Chapter 11
Nikolas entered Kelly’s and smiled when he saw Lucky and Dom at the lunch counter. He had to give his brother credit: he was an amazing uncle.
“Hey, sweetheart,” he said walking up to them.
“Hi, honey!” Lucky answered with a grin. Nikolas rolled his eyes and reached down to pick up his daughter.
“I need to talk to your Uncle Lucky for a minute, can you go over with Liz?” Dom nodded and he set her down and watched as she scurried over to Liz, who was cleaning a table in the far corner.
“What’s up?” Lucky asked as Nikolas took the stool next to him.
“Well, you know that Lucy and I do that Bachelor’s Auction every year now, right?”
Lucky chuckled. “Yeah, but I still can’t picture you and Lucy Coe working together! When is it? This, I’ve got to see!”
“It’s next week, but I was hoping you’d agree to sign up for it,” he answered, hoping that Lucky would just agree and make this easy on him.
“You mean let myself be auctioned? Are you nuts?”
Nikolas sighed. Just like Lucky to make things difficult. “What’s so bad about it? It’s for the AIDS wing, I thought you celebrities were big on charities.”
“Yeah, and what happens when I get stuck with the date from hell?”
“You won’t. You know everyone already. Maybe you’ll even end up with Emily. She’s become a famous snob just like you,” he said sarcastically.
“Hey! I’m not a snob! Are you sure that there aren’t going to be any weirdos there?” Lucky asked suspiciously.
“Positive. Anyway, it’s not like you have to marry the person. It’s just a dinner. Come on, help me out here!” he pleaded.
Lucky thought for a minute and sighed. “Fine, I’ll do it. But you owe me big for this!” Nikolas grinned and stood up.
“Thanks, Lucky. Just give Lucy a call later to set it up.” He walked over to Liz and Dom as Lucky pulled out his cell phone. He hit one of the speed dials and waited for an answer.
“Speak to me!”
“Hey, Charisma!”
“Spence! Well, this is a surprise. You miss me already?” she teased.
Lucky laughed. “No, I just thought you’d like to know that I’m doing something for charity. I know how much you’ve been wanting me to do more.”
“Really? What is it?”
“It’s a bachelor’s auction for the AIDS wing at General Hospital. My brother’s running it, and he just talked me into doing it.”
Charisma chuckled. “You’re kidding! You’re actually putting yourself up on an auction block? Oh, this I’ve got to see. When is it?”
“Next week. Friday, I think. Why?”
“Oh, just curious,” she said slyly.
“Charisma? Should I be worried?”
“Maybe. Look, I have to run. See you later! Ciao!” She hung up quickly, before Lucky could say anything else. He put away his phone and stood up. He could see that Luke was still outside, so he went out to talk to him, passing by Carly on the way.
“Hey, cousin!” she greeted, hugging him quickly. “I heard you were back in town. How the singing going?”
“Pretty good. I just needed a break. I hear you’re with Sonmy now. How did that happen?”
She shrugged. “Beats me. Anyway, I needed to talk to Liz, so I better get over there before a customer grabs her.” She walked away, and Lucky went outside.
“Liz!” Carly called out. Liz turned around and smiled.
“Hey, Carly. What’s up?”
“I thought you’d like to know that Sonny finally agreed to the auction,” she answered with a grin.
Liz chuckled. “Why do I have a feeling you did something sneaky to get him to say yes?”
“Who me?” Carly asked, trying to look innocent. “Actually, I think I just nagged him for so long, he realized the only way to shut me up would be to say yes. I don’t know why I want to do this so much, though. I mean, it’s totally random, the chance that we’ll end up together is so slim. We could end up with people we hate!”
“Like who?” Liz asked, trying to think of the people she knew were in it. She couldn’t think of any she wouldn’t mind having dinner with.
“Well, Edward’s probably going to be there again. He still hates me after what happened to AJ!”
Liz smiled and shook her head. “He’s not that bad. I got him the first year, remember?”
Carly laughed. “Yeah, and I got Reginald, of all people! Oh, now I’m getting a bad feeling about this!”
“Don’t worry, Carly. I’m sure everything will work out fine. At least Lucky won’t be there,” she muttered to herself.
“Actually, I ran into Nikolas outside, and he said that Lucky had just signed up. Why?’
Liz groaned and leaned on the table behind her. “You’re kidding me! Great, with my luck, I’m going to get stuck with him.”
“What’s wrong with my cousin?” Carly joked. “From what I hear, most women love him. He’s rich, famous, talented, gorgeous.....need I go on?”
Liz rolled her eyes. “You forgot obnoxious, conceited and rude!”
“Ouch. I see you’ve got some issues there. What did he ever do to you?”
“Long story. Anyway, keep your fingers crossed for me, okay? I better get back to work.” She walked away to put in the order she just took, as Carly stood there, shaking her head.
~*~
Lucky walked outside just as Luke was standing up. “Hey, Dad,”
“Cowboy! I was just coming in to look for you. How’s it going?”
“Okay, I guess. Nikolas just roped me into that bachelor auction next week. I’m still not sure why I agreed.”
Luke laughed. “Really? Well, this is something I’m going to have to see. Your mother won’t let me put myself up there, so I guess I’ll just have to sit on the sidelines. Who do you think you’re going to get?”
Lucky shrugged. “I haven’t thought about it yet. I don’t even know who’s going to be there, except for Emily. And I’m sure Lucy will put herself in there too.”
“Yeah, that’s just like Luce. Well, I just saw Caroline talking to Nikolas out here, and it sounds like both her and Liz are going to be there,” Luke said casually, hoping Lucky wouldn’t get suspicious.
Lucky groaned and rolled his eyes. “Liz? You’re kidding right? Man, I’d rather get stuck with Carly!”
Luke chuckled and slapped him on the back. “Maybe you will, who knows? After all, it’s random, right?”
Lucky nodded. “Right, so chances are I’ll get someone else, at least I hope!”
“Probably. Anyway, I have to get out of here. Your mother’s waiting. See you later?”
“Yeah, I’ll stop by sometime soon.” Luke clapped him on the back again and walked away. Lucky sighed and went back inside, passing Carly again as she was leaving. He walked up to the counter and sat down. A few minutes later, Liz walked up with a pot of coffee.
“Why do you look so annoyed?” she asked.
“Nikolas talked me into that bachelor auction, and I’m starting to think it was a bad idea,” he answered.
“I heard about that. I swear, if I get stuck with you, I’ll scream,” she grumbled.
“Trust me, so will I!” he said.
