Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 83927 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 420(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83927 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 420(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
Dani - Delete my number, Brett. I’ve moved on.
Brett - The hockey guy? Come on, baby, stop being ridiculous and come home.
Deciding not to respond, I throw my phone in my handbag and take a deep breath to calm my nerves. I’m not going to let that douchebag ruin this for me. I quickly double back to my room and glance in the mirror one more time before finding my way to the kitchen in search of the man I am quickly falling in love with.
Miller’s eyes find me the second I step into the kitchen. His eyes roam up and down my body with an appreciative smile, then come to a stop on my face. His brows pull together and he steps into me, wrapping his arms around my body. “You okay?” he murmurs, his voice filled with concern.
“Yeah,” I smile up at him, shaking it off. “I am now.”
“I’d like to thank you all for coming out to our ‘One Night With’ auction today, to help support the Dragons as we raise funds for the Denver Youth Hockey Program,” I say into the microphone. I stand up on my makeshift stage in front of what must be at least one thousand men and women, who quieten down at hearing my voice through the speakers from all their chanting and cheering for my boys.
It has been such a crazy day. Although I spent the last few weeks promoting the shit out of the auction, far more people have shown up than I ever could have imagined.
We had originally set up in one of the lecture halls, but after the massive turnout, we had to move it to the ice rink, where I currently stand in the middle of the ice on a little stage, looking up into the grandstand with a thousand faces staring back at me. The eyes on me do nothing for my nerves, but there’s no way in hell Sophie was going to stand up here, so this gig is all mine.
“Alright, let’s meet our boys,” I sing. “Please put your hands together for the undefeated Kings of Denver, the mighty Denver Dragons!”
The crowd roars as Miller leads the boys onto the ice. They all show off as they skate around the rink, motioning for the crowd to get as loud as possible. For an arena that can hold eight thousand people, this crowd is certainly doing a great job of filling it with noise.
Miller makes a hand gesture to the boys, and they make a quick, final lap before coming and taking their seats in the row of chairs lined up on the ice, facing the crowd.
“Okay. Before we get started, let’s cover a few things,” I say, getting a collective groan from the crowd and the boys. “As many of you would be aware, the majority of the team are single and have generously volunteered themselves to be auctioned off tonight.” I receive a scoff from every single one of my boys. “Okay, so maybe I may have slightly twisted their arms, but what the hell. They still showed up and that’s all that counts.”
The crowd cheers and whoops for the boys, and I laugh before continuing. “We are playing by standard auction rules. If you would like to make a bid on one of these fine young men, just raise your hand.”
I spare the boys a quick glance before turning back to the stands. “Alright, let’s get this party started,” I holler through the microphone, sending the crowd into another round of cheers. “Calm down, calm down. I’m sure you would all like to get this over with as quickly as possible to get the most out of your time with these boys.”
I spin to face the boys and smirk at them. Every last one of them narrows their eyes at me, trying to work out what secret I hold. My gaze roams over the team before sailing across to the barriers and coming to a stop on Coach Harris who watches at the sidelines. “Coach,” I start, “please step forward and show these fine people what you’re made of.”
The boys grin at me as Coach Harris’ mouth pops open in shock. Yeah, we definitely didn’t discuss this.
“No,” he says, shaking his head. “This wasn’t part of the deal.”
The crowd boos and I turn my gaze on them. “Can I hear from all the lovely women and men out there who would love the chance to win ‘One Night With’ the strapping Coach Harris?” The crowd roars, causing his face to turn beet red.
“You’ve got to lead by example,” Tank laughs before cutting across the ice and waving Coach into the center.
Coach groans, but eventually obliges and stands in the center, playing along as he flexes his muscles for his eager fans, which naturally, sends them wild. Coach Harris definitely keeps in shape, so I’m not surprised.