3. 3
T he hotel ballroom is decorated in the colors of the team. Of course. Lord knows we can’t have a color palette that isn’t gold and red. A runway shoots out from the center of the stage into the middle of the room for the players to strut down when it’s their turn to be bid on. A podium stands on stage left with a microphone waiting for the auction to begin after dinner.
Christmas trees, glittering sentries, stand around the edge of the room, adding to the ambiance.
“I already see at least three guys I have to punch in the face for checking you out,” Dominic says, looking around the crowd, his eyebrows in an angry slant. His obliviousness to the stares he’s getting from numerous women in the crowd makes me want to laugh .
“Oh relax, you overprotective bear. If I want to go out with someone on this team, you’re definitely not stopping me.” I smile up at the hostile face staring down at me.
As my brother has found his place among the team, the little boy I knew has faded away into sharp lines and a hulking body he’s trained into athletic perfection.
Our father’s dark eyes and sharp jawline stare down at me and I bend. Just a little.
“How about I promise not to make out with any of your teammates while I’m here?” I say, partially joking. There are a few men I wouldn’t say no to, if given the chance.
He sighs heavily before leading me over to our table, just left of center in the room. Lorelei sits tapping out a message on her phone while Tank talks to one of the other offensive team members. Outside of uniform, it’s hard for me to remember the names of the entire squad but when he turns, I know it’s Miles Lawson, a wide receiver I’ve had a crush on since I saw him for the first time walking to his car after a game.
Tank notices us out of the corner of his eye, and raises his glass in greeting.
“Reynier,” he says, clapping Dom on the back in that manly way guys do. He leans in and brushes a kiss against my cheek. “Anya, you look mouth watering. Lore, are you sure she wouldn’t want to be a third for us?” he asks, getting an immediate rise out of Dominic.
“If only, babe,” Lore says without taking her eyes from her phone.
“Pity. Miles, let me introduce you to Anastasia, Reynier’s gorgeous sister. Anya, Miles.”
The man turns toward me and I think my heart stops as he smiles. He is stunning with eyes that are a deep, warm brown drawing you in and telling you to lay your secrets bare at his feet as an offering. The dimple on the left side of his smile is perfect, and I inexplicably want to lick it.
Much like the other men in the room, his suit is eye catching and perfectly tailored. The brocade jacket takes the team colors and darkens them, bringing out the richness missing from the decorations. The black pants hug his thick thighs and I almost gulp at his impressive package as my gaze takes him in.
“Anastasia, the pleasure is all mine. And might I say, that dress is utterly enchanting on you.” His voice is deep like the cosmos above us. I want to hear him say my name for the rest of my life.
He takes the hand not wrapped around my brother’s bicep so I wouldn’t trip and fall on my way over here, and gives the back a soft kiss.
I think I hear Dom scoff, but I’m too busy swooning over Miles.
“Your dress, too,” I stumble, my brain having melted out of my body. “I mean, you look amazing, as well,” I manage to stammer out, the heat of my blush making sweat bead on my lower back.
Still holding my hand, he looks deep into my eyes. “I hope you’ll place a bid on me,” he says with a wink. “Guys, I’ll see you later. Anya, would you excuse me? I need to mingle, but I hope to speak with you more this evening.”
“I’ll be around,” I say with much more finesse this time.
As he saunters away, I take a moment to appreciate the hard work he’s put into sculpting his backside.
“Stop ogling my teammate,” my brother whispers in my ear.
“I would hate for all his hard work to go unappreciated,” I tell him, not removing my eyes, or bothering to keep my voice down. I hear Tank and Lorelei snort, but ignore them until my eye line is broken and I am no longer under a trance. “Is he single?”
“To my knowledge,” Dom says with a heavy sigh.
Lore laughs, pulling my attention to her.
“Can I be the fifteenth person tonight to tell you how great you look? I can’t keep my eyes off your boobs!” Lorelei had left the room before I was in my dress. She motions for me to do a little spin, which I do as my brother huffs for the hundredth time, mumbles something about needing a drink, and abandons me.
“Are you sure we can’t take you home tonight, Anya? It’ll be a night you’ll never forget,” Tank says, all promise in his voice.
His wife swats him as unease runs through me, not because Tank is making me uncomfortable, but because Lorelei is the only best friend I have and I don’t want to ruin our friendship. In high school, my best friend’s boyfriend tried kissing me at a farm party and she never spoke to me again even though I immediately ran away.
“I already told you she isn’t interested. Leave the poor girl alone and go get us some drinks. Anya, what do you want?”
“A vodka soda with a lime,” I tell her. Tank nods before making his way through the crowd.
“I hope you know he’s just teasing you,” she says, pulling me down into a chair next to hers.
“I didn’t realize you guys, you know.” I make some indelicate gestures that would make Dom swallow his tongue.
“Only sometimes, and it’s never with friends we don’t believe can maintain the friendship without awkwardness after. There are a lot of NDAs involved, because of his position, but it’s something we enjoy. You’re drop dead gorgeous and both of our type, so he would love to watch us together and vice versa,” she tells me without a hint of joke or embarrassment about the things they enjoy.
“Wow, that’s incredibly flattering,” I say with relief she’s not mad her husband finds me attractive. “I’m going to pass tonight, but it’s definitely something I’ll keep in mind.” I give her a wink and she smiles, but we both know that’s not something I’ll take them up on. However, I can’t promise the thought won’t come back to me as I’m wrapped in my sheets tonight. All alone.
Tank brings us our drinks before disappearing again.
Lorelei and I talk at our table as various players and other people at the event come to say hi or offer a word. I notice as the evening goes on, most of the single players have made their way to our table, letting me know they hope to receive my bid tonight.
Eventually we get up and make our way around the room. Tank and my brother periodically find Lorelei and me in the crowd, depositing fresh drinks in our hands before moving away to converse with someone else until I’m tipsy.
Sasha walks up to us looking perfect in a red dress, her blonde hair styled over one shoulder.
“Hi, I’m Sasha Donovan. Patrick Donovan’s wife.” She holds her left hand out for me to shake, her giant wedding ring glinting in the low light. I take her hand in mind, shaking it.
“I’m Anastasia, Dominic Reynier’s sister. We’ve met about ten times.”
She pulls her hand from mine, looking down her nose at my dress, making me shift under her intense gaze.
“Your brother must not have shared the ‘elegant’ memo in regard to the dress code,” she sneers. As Lorelei opens her mouth to respond, the lights blink, telling us the dinner is about to begin. I grab Lorelei’s arm and pull her toward our table without further acknowledging Sasha.
“I can’t stand her,” Lore says and I just nod in agreement.
Everyone moves in a dance of bodies through the ballroom, making our way back to the designated table. I take my seat next to Lorelei, Tank on her right, my brother on my left. We are sat with another couple who are a sponsor of the evening, as well as two players who have come stag.
At the table to our right, in the center of the room, sits Sasha, her husband the diamond of the team, Miles, the head coach and his wife, and the owner with his eldest daughters. The hungry gleam in their eyes as they listen to Miles talk lets me know I’ll have a lot of competition when it comes to bidding on him.
Not that I blame them.
Waiters in all black bring out the dinner. Course after course flood the tables as plates are swept away and deposited with perfect efficiency until finally, the last dessert dish is cleared.
The food is luxurious and it’s all I can do to keep from licking my plate. As dinner comes to an end, Sasha moves up to the podium, calling for the players who will be auctioned off to make their way to the back of the stage. The younger, less well-known players will be auctioned off in groups at the beginning. The stars like Tank and our quarterback will be auctioned off individually and bring in the most money.
An arm, clad in red and gold brocade, reaches past me, setting a vodka soda with lime in front of me. I look up and Miles is smiling down at me as I thank him for the kind gesture. He makes his way to the stage, but his eyes stay locked on mine while Sasha finishes her speech. She thanks everyone for their attendance and the bidding begins.
Sasha has hired a professional auctioneer and the energy is electric as the price goes up and up. Looking at the young guys, I think about their muscles and the work I need done around the shop.
“Do you think, instead of a date, the guys would do some work around the bakery?” I ask Lorelei in a low whisper.
She shrugs. “I think most of them would do pretty much anything you wanted. What are you doing to the bakery?”
“I’ve been wanting to rearrange the kitchen equipment to make it more efficient for me, but all of that stuff is heavy.”
“Why didn’t you ask Dom and Tank?
“You mean before or after their practices, meetings, and games?” I snark, making her laugh.
“Dom did force you to take some money and made you promise to spend it on someone.”
"On him! Not some random guys."
"Pfft," she says, waiving away my objection.
“You’re right,” I say as I raise my paddle that was placed at my dinner setting, all the alcohol in my system blowing through my reservations about using Dom’s money. Before I can blink, the gavel is dropped, making me the winner of five strapping, young, football players. Everyone claps as the next round of guys are brought forward and the entire thing begins again.
And then, Miles makes his way to the front of the stage.
The bidding becomes a frenzy as the players with more prestige come to the stage one after another. Miles goes for ten thousand dollars to the wife of the owner. I bid a few times so he knew I was interested, but even the opening bid was outside my spending limit .
As Dominic walks onto the stage, I make sure to hoot and holler, making his cheeks red with a blush. The bidding starts at two thousand dollars and the blonde daughter of one of the coach’s pounces, lifting her paddle before the auctioneer is even done announcing the price. With a giggle, I raise mine, increasing the price by two hundred. He glares at me from the stage and Lorelei leans over.
“I think he has designs on that blonde,” she says as the girl in question raises the bid again.
“I think you’re right,” I say as they make eyes at each other. “I sure hope the coach is oblivious or he’s going to easily pick up the tension there.”
After another hour or so, the auction comes to a close. As a winner, I go and provide the payment for my bid and give my contact information. A little over heated from the booze and number of bodies in the room, I make my way to a side door hoping to get some air until, suddenly, one of the younger guys in one of the groups I didn’t win cuts me off.
“Hi there. I’m Aaron. How’s your night?” His blond hair, blue eyes, and pale skin give him the look of every high school quarterback in the movies.
“Hi Aaron. Would you excuse me?” I try to move around him, but he moves in front of me.
He runs his fingers down my arm and every instinct honed by years of lessons learned from overly pushy men puts me on high alert.
“You should have bid on my group. I would have made sure you had a good time,” he says, pushing into my space and backing me against a pillar, blocking us from view of the room.
“I have a boyfriend,” I lie.
“I know you don’t. Your brother told me.” Suddenly, his grip around my arm is bruising and painful until his mouth is pressed roughly against mine. I try to break out of his grasp, but it’s too firm. I bite his tongue as he shoves it into my mouth and he pulls back.
“Ow, you stupid bitch!” His hand comes up and he grabs my face.
“Stop, get off me!” I yell. Right as his angry face comes closer to kiss me again, Miles Lawson rips him off me and shoves him to the ground, shielding me with his body in the process.
“What do you think you were doing? She told you no. That doesn’t mean keep going.” Anger darkens his voice as he stares down at the kid slowly getting back to his feet.
“You see how she’s dressed? She was practically panting in my arms, begging for me to fuck her. I was just going to give her a little taste down here before I took her back to my room,” he says, tucking his slightly too large shirt back into his pants.
The commotion has drawn eyes and now my brother is barging over, realizing I was in the ruckus.
“Anya, are you alright? What’s going on, Lawson?” he demands as he walks up to us, but pitching his voice in order to avoid a scene. I understand. Everyone who’s anyone to the team is watching us right now.
“This little shit stain was making a pass at your sister. She said no, he didn’t retreat. She didn’t do anything wrong.” He turns toward me and addresses me only. “Anastasia, you’re well within your rights to press charges for assault. I’d be happy to get my lawyer for you, no cost to you.”
Not only is this man tough and smart and funny and incredibly handsome, he’s kind and caring. My heart skips a beat .
I look at the guy and I know men like him are given a slap on the wrist and nothing more. But that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t try to have him held accountable.
“Yes, I would like to press charges.”
Aaron tries to turn and run, but my brother lunges for the young guy, horse collaring him and pulling him down to the ground once more.
“You’ll stay there until the cops come,” he tells him, his voice full of threat and danger.
Miles pulls his phone from his pocket and dials a number from memory, running a gentle finger down my arm.
“Hey, I have someone who needs you,” he says when they answer, moving off to the side.
The head coach and owner make their way to our group, as well as Lorelei and Tank. Once Miles is off the phone, he repeats the story to their coach.
“Effective immediately, you are no longer affiliated with the Thunderhawks and have no access to team resources, including in-house counsel. Your locker will be cleaned out and your things mailed to you. You are not to set foot in the stadium again,” the coach declares, red faced. Aaron pales further and a small part of me is happy at his discomfort.
About forty-five minutes later, Aaron is led from the room by one of the cops and Miles’s lawyer promises to call me in the morning.
“Would you like me to drive you home?” Miles asks after everything is done.
“No, thank you. I have to go over to Tank’s house to get my car. Plus, my brother is about to have an aneurysm and I know leaving right now wouldn’t be helpful,” I smile shyly up at him. “But maybe we could get dinner some time?”
Despite the awful end to the evening, I’ve felt butterflies talking to Miles all night long. Right as he opens his mouth to speak, his phone rings, pulling his attention.
“Would you excuse me? This is my girlfriend,” he says before moving away, answering the call.
I freeze momentarily like a marble statue, my mouth dropping open. My mind skips through the night, wondering if I misread all the signals I thought I was picking up. If he had a girlfriend, why was he flirting with me? Was it just to increase how much he’d go for in the auction?
As I come back into my body, betrayal is all I feel. For the first time in years, I was looking forward to possibly going on a date with someone and spending some time away from the bakery. Maybe finding someone who could be a partner.
Lore talking about the guy who is going to be the lead on the dating show pops into my head. How great she thinks he is. And my hurt takes control of my mouth as I turn toward her.
“Do you really think your brother can get me on House of Desire ?” I ask.
Her smile is evil. “Hell yeah.”