Both of them went still at her words, and a moment later, they both laughed it off like it was nothing but a joke, the sound so painfully awkward that it had the others acting like they were suddenly blind and deaf.
Fleur forced herself to smile. "Anyway...I gotta go before Bobby ends up killing me."
Julian forced himself to smile back even as his body was growing more rigid by the second. "Of course."
Fleur managed to blow him a kiss just to show she was fine, but hurt swelled up inside of her as soon as she turned away. She hadn't imagined that, had she? Julian's beautiful face totally had that hell-frozen-look the moment she mentioned the dreaded M-word, and...
That was fine, too, Fleur told herself doggedly. Just because she had fallen hard and fast didn't automatically mean she could expect the same thing to happen to him. It was only the sixth of December, and anyway...
Marathon, she reminded herself, and not a race.
Also, she still had that planned surprise. If she played her cards right, it could maybe make Julian realize that marrying her wasn't such a bad thing?
Julian watched Fleur walk away, and all he could think of at that moment was how the small jewelry box he had in his possession currently felt like he had a set of explosives in his pocket.
How the hell had things ended up like this?
Julian had every intention to go after Fleur and ask why she seemed to find the idea of marrying him uncomfortable. But just as he started to stand, the lights suddenly dimmed, and he was forced to sit back down when the stage curtains parted to reveal the MC for the night.
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
Julian could only grit his teeth as the MC started talking about the importance of giving back before moving on to introduce the beneficiaries of the upcoming auction.
All he could think about at that moment was whether Fleur already had another prospective groom in mind, and if that man happened to have French fucking blood...
"Ladies and gentlemen, for the first item to be auctioned..."
Julian struggled to concentrate on what was being offered on stage. Since he was determined to be her fiancé whether she liked it or not, it was his duty to support Fleur on all of her endeavors. And since Fleur had also mentioned she would appreciate it if he could bid on an item or two...
Freddie struggled to contain her laughter as Julian raised his bid card and was summarily declared the new owner of a photo of a local hero and his beloved...ass. Well, okay, donkey was probably the better word to use here, but—-
Julian caught his friends looking at him. "What?"
Stephen cleared his throat. "Did you, er, know what you've just won?"
"Something owned by some local hero from the 1800s?" Julian didn't really care about the specifics. Since Fleur had told him last night she would appreciate him bidding on an item or two, Julian had decided to show her how great a fiancé he could be by bidding for whatever item it was that no one else seemed to want.
Sergei was about to tell his friend that he had just bought himself a historically significant photo of an ass when he saw the ballroom doors open. Damn. He looked at Julian, saying under his breath, "DeRose is here."
Julian's mood turned grim as he watched the French tycoon scan his surroundings until he eventually found what he was looking for, which was of course none other than the woman Julian was determined to marry.
And as for Fleur...
A frown creased his forehead when the MC welcomed Fleur on stage. Why was she suddenly up there? Wasn't she supposed to be strictly working behind the scenes?
"Ladies and gentlemen..." The MC's enthusiastic tone had all of the guests straightening in their seats. "I present to you our very own Fleur de Konigh, our last and most special item for auction—-"
WHAT THE FUCK?
"—-and who promises to give the winning bidder the most unforgettable night of his life."
Chapter Sixteen
Fleur's optimism was instantly restored the moment she saw Julian looking at her like he couldn't wait to throttle her.
Perfect!
He obviously wanted her still, and that was good enough for her. If the idea of marriage presently freaked him out, then she just needed to give him time to adjust before bringing it up again.
Marathon, Fleur reminded herself, and not race.
And as it was now time to take things to the next level with Operation Yuletide 2.0...
An energetic round of applause greeted Fleur as she ascended the side steps of the stage, and a rather boisterous group of college-age guys also started wolf-whistling when she slowly took off Julian's jacket like someone about to striptease.
She could feel the crowd's anticipation grow as she borrowed the mic from the MC, but then her gaze accidentally strayed towards her family's table—-