Chapter 42 : Staking Claims

Becca.

When James came to find me, I was rather pleased. I was enjoying my time with Neal, but I had come with James, and he had promised an evening with me, even though the current conversation between Neal and James seemed anything but pleasant.

"The auction is about to start, so I think we should take our seats," James said, holding his arm out for me, which I slowly took.

"That's wonderful. What's the charity this year?" Neal asked as he followed behind us.

"The money goes to the breast cancer society to help with treatments," James said hesitantly as his eyes met mine.

I wasn't sure if he had remembered my mother, but if he did, then he would have known my mother died from breast cancer. I hadn't realized this was what the charity gala was for, but now that I knew, it brought back memories.

Holding myself together, I let James lead me to the table where we would be sitting. I had imagined the rest of the evening would go well, but instead, I found that Allison and Tall