Page 52 of Refurbished

“They are nice, aren’t they. We make a great-looking couple.” We smiled at each other.

“Yeah, we do. Thank you for all of this.” If he hadn’t brought in those raccoon kits, we wouldn’t be here.

“I mentioned the Sanctuary to my mom. She is the one who ran with it.” He wasn’t wrong. Amelia had done all of this for us, and it was so much more than I could have ever done by myself. The three of us planned brunch on Sunday.

“Okay, Barnaby.” He came over to us, and I put his bow tie on so he would look as good as we did. These were the times when my PTSD would be the worst. Having Angus was probably enough, but the extra support would be nice. Plus, having him with me drew attention to Barnaby and away from me.

Angus kissed my forehead. “Ready?”

“Yeah. Let’s go make a whole lot of money for the Sanctuary. Then, I will bring you up here and unwrap you.” It was really nice to know that the animals were all in good hands for the night, and tomorrow we could sleep in. Assuming I didn’t make an ass out of myself tonight, we should have plenty to celebrate.

I held Angus’s hand in a death grip; we opened the doors to the ballroom where the event was being held. As soon as I stepped in, I stopped moving. “Holy shit.”

“Yeah,” Angus whispered next to me. The room was gorgeous, and there was a sea of people all dressed formally. Most held glasses of champagne and were speaking quietly in groups. On the wall was a sign with the new Sanctuary logo, a table set up with items for a silent auction, and waiters were walking around with appetizers and champagne flutes. There was an arch going into another room, and we went to look inside. There were hundreds of tables decorated with crystal and china. The centerpieces were giraffes with plants. It was breathtaking.

“What do you think?” Amelia came up behind us, a smile on her face. Unable to stop myself, I grabbed her and hugged her hard. I knew there were tears on my cheeks, but it didn’t matter because this was the most spectacular thing that had ever been done for me.

“Oh. It’s good then?”

“Thank you so much. So much. You have to come tell Orlando, show him pictures. He is going to be so impressed.”

“I’d love to.” Her smile was so much like her sons. Angus stood there and watched the interaction between the two of us. He looked at us softly, and his eyes were filled with love. I was so lucky to have these two people in my life.

“Twenty-one hundred people showed up tonight. All with deep pockets and the desire to find a good cause. They were all vetted and prefer animal charities.” She said, there was a noticeable twinkle in her eye.

I couldn’t believe that many people would be interested in helping me with the Sanctuary. Over the loudspeaker, a tone sounded, then someone quietly invited people to find their seats in the dining area. There was a table at the front near the stage with seats saved for Angus, Amelia, and me. There were a few people I didn’t recognize who were sitting near Amelia. With genuine affection, she introduced me around as her friend and founder of Second Chances Sanctuary and Rehabilitation. There were a few she would whisper that she hoped I would be her son-in-law someday. Everyone asked about the cause, and I was excited to share my story and my goals for the facility with them.

Chapter twenty-six

ANGUS

At the bar, I looked across the room at my mother and boyfriend. Mom was beautiful as always, but Eion was magnificent. His 6’2” frame was impossible to miss, even from this distance. He was smiling and laughing. I couldn’t look away from him. The bartender nudged my elbow. “He’s hot.” He gave an up nod toward Eion.

“He’s mine.” I recognized that I said it a little too harshly. “Sorry.”

“I get it, man. I’d be possessive of him, too.”

I didn’t say anything further. Justifying my need to be possessive wasn’t something I planned to do. When I got back to Eion, he gave me a sweet kiss in front of my mother, and I handed them their drinks. “Are you two ready for this?”

My mom laughed. “All my work is done here tonight. Now, I get to enjoy it. Did you look at the silent auctions?”

“I did. Some of them are up to one hundred thousand already.”

Eion’s head turned quickly. “Seriously?”

“Yeah. We are going to make a lot of money tonight, sweetie.” My mom put her hand on his forearm. “You should have let me have a big event. I’ll meet you at the table in a few minutes.”

“She really thinks this is a small event?” He said to me quietly.

“Yeah. Don’t be surprised if this becomes an annual, or maybe even a bi-annual thing. She probably has it on the calendar already.”

“You all live in a whole different world.”

At our table, my mom had included my work family: West, Tyler, East, and Spark. West leaned over, “Holy shit, Angus. This is quite the event.”

Then he turned to Eion. “Hey, Eion, I wanted you to know that The Dapper Duck now has the Flaming Giraffe and Orlando’s Caramel Cheesecake on our menu. All profits from those will go to the Sanctuary. Plus a monthly donation.” West darted his eyes over to me, looking for confirmation that what he was doing was okay.

“It’s.” Eion blinked at him. Barnaby put his head in Eion’s lap under the table, and I took his hand.