A Silken Thread - Brenda Jackson [50]
It seemed two others had joined the bidding fray, just as determined to share that drink with April. He leaned back comfortably in his seat, deciding to keep his mouth shut for now. He didn’t intend to open it until it mattered.
Instead of glancing around to see who the men were, April just stood tall, graceful and poised, while looking over the crowd with a radiant smile on her face. That smile alone would guarantee an arousal out of every man there.
“We have a bid of twenty-five thousand. Do I hear thirty?”
“Fifty!”
A hush fell over the auditorium at the bid from the man behind Griffin.
“We have a bid of fifty thousand! That’s wonderful and, remember, it’s all for charity. Can we get fifty-five?”
The room remained quiet and Griffin didn’t have to turn around to know the man behind him probably had a silly grin on his face.
“Going once, going twice—”
“One hundred thousand dollars,” Griffin called out. He didn’t have to look around to know people were staring at him as if he’d gone mad, and no doubt the man behind him was fuming. April, he noticed, was still standing there. Curiosity hadn’t even made her look over in his direction.
“My goodness,” the MC said after the shock wore off. “We have a bid for one hundred thousand dollars for the necklace Ms. North is wearing. Can we get one hundred and five?”
When the room remained quiet the MC then said, “Oh, well. Going once, going twice. Sold to the man in the dark gray suit.”
April glanced around the reception, certain the man she was looking for was around someplace. He was to approach her with the ticket for his winnings, which she carried in her hand, gift-boxed and ready to deliver. A part of her couldn’t wait to meet the person willing to part with a hundred thousand dollars for a ten-thousand-dollar necklace.
She glanced at her watch. She would share the drink with him as agreed and then she would leave. Tomorrow she would fly to Ohio for a few days before heading back out west. She had checked in with Nana today as she did every Saturday and she’d sounded fine, but there was no way she could be this close to Hattersville and not see for herself.
“Would you like a drink, miss?”
She almost told the server yes, but then remembered she was to have her drink with the man who’d won the bid on her jewelry. The event, hosted by Oprah, was to benefit several charities, the purchase of her necklace going to breast cancer awareness.
“No, thank you.”
She glanced at her watch again, thinking that surely the man hadn’t changed his mind and not taken care of the bill. It was for charity, after all, although he had raised a few eyebrows with the amount of his bid. She was certain he was here; she would just have to look for a man wearing a dark gray suit.
Several people came up, complimenting her on her career and her recent spread in Vogue. Although Oprah had made an appearance earlier, she hadn’t been seen lately, but this room had an ambience of elegance that only Oprah could exude. She’d overheard earlier that the room had been specially decorated for tonight’s affair. She glanced around, admiring the room’s high ceiling, crown moldings and rich mahogany windowsills. At that moment she couldn’t help but admire the woman’s success.
She glanced down at the gift-wrapped box she carried, wondering where the man was, when she felt a presence by her side. She glanced up, expecting to see another server, and her breath immediately got caught in her throat. She was staring up into the eyes of the man who just last night had headlined her naughtiest dream. And now he stood in front of her, with the most mesmerizing smile on his lips that reached the sexiest pair of eyes she’d ever seen.
“Griffin! Hi.” The words flowed from her lips in a throaty surprise. “What are you doing here?”
She realized the stupidity of her question the moment she’d asked it. He was in his element here. He’d been born to this type of extravagance. She hadn’t.
A smile touched what she’d always thought was a pair of sensual lips. “I heard about the event and thought I’d attend and do