hamming it up. I’m not sure anyone else noticed his fleeting mood change, but I’d been watching him too closely, unable to take my eyes off him, and a sudden urge to see him happy had me raising my hand.

I didn’t normally go for suit types, but Holliston in a tux had captivated me. He’d seemed so much larger than life, so confident of himself and the world around him, and genuinely enjoying interacting with the audience. At times, both seductive and boyish in his expressions and mannerisms, and both vibes were working for me. I also felt guilty for the stage fire and freaking out about my phone. What upset me most wasn’tthe trashed phone, but losing the video I’d been recording for Jaylin. I wanted to make up for it. Not to mention, the funds were going to a good cause, so it was a win-win. Sure, I could have bid on anyone, but who was I kidding? I wanted to spend some time with the sexy as sin firefighter and get to know him better.

What I hadn’t expected was for Kirk to bid against me. I still wasn’t sure if it had been competitiveness or possessiveness that had come over me, but no way in hell was I going to let Kirk win the date with Holliston. That wasmydate.

I think I was as stunned as the whole of Lucy’s Pub, if not more, when the auctioneer enthusiastically shoutedSOLDand my wallet was twenty-five hundred dollars lighter.

I had to wait a day for the pre-arranged date—a tour of the local maple syrup farm and lunch at a lakeside restaurant—so I’d stayed back when the band left for New York the following morning, and I rented a room at the Lakeside Inn for the week. Jaylin still had school, and I didn’t have any immediate band commitments, so I thought I’d explore the small town of Caldwell Crossing and maybe get a look at the lakeside property for sale, that I’d seen in the real estate office window.

And who knew? Maybe I’d run into the handsome lieutenant again while exploring.

The front doors swung open a few minutes later and Holliston strolled inside—shoulders rolled back, and head held high—brimming with understated swagger.

My mouth watered.

He was wearing a pair of faded jeans over his muscular thighs, white sneakers, and an open, tan-colored button-down shirt with the sleeves pushed up to his elbows over a white T-shirt that stretched across his very nicely defined chest.

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