Page 58 of Kaden & Keegan
There was a rare blush on Bianca’s cheeks as she began to finger comb her hair.
Bristol motioned around the area. “As you can see, everyone’s enjoyin’ themselves. But I think they’re gettin’ antsy.”
“Good turnout. I can only hope they’re all gonna dig deep into their wallets.”
“I don’t think you’ll have to worry about that.” She had a feeling, like Jamie and Adeline, many of these single women had been saving up for this event.
And she very seriously doubted they were all doing it for a good cause. Selfish reasons probably played a pretty big part.
*
Kaden wished like hell he hadn’t signed them up for the auction.
Had he known that two days before they would’ve had an erotic encounter with the woman he was in love with, he wouldn’t have given this thing a second thought.
And yes, he was fairly certain he was in love with Bristol. Had been for quite some time now. The only thing keeping them apart was insecurity. Keegan’s and Bristol’s. Which meant Kaden was stuck in the middle, torn by his loyalty and love for both of them. This event was going to end up hurting them all, even if neither of them realized that.
How the hell had they gotten to this place? Two nights ago, for the briefest of moments, Kaden had seen his life laid out before him, that evasive happiness he’d been searching for within his grasp only for it to be ripped away at the last second.
Unfortunately, they were committed to this auction because Walkers didn’t go back on their word. And the turnout was good, which would hopefully reap the results the mayor was going for as far as raising money was concerned. What Kaden was worried about was Keegan, because his brother hadn’t been the same since Thursday night.
He’d gotten used to being called the moody twin while Keegan had the reputation of being fun-loving and never serious. But what people didn’t realize was that they were very much alike, not only in appearance but attitude as well. From the womb, they’d been close. Growing up, they rarely did anything apart. Why it worked out that way, he had no idea, but Kaden had never felt the need to be separate from his twin. The opposite, really.
For the past thirty-seven years, they’d had the same experiences, living life almost as though they were one. Perhaps because of that, he could often feel what his brother was feeling. They’d always wanted the same things, their interests mirroring the other’s. And that included the desire to own and operate a ranch one day and to settle down with one woman they would share.
The biggest difference between them was that Kaden had never lost hope that one day they would find that love that would last. Keegan, on the other hand, had sworn it off, hence the reason his brother had treated Bristol so callously the other night. Keegan was only trying to protect himself from heartache. Having been pushed out by the women they’d been involved with before had kept him from opening up to anyone else.
Others would see his insensitive comment as a rejection, but Kaden knew better. He could see it in the way Keegan continued to steal glances at Bristol across the way, his eyes hardly leaving her for a minute. The man was as overwhelmed by her as Kaden, but not willing to admit it.
It would’ve likely played out better if Kaden hadn’t allowed Bristol’s abrupt departure to piss him off. Rather than go after her or call to smooth things over, he’d let his frustrations fester. And now they were at that awkward point where apologizing for his brother’s rudeness wouldn’t go over well.
Not how he’d seen that going.
And here he was, about to be auctioned off to the highest bidder while Bristol looked on. No chance in hell was she going to bid on them, so he was screwed in that department. The most he could hope for was for some little old lady to up the ante because she was looking for some company of the platonic variety. Then again, with the way Keegan had been flirting with the single women, he doubted he’d get that lucky, either.
Screwed.
That’s what he was.
Totally fucking screwed.
Two hours later, Kaden learned that he’d been wrong to assume. Turned out, they didn’t have the shittiest luck on the planet like he’d suspected. How or why a higher power was watching over them, he didn’t know, nor was he questioning it.
Of course, he’d been damned suspicious when their names were called and Gage’s numbered paddle had gone high in the air. Considering there were no rules on what could or could not be done on the so-called date, he figured Gage was going to purchase them for manual labor or some shit like that. For a second, he’d been more concerned than if some random woman had won them. Right up until he noticed Gage’s oldest daughter, Kate, was the one bidding on them. She’d been sitting on Gage’s shoulders, lifting the paddle whenever Gage tapped her knee.
With the help of Keegan spurring the little girl on, they’d brought in the highest bid of the day and landed themselves a McDonald’s date with the cutest five-year-old he knew.
Too bad Bristol hadn’t stuck around to see it. About halfway through the third guy’s bidding, right before Kaden and Keegan were called up to the stage, he’d noticed her leaving after saying a quick goodbye to Bianca. It had pained him to watch her walk away and not be able to go after her.
Then again, he figured it was for the best.
In some regards, they really did have shit luck. But it was nothing a McDonald’s playground couldn’t fix.
