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the room, like Grandpop had, but that just wasn’t him. The gold and blue Venetian Room at the Fairmont was flamboyant enough. And Paolo knew Vincente wasn’t flashy. Vincente could prank him later, but Paolo was already giving up his Valentine’s Day to do this, so he’d let it go.
     
    “Vincente is, as you see, the strong, silent type. He’s thirty, works as foreman and general manager at DeGrazia Construction, and enjoys quiet nights by a fire…I bet he could start some fires, huh, ladies?”
     
    Vincente shot Paolo a grimace. The dance floor in front of the stage was filled with women. Some sat at the cloth-covered tables dotting the room. A bar stood in a corner. He couldn’t wait to get another drink. He wasn’t usually a drinker, but tonight…
     
    Paolo waved his hands up and down, urging the crowd to make some noise. Hoots and catcalls rang out. No luck on the silence. Vincente moved to the front of the stage. He stopped. In the mass of red gowns and raucous women, one caught his attention. He couldn’t tell if she was relaxed, bored, or what, but the way she leaned against a far wall in her low-cut white gown, a white feathered half-mask covering most of her face, intrigued him. No one else was masked. He wondered why. Was she a public figure, not wanting to be seen here? Or…He smoothed his jacket lapels. He wanted to see her face, if it matched the beauty of her.
     
    Damn, she had a body on her— smooth olive skin, curves like the actresses of classic Hollywood, or some hot combination of Selma Hayek and Jennifer Lopez. He tugged at his collar and focused on the gold-damask-papered far wall, hoping to stop the blood coursing down to his lower half. Maybe Grandpop wasn’t just being a smart ass when he’d said Vincente’s dream woman was out there. He blew out a breath. Those couple of drinks earlier were already making him slightly irrational.
     
    “Give us a turn, Vincente,” Paolo shouted.
     
    Vincente stood still for a moment longer. Dammit, he was staring at the woman in white. He stepped backward, turned, and walked in a small circle. Stay cool. He smoothed his jacket as he faced the room again.
     
    “What am I bid for this fine specimen of man?”
     
    Shit. What sins had he committed to deserve this? He swallowed. Plenty. And apparently part of his payment had come due.
     
    ***
     
    Gina signaled the auctioneer. She wouldn’t be outbid this time. With a scowl, she glanced at the older woman who’d outbid her for the—she had to admit, dashing—old man. Not that Gina’d wanted a date with him. No, she planned to find out as much as she could—about his family, his shady business, the old man’s brother getting engaged to her Grandma Celeste, and why the DeGrazias were trying to take over her family’s business.
     
    Gina tapped her foot and waved her hand as the bids went higher. She wished she could’ve had fun tonight, catching up with the auctioneer, Paolo, who’d been her cousin Janetta’s best friend since high school. He’d gotten Gina through her awkward freshman year, and the mistakes of her sophomore year. She hunched, as images of her first boyfriends, and all the ones after, flipped through her mind. Tonight wasn’t about her past. She pulled her shoulders back. This was about the future, saving it for…For her family.
     
    Her rhinestone-encrusted stilettos were almost as uncomfortable as the mask she wore. But both, like her sleek, low-cut white dress, were necessary to her plan. What shouldn’t be needed was to spend her paltry savings buying a date with someone she could talk to for free the next time Enzo DeGrazia invited her family to dinner. But she couldn’t do that in front of her family, especially not Grandma Celeste, who would probably spot Gina’s tactics from another room. Plus, this way, she’d paid for his time and if he tried to bail, she could sue for breach of promise. She nodded.
     
    “Sold, to the lady in white,” Paolo