“Isn’t it?” I take a sip and roll my lips. “By the way, nice dress.” I wink at her, looking down at the tight black dress she’s wearing. “That isn’t the one you bought.” I point out. When we went shopping, she got a green off-the-shoulder dress that was short in the front and long in the back. It was perfect for her.
“I know that, asshole,” she hisses at me, making me laugh. Candace and I met at an event for the hockey team, almost like this one, four years ago. Her brother, Evan, was playing for the Dallas team. The two of us struck up a conversation and just clicked. Ever since then, we’ve been best friends. There is nothing I wouldn’t do for her, and I know that if I was arrested or stranded somewhere, I couldn’t and wouldn’t be able to call her because she’d most likely be with me. “Ralph ‘accidentally’”—she uses her two fingers as quotations—“ripped it when he was zipping me up.” She shakes her head.
“That’s fucking gross.” I look at her. “And hot AF.” I wink at her. “I was going to say you had that glow.”
She puts one of her palms on her cheek right when Ralph comes over and puts an arm around her waist. “What are you two talking about?” he asks before leaning forward and kissing Candace, then taking a sip of his drink in his hand.
“I was just telling Candace she has the ‘I just got fucked’ glow,” I tell him. He coughs, and I roll my lips to keep from laughing. I hold up my glass to him as he tries to catch his breath. “Good job.” Candace throws her head back and laughs while Ralph tries not to choke.
“She does not have the glow. It’s all the glam she did,” Ralph finally says. “I told you not to put all that stuff on yourself.” He starts to rub her cheeks, and she pushes his hands away.
“There is no glam,” she tells him. “Now, did you bid on anything?” she asks him of the silent auction, and he just nods.
“Oh, I haven’t gone to bid yet,” I tell them. “I’ll catch you later. Save me a seat next to you,” I tell them and turn to walk toward the tables set up at the back of the venue. I smile to a couple of people I know, and I stop to talk to Nico, the owner of the team.
“Hey there,” he says, leaning forward to kiss my cheek. Nico screams sex machine, and he doesn’t even have to try. His demeanor does it all for him. He takes no prisoners and apologizes to no one. He inherited the team when he turned thirty and became the youngest owner of any team in the league. It was a shitty team, to say the least, but he dug his heels in and went out there. He had a general manager, but everyone knew that Nico did his own bidding. If he wanted you, he made sure you knew he wanted you. There was no middleman with Nico. “So glad you can make it.”
“Oh, you know me,” I say with a shrug. “Always ready to play dress-up.”
He laughs now. “I can spot that lie a mile away,” he says. “But seriously, I wanted to thank you personally for all the publicity you gave this event on your show.” He looks down and puts his hands in his suit pockets. “It was good to listen and not get my ass handed to me.”
It’s my turn now to laugh. “I’m not that bad.” He just looks at me. “Listen, I say what everyone thinks. The only difference is mine is broadcasted live.”
“Yeah, I’m not sure it’s a good thing,” he says. “Anyway, go and enjoy and save your money. The live bachelor auction starts in a bit.”
I try not to groan as I walk away from him to the tables. I go through the prizes—a signed puck, a signed jersey, a game in the press box, and four tickets to the All-Star game—and I bid on the All-Star game package, thinking that I could give it away on the air. I’m about to turn around when I bump into a hard chest. Male hands automatically grab my upper arms. “Careful, gorgeous.” I hear his voice and groan, then move my shoulders out of his touch. “What did you bid on?” he asks, walking to the table and going through the sheets. “Oh, look at this.” He picks up a sheet and flashes it my way. “A weekend away in a hidden cabin.” He winks at me. “What do you say? You, me?”
“How secluded is it?” I ask him, and he looks down at the paper. “Like, is there a chance they will find your dead body?” I laugh, and he just shakes his head. He’s about to say something else when I see a blonde walk our way. Her hips swing, and her tits bounce. “Incoming.” I motion with my head in the direction she’s coming from. It’s his turn now to groan. “Don’t lie, you love all this attention,” I say, and I’m about to walk away when the blonde steps in front of me.