The Date Auction by Wren Mingua Page A

bit much. William was starting to wonder if she was intentionally trying to scare him away. It didn't seem like she was. Her eyes were oblivious and her smile never left her face.
    “Do you want kids, Will Will?”
    “I think so,” he said with a shrug. “I haven't really given it much thought.”
    “Really? Aren't you twenty-six years old? Surely you've given it some thought.”
    “Not really. I mean... I'm still young. I figure I still have plenty of time to consider that sort of thing... like, another ten years.”
    Alaina's nose wrinkled. “Ten years?! Girls can't wait that long. Anyway, I don't think twenty-six is too young to start thinking about kids. I have a cousin who's pregnant, and she's seventeen.”
    “Now that is way too young.”
    “She's almost eighteen though,” Alaina said, as if that magic number would somehow make sense of her cousin's predicament. “She's going to have kids that are older than my kids. Don't you think that'll be weird?”
    “No, not really.”
    “It is weird. I remember babysitting her when she was a kid, and now her kids might end up babysitting my kids.”
    William was lost. He was staring at her lips as she spoke, wishing he could kiss them. “I think you're over thinking it.”
    “I'm twenty-four. My mom got married when she was twenty-one.”
    “And you still have plenty of time to think about it.” If she was looking to get married right away, she was going to have to look elsewhere. No matter how pretty she was (and she was truly the embodiment of Aphrodite), he wasn't the type to rush into a hasty marriage. “Can we talk about something else?”
    “Yeah,” she sighed. “I guess.”
    “For example, we could talk about how beautiful you look with your hair pulled back like that,” William suggested. “Or we could talk about your amazing body, and how great your butt looks in those shorts.”
    “You're sweet,” Alaina cooed. “Hey, I have an idea. Why don't you lay your head in my lap so I can feed you some grapes?”
    She didn't need to ask twice. A split second later, William's head was on her lap. His eyes were gazing up at her, adoringly. When she started stroking his hair, he was reminded how much he loved getting affection from her.
    Alaina twisted a grape from the vine and held it over his lips. “Open wide.”
    He opened his mouth oh-so-slightly, intentionally disobeying her command.
    “ Wide ,” she repeated. “Or you won't be getting any grapes.”
    As soon as William opened his mouth, she lowered it to his tongue. When he chewed and swallowed, she presented him with another one.
    “Now it's really starting to feel like a picnic,” William noted. “And a romantic one, at that.”
    “Here. Catch.” Without further warning, Alaina tossed the second grape at his face. It rolled down his cheek, bounced off his shoulder, and tumbled to the floor. “Oops. You missed.”
    “ I missed?!” William laughed. “You didn't even try to get it into my mouth!”
    Alaina pulled off another grape and popped it into her own mouth. “I didn't?”
    “No.”
    “What about this one?” She pulled off a grape and threw it at him.
    “Hey!” William sat up with his arms playfully crossed. “I should tickle you for that!”
    “You wouldn't!”
    “Oh, yes I would!” He flexed his fingers like an animal's claws. “I don't think you're brave enough to withstand the tickle monster!”
    “I don't think the tickle monster is brave enough to withstand this !” Alaina seized the bottom of her shirt and tugged it over her head, revealing a lemon yellow bra. “Do you like it? I just bought it at Victoria's Secret last week.” She puffed out her chest, encouraging him to get an eyeful. “I was single when I bought these. I didn't realize I'd have a sexy boyfriend to model them for.”
    “You think I'm sexy ?”
    “I do. Very sexy.”
    “That's ridiculous. I think we can both agree that you're the sexy one, Alaina Torres.”
    When he reached out to cup