Chapter 54
I stood there, still feeling the weight of his intense dark gaze as the crowd moved out of the ballroom, except for the winners who hustled up to claim their dates and a few others who clustered around the men, asking for autographs or posing for photos. I'll give the guys this - all fifteen of them put up with the fawning attention, dispensing hugs and autographs with grace. Likewise, I kept up my obligatory smile, accepting checks and air kisses and thanking those who came up to talk to the organizer.
Finally, the women hustled their "dates" out the door and the only one left was Dermott McMahon, who lingered behind the cashier's table with Dani and Ari and their men. I raised my eyebrow at Dani as I approached. "These two don't keep you occupied?"
Ari broke first. She's just too bloody sweet to lie worth a damn. "We bought him for you, Jess."
"What?" I stopped in my tracks. "What have you two done this time?" Even after being friends for nearly fifty years, they still managed to surprise me sometimes. "You won the bid just to donate to Cecily's House?"
"No, not for your charity," Dani clarified, her green eyes dancing with mischief. "For you. You need a break, sweetie, and now you have three days in the islands with no phone and no computers."
I felt a migraine starting, even though vampires aren't supposed to get headaches. "Look, girls, I really don't have time..."
"Yes, you do." Dermott had a sexy Irish brogue that made me want to jump his bones. When I'd begun collecting bachelors for the auction, Ty mentioned being acquainted with the pianist and had gotten him to agree to meet with me. From the first time I'd heard his voice, I'd been hooked. "Each of us standing here has agreed to donate an extra ten thousand if you go through with it."
I looked at Kaz, Ty and Jackson, who all nodded as Dani and Ari beamed. "An extra sixty thousand dollars if I take three days off from work?"
"You need this," Ari urged. "You haven't taken a break in months - years maybe."
"You leave tonight on Dermott's private plane," Dani added. "You'll be on the island well before sunrise. We already packed you a suitcase and everything."
"No laptop, and you turn your cell phone over to the staff." Dermott ticked off the rules on his long, limber fingers. "You can call out on the land line if there's an emergency, but other than that, you do nothing but relax."
"And what will you be doing?" Out the corner of my eye I saw Kaz hand a soft leather suitcase - mine - over to Dermott.
Dermott gave me a lazy smile. "Whatever it takes to make you happy."
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