Sweet Distraction ✔︎

[2] 𝑩𝒊𝒅𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝑬𝒗𝒂𝒏

Focus.

Isabelle attempted to smother her warm, Evan-inspired fuzzies as she finished decorating the pastries and brought them to the table in the great room of the villa. After the Desserts were arranged with their Reddi-Wip rosettes glowing like snowballs in the lights, she hurried into the bathroom and shrugged off her chef's jacket.

Underneath she was wearing a purple silk blouse that likely wasn't as fancy as what the other women were wearing, but her goal was to be invisible, not stand out. She pulled a pair of black pants and evening pumps out of her bag, changed, and did a quick check of her reflection in the mirror.

She pulled the band out of her ponytail and brushed out her long blond hair, leaving it loose around her shoulders. An application of lipstick and powder and she could safely watch the auction from the edges of the crowd without anyone thinking she was slacking off on the job.

She grabbed her camera case and hurried through the foyer. The beat of "It's raining men" thumped into the house from outside, along with ear-splitting feminine squeals and laughter.

Isabelle walked out to the courtyard. Lanterns flowed from between the trees, heat lamps chased off the evening chill, and a bar was set up near the mosaic wall fountain. The guests sat at the tables around the stage and runaway, on which a handsome young man with chiseled features and dark blond hair walked from behind the curtain.

A female announcer spoke into a mic, her voice animated and eager. "Twenty-eight-year-old Adam King—yes, you heard me, Adam King of the Candy King Company family—is the very hunkey owner of an adventure travel company."

As Adam started down the runaway, a palpable excitement lit the air. Isabelle didn't bother trying to find an empty chair; she stood in the shadow of a colonnade and took a small notebook and pen from her camera case.

"Adam's date package is A Walk on the The Wild Side!" the announcer called. "Join him for a trip to the Harley-Davidson store, where you'll be fitted with you own personal riding gear before you and Adam take an epic coastal ride on his Harley! End your ride in San Francisco and a gourmet dinner at Fresca on Union Square. Then you and Adam will enjoy a night of dancing at the Saint Francis Hotel and two separate rooms for the night...unless you decide that bunking together is more your style!"

Isabelle scribbled a few notes — women between the ages of twenty-five and forty, very expensive date packages, bachelors showing off their best assets.

"Let's start the bidding!" The auctioneer, a portly man whose bow-tie was askew stepped to the podium. "We'll begin at five thousand dollars, ladies!"

A frenzy unsued as Adam walked down the runway, casting meaningful glances into the crown before pausing to unbutton his tuxedo jacket. The women screamed their approval, several standing to wave their paddles in the air. Isabelle set her notebook aside and snapped several photos.

"We have five thousand...do I have a six...six thousand five hundred...seven from the lovely lady at table fourteen! Do I have a seven thousand five hundred? Come now, ladies, all proceeds go to the Rebecca King Foundation, and you'll have Adam to yourself for a full day and night!"

Adam pulled off his bow-tie and tossed it into the crowd, then started slowly unfastening the top buttons of his shirt. Whoops and screams filled the air as the bid rose higher and higher. After he'd unbuttoned to the waist, revealing rippling pectoral muscles and a strikingly impressive six-pack set of abs, the gavel finally came down at twenty thousand dollars. To thunderous applause, Adam descended the stage into the audience to plant a kiss on the winning bidder.

"Our next bachelor is twenty-five-year-old Brendan Deeds!" the announcer said. "An account excetuive in San Francisco, Brendan loves sports, traveling, and intimate moments with special women!