L. Marie Adeline- S.E.C.R.E.T

the baggy pants held up by suspenders. The room seemed to agree. When the bidding
heated up, Tracina began to panic. When the tally reached $15,000, Tracina grabbed the
mike from Kay’s hand.
“This man isn’t actually single,” she said. “We’ve been dating for more than three
years and we’re thinking of moving in together.” She’d been drinking too much
champagne, and if I thought that Will couldn’t be more embarrassed, I was wrong. He
now turned dark crimson.
Finally, an elderly woman in a tarnished tiara made the winning oer of $22,000, to
which Kay issued a resounding, “Sold!” Will, the highest priced bachelor of the night,
was escorted to his awaiting purchaser.
“That ends the men’s auction,” Kay said with a smack of her gavel. “But please refresh
your drinks. The ladies’ auction is next and we need another $75,000 dollars, friends. So
don’t put your checkbooks away!”
Just then, a hush fell over the room. Two security guards entered the ballroom, parting
a sea of people. They were followed by a tall man wearing a smart tuxedo, black bow
tie, black shirt and aviator glasses tinted light blue. He had a motorcycle helmet under
his arm, which he quickly handed o to a security guard standing next to him. He
removed his sunglasses and folded them into his pocket.
“I’m sorry I’m late,” he announced. “I couldn’t find anything to wear.”
It was Pierre Castille, his sandy hair slightly tousled by the helmet. He casually greeted
the handful of people who’d gathered to say hello, including a clearly flustered Kay, who
left the microphone to race across the oor meet him. His easy grin made him look less
like a reclusive scion than a stylish indie rocker. When he turned away from Kay and
made for my booth, my heart raced. I cursed Tracina for abandoning me. I looked down
and busied myself with credit card slips, trying not to appear starstruck.
“Is this where I can leave my donation?”
When I glanced up, he was leaning on the booth with one hand. He didn’t look
entirely uncomfortable in a tuxedo, which was refreshing. For a second I forgot how to
speak.
“I—yes, you can place a check in the box if you like, or I can take a credit card.”
“Wonderful,” he said, holding eye contact with me for what felt like forever. My God
he was sexy. “What’s your name?”
I actually looked over my shoulder to make sure he was talking to me. The whole room
was watching, including Will, who moved through the crowd towards us.
“Cassie. Cassie Robichaud.”
“Robichaux? Of the Mandeville Robichauxs?”
By then I was shocked to see Will at the booth, offering his hand to Pierre.
“She spells it with a Northern D, not a Southern X,” he said.
“Well, if it isn’t Will Foret the Second. What’s it been? Fifteen years?”
I watched in amazement as my Will shook hands with the Pierre Castille, Tracina
pushing through the crowd to reach them.
“About that long, yeah.”
“Good to see you, Will,” he said. “Too bad our fathers aren’t around. They’d have been