“We’ll start the bidding with—” Louisa glanced down at the card in her hand—“Carlos Delgado.”

The good-looking Coastie came up onto the stage and grinned at her. Then he turned to the audience and flexed his biceps, showing off well-defined muscles and eliciting a chorus of oohs and aahs from the crowd.

Louisa waited for Carlos to return his attention to her, then smiled. “As you can see, ladies and gentlemen, Carlos is very shy.”

Laughter rippled through the audience.

“Carlos is twenty-four years old and has competed in the CrossFit Games twice, finishing in the top ten both times.”

Another flex from the young guardsman.

“Carlos loves animals and has been a member of the US Coast Guard for three years.”

He turned to her. “You forgot the best part.”

She reread the card in her hand, then looked up at him, confused.

He turned to the crowd. “You forgot to tell them I’m the Coastie with the Mostie.” This time he flexed both biceps and gave the audience a cocky nod.

Laughter filtered through the crowd again, and Louisa shook her head. She tossed a look toward the spot where Cody had been standing before the auction started, but he was gone.

It unnerved her, not knowing where he was.

“Ladies and gentlemen, let’s start the bidding.”

One by one, Louisa introduced the guardsmen, and one by one, the good people of Nantucket pledged large sums of money for the chance to enter the regatta with a genuine sailor. The bidders were as different as the men they were bidding on.

One guy bid on James Conley, an “Alfred Haynes Junior Yachtsman of the Year and all-around likable guy” for his thirteen-year-old son, who, he said, was very interested in sailing (but who, Louisa noticed, seemed much more interested in his iPhone). Another guardsman was bid on and paid for by an older woman named Dorothea Quinn, who was convinced that she had what it took to win that regatta if she just had the right partner.

It went on like that until finally Louisa only had three cards left.

“Okay, big spenders,” she said into the microphone. “Only a few chances left to win the Coastie of your dreams. We are down to our final three men. Shall we see if we’ve saved the best for last?”

She glanced into the wings and spotted Cody standing there. It was difficult not to notice he looked like he’d rather be having a root canal.

Slowly he brought his gaze to hers, then tugged at the collar of his shirt. She did a quick sweep of the audience and saw McKenzie Palmer standing at the back, poised and ready to bid.

Louisa’s heart sank.