Page 80 of Royal Games (The Royals of Monterra)

“Yes I can!” Nicole retorted. “Three hundred dollars!”

The bidding got all the way up to five hundred, and then Nicole smacked her podium. “One thousand dollars!”

The room went silent, and she asked sweetly, “Are there any other bids? Going once, going twice, sold to me!”

And then Shane walked across the stage to Nicole and grabbed her. He leaned her backward and kissed her in front of the entire audience. Everyone went nuts, whistling and clapping for them.

Nicole’s face was bright red when he finally released her, but she was deliriously happy. “Okay! Our final bid for this evening. Here we have His Royal Highness, Prince Rafael, and his date is ... to be determined?” She put her hand over the microphone and said something to him. He responded.

“Okay, so Rafe says that his date will accompany him on his private plane to his oldest brother’s wedding in his home country of Monterra, where you will be his personal guest and stay in his palace. Do I hear a hundred dollars?”

“Five hundred dollars!” Brooke called out.

I couldn’t let her get him. I still had some of that club opening money left. I raised my number.

“We have six hundred. Do I hear seven?”

“A thousand!” Brooke said.

She was not going to touch Rafe. “Two thousand dollars!” I yelled, jumping to my feet. Brooke looked at me, as if trying to ascertain how serious I was.

“Three thousand!”

I didn’t have that much left. I sank back down in my chair. Max offered to lend me some money, but I held up my hand. I couldn’t go any more into debt. Not even for Rafe.

“Do I hear four thousand?” Nicole asked, but she knew she wouldn’t get a response. No one but the Coopers had that kind of money here. I swallowed back the lump in my throat. Brooke would get to go to the wedding. The one I had imagined going to, where I had imagined I’d get to see Lemon and Kat and his whole family again. The church needed the money. I had to think about things besides what I wanted.

“It’s okay,” I told my aunt, my eyes bright with unshed tears. “It would have meant that I would miss getting to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas with you.”

“Which would have been fine. We could have spent one holiday apart. That’s normally what happens when children grow up.”

“Four thousand? Anyone? Anyone at all? Four thousand?”

“Announce me as the winner!” Brooke insisted loudly from the crowd.

Rafe walked over to Nicole. “If I bid on myself, can I choose my date?”

“Absolutely,” Nicole said, her eyes lighting up. “Do you bid four thousand?”

“How much more do you need to hit your goal?” he asked.

Nicole studied her notepad where she had written down the winning bids. She quickly calculated. “About seventeen thousand.”

“Then I bid seventeen thousand dollars.”

The room went so quiet, you could hear the snow falling outside. “I have seventeen thousand dollars! Do I hear eighteen thousand? No? Didn’t think so. Going once, going twice, sold to Prince Rafael, and we have a new church roof!”

Everyone got to their feet, cheering and clapping for Rafe and yet another amazing thing that he’d done to support the town that I loved.

“And just who, I wonder, will you choose as your date?” Nicole asked.

His gaze settled on me, and he held out one hand. “Genesis Kelley, will you come with me to Monterra?”

I raised my eyebrows at Aunt Sylvia, who nodded so hard she looked like a bobblehead toy.

“Are you sure you’re okay with this?” I asked.

“You’d better say yes before Brooke kidnaps him and keeps him locked up in her basement!” she responded.

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