“Ari, Sue is gonna see where we’re going!”
“Keep moving!”
“Ari! Arianna Johnson.”
Sue was not about to let Ari get away. I stopped, and Ari let out a sigh.
She put a smile on her face and slowly turned around. “Yes, Mama?”
Sue smiled and motioned for us to come to her. “Ari, Jeff, I’d like you to meet John and Trixie Donovan. John is your father’s good friend. They met in college.”
Ari shook hands with John and then Trixie. “It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Ari said.
I repeated the gesture.
Trixie smiled as she grabbed Ari’s arm and began walking her over to a table. Ari looked over her shoulder at me, and I shrugged. I followed John as he began asking me what had brought us to Kentucky.
Before I knew it, we were all sitting at our table, and John and I were laughing and exchanging stories. I glanced over at Ari. She was attempting to appear to be interested in the conversation with Trixie, but she clearly wasn’t. When she kept motioning back toward the door, I would shake my head.
My aching dick had long since gone down when Mark walked up and joined the conversation.
Ari attempted to get up three times, but each time, Sue pulled her back down into a sitting position and told Ari that she never got to visit with her. I could see the sexual frustration building on Ari’s face every time I looked over at her.
Then, the lights became brighter.
Mark looked at Sue and Ari and said, “The auction is starting.”
I peeked over at Ari, and she was wringing her napkin.
Shit. If I didn’t get her to the service hallway soon, we were both going to be in trouble.
I was going to kill both of my parents. If they made it back to Texas in one piece, it would be a miracle.
I sat there and listened as the auction began. Jeff appeared to be enthralled in the bidding process, and he hardly even looked over at me. Each time he glanced over, I would try to motion to leave. Every once in a while, my mother would lean over and tell me to bid on an item. The last time she’d suggested I bid, I’d told her I was going to put her in the auction.
I peeked over at Jeff again. He looked so damn handsome in that tux. It was driving me crazy. I closed my eyes and imagined his hands on my body. I quickly opened my eyes and placed my hands on my flaming cheeks.
Jesus H. Christ. I need my husband, and I need him now. I’m kid-free! I want sex, damn it.
My mother motioned for me. “Oh, Arianna, a trip to France is coming up. You should bid, darling.”
I snapped my head over to my mother. I opened my clutch and pulled out a tube of lipstick and a pack of gum. I showed them to her and said, “Not happening, Mom. No money.”
The bidding on the trip to France began. It included airfare, hotel, and something else I didn’t catch.
“Come on, it will be fun. Just bid once,” Mom said.
My mouth dropped open, and I glared at her. “In case you can’t hear in your old age, Mom, the bidding started at five thousand dollars.”
My mother swooshed her hand around like it was nothing. “One bid won’t hurt.”
I lifted my hand and imitated her hand movement. “Don’t swoosh your hand around at me.”
“Put your hand down, Ari,” Mom said.
I snarled my lip. How dare she treat me like a child. I put my hand up and jerked it around again. “Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!”
My father and Jeff turned and looked at me. Jeff had a look of horror on his face.