Most Irresistible Guy
He knocks on the wall. “Knock on wood. We need to keep playing great. And I know you’re part of why I’m playing so well.”
“Am I?”
“That night on the high school field was everything I needed to turn it around.”
I smile. “I’m glad I could help.”
“Vi, you did more than help. That was everything I needed to hear.”
I beam, my heart soaring with contentment. “All right, tiger. Get out there.” I straighten his hair one more time, then I adjust his tie, even though it’s perfect.
He meets my eyes, his voice going a bit husky. “Does my tie look good?”
My stomach swoops. But I remind myself that it’s a vestigial response. It’s borne from the past, and I don’t need to be anchored to those feelings. The ones I’m getting over. “Everything looks good. Now get out on stage. I’ll be in the audience watching every minute, and I can’t wait.”
He turns to head down the hall then stops at the sound of the owner’s sister.
He groans. “It’s Maxine.”
And she’s singing “It’s Raining Men.”
9
Ten minutes later the auction is in full swing.
The host, local TV reporter Sierra Franklin, is running the bidding and extolling the virtues of Jones. As she waxes on about his hands, I find Cooper backstage.
He paces, tension written all over his face.
I ask what’s wrong, but he simply jokes about having Holly’s friends bid on him when it’s his turn. The comment nags in my brain, makes me wonder if something went down in the hall.
I touch his elbow. “Is everything okay? Did something happen with Maxine? You mentioned her right before you left the suite, and now you don’t quite seem like yourself.”
Before he can answer, Sierra’s voice echoes from the on-stage mic. “And now we’re getting ready to bring our starting quarterback on the stage.”
Cooper whispers quietly. “I wouldn’t use the term okay to describe my interaction with her.”
The tension winds tighter, and I wrap my hand around him, feeling protective of him. “What happened?”
Through tight lips, he says, “Let’s just say I would rather ride the bench again than have her win me.”
With that, he strides onto the stage, and I can hear everyone in the ballroom cheering and clapping for their chance to bid on the star athlete. While a part of me is thrilled the crowd is excited to see him, his comments worry me, and that part of me takes over. I scurry through the hotel and make my way to the ballroom, scrambling to watch his blind side.
The ballroom is packed, and I wedge my way through crowds of cheering women and men, laughing and clapping as Sierra interacts with Cooper on stage.
He gives her a peck on the cheek, and she clasps her hand to her face, saying, “I’ll never wash this cheek again.”
She gestures to Cooper and sings his praises before the audience. “And now, ladies and gentlemen, for the pièce de résistance, this year’s starting quarterback, at long last, and the winner of the Most Valuable Playboy auction for the last three years in a row. After all, who wouldn’t want to take this handsome and talented man out for a night on the town? Everyone loves the quarterback.”
Truer words were never spoken.
Cooper smiles for the crowd, seemingly shucking off his backstage concerns, as he takes off his jacket and shows off how absolutely decadently delicious he looks in his pants, shirt, and vest.
Yes, I am a vest woman indeed.
He scans the crowd and finds me easily. I mouth, Vests are hot.
When he smiles, it feels like a private grin just for me.
Even though I know it’s a friendship grin, and I’m completely cool with it being just that.
Sierra sings his praises, from his stats to his skills—six-foot-four inches, light brown eyes and dark brown hair, great cheekbones, talented in the kitchen, and a rock star at karaoke.
Yes, yes, yes.
I know all that cold.
Cooper launches into a few lines from his favorite Bon Jovi tune, and all seems well. I’m not so sure what he was worried about with Maxine, but I do know she’s a little flirty with the players, and her brother, the team’s owner, lets her get away with basically anything.
But she’s nowhere in sight, so perhaps it’s much ado about nothing.
When the bidding begins and my brother and Holly offer measly bids for fun, I figure there’s truly nothing to worry about.
Until a flash of red catches the corner of my eye.
Maxine is here. She thrusts a jeweled hand high, and when her voice rises above the crowd, upping the bid from a paltry fifty dollars to a startling three thousand, I understand why Cooper was concerned.