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“Why don’t you go for a skate?”
I glance around the ice where most players don’t have fans skating with them. “I’ll pass. Besides, it should be almost time for the raffle.”
Several ice girls, including Spencer Reed’s girlfriend Savannah Whitlock, take the ice carrying a giant bucket full of raffle tickets and place it on the ice in front of the group.
The remaining fans are escorted off the ice as the players skate toward me and Francesca and take a seat on the benches.
The bubbly blonde in the middle grabs a microphone from a staff member and taps it several times to verify it’s working.
“Alright, we are about to get started. If you are one of today’s lucky winners, we need you to hold on to your ticket until after we are finished and meet us at the Booster Club table on the concourse to claim your prize.”
She glances around the arena and adds, “If the winner is not present, we will hold on to their prize and notify them later today. Now, how about we give the players a huge round of applause for giving up their entire day to be here for us, the fans, and the entire community.”
Claps and cheers echo through the arena as the players smile and wave.
Each winning raffle ticket is called and told which surprise bag they won. The winning ticket is then stapled to the bag and placed in a box to be carried upstairs.
“Well, that’s all our winners. If you didn’t win, you can take your losing tickets to the team shop to get ten percent off any purchase until the end of the month.”
The crowd stands and makes their way up the stairs to the concourse. Francesca and I stay in our seats as the arena empties.
Her phone chimes and as soon as she sees the message, she grins and turns the phone toward me.
I read her message aloud. “Congratulations! Your bid of six thousand dollars on Rhett Montgomery was the winning bid. Stay tuned for another message containing the details of when and where to arrive for the event.”
“Wait.” I narrow my eyes at her. “You said you spent over ten thousand. This says six thousand.”
“About that.” She glances around nervously.
“Francesca.” I say her name in a scolding manner. “What did you do?”
“I didn’t want some random woman bidding on my brother, trying to get close to him and use whatever he says as leverage against the family, so I made a bid in your name.”
I yell, “YOU WHAT?”
My phone chimes with a message. I don’t have to look at it to know what it says. Francesca’s grin tells me all I need to know.
The message is from the generic Sharks texting account. “I won a date with Joseph Marino becauseIbid four thousand five hundred dollars.”
“It won’t be that bad. You and Joseph already know each other, so it’s going to be like friends eating a meal together.”
If only she knew the truth.
This is just my luck. I agree to come to the event and I leave, knowing I’m being sent on a date with Joseph.
My heart won’t be able to handle being that close to him, even if it’s not a romantic setting. My stomach tightens and churns.
“I feel sick.” I murmur before running up to the concourse.
I throw the bathroom door open and empty the contents of my stomach. After a few minutes, I clean myself up and make my way out of the bathroom, running into Francesca.
“Are you alright? I didn’t mean to upset you.”
“It’s not your fault. I just feel a little faint. Can you bring me home?”
Francesca stares at me for a few moments before nodding. “Yeah, let’s go.”
I sway on my feet, but make it to her car.